Joint Doctrine of Armed Forces

What is the issue?

The Joint Doctrine of the Indian Armed Forces 2017 has formally embedded Surgical Strikes as a part of sub-conventional operations — meaning that from now on, they are among a range of options at the military’s disposal to respond to terrorist attacks.

Did surgical strikes achieve any objectives?

• The more interesting aspect in the second such joint doctrine since 2006 is that the scope of “surgical strikes” has been left open.
• There is no mention of their employment being within the country or beyond its borders — the ambiguity is intended to send a message in the neighbourhood.
• In this context, it is important to note that the surgical strikes in September 2016 on terror camps along the Line of Control, did achieve some far-reaching strategic objectives.
• They were never meant to put an end to terrorism but reversed a discourse which began in 1998 that India was out of conventional options in its quiver in the face of continued cross-border terrorism after the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests.

What the doctrine says?

• The doctrine reiterates the basic tenets of the Indian nuclear doctrine, no-first use (NFU) and minimum credible deterrence, contrary to recent calls to revise the NFU and speculation in the West that India would resort to a first strike.
• It adds that conflict will be determined or prevented through a process of credible deterrence, coercive diplomacy and conclusively by punitive destruction, disruption and constraint in a nuclear environment across the Spectrum of Conflict.
• Flowing from the broader objective is the statement that Special Forces units will be “tasked to develop area specialisation in their intended operational theatres” to achieve an optimum effect.

What are the problems in implementing this doctrine?

• The various objectives open up an entire gamut of capability addition and process optimisation for the Indian military to be able to enforce it.
• Achieving these broad objectives requires seamless synergy between the three services, a far cry in the present circumstances.
• Interestingly some of the biggest policy decisions have been stuck endlessly — appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), formation of cyber, space and Special Forces commands and carving out inter-service theatre commands.
• After some initial push from the Government, the enthusiasm has gone. 
• Another important pronouncement under the “National Military Objectives” is: “Enable required degree of self-sufficiency in defence equipment and technology through indigenization to achieve desired degree of technological independence by 2035.”
• This probably presents the biggest challenge of all given the present state of the domestic defence-industrial complex.

What is the way ahead?

• The doctrine is a bold announcement, but without the necessary elements in place, it will remain just another document like the policy formulations enunciated earlier.
• Or worse, it will be relegated to being another political slogan for popular resonance rather than send out a message of intent beyond Indian borders and shores.

Source: The Hindu