07/12/2020 - Internal Security

KEY POINTS

·        Given the speed and volume of air travel, every day matters in the defence against epidemics. Of course, merely having early information is insufficient—what the government does with it is also crucial.

·        As for India’s public health officials, they rely on information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which in turn relies on what it receives from the Chinese government.

·        Meanwhile, our intelligence agencies would have trained their resources on political, military and national security targets.

·        In the event, unlike the Taiwanese, the Indian government did not have advance signals of the massive threat that was brewing in our neighbouring country. To be clear, this is not to charge our intelligence agencies with a lapse, but to identify an important lacuna in our system.

·        Covid-19 has brought home the fact that India must have independent means of acquiring information that has a vital bearing on our health, economy and security.

·        The Research & Analysis Wing must be given the responsibility of tracking health and environmental threats, and equipped with the expertise needed to collect and analyse such intelligence. The R&AW and other agencies should also be prepared to carry out clandestine operations in the context of climate, epidemic and related threat

·        Let’s keep in mind that the People’s Republic of China is both the epicentre of viral pandemics and also under a regime that has both the intent and capability to control information.

·        That makes the need for accurate advance information all the more important. If Kargil was a wake-up call for India to modernize its defence and intelligence set-up, covid-19 is another big one.

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