Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the armed forces need to be prepared for war to preserve peace. In his address at the first-ever joint commanders conference (JCC) in Lucknow on Thursday, Singh touched upon the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the situation in Bangladesh and exhorted the military to analyse these “episodes” and stay prepared to deal with the “unexpected.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India is a peace-loving nation and stressed the need for the armed forces to be prepared for war to preserve peace. He underlined the importance of a unified approach, calling for the evolution of a joint military vision to effectively tackle future security challenges.
The Defence Minister also referred to the over four-year border row with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and called for a deeper analysis of the situation.
“Despite global volatility, India is enjoying a rare peace dividend and it is developing peacefully. However, due to the increasing number of challenges, we need to remain alert,” he said.
“It is important that we keep our peace intact during Amrit Kaal. We need to focus on the present, keep an eye on the activities happening around us, and be future-oriented,” he said.
“For this, we should have a strong and robust national security component. We should have fail-proof deterrence,” Singh added.
He also called upon commanders to identify and include the right mix of traditional and modern warfare equipment in the armed forces’ arsenal.
He stressed on the urgent need for capability development in space and electronic warfare, describing them as not just important, but integral to tackling the complex and evolving challenges of the modern-day battlefield.
Singh also urged the military leadership to focus on increasing the use of the latest technological advancements in data and artificial intelligence.
“These components do not participate in any conflict or war directly. Their indirect participation is deciding the course of warfare to a great extent,” he added.
The two-day conference, which began on Wednesday, witnessed a galaxy of top defence leadership participate, including Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane.
Ravi Shankar
