Defence Cooperation as a Tool for Enhancing National Interest

 Key Note Address by the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri

Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am privileged to be present here today amongst you all at the National Seminar on Defence Cooperation as a tool for enhancing National Interest.

•The most visible manifestation of a strategic relationship between two countries is cooperation in the sphere of defence. Strong political and economic ties between two countries can be further enhanced through closer defence cooperation, provided the potential challenges are identified and addressed and there is clarity on its terminal benefits. Most countries build defence relationships that promote specific national security interests, develop friendly military capabilities for building mutual confidence and trust as also to imbibe ‘best practices’ for various aspects of defence functioning. Defence cooperation also leads to optimizing action in the field of UN peacekeeping as well as disaster management.
•Globalisation has affected defence as much as any other activity and there is a need to continually find avenues for exchanging points of view with armed forces of other countries, as well as learning from successful innovations being implemented elsewhere.
•Defence cooperation may be defined as any arrangement between two or more nations where their Armed Forces work together to achieve mutual aims and objectives. This can include exchanges and liaison visits, individual and joint training, joint military exercises, common doctrine and equipment procurement.
•The objectives of defence cooperation between countries are to promote intra and extra regional peace and stability through dialogue and cooperation in the field of defence and security, to promote mutual understanding on defence and security challenges as well as to enhance transparency and openness and to imbibe ‘best practices’ in various military fields by observing specific aspects of functioning of the militaries of more advanced countries.
•Defence cooperation offers a range of benefits. It helps build trust and confidence, as also facilitates cooperation at political and economic level between nations. Expertise available with various militaries can be shared for development of mutual concepts and operational doctrine. Advanced countries have access to superior technology in weaponry and systems. Such technologies can be available to the Armed Forces of developing countries through means of Defence cooperation.
•Cooperation can be most successful when forces have inter-operable systems and weapons, which facilitate functional cooperation when undertaking peacekeeping or disaster management operation together. The efforts of various countries can be optimized in new innovations in rapidly changing operational environment through joint development and production of military equipment.
•Through Defence cooperation mechanism, countries make mutual arrangements for Promotion of Regional security and economic interests in the maritime zone through protection of Sea Lines of Communication.
•India has very wide ranging international defence and military cooperation. It has been used as an effective tool of foreign policy and forms one of the main forms of engagement with many countries such as Russia, Singapore, UK, USA, France, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Tajikistan, Oman and Bhutan.
•The range of international military cooperation arrangements includes formal defence arrangements which could be bilateral or multilateral; bilateral forums for meeting are at the strategic, military and technological levels. Military to military activities include high level visits, attendance at courses at military training institutions, professional defence and military expert exchanges, joint exercises, courses, defence equipment and technology-transfer, military assistance programmes, sports and adventure activity and cooperation in UN Peace Keeping Operations. Obviously, the levels of military cooperation with each and every country cannot be at the same level. These would be dependent on our national interests and our foreign policy goals and priorities.

Chief -of -the- Army-Staff address at the Seminar 

Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Esteemed Guests, members of the media, Ladies & Gentlemen,

•It is indeed a privilege to welcome you all to the National Seminar on Defence Cooperation, which is being organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies, the Army’s    ‘think tank’.    At    the    outset,    I    express    my    gratitude     to  the Honourable Raksha Mantri to have taken time off from his busy schedule to grace this occasion and deliver the key note address as also release the inaugural issue of the CLAWS journal.
•The selection of “Defence Cooperation” as the topic for the national seminar is reflective of the enhanced importance which is being accorded to this very important facet, not only by the Indian Armed Forces, but also across the world. Defence cooperation, as we know, encompasses activities undertaken by the Armed Forces in pursuance of national interests, with defence forces of other countries, in mutually decided areas of interest. I would, however, like to emphasise, that undertaking such activities has implications far beyond the realm of the military. Not only do such activities promote interoperability and good relations among the participating troops but, in a wider context, lead to development of mutual confidence and trust between their defence forces and the countries at large. In fact, Defence Cooperation is often and more aptly referred to as ‘Defence Diplomacy’, which is reflective of the linkages between Defence Cooperation, and the achievement of foreign policy goals.
•It is axiomatic, therefore, that military cooperation is not conducted in isolation, but is invariably part of a larger process, wherein countries engage each other through numerous mechanisms. Furthermore, as the militaries of the world interact and operate together, there would be a related inclination and intent to imbibe ‘best practices’ from each other, as also enhance the ability to operate alongside, when so mandated.
•Most of this esteemed audience, would be aware of India’s rising status and its enhanced geo-strategic importance in the new world order. India, with its stable democratic institutions and strong credentials o the socio-economic front, is being increasingly looked upon as a country which can make significant contributions towards world peace and stability. Concurrently, it is also true that the nature of conflicts has changed substantially – conventional conflicts are being increasingly replaced by sub conventional and asymmetric wars, which need to be tackled with collective capabilities and wisdom.
•You are aware that the Indian Army espouses a strong apolitical and secular ethos, as well as the highest standards of professionalism, backed by deep rooted traditions. It also has the reputation of being the most well trained and operationally experienced force, capable of operating across the spectrum of conflict. The performance of our UN peacekeepers and force commanders over the years, has contributed towards the Indian Army building up an enviable reputation in the global fraternity. Our training institutions, as also our training teams abroad, have rendered yeoman service in training a large number of foreign military personnel, some of whom have later held the highest military and even political positions of prominence in their countries. Resultantly, nations the world over, look forward to cooperating with the Indian Army and share our expertise.
•A few words about our participation in Defence Cooperation activities. Till a few years back, the Defence Service’s approach was mostly ‘low key’ and ‘reactive’, whereby defence cooperation activities were mostly restricted to attendance on training courses and visits by the senior leadership, related to our equipment purchases. Enhanced interaction with other militaries was seen as an expensive pastime, which was considered quite irrelevant to our circumstances. Fortunately, matters have changed for the better, and there is increasing realization within the government, of the positive role that the military can play, in furthering our interests through non-traditional means. Today, I feel proud to mention that the Indian Army undertakes a variety of cooperative activities and even military exercises, in concert with numerous militaries of the world, leading to mutual benefit and enhanced trust and confidence in each other.
•Having said this, I do not want to leave an impression that all is well, and we have been able to achieve all our aims and objectives, in the field of defence cooperation in an optimal manner. We have been somewhat late starters and our progress too has been relatively slow. Though a lot has been achieved in recent years, there is still some way to go before we optimise our gains. I am happy to share, that the Honourable Raksha Mantriji has been most supportive of our initiatives and has also undertaken a number of visits to friendly countries as a mark of his interest and vision. This Seminar provides an opportunity, to review the gains so far, and set out the road ahead in the field of Defence Cooperation, in a focused and pragmatic manner. Senior personnel from the Navy, Air Force, MOD & MEA are also participating in the Seminar, and will be providing us their perspective on some important issues.
•I am sanguine that this Seminar will provide us a better focus on how we can optimise our resources and capabilities within the Army, and the other two Services, and make defence cooperation an essential part of our military doctrine and strategy. I wish the Seminar all success.

Jai Hind.

Seminar Report

General

The Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) organised a one day seminar on “Defence Cooperation as a Tool for Enhancing National Interest” on 18 Feb 2008. The inaugural address was delivered by the Gen Deepak Kapoor, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, COAS. The keynote address was delivered by Shri A K Antony, the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri. The seminar had two plenary sessions. The first plenary session was chaired by Gen Shankar Roychowdhury, PVSM, former COAS. Maj Gen AK Singh, SM, VSM, ADG PP, Lt Gen VK Kapoor (Retd) and Lt Gen VG Patankar, (Retd) analysed defence cooperation under an Indian perspective with emphasis on the Indo-US and Indo-Russian defence cooperation. In the second plenary session, chaired by Ambassador G Parthasarthy, Former High Commissioner to Pakistan, Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, (Retd), former VCOAS, Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, AVSM, VSM, ACNS (FCI), IHQ of MoD (Navy) and Mr Vivek Katju, Additional Secretary (Political & International Organisations), Ministry of External Affairs deliberated on a road map for the future of defence cooperation in India.

Objectives of the Seminar

The objectives of the seminar were:

(a) To examine the present status of defence cooperation in India and take stock of what has been achieved over the past four decades.

(b) To evolve a vision for future defence cooperation in India so that emerging national challenges and concerns are addressed through this medium of diplomacy.

Session I: Inaugural Session

Both the COAS and the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri highlighted the importance of defence cooperation in India’s overall strategy in dealing with the emerging security situation in the country’s immediate and extended neighbourhood. The COAS brought out that India has a good track record of military to military exchanges with friendly foreign countries. This has resulted in bolstering confidence amongst our military and other armies with regard to inter-operability of equipment and other resources. India’s large contribution to UN peace keeping operations over the past few decades has also contributed towards further improving military ties with a large number of countries. However, much more can still be done in the field of defence cooperation to further advance India’s national interests and foreign policy objectives.

The Hon’ble Raksha Mantri brought out that globalisation has affected defence as much as any other activity and there is a need to continually find avenues for exchanging points of view with colleagues overseas, as well as learning from successful innovations being implemented elsewhere. India has wide ranging interests in international defence and military cooperation. It has been used as an effective tool of foreign policy and is one of the main forms of engagement with many countries such as Bhutan, China, France, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom and USA. Military to military contacts are particularly vibrant and dynamic with countries like Bhutan, Nepal and USA.  Defence cooperation can play a key role in regional and global security and it must be further enhanced with countries in the region so that bilateral and multilateral ties can be improved even further.

Session II: Defence Cooperation – An Indian Perspective

The speakers highlighted areas of concern and also brought out the relevance of continued defence cooperation with Russia and on further enhancing the levels of defence cooperation with the US. The salient aspects and issues articulated/discussed during the session are in succeeding paras:

Overview

(a) There has been a paradigm shift in the Indian approach to defence cooperation since 2001 that has resulted in exponential increase in international defence cooperation both in range and levels of activity.

(b)  Defence cooperation in technology is gradually moving away from a buyer–seller relationship to joint development / production.

(c) The present defence cooperation engagement is, however, based on individual service / organisation’s perception and needs.

(d) Defence Wings from 51 countries are presently represented in India whereas our representation is only in 37 countries. Our own representation needs to be enhanced.

Indo-US Defence Cooperation

On June 28, 2005 India and the US agreed on a ‘New Framework for Indo-US Defence Relations’ which included the following:

(a) Conduct joint and combined exercises and exchanges.

(b) Collaborate in multinational operations when it is in the common interest of both countries.

(c) Strengthen the capabilities of both militaries to promote security and defeat terrorism.

(d) Expand interaction with other nations in ways that promote regional and global peace and stability.

(e) Enhance capabilities to combat proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

(f) Increase opportunity for technology transfer, collaboration, co-production and research and development.

(g) Expand collaboration relating to missile defence.

(h) Strengthen the abilities of both militaries to respond quickly to disaster situations, including in combined operations.

(j) Assist in building worldwide capacity to conduct successful peacekeeping operations.

(k) Conduct exchanges on defence strategy and transformation.

(l) Increase exchanges of intelligence.

(m) Continue strategic level discussions by senior leadership from the US Department of Defence and India’s Ministry of Defence.

Indo-Russian Defence Cooperation

(a) India and Russia have had close and friendly relations for nearly six decades.  About 70 per cent of India’s weapons and equipment are from Russia.

(b) Military-technical cooperation has been an important part of this relationship between India and Russia. However, the Indian defence industry has not benefited from this cooperation, as there was little by way of technology transfer.

(c) Some suggestions that were made to further extend Indo-Russian military technical cooperation are as follows: -

(i) Military-technical cooperation should be expanded to a broader level of defence cooperation including transfer of technology.

(ii) Facilitation for direct interaction between OEM and buyers (military services).

(iii) Involvement of Indian public and private sector industries in the development and production of military equipment and systems.

(iv) Development of doctrine, particularly to deal with common threats like terrorism.

(v) Consultations for formulation of policy options for the situation in Central and West Asia.

(vi) Cooperation in space and information technology as essential ingredients of security.

Session III : Road Map for the Future

The salient aspects and issues articulated/discussed during the session are briefly highlighted in succeeding paras.

Defence Cooperation with Neighbours including CARs

The following recommendations were made:

(a) Pakistan

(i) Defence cooperation with Pakistan still remains a distant dream.

(ii) India should continue engaging the Pakistani military as the military continues to be all powerful.

(iii) The two countries should continue to cooperate on disaster relief operations along the borders.
 
(b) China

(i) Engagements with China should continue and shall be further enhanced.

ii) China respects power and hence there should be no policy of appeasement.

iii) India should project both its ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power when dealing with China.

 (c) Bhutan

(i) India and Bhutan share excellent relations, especially at the military level.

ii) IMTRAT and Border Roads are great assets that India must continue to utilise to foster better ties with India.

(iii) Close relationship between India and Bhutan must continue.

(d) Nepal

(i) Military relations between India and Nepal were sustained even when there were strains in other fields.

(ii) The Indian Army training team in Nepal was wound up many years ago. This must be revived so that better military to military contacts can be achieved.

(iii) The tradition of conferring honorary generalship on respective Chiefs must also continue.

(e) Bangladesh

(i) Bangladesh is geographically encircled by India. There is a need for reassurance by India that India has no designs of invading that country.

(ii) Military to military relations are normal and routine. There is a need to enhance this as a confidence building measure.

 (f) Myanmar

(i) Military to military relations between India and Myanmar are good. Besides training, there is co-operation in border operations against insurgents and road construction by Border Roads Organisation.

(ii) There is a need to expand training assistance and offer weapons and equipment to offset or reduce the influence of China on Myanmar.

(g) Sri Lanka

(i) Military to military relations continue to be strong.

(ii) There is need to restore Sri Lanka’s confidence in India so that closer ties can be fostered and to wean away Sri Lanka from Diversifying its arms purchases to countries like Pakistan and Chine.

(h) Iran

(i) India and Iran have insufficient military to military relations presently.

(ii) India needs to increase defence co-operation to counter the influence of China.

 (i) Afghanistan

(i) Uncertainties continue in Afghanistan. The writ of the government prevails only in a few areas.

(ii) The best military help that can be given is to train, arm and equip a portion of the Afghan Army.

(j) Central Asian Republics (CARs)

(i) Expand foothold in Ayani airbase in Tajikistan with a permanent presence, including of a joint rapid reaction force, trained for peace-keeping and related roles.

(ii) Setting up of a multi-discipline academically-oriented facility at Tashkent in Uzbekistan, on the lines of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies at Honolulu in Hawaii was recommended.

(k) South East Asia

(i) South East Asian countries are wary of increasing military capability of China. India can provide a viable alternative to counter-balance China.

(ii) Military to military relations are at a high level. There is a need for these relations to be sustained, especially in the maritime environment.

 
Defence Cooperation in the Maritime Neighbourhood

(a) The primary area of Indian maritime interest ranges from the Persian Gulf in the North, to Antarctica in the South, and, from the Cape of Good Hope and the East coast of Africa in the West to the Strait of Malacca and the landmasses of Malaysia and Indonesia in the East.

(b) As the geographic competition-space between India and China coincides in the Indian Ocean, wisdom and forbearance are going to be needed in generous measure so that competition does not transform into conflict.

(c) There is a need to enhance the following:

(i) Generation of interoperability amongst navies of the region.

(ii) Enhancement of ‘maritime domain awareness’ through a variety of information-sharing mechanisms.

Deductions and Recommendations

(a) Defence diplomacy is a potent instrument for promoting national interests.

(b) In recent years, Indian military has shed its hesitant approach, but endeavours are still essentially in the fields of training and visits.

(c) Co-opting the military leadership in strategic dialogues and consultative  processes is essential.

(d) Defence diplomacy, as a strategic tool for engagement should be conducted both at bilateral and multi-lateral levels.

(e) As India grows in stature, it will need to utilise defence diplomacy to the fullest extent to enhance its national interests.

(f) There is a need for appropriate structures and organisations to use this important strategic tool.

Conclusion

The general consensus at the end of the seminar was that the overall vision and aim of India’s defence cooperation needs to be clearly defined. So far defence cooperation has only been restricted to platoon or company level interaction. It also emerged that there was little follow up on reports that were submitted consequent to visits by Indian military delegations abroad. There is a need to evolve systems and mechanisms for joint consultations with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Chiefs of Staffs of the armed forces while formulating a comprehensive national strategy with regard to defence cooperation.