New Delhi: Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Friday said the theaterisation of the Indian military was on the anvil and would be the most ambitious change in the armed forces “with far reaching implications attempted post-Independence”.
Speaking at a conference by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Delhi, General Chauhan also underlined that the national security strategy must evolve in line with changes in the geo-political order.
Speaking on the next military reform, he said, “It is one of the most ambitious changes with far reaching implications attempted post-Independence. The start of this journey depends on the right steps taken towards joint-ness and integration”.
He explained that theaterisation involved the creation of tri-service theatre-specific structures for effective response along the entire spectrum of conflict.
Theaterisation is a concept that seeks to integrate the capabilities of the three services — army, air force and navy — and utilise their resources for wars and operations.
The general’s comments came a day after ThePrint reported that the Indian military would go in for three geography-based integrated theatre commands to take on Pakistan and China, with the first to come up opposite western borders.
As per the plan, Jaipur, home to the Army’s South Western Command (SWC), will be the headquarters for the theatre command that will look after Pakistan. The other theatre command to take care of the borders with China will come up in Lucknow, which currently is the headquarters of the Central Command.
The maritime theatre command to look after India’s maritime and coastal interests will come up in Karnataka’s Karwar, which is close to Goa.
While the maritime command will be headed by a Naval officer, they said, the other two will see rotational appointments from the Army and the Air Force.
Talking about the military reforms, General Chauhan said that international geo-politics was in a flux and the national strategy should aim to absorb the changes in such a way that it meets challenges and exploits opportunities.
He further stressed on the need to “perform, reform, transform, inform and conform to meet the emerging challenges”.
The CDS, as secretary of Department of Military Affairs, had been tasked with the “facilitation of restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about joint-ness in operations including through establishment of joint/theatre commands”.
India’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat had spearheaded it and wanted it to be launched by 2022. However, they were deep divisions within the armed forces over the basic structure of the theatre command.
ThePrint had earlier reported that the rollout of the military theatre commands could be delayed as all stakeholders, including the three services, were not on the same page.
Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari had said that the force was not opposed to the tri-services theaterisation plan but asserted the doctrinal aspects of the force should not be compromised by the proposed structures.
At that time, General Rawat’s plan was to create five different theatres.
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