In the nine months since taking over as the Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan has been methodically working towards building inter-Service consensus on integrating and establishing theatre commands. His efforts are bearing fruit, and my assessment is that the framework for theatre commands will be formalised and announced early next year. However, it is expected to take another four to five years for the theatre commands to be operationalised. Gen Chauhan’s predecessor, late General Bipin Rawat, also had laboured hard, but his proposals failed to garner consensus, particularly regarding employment of air power.
As has become customary, the details of the revised tri-Service integration proposals have found their way to the media through “reliable sources” or inspired leaks. In essence, the new proposal envisions three integrated theatre commands: Northern, Western, and Maritime/Peninsular, along with the Strategic Forces Command and other functional tri-Service organisations/agencies such as the Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency, and Special Forces Division. Integrated Logistics and Training Commands will also be established in due course. It is proposed that these integrated theatre commands will be led by four-star generals, equivalent to the rank of the CDS and the Service Chiefs. Additionally, several other measures, including inter-Service cross attachment of officers, command and control with respect to discipline of tri-Service organisations, and the implementation of common annual confidential reports for senior officers, have been initiated.
Integrated theatre commands
The proposed integrated theatre commands are designed to address specific threats. The Northern and Western Theatre Commands will primarily focus on the threats posed by China and Pakistan, while the Maritime/Peninsular Theatre Command will be responsible for seaborne threats and power projection in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Northern Command will also be responsible for border areas with Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. In the long term, as our Comprehensive National Power (CNP) takes a quantum jump and we develop expeditionary capabilities, the areas of responsibility are likely to expand in tune with national interests.
The elimination of the anti-doctrinal Air Defence Command has partially addressed the fears of the Indian Air Force (IAF) regarding the compartmentalisation of its limited resources. With only three integrated commands, it will be more manageable to allocate and reallocate resources as necessary, even in the worst-case scenario of a multi-front war with China and Pakistan. I would still prefer a Strategic Air Command to centrally control the strategic air campaign, counter air operations, and strategic interdiction operations while allocating essential air effort for counter-surface force campaign and maritime air operations. In due course, this command could evolve into a Strategic Air and Space Command. For a detailed understanding of the application of air power, read my article titled “There’s more to IAF than just being ‘supporting arm’.”
The proposal to maintain the existing Northern Command as a separate theatre command has been shelved for good. This proposal was a legacy issue and stemmed from our obsession with the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir and the potential Pakistan-China collusion. Under the revised proposal, the entire region of Ladakh will likely come under the Northern Theatre Command, or alternatively, it may be limited to Eastern Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir will be looked after by the Western Theatre Command.
Also read: Why Theatre Commands must be accompanied by a Uniform Military Code
Command and control
As per General Chauhan’s proposal, the rank of the theatre commanders, and probably that of the Strategic Forces Command, will be that of a four-star General, equal in rank to the CDS and the three Service Chiefs. This would necessitate a radical change in the previous command and control system, wherein the CDS has no operational role, and the Chiefs of Staff Committee, of which the CDS is the permanent Chairman, exercises control over the integrated theatre commands, while the Service Chiefs retained command and control over their respective Services in an ambiguous arrangement.
One wonders at the kind of command and control the Service Chiefs can exercise over their Service elements, which are part of the integrated theatre commands. In any integrated theatre command system, the Service Chiefs have no logical role except that of training, logistics, and personnel management. The government has to resolve this ambiguity. Either the Chiefs of Staff Committee or the CDS should exercise command and control. In either scenario, the operational planning directorates of three Services will have to merge and become part of the Integrated Defence Staff, which will become the principal organisation for all operational planning. It would also be prudent to place the Department of Military Affairs under the Vice CDS.
In the United States, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the equivalent of India’s CDS, has an advisory body that includes the Vice Chairman, Chief of Staff of the Army, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Chief of Space Operations, and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. The Chairman is the single point advisor on all defence matters, and senior, by appointment, to the Service Chiefs who are responsible only for training and administering their respective Services. He is responsible for all higher defence planning but does not exercise any command function. The theatre commanders function directly under the President/Secretary of Defence.
In a parliamentary system like India, this is an unsatisfactory arrangement and can lead to politicisation of the armed forces. In the United Kingdom, it is the CDS who exercises operational command over all forces. In my view, a single commander — the CDS — is more appropriate because in any collective committee, the need for consensus leads to compromises. Like the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, an expanded Chiefs of Staff Committee to include Vice CDS, Service Chiefs, heads of Strategic Forces Command, and other higher tri-Service organisations can function as an advisory body in India. There is also a need for Central Armed Police Forces, responsible for border management, to be placed under the CDS. Detailed planning must be done by the respective theatre commanders. With respect to the issue of ranks, either the government can appoint a five-star general as the CDS or clearly lay down the pecking order by appointment.
Also read: India’s defence sector is not Aatmanirbhar. Govt is exaggerating progress
Miles to go
Let there be no doubt that, so far, no major reforms have taken place towards the integration of the armed forces. What we may conceptualise by early next year will only be a framework for the process to begin. The Narendra Modi government has not owned the transformation process by formalising a National Security Strategy (NSS), issuing formal directions to the armed forces and supervising/coordinating the execution by setting up an empowered committee under the Defence Minister. In my view, it is unlikely to do so in the future either. The saving grace is that the intent of the government has been made clear in its cryptic directions. It is for the military hierarchy to seize the opportunity, get the framework approved, and begin the execution process.
Once the government approves the framework of tri-Service integration and theatre commands, the new system must be superimposed on the existing system for a transitory phase of four to five years. This period must also be utilised for formalising integrated staff and command/control procedures, and graduate through the four stages of cooperation, coordination, jointness, and integration. A realistic goal would be to complete the transition to integrated theatre commands by 2028-2029. The onus is on the military hierarchy.
Lt Gen H S Panag PVSM, AVSM (R) served in the Indian Army for 40 years. He was GOC in C Northern Command and Central Command. Post retirement, he was Member of Armed Forces Tribunal. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)