PUNE: Warning that a war in the subcontinent would create tension and disturb peace in the entire Southeast Asia, Indian Army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor said that the Indian Army was in a state of full preparedness to face any situation. That is why, all the countries in the world are trying to defuse this alarming situation and making efforts to avoid a war in the region, he said.
Kapoor was speaking, as a chief guest, at the two-day Joint Amphibious Warfare symposium which concluded yesterday at the Armed Forces Medical College here. In the background of the prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan over the Mumbai terror attacks, Kapoor said that the Indian Army was fully alert and prepared to respond to any situation without delay.
Several defense analysts attending the symposium said that India had almost went to war with Pakistan in the aftermath of the deadly Mumbai terror attacks, and described Pakistan as a failed regime while reasoning that military confrontation was not the best option.
Retired Rear Adm. Raja Menon speaking on “Geo-strategic importance & current international involvement in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)” reasoned, “The loss of lives in the terror attacks is not as painful to enter into a conflict with non-integrated groups comprising mismanaged states.”
Referring to 1971 war with Pakistan, he said, “It would be the same scenario in the IOR in the years to come and India would be dragged into similar conflicts to protect its vital national, economic and strategic interest.” Retired Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal, director of Center for Land Air Warfare Studies (CLAWS), said that China’s policy is to confine India to the backwater of the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea, as it no more considers the IOR as Indian, and with this it could choke commerce through IOR, he said.
Speaking on “India’s response to security challenges in IOR,” he said, “With the encirclement strategy, commerce through the IOR could be easily choked by way of disruptions of trade routes through sea. Defense of far-flung island territories and delineation of maritime boundaries are some of the maritime challenges, he added.
