THE CONTEXT: China’s forceful advance, the near-complete breakdown in China-US relations, the threat and opportunities of emerging technologies, the import of cybersecurity, coupled with the fragmenting effects of a less-globalized world are plainly noticeable. In the wake of these changing geopolitics and emerging challenges amid Covid-19, Indian needs a proper security document to address these challenges. In this article, we will analyze what should be the approach in this regard and how India can effectively address these challenges with this document.
BACKGROUND OF THE ISSUE?
- The Indian National Security Council (NSC) has been in existence since 1999.
- Yet, the government has not put out an official document outlining a National Security Strategy for India.
- This is despite the fact that India faces numerous formidable challenges to its national security. The earlier attempts to set up the NSC, notably in 1990, proved short-lived.
- The governments make statements on national security, but there is no proper document in this regard.
WHY INDIA DOES NEED A NATIONAL SECURITY DOCUMENT?
NO POLITICAL CONSENSUS IN THE COUNTRY ON NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES: The government’s policies on these issues have fluctuated. For example;
- There is no consensus on how to treat challenges from Pakistan and China.
- There is little agreement on how to deal with Maoism.
- The views of political parties on Kashmir and insurgencies in the North East differ widely.
- In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, there was an acute debate on how India should have responded to the attacks. Even today, there is no clarity on how the government will deal with such terror attacks in the future.
Need proper coordination
- The government has not been able to address the crucial issue of coordination required to formulate and address the issues of national security. The NSC has been a useful invention, but it is anemic in terms of resources and it lacks powers to enforce anything.
- There is no common understanding among various segments of the government of what national security constitutes.
Changing geopolitics
- India needs a National Security Strategy urgently. The world is changing very fast.
- New security challenges have arisen. In the absence of a coherent strategy, the government’s responses will remain ad hoc and partial. This may prove costly.
There is an urgent need to build a broad political consensus on national security issues. An official National Security Strategy document, for the next 10 years, is urgently needed. This will help clarify confusion over national security matters and consolidate the government’s responses. More important, it will generate informed debate which may help build consensus.
SUGGESTED OUTLINE OF A NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY DOCUMENT
A National Security Strategy document should have, at the minimum, the following elements:
- a working definition of national security and national security objectives;
- an appreciation of the emerging security environment, taking into account the geopolitical changes in the world;
- an assessment of the national strengths and weaknesses of the country in dealing with the challenges;
- Identification of the military, economic, diplomatic resources needed to meet the challenges.
- Pay serious attention to coordination among different segments of the government.
WHAT, HOW THE NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY DOCUMENT SHOULD BE? AN ANALYSIS
A draft National Security Strategy document for the next 10 years may consist of:
Definition of national security and political security objectives:
- The document must define national security in broad terms, including military as well as non-military dimensions of security.
- It must clearly state the objectives of the National Security Strategy.
- These might be:
- protecting and defending the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country;
- protecting the core values of the nation as enshrined in the Indian Constitution;
- Ensuring the socio-economic development of the country must also be an objective of the National Security Strategy because human security is an important component of comprehensive national security.
- India’s goal should be to play a positive and effective role in global and regional affairs.
Appreciation of the geopolitical environment:
- The document should describe the geopolitical environment and how it has affected India.
- These include
- the transition in the international system to multipolarity;
- the rise of China and its intense drive for military modernization,
- the growing dysfunctionality of Pakistani state;
- the impending withdrawal of US and ISAF troops from Afghanistan;
- the developments in the Indian Ocean region;
- the growth of Africa and Latin America;
- The discovery of energy resources in the Arctic Ocean and the economic uncertainty in the US and Europe.
- In addition, there are non-territorial challenges too with which India will have to cope. These are no less important than the hard security challenges.
- These include the increasing threat of piracy in the high seas, maritime security, increasing militarization of space, threats from cyberspace, and intensification of competition for scarce resources like energy and strategic minerals.
- The implications of climate change for India’s security must be spelled out.
- The strategy document must identify the growing challenge of terrorism and asymmetric warfare for Indian security.
- A broad counter-terrorism strategy must be identified and implemented.
Challenges from the Neighbourhood:
- The document may pay special attention to the neighbourhood the neighbouring countries, the extended neighbourhood, and the Indian Ocean. Instability in these regions will cause instability in India.
- India must prepare itself to face the backlash if some states in the region fail.
- At the same time, India should be prepared to contribute towards stability through bilateral and regional cooperation.
Coping up with the challenges:
- Having defined the challenges in a clear and unambiguous manner, the strategy document may pay focussed attention to how India will cope with these challenges.
- For a realistic National Security Strategy, there must be an appreciation of the ends and means.
- The end objective is to secure India’s security, but the means to be adopted to do so must preserve the freedoms and rights of the individuals as enshrined in the Constitution. Thus, for example, a counter-terrorism strategy is needed, but it should have enough safeguards to protect individual rights and freedoms.
- India should seek a prominent role for itself in the international community without being hegemonistic or threatening. International cooperation; regional and sub-regional cooperation should be given high priority.
- Permanent membership of the UN Security Council should be aspired for.
Internal Security:
- The document will need to give urgent attention to internal security issues including left-wing extremism, Jammu and Kashmir, the North East, communalism, corruption, religious fundamentalism and extremism, regional and socio-economic inequalities.
- These issues will have to be dealt with within the democratic framework of the Indian Constitution. Adequate sensitivity to people’s aspirations will need to be paid.
- An effective counter-terrorism strategy encompassing intelligence reforms, police reforms, legal reforms, and involving clear rules of engagement with insurgents, militants, and terrorists should be adopted.
- A counter-insurgency strategy aimed at firmly dealing with insurgents while addressing the grievances of the alienated groups within the Indian Constitution should be put in place.
Border management:
- A neglected area should be given high priority.
- An effectively regulated border that discourages illegal movement, but facilitates people-to-people contacts is necessary.
- Modern border management practices should be adopted. The Visa regime and immigration policies should be overhauled.
- The link between internal security issues and external factors, e.g. Externally sponsored terrorism, fake Indian currency, drugs, etc., may be specified.
Resources and Capabilities:
- Making India secure will require building diverse capabilities – economic, diplomatic, military, human resources, governance reforms- and creating synergy between them.
- A strong economy and inclusive growth should form the basis of the National Security Strategy, maintaining strong economic growth will give India a huge strategic advantage as it will strengthen its hard and soft power and increase governments’ policy options.
- Without sustained and sustainable economic growth, the Indian National Security Strategy will come to naught.
- Our diplomatic resources will need to be expanded and strengthened. More diplomats, more training, and more synergy with resources outside the government will be needed.
- Diplomacy will need to include diverse interests. Public diplomacy will be an integral component of diplomacy.
Others:
- Technology: Technology will underpin many of our strengths. Thus, India will need to build capacities in research and development (R&D) in diverse fields to help socio-economic economic development, and self-reliance in strategic sectors including space, defense technologies, agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, clean and green technologies, etc.
- Military reforms: While military modernization is necessary, the need for military reform is even more acute. Civil-military relations should be carried out in a harmonious way. Command and control systems for strategic systems must be made robust.
- Cyber security: Information warfare and cyber security issues will need to be given due attention. Critical infrastructure potential should assume high priority. The government needs to come out with a comprehensive cyber security policy in this regard.
- Skill developments: The county should create high-quality analytical skills for understanding and interpreting the ongoing changes and their implications for India. Universities and think tanks should be strengthened.
- Governance reform: For effective implementation of the National Security Strategy, a wide range of governance reforms will be needed. Governance can be overhauled only through a thoroughgoing reform of the electoral system, the criminal justice system, etc.
INDIA CAN LEARN FROM UNITED KINGDOM
In March 2016 United Kingdom announced and published the Integrated Review (IR). Here are the major features of the document:
- It is intended ‘as a guide for action,’ providing ‘hand-rails for future policymaking.’
- It rightly outlines ‘China as a systemic competitor’.
- It clearly recognizes that the global economy is steadily shifting to the Indo-Pacific.
- Britain seeks to ‘transform’ its relations with India in the next decade.
- It clearly emphasizes the urgent need to prepare for a ‘post-COVID international order that will be increasingly contested… reducing global cooperation’.
- The document is backed by a detailed budget with allocations for clean energy and digital technologies and defense to counter-terrorism.
WAY FORWARD
- India’s challenges, much like any other country, are multi-layered. Renewing relations with China and managing an equitable trade partnership requires jet-setting economic reforms within India.
- The National Security Strategy document needs to be succinct yet it should flag all major issues concerning a security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to pre-frame suitable action plans.
- Since the global and regional situation is dynamic, the National Security Strategy document should be revised periodically.
CONCLUSION:
It is important to underline that a National Security Strategy document should be realistic and balanced. While recognizing the challenges, it should also underline the opportunities. In, a successful national security strategy can give a fillip to our national consciousness, economy, and socio-economic development, thus creating a calmer environment conducive for national development.
