India facing "substantial & multi-domain" security challenges-Army Chief

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane has said that India is facing "unique, substantial and multi-domain" security challenges. Addressing a seminar in New Delhi on Thursday, he said that India is witnessing trailers of future conflicts and its adversaries will continue with efforts to achieve their strategic aims. These are being enacted daily on the information battlefield, in the networks and in cyberspace. They are also being played along unsettled and active borders," he said. "It is for us now to visualise the battlefield contours of tomorrow based on these trailers. If you look around, you will realise the reality of today," he said.

Gen Naravane said that the disputed borders with nuclear-capable neighbours coupled with state-sponsored proxy war were stretching the security apparatus and the resources.He said the Army is focusing on "restructuring, rebalancing and reorienting" its forces and the process has already been initiated and that the force is committed to the theaterisation initiative to ensure tri-services integration.Gen Naravane said the developments in Afghanistan have again brought to focus the use of proxies and non-state actors to decisive effect. "These actors thrive on local conditions, innovatively exploit low-cost options to devastating impact and create conditions that limit the full use of sophisticated capabilities which are available to state," he said.The Army Chief said India's adversaries will continue to make efforts to achieve their goals against the country.

While highlighting the changing nature of conflicts, Gen Naravane, however, said that the ancient Indian wisdom on statecraft and application of force propounded many centuries ago remained "timeless and pertinent" even today. He said that the armed forces have initiated an exploratory project of examining the ancient Indian wisdom and knowledge for contemporary security challenges.Gen Naravane also said that the process of integration of three services through theaterisation is already moving ahead under a time-bound plan and the Indian Army is totally committed to this transformation. "We are further consolidating our operational experiences to these changes and this shall remain a work in progress," he added.