NEW DELHI, 23 Apr: The current geo-strategic landscape is characterised by a change that is taking place at an “unprecedented” scale and speed, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said on Tuesday while asserting that military strength and capabilities are necessary to prevent wars.
Recent geopolitical power-plays have displayed that where national interests are concerned, countries will “not hesitate” to go to war. These developments have reaffirmed the relevance of hard power, he said this during an event here.
The Army chief took part in the AIMA National Leadership Conclave and spoke on ‘Hard Power: Modernising forces through self-reliance’.
He said that the overall rise of a nation can be said to occur when there is a significant and continuous increase in its “comprehensive national power.”
While “economic power” is the fountainhead of the growth of the nation, it is the “military strength” that lends it the ability to “affect the outcomes,” necessary to protect and further its multifarious interests, in expanding strategic horizons, the Army chief said.
The current geo-strategic landscape is characterised by change, taking place at unprecedented scale and speed. Recent geopolitical power-plays have displayed that where national interests are concerned, countries will not hesitate to go to war. These developments have reaffirmed the relevance of hard power, Gen Pande added.
Military strength and capabilities are necessary to prevent war or to present a “credible deterrence,” as well as to enable a robust response to threats and winning wars, when required, across the “entire spectrum of conflict,” he said.
“‘Indigenise to Modernise’ shall remain our mantra for capability development. Army’s ex-imports defence contracts, which 20 years ago stood at 30 percent, are at near zero percent for the last two financial years.
“Presently, our inventory contains a mix of vintage, current and state-of-the-art equipment. We intend to scale up the ratio of vintage: current: state-of-the-art equipment substantially by 2030 with a focused self-reliance capability development roadmap,” he added. (PTI)
