The US highlights India’s military modernization to counter Chinese aggression; India says long-term strategic goals are driving it
19-04-2024
The top intelligence official from the United States (US) Department of Defense last week told the US Congress that in 2023, India had taken several steps to modernize its military to compete effectively with China. While addressing the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on intelligence and special operations, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse talked about India’s significant presence on the world stage, particularly evident during its hosting of the Group of 20 (G-20) economic summit, and its demonstration of more resilience in confronting Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific region. A 15 April article in the Indian publication The Print, meanwhile, elaborated on the China-specific upgradations that the Indian Air Force had quietly carried out over the past four years. On border infrastructure development, though, Lieutenant General Raghu Srinivasan, the chief of India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO), in a lucid interview on 16 April underscored that India was not competing with China to develop its forward infrastructure along the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC), but was driven solely by its long-term strategic goals, the Indian military’s requirements, and the economic aspirations of the people living in the country’s farthest frontiers.
The Director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Kruse, in his address during the Congressional hearing that was focused on defense intelligence efforts against China, spoke highly of India and said that the country stood tall in 2023, showcasing its global prowess by boldly confronting Chinese activities in the Indo-Pacific region. The nation also embarked on a path of military modernization and reduced its reliance on Russian equipment, efforts that drew special praise. He drew attention to India’s significant presence on the world stage, particularly evident during its hosting of the G-20 economic summit.
Lt. Gen. Kruse told the lawmakers that “During the past year, India has showcased itself as a global leader by hosting the Group of 20 economic summit and demonstrated a greater willingness to counter PRC (People’s Republic of China) activity throughout the Indo-Pacific region”. He continued, “In 2023, India took steps to modernise its military to compete with China and reduce its dependency on Russian-origin equipment. India conducted sea trials for its first domestically produced aircraft carrier and also has negotiated with several Western countries on the transfer of key defense technologies”. He added, “India as global leader has not only modernized its military capabilities but has also fostered stronger partnerships with Indo-Pacific nations including the Philippines, the US, Australia, France, and Japan”. Postulating on what lay ahead for India, Lt. Gen. Kruse predicted that “In 2024, New Delhi probably will focus on securing its national parliamentary elections, maintaining economic growth, and building on its ‘Make in India’ initiative as part of its military modernization effort – which is aimed at countering Beijing”.
Bilateral relations between India and China remain tense following the 2020 Galwan clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least five PLA soldiers. In October 2023, senior Indian and PLA officers failed to resolve disputes about the two remaining standoff locations in eastern Ladakh during their twentieth round of talks. Both sides maintain approximately 50,000-60,000 troops in the area and continue to improve their military infrastructure near the border, Kruse told the lawmakers.
The Defense Intelligence chief also commented on India’s nuanced position on the Russia-Ukraine war. He assessed that “India has maintained its neutral stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia remains India's most substantial defence partner and New Delhi continues to acquire weapons from Moscow, such as the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite New Delhi's desire to diversify its defence acquisition partnerships”.
Kruse also spoke on Pakistan, and its relations with India. He told the lawmakers that Pakistan has sought international support, including from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to resolve its dispute with India over Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Separately, Islamabad and New Delhi have maintained an uneasy ceasefire along the shared Line of Control (LoC) since February 2021. Further, Pakistan's contentious relationship with India continues to drive its defense policy, Kruse said, adding, “Islamabad is modernizing its nuclear arsenal and improving the security of its nuclear materials and nuclear C2. In October, Pakistan successfully tested its Ababeel medium-range ballistic missile”. Kruse noted that “Pakistan has sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts despite its economic turmoil”.
Meanwhile, in an article titled ‘Hardened shelters, radars, defence systems & more — IAF quietly upgrades bases focused on China’, Snehesh Alex Philip wrote in The Print on 15 April that the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the last four years has been slowly, away from the spotlight, upgrading its infrastructure facilities in at least 20 air bases focused on China-centric operations. These upgrades included not just construction of new underground munition centres, hardened aircraft shelters and taxiways, but also upgradation of navigational aids and setting up of new radars and base defence systems.
Quoting sources in the Indian defence and security establishment, Philip wrote that there has been an increase in infrastructure projects initiated with a focus on China. He quoted them as saying that “These infrastructure projects were always on cards, and work was initiated on some of these airfields prior to the stand-off with China. But yes, the work has been sped up and more initiated”. The sources pointed out that the work involved not just repair of runways and creation of additional taxi ways to enable better tempo of operations, but also, after the stand-off, to cater to the increased need for storage of spare parts and munitions. The sources said, “Across air bases, the focus is to have hardened underground munition centres. It is not just the IAF that is making them, but also the Army, especially in the Eastern sector”.
Philips reminded that as reported by The Print in 2023, the IAF remains in “operational ready format” along the LAC, even four years after the Galwan clash. The “operational ready format” refers to fighter aircraft being deployed close to the LAC fully loaded so that they can be airborne in five to seven minutes in case of an operational need. In IAF terminology, an aircraft is said to be fully loaded when it is fueled and live munitions are on board.
Another defense source explained to Philip that one of the reasons for new infrastructure building was to cater for the operation of drones. He was quoted as saying that “The Army has created integrated aviation Brigades which have seen a larger concentration of drones and helicopters in specific areas. They are based at IAF bases, which also cater to IAF’s own set of drones. Naturally more infrastructure is being created to cater to the increased demand”.
A clear narration of India’s aims and objectives in enhancing border infrastructure along the LAC came from the head of the Indian agency entrusted with the onerous responsibility of constructing infrastructure in highly inhospitable and difficult terrains across the breadth of the high Himalayas. Lieutenant General Raghu Srinivasan, the chief of the indomitable Indian Border Roads Organisation (BRO), said in an interview on Tuesday that India’s drive to develop its forward infrastructure along the LAC was driven primarily by its long-term strategic goals. He stressed that “Drawing a comparison with China is an argument that doesn’t hold merit the way we look at things. Infrastructure development is not a head-to-head contest and India’s overarching plan for its border areas is based on a clear strategic vision”. The BRO chief added that India’s infrastructure push was meant to meet its own needs, and that the Chinese approach is irrelevant as the requirements of the two countries are different. He said, “As far as infrastructure development goes, it’s not the same as the scale of deployment of men and weaponry in that theatre. If he (China) has 100 battalions, do I also have 100, or if he has deployed 100 tanks, am I matching that number? That (question) is not for me as I must focus on building infrastructure that meets my needs. He will do what he has to do based on his needs”.
Lt. Gen. Srinivasan continued, “We are looking at what we need to do. There is a well thought out plan which is unfolding as per our strategic vision. Think of it as a carpet being unrolled. The infrastructure development you see is akin to the part of the carpet that has been unrolled. A lot more is happening, and the carpet will be fully unrolled in a systematic and methodical way as we work towards the long-term goals of seamless and all-weather connectivity to all forward areas, including the under-populated ones”. The BRO chief, however, highlighted the challenges to infrastructure development in India’s forward areas, including the difficult topography, harsh climate, and a limited peak working season (May to November), which hindered progress. He explained, “The Tibetan plateau across the LAC is different and hardly presents any infrastructure development challenges. On the contrary, the Himalayas are fragile and there are reasons for us to sometimes proceed slowly and have more reliance on protective structures”.
The BRO chief’s comments are significant as he has sought to decouple India’s forward infrastructure push from the Chinese thrust on developing its border areas at a time when the two countries are locked in a dragging military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both nations have ploughed billions into building infrastructure to strengthen their military capabilities since the LAC row erupted four years ago. China has constructed new airbases, missile sites, roads, bridges, reinforced bunkers, underground facilities to protect military assets from aerial strikes, accommodation for soldiers and ammunition depots.
After the standoff with China, India has built various roads, bridges, tunnels, airfields and helipads in its border areas for military mobility and logistics support for deployed forces, and for civilian use. Infrastructure development has also focused on providing better living experience and improved facilities to soldiers, and conservation of the modern weapons and equipment deployed in forward areas. BRO has completed 330 infrastructure projects, most of them difficult and expensive, in the past three years, and has significantly improved the strategic mobility of the Indian armed forces along the contested border.
Lt. Gen. Srinivasan has made some important observations, particularly drawing attention to India’s recognition of its predominant need to fulfill its own operational requirements in line with its overall operational plans without regard to what China’s plans for itself were, and this reflects a growing sense of confidence in India despite the stronger military posture that China has for decades maintained along the LAC.
