Dissonance over theatrisation; forces to take call in national interest

A difference of opinion over the proposed theatre commands surfaced among the armed services at the inaugural tri-service RAN Samwad seminar, with Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan saying that the final decision will be taken keeping national interest in mind.

 

In his concluding remarks on the second and final day of the seminar at the Army War College in Madhya Pradesh, the CDS highlighted the progress achieved in strengthening jointness and coordination between the Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), and Indian Navy.

 

“As the CDS, I had set out to promote jointness among the three services,” he said.

 

While the need to foster jointness and integration was broadly agreed upon by the scores of serving officers, experts, and veterans attending the seminar, the government’s stated aim of reorganising the three forces by creating theatre commands prompted differing opinions.

 

Referring to this divergence in views, the CDS said that things had reached a stage where a highly conducive environment now exists for the forces to discuss their differences. “There could be a difference among the three services, yet we are able to listen to (differing) points. I think that this is very important.”

 

Describing this willingness to engage in open dialogue as a highly positive development, the CDS said: “If you have sensed some kind of a dissonance, let me assure you that we will resolve it in the best interest of the nation.”

 

Hours before the CDS’ closing remarks, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi batted for theatre commands. “We are committed to synergising our command, control, communications, and combat capability with the Indian Army and IAF. Full Stop. Period,” said the Navy Chief.

 

Highlighting that integration begins at the human level, Admiral Tripathi added, “Today, I have an Army Aide-de-Camp with me. And, my friend, the Air Chief, has a Naval Flag Lieutenant with him.”

 

Describing theatrisation as the “ultimate goal”, Admiral Tripathi said that the Navy is propelling ahead with the goal of having unified planning, a common (battlespace) picture, and integrated operations. 

 

The Navy chief’s remarks came a day after Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, in a fireside chat, cautioned against hurriedly implementing theatrisation and introducing new organisational structures that could lead to disruption. Instead, he proposed establishing a joint planning and coordination centre in Delhi, comprising the three service chiefs and the CDS, to enhance tri-service synergy and oversee joint operations.

 

On the first day of the seminar, Air Chief Marshal Singh described how, during Operation Sindoor, the services moved away from working in silos and instead coordinated closely. He credited the CDS for playing a “very big role” in ensuring tri-service coordination.

 

“The CDS was orchestrating things with all of us together. Some minor issues that were found during execution are being sorted out. So, I feel that having joint planning and coordination at the apex level is what is required,” he said.

 

“If the directions are from there (joint planning and coordination centre), things will go out. We don’t really need another structure at the moment,” he added.

 

Agreeing that further deliberations were needed, he said, “We will not take a hasty decision on this. My approach and suggestion have been that let’s take a stepwise approach. Let’s not implement everything together in one go and shake up [things]. Let’s see how it benefits us.”

 

The IAF chief also underlined that the forces should not come under any pressure to implement theatre commands hurriedly.

 

Theatre commands were conceptualised to overhaul India’s existing defence deployment structure by integrating the Army, IAF, and Navy into one architecture. Each of the proposed theatre commands would look after the security challenges in a specified geographical territory under an operational commander. While the final contours of the theatrisation process are not known, it could involve the establishment of two integrated theatre commands to counter Pakistan and China, along with a third maritime theatre command.