How do you define Maritime security?
This is a term which connotes different things to different navies. While some perceive maritime security in a narrow sense as measures for force-protection and defence against sabotage, others include actions to combat terrorism and illegal activities like piracy and trafficking; still others expand it to embrace the protection of territorial waters and sea lanes. Adopting an inclusive approach, we in India define maritime security as comprising a collection of all issues that pertain to the seas and have a bearing on national security. These include, inter-alia, seaborne trade and infrastructure for its pursuit, management of sea resources, environmental issues and employment of naval forces.
What is your take on indigenisation and the role of the department of naval design?
It is a quirk of fate that India has become a significant military and economic entity with great-power aspirations before it has become a significant industrial power. Thus India finds itself in an anomalous situation wherein it possess nuclear weapons and boasts of the world’s fifth or sixth largest armed forces, but is forced to support their operational requirements through massive imports. There is inadequate realization of two facts; one, that every piece of hardware that the Indian armed forces acquire from abroad places them at the mercy of the seller nation for the lifetime of the equipment; and two, that if our peacetime arsenals remain half-empty –whatever the reason – how will we ever fight a war? India is fortunate in having a vast defence technology and industrial base (DTIB) which could be the envy of developed nations. This base comprises thousands of talented scientists working in a network of sophisticated DRDO laboratories backed by advanced production facilities of the ordinance factories and defence production units. And yet, India’s DTIB has rendered our armed forces hollow, by failing to deliver, for six decades, capabilities they direly need. A willing and capable private sector has been kept out of defence production while many PSUs have hoodwinked the nation with spurious claims of ‘transfer of technology’ and ‘indigenisation’. Consequently, the navy’s operational readiness remains hostage, on one hand to the inefficient and complacent public sector, and on the other, to unreliable foreign suppliers.
How much has Indian Navy grown in last few years?
The dramatic growth of India’s economy has been stimulated by the powerful phenomenon of globalization, leading to not just large foreign direct investment in India, but also heavy Indian investment abroad. Thus, along with an Indian diaspora of over 20 million, we also have growing economic interests world-wide. India’s economy as well as progress and prosperity depend on international trade, which is carried overwhelmingly by sea, as is energy, the lifeblood of our industry. These factors, coupled with the prospects of harvesting oceanic resources and India’s growing international profile, have helped awaken an overdue realization of our dependence on the seas. As for international commitments we still have limitations.
What according to you is going to be India’s main strategic challenge?
India’s main strategic challenge comes from its prosperous northern neighbour, China. Without entering into a detailed discussion about respective capabilities and intentions, it can be said that China and India, are going to make uneasy neighbours. For the two nuclear-armed nations to rise, almost simultaneously, without conflict will require either adroit diplomacy or a miracle; possibly both. The all weather Sino-Pakistan alliance, with its strong anti-Indian slant, further complicates our security problems.
