Escalatory game does not always lead to war, says Army Chief Naravane

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army is refining its plans and capabilities for a “dynamic response” below the threshold of an “allout war” along the frontiers with China and Pakistan, Army chief General MM Naravane said on Wednesday. He said the army is developing kinetic (firepower) and non-kinetic (such as cybersecurity) responses to address the threats.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Changing characteristics of land warfare and its impact on the military’ in Delhi, Naravane said the army is “embracing low-hanging technologies and inducting them with speed into our units and formations”. “The military leveraging of emerging and disruptive domains is also receiving our concerted attention. Capacities in space, cyber and EW (electronic warfare), similarly, are being given a boost.” He said the Chinese dominance in the South China Sea showed that small incremental steps, which were not serious enough to warrant any action or reaction. Talking about the air strikes in Balakot in Pakistan, Naravane said they proved wrong a long-held belief. “For years we were told that if and when air (force) crosses the IB (international border), it would escalate to full-fledged war. Balakot demonstrated that if you play the escalatory game with skill, military ascendancy can be established in short cycles of conflict that do not necessarily lead to war,” he said.