Comments & Briefs

For a state long thought to be a role model to other North-eastern states, Meghalaya has seen a steady rise in insurgency in the last few years. The Garo National Liberation Army has clearly emerged as a potent threat to security in Meghalaya and parts of Assam.

China wants to regain the position it once enjoyed under the military government in Myanmar. However, its efforts at securing a direct access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar are unlikely to see an early fruition.

If PLA doesn’t change its ‘army-centric’ character and make way for professionals with domain expertise, the higher defence organisation will continue to be weak and the reform only in name.

Gilgit Baltistan’s absorption may signal a paradigmatic shift in Pakistan’s Kashmir strategy. However, Pakistan would have to reset the contours of its position on Kashmir including an implied acceptance of the status quo.

The two heads of expenditure which have witnessed significant growth in the defence budget 2016-17 are the salary component of the armed forces and the defence pensions.

It is time India devised appropriate tactics to meet the current threat. It is imperative that the armed forces prepare for ‘the most likely scenario’ rather than ‘the worst case scenario’. But to be fair, this can only be done when there exists a clear national military policy/strategy.

The defence budget for the next fiscal has been completely restructured, making it difficult to make like-to-like comparisons. The growth in the defence budget is bound to disappoint the strategic community, notwithstanding the economic factors that may be responsible for it

For Indian observers, it is useful to extrapolate known Chinese position in the Indian Ocean Region and assess Beijing’s likely strategic behaviour. Indian policymakers might well recognise the fact that once China finds itself in a position of maritime advantage, diplomatic engagement has limited utility as a bargaining tactic.

The underutilisation of allocated funds suggest that the meagre funds available in the modernisation budget after catering for committed liabilities have not been fully utilised. Thus, a thorough introspection for better expenditure management is needed.

While taking stock of the acquisition proposals and projects is critical for bringing in efficiency in defence procurements, the focus on statistics dissembles some important issues.