Suresh Baldaniya asked :My question is on hybrid warfare. Does China posses the capability and will power to pose hybrid threat against India? If yes, then what kind of operational preparedness is needed to deal with that threat? If the answer is no, then do we still expect threats in terms of information and psychological warfare from China in the near future ?
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Replied by VIF :

  1. Warfare is, has it has ever been, a professional exercise of mind and spirit involving many strategic, operational and tactical innovations. It requires the political and military leadership to adopt appropriate mixes of many methods of warfare - regular conventional, irregular guerrilla, sub-conventional insurgent, overt and covert special operations, instigation of civil rebellion and psychological warfare – and as dictated by constantly changing situations, blend the mix to right proportions. Many times, these modes of warfare are bolstered by unarmed actions such as economic, institutional, diplomatic and political and sabotage and subversion. Then in the contemporary dispensation, there are the information, cyber and space warfare. The description, 'Hybrid Warfare', is therefore nothing but a new jargon adopted in line with the modern practice of re-emphasising the fundamental cognition of warfare.

  2. China, with a long military tradition, has in-built in its strategy, the substances of conduction Hybrid Warfare that includes expressions such as ‘informationalisation’, ‘special operations’, ‘Psy, Media and Legal Warfare’, ‘cyber war’ and ‘peace and stabilisation operations’. Accordingly, the PLA has organised itself with dedicated units, troops, armament, equipment, training etc.. PLA is also competent in instigating insurgency and mass rebellion within adversary’s territory and so weaken him from within. The only chink in PLA’s armour is its lack of experience in conduct of serious warfare, but then, wars are generally fought by the first timers in any case. The notable advantage China has that its military is inexorably integrated into political decision making and that there is no divergence permitted once a policy is made. Indeed, China has the capacity, and the will power, of waging hybrid warfare against India; promoting Pakistan and instigation of India’s neighbours are some of its nuances, media offensive during Doklam was another example.

  3. India too is quite capable of waging all forms of warfare – to a limited extent as compared to China, of course. We have a stoic psychology, are fairly competent in blunting cyber attacks, and if it comes to engagement in hybrid warfare, adequately structured to prevent an adversary from securing his purpose of aggression. However, these attributes neither deter, nor win wars – for that you need fearsome military power. Apart from excellent leaders and soldiers, the Indian military is woefully debilitated in terms of war wherewithal, economic and technological limitations being the reasons. We are also afflicted by democratic licenses wherein military preparations to fully secure India are undermined by our own!



Posted on July 25, 2018

Topics: Hybrid Warfare

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