CLAWS Journal Winter 2020 is a “Special Issue” that holds significance in many ways. Contextually, it highlights the commemorative spirit of the 15 Years of Excellence of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, and conceptually it puts forward an understanding of China in the current dynamic vis-à-vis India, from a wide range of perspectives, especially from India, United States, Bangladesh, and Australia.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; v-vi
Centre For Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, India
Copyright (c) 2020 Center For Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi, India
The Ladakh Crisis and the Opportunity for US-India Relations—with a Catch
The recent India-China border crisis in Ladakh underscores the threat posed by Beijing to the United States (US) and Indian interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Accordingly, the spat presents opportunities to strengthen the US-India partnership. However, the crisis also risks exposing the partnership's limits. This paper argues that to fully capitalise on the opportunities that the crisis generates for US-India relations, Washington and New Delhi should make some definitional and operational calibrations to their relationship. Additionally, America should expand its geographic conception of “Indo Pacific” beyond sea-based theatres and into land-based spaces, including the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This wider purview would strengthen US-India relations and serve US interests more broadly by expanding the scope for cooperation with Indo-Pacific states within the ambit of America's Asia policy.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; 1-11
Psychological Warfare: Call Out Adversaries' Designs
In the emerging security environment, psychological warfare has become a significant and cost-effective non-lethal method to influence the target segment that is not controlled by any universally accepted laws, rules, usages, and customs. What adds to it are the radical changes in the geopolitical and geo-economic environment, information and communication technology (ICT), which is not only the predominant driver of change in future conflicts, but it is a potent weapon of today and tomorrow. The paper aims to briefly study the historical perspective and application of psychological warfare (psywar) at all levels, including International, national, and military levels. With a brief look at different terms in vogue and the overall aim, it would also briefly analyse the psywar being waged by Pakistan and China against India at different levels and what should be India's actions to ensure an effective psywar policy and strategy. Note: The latest data used in the paper is until 30 September 2020.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; 12-41
China's Military-Civil Fusion Strategy: Building a Strong Nation with a Strong Military
Since Xi Jinping came to power, new concepts and ideas have come to define China's polity. Of which, Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) is one of the significant concepts added to China's national strategy with the aim to integrate the civilian research and commercial sectors with the military and defence industrial base. The MCF is integral to Xi's vision of the "China Dream" of building a strong country with a strong military by enabling the Military to harness the country's rapid economic growth. Here, the quest lies in building capabilities in ‘dual-use' technology and infrastructure to enhance China's overall economic and military capability and secure China's position vis-à-vis the West. The challenge for China is to match the speed and scope of the rapid technological pace to create Fast or lose the ability to compete. In this context, the paper seeks to understand the civil-military integration in China, under its current form as ‘MCF'. The key elements examined are the objectives, goals, and policies of the MCFstrategy. It also explores the significance as well as the scepticism attached to China's MCF strategy.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; 42-62
Defence Diplomacy: A Powerful Tool of Statecraft
Defence diplomacy, also known as military diplomacy, is the non-violent use of military forces, adapting public diplomacy, through activities like officer exchanges, combined training programmes, cultural exchanges, and ship visits, etc., to further a country's diplomatic ties and promoting its International agenda. Despite having existed in various forms for hundreds of years, this custom and its usage as an instrument of statecraft have received surprising little attention as a discipline for scholarly studies. Defence diplomacy in the last few decades has developed as a significant tool in the global political platform for statesmen to create better ties between allies and stand as a formidable opponent. This paper clarifies what defence diplomacy is, and what it means for modern International relations. In doing so, the paper seeks to resolve the academic oversight by critically examining the concept of defence diplomacy itself. In particular, this paper plans to address the conceptual ambiguity of the term “defencediplomacy” since its very first use by the British government in 1990.&nbsp; Breaking down the various existing approaches to defence diplomacy, its tools, and execution in different case studies, this paper identifies the concept as a variant of soft power that is used to integrate the strategic thinking of another state. By linking defence diplomacy to the concept of soft power, this paper will not only cover the practices used by the states today but also illustrate the underlying strategic mechanism that makes defence diplomacy an effective and dynamic geopolitical tool in a global arena.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; 63-80
China's Rise as an Arms Exporter: Implications for India
The Chinese arms industry today is the world's second-largest producer of munitions. It has overtaken Russia in arms production, a country that was once a major supplier of arms to China. Currently, three of the world's top 10 arms companies are Chinese. China is also becoming a significant exporter of arms around the world. It has emerged as a supplier of weapon platforms to over 50 countries and is now the world's fifth-largest arms exporter. Its main customers are relatively poor countries in South and East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In each case, the sales are linked to lower costs, sometimes cheap loans, and political leveraging. Around 75 percent went to Asia, with Pakistan being the destination for over 50 percent of Chinese exports. Defence exports to others in Asia, like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Iran are also of concern to India. Close military ties with Pakistan pose a two-front war to India. In this context, the paper examines the trends in China's defence exports, with special attention to Asia. Furthermore, it analyses the implications it holds for India.
CLAWS Journal; Vol. 13 No. 2 (2020): Winter 2020; 81-96
China's Great Game in the Gulf: Implications for India
Chinese interaction with the Gulf started under Deng Xiaoping when its economy was opened and Beijing felt that it needs to interact with the outside world. China's relations with Persian Gulf countries can be divided into three phases: one, wherein it first interacted amicably with the countries in the region in 1978; two, furthering of relations due to Chinese thirst for energy security and economic investments through BRI; and three, China's extra-economic or strategic footprints in the Gulf. It is the last phase that will have some implications for India, thus is of much interest globally and in particular for New Delhi which has huge stakes in the region based on its own energy security, human security due to its 9.5-10 million strong diaspora and economic and trade investments. Therefore, the article argues that New Delhi should be watchful of Chinese intent with regard to the Gulf, though as of now it need not worry.
Disaster Management in the Context of India’s National Security: An Assessment
Disasters and environmental degradation are generally considered parts of a non-traditional threat to National Security. India by virtue of its geo-climatic and socio-economic conditions is one of the five most affected countries in the world in terms of the number of deaths and due to various natural disasters that make it vulnerable. However, India has also transitioned to a position of being an important ‘provider of assistance in International disasters.' Since India has a progressive and forward-looking&nbsp;development agenda of inclusive growth, which is getting impacted by disasters, disaster risk reduction has emerged as a high priority focus area in India's national policy framework. In this perspective, the paper examines the ‘vulnerability' aspect of India in the larger context of disaster management in India's national security.
COVID-19’s National Security and Defence Lessons : Key Takeaways for Australia and India
Since February 2020 hardly a day has gone by where a national security academic or policymaker has not used the word ‘unprecedented' to describe global affairs in the age of COVID-19. The pandemic has created tectonic shifts in the globe's economic, social, political, and International plates. With a vaccine yet to be found, there is increasing evidence that COVID-19's second-order impacts have assured one thing: further uncertainty in International affairs. The crisis after the crisis of COVID-19 is yet to take shape, but it is coming. To prepare for what could well be a decade or more of strategic uncertainty, countries like Australia and India need to consider COVID-19s national security lessons and how these might impact on assumptions regarding preparation for what comes next. This paper explores some of the COVID-19s initial national security lessons for Australia and India.
ISI in Pakistan's Domestic Politics: An Assessment
The article showcases a larger-than-life image of Pakistan's Intelligence agencies highlighting their role in the domestic politics of Pakistan, by understanding the Inter-Service Agencies (ISI), objectives, and machinations as well as their domestic political role play. This is primarily carried out by subverting the political system through various means, with the larger aim of ensuring an unchallenged Army rule. In the present times, meddling, muddling and messing in, the domestic affairs of the Pakistani Government fall in their charter of duties, under the rubric of maintenance of national security. Its extra-constitutional and extraordinary powers have undoubtedly made it the potent symbol of the ‘Deep State'.