editor-in-chief

T h e c o u n t r y c o m e s f i r s t a l w a y s a n d e v e r y t i m e .

he Non Alignment 2.0 paper comes closer to a National Security Strategy (NSS) than any other document churned out by our national security establishment. That is why its contents merit such intensive scrutiny and analysis. A laudable exercise in theory, it falls badly short of being a viable Grand Strategy in practice. A National Security Strategy must outline Alternative End States and identify the desired or normative end state that will maximise our autonomy and ability to influence outcomes. From this analysis will emerge the, Ends, Ways, Means equation as also our Defence Strategy, our individual service perspective plans and strategies. Unfortunately, the very end state defined by the Non Alignment 2.0 Paper itself is seriously flawed. It speaks of a new Bipolar world order with China and the USA as the new super powers and India as a peripheral player which must safeguard itself by being abjectly neutral. An analysis of end states will show this G-2 situation to be our worst case scenario, for it will completely marginalise us and curtail our autonomy. On the other hand, a Multipolar world order, with India as one of the poles of power, will be a far more desirable end state that will maximise our autonomy and ability to influence outcomes by sensible alignments / re-alignments (not Non-alignment). It may be recalled that Multipolar world orders were in place before World War I and II. These were characterised by precisely such rapid alignments and re-alignments to maximise national interests in such fluid and dynamic situations. The very anchor premise of the Non Alignment 2.0 paper therefore is tragically flawed. As the paper concedes, China abuts India, has attacked us in the past, surrounded us strategically in the present and is our biggest security threat. How can India be Non-aligned with its principal security threat? International relations (IR) theory highlights the dire need for India today to balance the power of a rising and assertive China. This can only be done by forming strong, strategic partnerships with other countries that are threatened by the rise of China like the USA, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines, Australia and Indonesia. Depending on the fluid and fast changing situations, these alignments may change rapidly. This puts the focus on alignments and re-alignments not Non-alignment. The very title of the paper is thus flawed and out of step with the situation. The use of force. In regressing to the Non-alignment of the 1950s / 60s, this paper also inadvertently revives a lot of Nehruvian baggage about the role of the Use of Force as a means of establishing order in International relations. The Nehruvian state had crafted for itself a false National Narrative based on Exceptionalism. It stated (incorrectly) that India had obtained its freedom by Ahimsa and non-violence and as such was an exceptional state, based not on hard power but soft power. The historical truth is that the British left due to the spectre of the INA of Subhas Bose and the prospect of mutiny by 2.5 million Indian troops being demobilised after World War II. Nehru, unfortunately soon began to believe his own contrived narrative. He deliberately and pointedly neglected the creation of hard power capacities and barely tolerated the Indian Army as some sort of a colonial nuisance. In 1962 the Chinese taught us a most humiliating lesson on the use of force in international relations. They punctured Nehrus soft power balloon and he was reduced to pleading for Western military intervention. So much for Non-alignment. Nehrus successors learnt a very bitter lesson in Realism and Realpolitik. To their credit, they made up for lost time and expanded and modernised the Indian armed forces with generous Soviet subsidies. They then used military force very effectively against Pakistan in 1965 and even more in 1971 when they broke Pakistan in two. The greatest pity is this papers revival of Nehruvian pacifism by the backdoor. Its Military Member pontificates that Nuclear weapons have ruled out the use of Force in South Asia. Conflicts of the future will be reduced to nibbles and shallow bites. Thoughtfully, we are told that even if China and Pakistan attack us in strength, we should not dare use Proportionate Force in retaliation or we will get nuked to the high heavens. Non Alignment 2.0, thereafter becomes a policy prescription for appeasement and kowtowing to the China-Pakistan combine, so that our economy can flourish. In terms of sheer pusillanimity, this approach is hard to beat. A Multipolar world order suits us far better as a normative end state. To actualise this we need strong alignments with middle tier powers like Russia, France, Japan, Israel and Brazil. We need to strengthen our economy and create a defence industrial base in the private sector. Otherwise arms scandals like that of AgustaWestland will keep delaying our arms build-up and open serious windows of vulnerability. We need to align closely with Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia, states that are seriously threatened by Chinas assertive behaviour. Above all we need to become a strong state with a demonstrated resolve to use force to safeguard our vital interests. To start with we will have to outgrow the image of a ridiculously soft state and fight Jihadi and Maoist terror with the seriousness that it calls for. The recent visits of the Russian and French Presidents were largely ignored by the media. These countries have shared cutting edge military technology and advanced weapons systems with us and their support would be critical to the emergence of a Multipolar world order. That alone will maximise our autonomy not new fangled notions of a badly dated non-alignment.

Maj Gen (Dr) GD Bakshi SM, VSM (retd)

March 2013 Defence AND security alert

non alignment 2.0

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Vo l u m e 4 I s s u e 6 M a r c h 2 0 1 3
chairman shyam sunder publisher and ceo pawan agrawal founding editor manvendra singh editor-in-chief maj gen (dr) gd bakshi SM, VSM (retd) director shishir bhushan corporate consultant kj singh art consultant divya gupta central saint martins college of art & design, university of arts, london business development shaifali sachdeva corporate communications tejinder singh creative vivek anand pant representative (Jammu and Kashmir) salil sharma correspondent (Europe) dominika cosic production dilshad and dabeer webmaster sundar rawat photographer subhash circulation and distribution rahul gupta e-mail: (first name)@dsalert.org info: info@dsalert.org articles: articles@dsalert.org subscription: subscription@dsalert.org online edition: online@dsalert.org advertisement: advt@dsalert.org editorial and business office 4/19 asaf ali road new delhi-110002 (India) t: +91-011-23243999, 23287999, 9958382999 e: info@dsalert.org www.dsalert.org

irst two months of 2013 have been eventful for India and Indians, especially in the domain of defence and security. Two persons who grievously assaulted Indias security and the well-being of its people were hanged to death for the first time in the history of the Republic of India on charges of their involvement in the conspiracy and terrorist attacks which killed hundreds of our innocent citizens. One was Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist who was caught alive during the attack on Mumbai on 26 November, 2008 and the other was Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri, for his involvement in the conspiracy hatched in Pakistan to attack the Indian Parliament in December, 2001. It was not an easy task to hang these terrorists. One belonged to Pakistan which tried, very unsuccessfully, to deny his existence in the face of a mountain of evidence that Kasab was a puppet in the hands of state actors within the Pakistan Army Inter-Services Intelligence. The decision by His Excellency our President Mr Pranab Mukherjee on the death penalty was one of the most laudable in the past few decades. This one decision has boosted the morale of our defence and security forces as well as the common man who is always the main victim in such terrorist attacks. There has been a complete shift in the mindset of our people by this one decision. The trust level in the government on national security issues has been ramped up and the nation expects that many more such hard and pragmatic decisions by the government and its leaders will be forthcoming in the interest of our safety, security, defence and international affairs. The message must go out loud and clear that India is not a soft state; that it is just and fair and follows the rule of law and respects international conventions; that any individual, group or country playing with the safety and security of India and Indians will be made to pay in equal measure and more. In the other issue that is germane to national security, controversy over kickbacks in the purchase of the helicopters for VVIPs has once again brought another halt to the procurement process to equip our defence forces with the latest equipment, arms and ammunition. In spite of all the best measures being taken by the government to avoid such controversies, it has happened again. It militates against the empowering process of our forces directly or indirectly. For how long will we keep adding and deleting names of foreign and domestic entities on a blacklist for involvement in an activity which we have tried so strenuously, but ineffectually, to stamp out? It has become counter-productive and is hampering the modernisation programme of our defence and security forces. Defence Minister AK Antony has made a pertinent point that the only way to get out of this web of intrigue is to improve our capability of producing whatever military wherewithal the Indian defence and security forces require within the country. By way of encouragement government must provide subsidies and tax benefits to Indian manufacturers who venture into the technologically difficult arena of arms manufacturing. Joint ventures that are based on transfer of technology of the kind that has made the BrahMos missile project such a resounding success should be the norm rather than the exception. As we are wrapping-up this issue another terror strike rocks Hyderabad, killing innocent people. Our security apparatus and people of India must rise as one to smoke out the perpetrators of such heinous crimes against humanity and give them all the most deterrent punishment in the quickest possible time so that our energies and resources are put to better use of nation building. The one thing that is required is a strong political will to take clear, hard and quick decisions. Our next defence budget will be announced soon. It must have provisions to attract more and more Indian companies to form JVs with the best in the world to start the manufacturing of all products we require within India as the route to eventual self-suffiency.

Kudos Mr President!

here is a belief that things of the past can remain relevant in the future, even if they need to be retooled a wee bit. Institutions, organisations, alliances, all of these of the yesteryears continue to have a relevance with a bit of retouching. Something a little more than a rouge job. In this there is an underlying assumption that says the forces which made a particular association, organisation, are still relevant decades down the line. In the world of politics, particularly of the international variety, there is a dynamism that can age even the most contemporary institutions. So it raises serious questions when some theorise on a new non-alignment movement, a version 2.0.

An independent India entered the world of diplomacy and international relations under the shadow of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister. His persona, intellect and world view, completely dominated Indian politics, even if it was not of the claimed stature. Indian politicians, at that period, remained enthralled by his extrapolations and hence, his word carried undue weight. A number of institutions that were created in that period continue to exist, long after their expiry date. Even as the Indian economy has opened up, modernised and integrated globally, the country continues to have a Planning Commission. An idea borrowed from the concept of centralised and planned economies, the Planning Commission has long outlived its utility. Similar is the story of India and Non-Aligned Movement.

In the post-independence era of the 1950s and 1960s, large parts of the newly liberated world joined together to create the NAM. The logic being that a country need not be a member of either of the two competing blocs, Warsaw Pact or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Instead they would raise their own bloc and which would not be aligned to either.

disclaimer all rights reserved. reproduction and translation in any language in whole or in part by any means without permission from Defence and Security Alert is prohibited. opinions expressed are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher and / or editors. all disputes are subject to jurisdiction of delhi courts.
defence and security alert is printed, published and owned by pawan agrawal and printed at graphic world, 1686, kucha dakhini rai, darya ganj, new delhi-110002 and published at 4/19 asaf ali road, new delhi (india). editor: maj gen (dr) gd bakshi (retd).

Theoretically it meant that the NAM countries pursued an independent foreign and defence policy. But the reality was always different. And that was because the membership of NAM consisted of countries hardly akin in any sense of the word. Some were fledgling democracies, like India; while others were regional nationalist government, like Egypt and Arab nationalism; and then there were dictatorships, which meant most of the NAM members. Even in the peak period of NAM mobilisation member countries pursued policies that suited their interests rather than that of a disparate collective.

Which is really the current reality. With the demise of the Warsaw Pact, there is no cold war and NATO is currently engaged in out of area operations in Afghanistan. African Union troops are frequently called upon to engage in peacekeeping operations in the troubled continent, as well as United Nations peacekeepers. The lines between alignment and non-alignment are long blurred. But some think it is still relevant for India, with a little tweaking. The bottom line being that India should pursue its core national interests without aligning with any bloc, or country. The stark reality of today is that the pursuit of national interests is all encompassing. In a globalised and integrated world not every country can pursue its policies in isolation. An understanding is required, over many issues. Then more countries will begin to join and create a coalition of likeminded.

manvendra singh

Jai Hind!
March 2013 Defence AND security alert

pawan agrawal

March 2013 Defence AND security alert

contents

Non Alignment 2.0: Need To Debate Our Grand Strategic Choices

Global Terrorism, UN And Its Policies
A R T I C L E S non alignment 2.0 06 12 18 24

Special Issue March 2013

TM

An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Magazine

c o n t e n t s

Lt Gen HS Lidder PVSM, UYSM, YSM, VSM (retd)

Vo l u m e 4 I s s u e 6 M A R C H 2 0 1 3

non alignment 2.0, a critique

Vice Adm Vijay Shankar PVSM, AVSM, ADC (retd)

non alignment 2.0: India's grand strategy

Air Marshal Anil Chopra PVSM, AVSM, VM, VSM (retd)

Non Alignment 2.0

non-alignment or issue-based partnerships: a commentary on "non alignment 2.0"

Amb Ashok Sajjanhar

non alignment 2.0: the quest for grand strategic options

Maj Gen (Dr) GD Bakshi SM, VSM (retd)

28 32 36 40 42 46 50 54 58 F E A T U R E S Aero India 2013, DSA Report ShinMaywa Debut MBDA Exclusive Interview
Loic Piedevache, Country Head, India

wither India's non-alignment?

Dr Shrikant Paranjpe

defence outlay: too inadequate to meet security needs

Lt Gen OP Kaushik (retd)

20 39 62 64

the dangers of non-alignment

Dr Harsh V Pant

strategic options for India

Maj Gen PK Chakravorty VSM (retd)

NAM, non alignment 2.0 and Indian navy

Rear Admiral (Dr) S Kulshrestha (retd)

Purchase of Helicopters for VVIPs: a Procedural Appraisal

Maj Gen (Dr) Mrinal Suman AVSM, VSM (retd)

The AgustaWestland Helicopter Scam?

DSA Research Team

77

non alignment 2.0: an attempt to pacify China?

Sana Hashmi

global terrorism, UN and its policies

Dr Sanjeev Bhadauria

continuing threat of politico-terrorism from Pakistan to Indian security

Dr PM Kamath

DRDOs endeavours for CBRN challenges in homeland security

Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma

68

the al-Qaeda presence in Africa

Papadopoulos Ilias

74

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