China is outmanoeuvring India on the battlefield; here's how

By Girish Linganna | First Published Mar 1, 2023, 11:36 PM IST

Former Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane recently observed that India's national security resources are being stretched thin as the country faces increasing threats from technologically advanced adversaries. At a seminar organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) in 2022, General Naravane noted that the 'trailers of future conflicts are perceptible' and that these conflicts are being played out daily on the information battlefield, in cyberspace, and along unsettled borders.

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Does India lack a comprehensive approach to addressing information warfare?

General Naravane's concerns are particularly acute given the technological and strategic advances made by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in recent years. The United States has identified the PLA as a "pacing challenge" due to its ability to keep pace with evolving technology, war conceptions, and defence ecosystems. General Naravane's warning underscores the urgent need for India to modernise its military and enhance its strategic capabilities in order to counter the threats of the 21st century effectively.

General Naravane raised the alarm over the Indian army's lack of understanding of current and impending wars. He argues that this is particularly concerning in light of the technological and artistic leadership displayed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in recent years. The PLA has been described as the "pacing challenge" by the United States in its 2022 National Defence Strategy due to their ability to keep up with evolving technology, war conceptions, and defence ecosystem.

General Naravane highlighted that the PLA poses a significant military threat to India and has acquired new territory since April 2020. He also notes that India's response to information warfare has been reactive rather than proactive and has not been fully integrated into the country's overall defence strategy. This lack of a comprehensive approach, he warns, could leave India vulnerable to disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks, which could have serious consequences for national security.

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The Indian Army currently only has three war domains: the army, the air force, and the navy. This is in contrast to the PLA of China, which has a wider range of capabilities and has been rapidly expanding its military capabilities in recent years.

The PLA has been investing in advanced technology and has developed a range of capabilities in areas such as intelligence collection, battle networks, and guided weapons systems. They have also been developing their capabilities in space, cyber, and electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) battle spaces, making them a formidable military force in these areas.

In addition to the PLA's traditional military branches, China has also created two specialised organisations: the PLA Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) and the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF). The PLASSF focuses on cyber, EMS, space, and "three warfare" (public opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare), while the PLARF focuses on nuclear and conventional land-based missiles.

Experts warn that the PLA is likely to use artificial intelligence (AI) in a variety of technologies for stand-alone wars, such as cyber war, cognitive electronic war, missiles war, drones war, and light war (directed energy weapons), and intelligent networks war, which have far-reaching operational implications. The PLA is also capable of high-altitude nuclear explosions, referred to as High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HAMP), which can destroy electronic devices and disrupt communication networks; this is an area where the Indian army is currently not capable.

Ignored Threat: How India's Military is Being Outmanoeuvred by the PLA

Experts have warned that the threat posed by the PLA to India is being ignored by the Indian Army. The PLA has been rapidly expanding its military capabilities in recent years and is now capable of shutting down India's communications at all stages of the conflict, incapacitating various headquarters and units, and causing anarchy in the chain of command.

Currently, the PLA is capable of shutting down the Indian military's communications at all stages of the conflict, incapacitating various headquarters and units, and causing anarchy in the chain of command. India's military currently has minimal capabilities in the cyber, EMS, and space sectors, putting it at a significant disadvantage in a conflict with the PLA. Experts warn that without competitive capability in these fields, the conflict will be over quickly.

The PLA has access to advanced technologies such as nanotechnology, high computing, and skilled cyber-warriors, which would allow them to target critical infrastructure such as power stations, hospitals, telecom, railways, airports, and financial institutions in India, bringing the lives of citizens to a standstill. The PLA would also exercise total war control by controlling the cyber, electromagnetic, and space domains, denying India's ability to communicate and rendering its military blind within the first 72 hours of the conflict.

The PLA will exercise total war control during a conflict by controlling the cyber, electromagnetic, and space domains to deny the Indian military's ability to communicate by using its Rocket Force as the first line of attack over the whole fighting zone. The PLA will have complete control over the war's objectives, concepts, pace, tempo, intensity, and result after the Indian army and IAF are rendered blind within the first 72 hours. This entails taking the initiative, immobilising the opposition, controlling the escalation ladder, and creating conditions for the end of the battle on one's terms. Without warning, in the midst of a crisis, or during the war's preparations, the PLA conflict will break out.

The Indian military is still following the US 1986 air-land war concepts, which are focused on tactics in war, while the PLA is focusing on strategic and campaign-level warfare, bypassing the tactical level of war, which is the strength of the Indian army. The Indian army's outdated technologies and three-generation-old war concepts make it vulnerable to the PLA's advanced technologies, like murder bots, which could attack thousands of Indian soldiers manning the combat zone's forward edge and operational depth.

Experts warn that India needs to take urgent action to address this threat. They suggest creating a National Defence Fund through voluntary contributions and placing it under the National Security Council (NSC) for allocation to various ministries. The fund should also be utilised for any projects that will strengthen other national security preparations, particularly in the area of information warfare. The information domain requires an all-government approach, and the NSC and National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) should be the mentors in this regard.

India should create a National Defence Fund through voluntary contributions and place it under the National Security Council (NSC) and managed by the National Security Council Secretariat for allocation to ministries as advised by it. The Fund should also be utilised for any projects that will strengthen other national security preparations. Information warfare capabilities, in particular, must see the NSC and NIB as their mentors. The information domain requires an all-government approach. It has to be strategized at the highest level and executed at the level of various ministries. The lack of such efforts has left the information domain to be dealt with piecemeal, and worse; it seems to be bereft of guidance and oversight.

On a larger scale, it is important to win the information war, and that has become very important in the time of interconnectivity and social media. It is not enough to win the war on the ground; we have to win a perception war also, and for that whole new ball game has to be done at a much higher level and at the national level.

The author is a defence and aerospace analyst

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