The hybrid nature of conflicts with the increasing use of drones and cyber warfare has brought a paradigm shift to the battlefield which has spurred the Indian military into developing into a “future force”, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.
Addressing the officers and staff of Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday, Mr. Naidu said that “India is facing multiple security challenges in a highly complex and unpredictable geopolitical environment.”
“Observing that India’s approach has always been one of peaceful coexistence and never an expansionist one, the Vice-President expressed confidence that any attempt to challenge India’s sovereignty by inimical forces would be dealt with strongly by our security forces,” a press statement said.
“India has never invaded other countries and we have always has always maintained peaceful coexistence with other nations. We believe in the value of Vasudeva Kutumbakam,” Mr. Naidu said.
He said that geostrategic and geopolitical compulsions, terrorism and climate change have added to the complexity of the security matrix and called for a deeper understanding of such issues.
Emphasising the need for self-reliance in defence and aerospace technology, the Vice-President appreciated the government for taking several initiatives towards this goal. “As we step into the future, you will have to graduate from single-service competencies to multi-domain challenges which require a thorough understanding of joint and multi-domain operations,” he told the officers.
The Vice-President commended the members of the armed forces in dealing with the situation on the borders as well as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. “I feel elated when I interact with members of the armed forces. I always find their high morale and dedication to duty extremely inspiring,” he said.
Stressing the need to make people more aware of the dedication and sacrifices of soldiers, Mr. Naidu called for creating monuments to such heroes in educational institutions, the press release said.
Mr. Naidu expressed happiness over the government’s efforts towards empowering women in the uniformed services such as implementation of Permanent Commission for women officers and the opening of National Defence Academy and all Sainik schools to girls. “I am happy to see women officers being posted in the fighter stream of the Air Force, onboard naval ships, in the Corps of Military Police and also in Missions abroad,” he said.
Mr. Naidu is the first Vice-President to visit the DSSC in Wellington in 52 years, with the last being the late Gopal Swarup Pathak in 1970.
