Raju addreses seminar on Indian way of fighting war

New Delhi, June 19 (UNI) Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju today said if India was to emerge a maritime and continental power, its strategic frontiers should extend beyond conventionally understood borders.

Delivering a keynote address at a seminar on 'Indian Way of War-fighting' here, the minister said in the present age, economic clout, modern technology and efficient socio-political systems in the country would lay the foundation of military power.

Favouring the adoption of Kautilayan concepts, he said the country needed to be able to deter, persuade and coerce the adversary from waging a war so that its national resources could be directed towards national progress. ''This deterrence has to be based on certainty of retaliation to be used when the situation emerges beyond the passive threat.'' Noting that the 21st century belonged to Asia and the shift from Euro-Atlantic 'West' to Asia centred 'East' was apparent, he said India was ordained to play a major role in world affairs.

The armed forces, he said, should be prepared for full spectrum of security challenges spanning sub-conventional, asymmetric, fourth generation warfare, both conventional and using weapons of mass destruction. ''This is an ongoing process and must be reviewed constantly to retain the edge over the adversary. We must have the capability to induct higher technology before the adversary has obtained critical mass in countering the present systems,'' Mr Raju added.

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