New CDS gets working on military theatre command: Its importance

New Delhi, Nov 22: General Anil Chauhan, India's second Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has started settling into his job and has built a consensus among the three service chiefs on the creation of a military theatre command.

A detailed discussion was held between the CDS and the three service chiefs, General Manoj Pandey, Admiral Hari Kumar and Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, a report in the Hindustan Times said.

The new CDS took the three chiefs to the NDA at Khadakwasla to remind them of their beginnings at the National Defence Academy and the need to synergise military operations in the future, the report also said. General Chauhan belongs to the 58th course of the NDA while the three chiefs passed out from the 61st group.

The new CDS does not want to impose the theatre commands on the three services. However he has given them three months time to streamline their perspectives over the issue as the theatre commands cannot be delayed any longer.

China has five theatre commands under the Central Military Commission headed by President Xi Jinping.

The importance of a military theatre command:

The Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have 17 commands together. The intention is to set up four new integrated commands. This would ensure better planning, military response and would bring down the cost of operations as well. The cost may go up initially as the theatres would have to be armed with ample systems. However in the future the costs would come down as all the acquisitions would be unified.

Since the 1962 war with China, there have been 13 five year defence plans. The major problem was that these plans would fall short due to the lack of prioritisation. Considering the given scenario, this is a crucial issue in the event of a two-front war on the northwest and northeast borders. Taking this scenario into account, there is a need for pinpointed military application.