deployment of the PLA Navy ships in the - Information Resource ...

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countries, perhaps, there is a need to examine surface
platforms which could be lightly armed with fairly long
legs to undertake missions of this nature without
having the requirement to carry out an enroute OTR
or tag along a replenishment ship.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Today the enemy is slowly and steadily resorting
to ‘asymmetric’ warfare as against a full fledged war.
Therefore, the ‘Armed Forces’ in general and the
Navies in particular will have to build capabilities and
hone skills to take on challenges from the lowest end
of conflict spectrum viz Low Intensity Maritime
Operations (LIMO) to the highest end of conflict such
as Nuclear warfare. Therefore, whilst there has been
an increase in the asymmetric threats, the threat of a
conventional warfare hasn’t diminished either, what
with each nation still jostling for ‘strategic space’ for its
independent growth and development. If anything,
influx of extra regional navies in the Indian Ocean has
been on the rise be it Op Enduring Freedom,
Afghanistan and GWOT, Energy security , anti piracy
ops off Somalia, etc. The Indian Navy of 2020 would
accordingly need to gear itself towards this direction.
Some recommended roles of the Indian Navy for the
coming decade is given in the succeeding
paragraphs.
Conventional Roles of IN – Strategic Level
Deterrence by Perception Management.
As Sun Tzu had said ‘the true art of war fighting lies in
winning wars without fighting and this can be
achieved by attacking the enemy’s mind’. India needs
to exploit all resources for proper and effective
‘perception management’ of our likely adversaries.
This could probably be possible by continuous
monitoring of the prevailing geo-strategic, geoeconomic
and geo-political environment. Based on
a detailed study, the prevailing geo-strategic
environment would need to be ‘shaped’ so as to
achieve credible deterrence.
Nuclear Deterrence. Nuclear Deterrence is
a sub-set of strategic deterrence, whose long term
goal is to ensure stability. Our ‘No First Use ‘(NFU) policy
amply illustrates India’s intentions of using the nuclear
deterrence only as a retaliatory measure of last resort.
The sea – based leg of the nuclear triad enables a
survivable second strike capability and is, therefore, a
critical enabler for the nuclear doctrine of NFU to attain
credibility. The nuclear armed missile submarine is the
preferred arsenal for small nuclear forces.
Co-operative Engagement. There is a need
to constructively engage the regional as well as extraregional
powers both at the national (diplomatic) level
as well as at the levels of the respective Navies. The
conduct of the IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium)
in 2008 as well as conduct of regular exercises with
the US, French, Japanese as well as other region
navies are perhaps roles which the Indian Navy would
have to continue for the next decade to achieve its
desired effect in the region as well as at the global level.
Conventional Roles of IN – Operational Level
Ship Borne Ballistic Missile Defence
(BMD) Capability. In Dec 2007, after some joint
tests, Japanese warship JS ‘Kongo’ (DDG 173)
successfully intercepted a Ballistic Missile. In 2010, the
JSDMF will achieve the operational capability: with four
‘Kongo’ class destroyers fitted with block 2004 AEGI
BMD 3.6, and SM-3 Block 1A missiles (nine interceptors
per ship). After 2012 two ‘Atago Class destroyers will
be declared BMD capable. This capability would
enable JSDMF ships to protect the entire Japanese
territory against Korean launched BMD threats. In the
Pacific area, South Korea and Australia too have vested
interests on BMD. Whilst South Korea is likely to fit SM-
6 FT-SBT on the new three KDX-3 destroyers, Australia
is likely to fit BMD capability on the future ‘Hobart’ Class
AEGIS air defence destroyers. The other countries
involved in the BMD fitment onboard their warships
include Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Spain, UK and US.
BMD and Anti-Satellite Capability. On 20
Feb 2008, USS ‘Lake Erie’ (CG 70) performed one of
the most exotic and unexpected missions a naval
vessel was ever entrusted with. In this mission ‘Lake
Erie’ successfully shot down an old US spy satellite
which due to some technical reason was spiraling out
of control and was likely to re-enter the earth’s
atmosphere. The satellite contained 500 Kg of
hydrazine, a highly toxic material, which could have
caused high level of death and destruction to human
lives. The satellite was engaged by a modified anti-
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