Highlighting the importance of air power, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the Balakot air strikes had sent out the clear message that infrastructure across the border could not be used as safe havens for terrorists.
Addressing a seminar here on ‘Air Power in No War, No Peace Scenario,’ he also hailed the 40 Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) martyrs of the Pulwama terror attack and saluted the soldiers who carried out the Balakot air strikes.
Air Chief Marshal RK S Bhadauria said in the seminar the use of air force in the sub-conventional domain was considered a “taboo” in the past and Balakot air strike is a “paradigm shift.”
Hailing the Government’s decision to carry out the Balakot strikes, Bhadauria said it was a “tough and bold decision to strike at the heart of terrorist training camps deep inside Pakistan across the Line of Control”.
Stressing the need for operational readiness, the defence minister said it is important to maintain credible deterrence at land, air and sea at all times.
Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Bipin Rawat said the clear message from the Balakot strikes was that the kind of “proxy war” perpetrated on India “will not be tolerated”.
On February 26 last year, IAF jets targeted a Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) camp across the LOC in Balakot in retaliation to the killing of 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama on February 14 in a suicide attack.
Singh said the security scenario had changed in the last few years and incidents of cross border terrorism are examples of the new warfare that has forced the rewriting of doctrines across the border.
Kargil and incidents of cross border terrorism are examples of new kind of warfare. Hybrid warfare is the reality of present day.
There is no clear beginning and end in this changing scenario of conflict, he said. He said India’s adversary on the Western border will have to think 100 times before considering about any future “misadventure”.
The “out-of-the-box” response in the form of Balakot airstrikes following the Pulwama terror attack last year forced rewriting of many doctrines by the adversary across the LoC, Singh said without naming Pakistan.
Addressing the seminar, Bhadauria said, “This (Balakot) was a clear demonstration that there exists a space within the sub conventional conflict boundary wherein Air Force can be used for targeting and yet have escalation control.” Use of air power was discussed in the past but most suggestions in this regard were negative and it was decided better not to use, he stated.
Rawat highlighted the significance of “credible deterrence” in warfare and said it comes from keeping every personnel trained and motivated. He also said deterrence comes from the will of the military leadership and intent of political leadership while taking the tough decision.
