With the fast changing nature of fighting war, the Joint Doctrine of Armed Forces was released on Tuesday stressing on the need for synergy amongst the three Services namely Army, IAF and Navy and honing strategy for inter-operability to achieve the political and military objectives in an effective manner.
The 86-page doctrine released by Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil lanba also urged the three Services to prepare for fighting the future conflicts in all the five spectrums including land, air, water, cyber and space by pooling resources and training together to operate in a seamless manner.
Moreover, the armed forces will have to remain operationally current, agile and efficient besides utilising scarce resources in an optimised manner to meet the challenge rapidly changing character of conflict, the doctrine said.
The Joint Doctrine will serve as a cornerstone document for application of Military Power in a synergised manner and also establish a broad framework of concepts and principles to understand approach to joint planning and conduct of operations across all the domains of conflict.
The present doctrine is the second in the series after the planners revised the first Joint Doctrine released in 2007. The new doctrine has included the lessons learnt over the past ten years and is aligned with the doctrines of individual Services.
Taking the strategic scenario into account, the doctrine said India will have to have deterrent capabilities to protect its interests on the line of Actual Control (lAC) facing China and line of Control (lOC) with Pakistan. The document noted that while conflicts the world over for gaining territorial control were diminishing, India, however, has to protect its territory as the lAC and lOC are disputed.
The doctrine also noted that proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir and volatile situation in Af-Pak region is another major challenge for India and future strategies will have to factor these ground realities to protect its interests.
Radicalisation of youth in some states through social media was another contemporary challenge facing national security, the document said adding management of digital environment is priority area.
The Navy chief in the foreword of the doctrine said it is reference for policy makers including bureaucrats and military besides private and public sector industries. Moreover, the document will form part of initial training curriculum of the Services, he noted.