Challenges in the sea

[Neo]

Challenges in the sea

EDITORIAL (January 08 2010): As India evolves a new military doctrine, its ambition 'to conquer the world' acquires a dangerously provocative dimension for Pakistan. Only a few weeks back the Indian army chief spoke of the possibility of imposing on Pakistan "a limited war, under a nuclear overhang".

And now it is talking of a two-front war, which is that the Indian armed forces are acquiring capabilities to engage both Pakistan and China simultaneously. To these statements there is an element of threat of an unprovoked aggression by India, in blatant defiance of Pakistan's consistent offers of dialogue for peaceful coexistence.

But enough is enough - that is the message President Zardari flashed to the Indians on Monday, leaving nobody in doubt about Pakistan's determination to pay back India in its own coin.

"Our desire for peace must not be construed as a sign of weakness and that our forces are ready to meet all challenges," he said while addressing the Midshipmen Commissioning and SSC Class passing-out parade at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi. He ruled out an arms race in the region but warned that the Pakistan Navy would remain "prepared to meet any threat to our sovereignty".

Those who thought that only the generals were reacting to the Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor's two-front war threat and that the Pakistani political leadership was conspicuously silent, do need to improve upon their perceptions.

President Zardari's remarks that it is our duty to fight against external and internal enemies "who disrupt our peace, progress and efforts to bring prosperity to the people" and that the "PPP would not disappoint the nation" put paid to those who charge him of going soft on India.

Among the thrust areas India's new military doctrine includes is the task assigned to the Indian navy to extend and hold its outreach to most of the Indian Ocean's littoral states. However, under a sharper focus would be its bid to enhance its "strategic reach and out-of-area capabilities" to protect Indian interests from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca.

But that is not as simple as it would appear to be on the planner's drawing board; most of the oil that the region produces is shipped through this body of water, making it the strategic goal of all interested parties to keep it tension free. That places Indian naval ambitions at variance with others, including those of China and Pakistan.

Like the rest of the states with interest in peace and tranquillity in this area, China is also concerned about the growing activities of pirates in this area. That is one more reason for the Indian strategic planners to speak of a two-front war. The viability of Pakistan's foreign trade largely depends on secure sea-lanes, a task being efficiently performed by the Pakistan Navy.

Given our naval force's unrelenting vigilance, it would remain an unrealizable dream for Indians to effectively blockade the Karachi harbour. But we cannot be unmindful of the massive weaponry India is inducting into its navy with a view to dominating the region. Only recently, it inducted a nuclear attack submarine into its sea arsenal and is now in the process of manufacturing aircraft carriers.

No doubt, Pakistan Navy too is replenishing its strength by successfully completing the Agosta submarine project and the induction of the F-222P frigate PNS Zulfikar, along with helicopters. But the challenge to our sea-lanes too has enhanced, particularly with the Gwadar port coming into operation. No doubt, arms and weapons cost much, but the need to keep the naval force fully equipped cannot be overlooked, whatever other exigencies may be.