Army Chief Gen MM Naravane on Thursday said India will face increasingly higher security challenges in tune with its rising stature and it must enhance indigenous defence capabilities to maintain strategic influence and freedom of action as external dependence for weapons creates vulnerabilities in times of crisis.
In an address at a seminar on Army-industry partnership, Gen Naravane talked about twin challenges of COVID-19 pandemic and the “belligerence” on the northern borders that his force faced in 2020, and said the government’s focus on self-reliance will boost the country’s overall strategic objectives.
He also said the unresolved borders and wars in the past with “our adversaries” challenge the myth of ‘no conventional war’, adding proxy war, ‘Left wing extremism’ and insurgencies are likely to keep the Army occupied.
“India is now a rising regional global power in Asia, more particularly in South Asia. As we rise in our stature and influence, we will face increasingly higher security challenges,” he said at the seminar organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).