ASK AN EXPERT

The Ask an Expert feature is aimed at promoting awareness and discussion on contemporary security issues. Visitors are welcome to pose short and precise questions, which will be answered by experts. The answers will reflect the views of the experts and not necessarily that of the IDSA or of the Government of India.

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Akash Pratap asked: What is the role of Myanmar in India’s “Look East Policy”?

Reply: Refer to an earlier reply by Udai Bhanu Singh on a similar query, at http://idsa.in/askanexpert/importanceofMyanmarforIndia.

Also, refer to following publications by the IDSA faculty:

Myanmar’s Critical Role in Bolstering India’s Look East Policy

Arvind Gupta, February 2, 2012, at

http://idsa.in/idsacomments/MyanmarsCriticalRoleinBolsteringIndiasLookEastPolicy_agupta_020212

An Assessment of Manmohan Singh’s Visit to Myanmar

Udai Bhanu Singh, IDSA Issue Brief, June 1, 2012, at

http://idsa.in/issuebrief/AnAssessmentofManmohanSinghsVisittoMyanmar

The Significance of Connectivity in India-Myanmar Relations

Shristi Pukhrem, July 6, 2012, at

http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheSignificanceofConnectivityinIndiaMyanmarRelations_spukhrem_230512

Southeast Asia-India Defence Relations in the Changing Regional Security Landscape

Bilveer Singh, IDSA Monograph Series No. 4, 2011, at

http://idsa.in/monograph/SoutheastAsiaIndiaDefenceRelationsintheChangingRegionalSecurityLandscape

Naman asked: What should be India’s foreign policy approach towards recent turmoil in parts of South Asia? Should India support forces that are pro-India?

Reply: Refer to a recent reply on a similar issue, at http://idsa.in/askanexpert/%20Indiasforeignpolicyinthenext30years

Udhay asked: Do we need to support Baloch separatists against the Chinese presence in Gwadar?

Reply: Refer to an earlier reply by Ashok Kumar Behuria, at http://idsa.in/askanexpert/Balochnationalmovement

Gaurav lulia asked: Does Indian army have sniper school & survival school?

Vivek Chadha replies: India does have a sniper and survival school. However, these are known by different names. Infantry School Mhow, the premier institution for Infantry officers and soldiers, runs a number of training courses or programmes. Amongst these, they also run a sniper course which teaches the basics of the weapon and its employment in all battle situations. While we do not have a course specifically called as a survival course, however, two different schools run training on similar lines. The first is the Commando Wing. This runs a commando course which has an extremely rigorous schedule. It includes survival training, living off the land, long distance marches, escape and evasion, launching raids as some of the important aspects taught. The second course is run by the Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School, which teaches counter insurgency skills and jungle warfare. This also includes lessons on survival skills. In addition to this, infantry battalions also carry out training at their own level for specialist groups amongst their soldiers to imbibe similar qualities specifically suited to their respective operational role.

Neeraj Bhardwaj asked: What are the prospects of India’s entry into the Customs Union?

P. Stobdan replies: India is not a member of the CIS, so it can’t join the Customs Union (CU).

However, India and the CU (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) will hold talks for a free trade agreement (FTA plus) in June this year. The June meeting will decide on the preliminary spadework into all the aspects of an FTA plus or the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) that aims to cover trade in goods, service, investment and movement of labour. The terms of reference for the joint study group, composition of the joint study group and fixing the time frames for the submission of report by the joint study group too will be decided.

Syed Shubhani asked: What should be the guiding principles for India’s foreign policy in the next 30 years?

Reply: Refer to the following on IDSA website:

India’s Foreign Policy – Future Options
By Amb. Kanwal Sibal, Third Y B Chavan Memorial Lecture, November 30, 2012
http://idsa.in/keyspeeches/IndiasForeignPolicyFutureOptions

Opening remarks by Dr. Arvind Gupta, DG, IDSA at Workshop on Kautilya
October 18, 2012, Workshop on Kautilya, at
http://idsa.in/speech/KautilyaDGIDSA

Tasks before Indian Foreign Policy
By Dr. Arvind Gupta, May 9, 2012, at
http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TasksbeforeIndianForeignPolicy_ArvindGupta_090512

2012: The Changing Geopolitical Environment and Tasks before Indian foreign policy
By Dr. Arvind Gupta, January 3, 2012, at
http://idsa.in/idsacomments/2012TheChangingGeopoliticalEnvironmentandTasksbeforeIndianforeignpolicy_agupta_030112

India's Defence Cooperation with its Major Traditional & New Strategic Partners
By Amb. Ronen Sen, April 1, 2011, at
http://idsa.in/keyspeeches/AmbassadorRonenSen

Chaitanya Mungi asked: What are the steps taken by the government to tackle Naxalism or to end it?

Reply: Refer to the text of lecture by former Home Secretary, Mr. G.K. Pillai, on “Left-Wing Extremism in India” at IDSA on March 5, 2010, at http://idsa.in/event/EPLS/Left-WingExtremisminIndia

Also, refer to the following IDSA publications:

Measures to Deal with Left-Wing Extremism/Naxalism
By P. V. Ramana, IDSA Occasional Paper No. 20, 2011, at
http://idsa.in/occasionalpapers/MeasuresToDealWithLeftWingExtremismNaxalism

Strategy and Tactics in Countering Left Wing Extremists in India
By Giridhari Nayak, Strategic Analysis, 34 (4), July 2010, at
http://idsa.in/strategicanalysis/34_4/StrategyandTacticsinCounteringLeftWingExtremistsinIndia_gnayak

Countering the Naxals
By Harinder Singh, IDSA Issue Brief, June 11, 2010, at
http://idsa.in/issuebrief/CounteringtheNaxals_hsingh_110610

Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in India
By G K Pillai, Journal of Defence Studies, 4 (2), April 2010, at
http://idsa.in/jds/4_2_2010_Left-wingExtremisminINdia_gkpillai

Naxalite Movement in India: The State's Response
By Raman Dixit, Journal of Defence Studies, 4 (2), April 2010, at
http://idsa.in/jds/4_2_2010_NaxaliteMovementinIndia_rdixit

The Naxal Muddle - of Intellectual Haze, Governmental Clarity and Operational Realities
By Raj Shukla, March 9, 2010, at
http://idsa.in/idsacomments/TheNaxalMuddleofIntellectualHazeGovernmentalClarityandOperationalRealities_rshukla_090310

A Critical Evaluation of the Union Government's Response to the Maoist Challenge
By P. V. Ramana, Strategic Analysis, 33 (5), September 2009, at
http://idsa.in/strategicanalysis/ACriticalEvaluationoftheUnionGovernmentsResponsetotheMaoistChallenge_pvramana_2009

HC Dutta asked: What does India stand to gain by pushing through a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN?

Satish Nambiar replies: As a country affected by terrorism, long before the more powerful countries of the developed world began to take cognisance of the threat it poses to international peace and security, India has always condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations; stressed that tackling such behaviour required a holistic approach and collective action; and recommended that the scope of legal instruments must be expanded to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice. India, therefore, has a vital stake in the formulation of counter-terrorist measures at the international level, including a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). It is in this context that India had proposed a draft of a CCIT as far back as 1996.

The conclusion and ratification of such a convention by member states would bind them to action on the contents of the operative paragraphs of the Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001 that are available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/sc7158.doc.htm. They are self explanatory in so far as pursuing India’s interests are concerned.

Suyog Lad asked: What climatic factors are taken into consideration for missile and space launch?

Ajey Lele replies: Yes, they are taken into consideration for both missile and space launches, especially in case of test launches. However, modern missiles are developed as all weather missiles. Hence, in case of an actual war, they could be launched even in bad weather conditions, if required.

Before the satellite launch, weather conditions on ground are always monitored and usually one day window for preponement or postponement of launch is planned in case of an unsuitable weather. In India, launches take place from the launch site at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. This region gets affected by monsoon (both south-west and north-east), which at times poses a major challenge. Also, cyclonic storms have maximum frequency during the month of November. Hence, no satellite launches are usually planned for November and December. Both ISRO and DRDO have facilities for weather observations and forecasting at the launch sites.

Jitender Singh asked: How can environmental issues have security implications?

P.K. Gautam replies: The “environment” comprises all entities, natural or man made, external to oneself, and their interrelationship, which provide value, now or perhaps in the future, to humankind. Environmental concerns relate to their degradation through actions of humans. Hence, there is a need to revisit the classic and traditional definition of security in the contemporary world, i.e., the standard answers to questions, such as security for whom, security from what, and who provides security. For example, water/food shortages, droughts, climate change related extreme weather events, and pandemics, cannot be prevented by guns, aircrafts, ships and tanks. Added to it now is the human security dimension beyond just the security of a state.

A future with rising expectations and populations will strain the ecosystem and natural resources. The UN Secretary General’s High level Panel on Global Sustainability in its report, Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, released in January 2012, stated that by 2030: “for a population of nine billion - the world may need 50 per cent more food, 45 per cent more energy and 30 per cent more water”. It suggests that there is a need for a new political economy, there is a need to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality and promote inclusive growth, sustainable production and consumption, while combating climate change.

The fifth edition of the UN Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5), released prior to Rio+20 meeting in June 2012, “assessed 90 of the most important environmental goals and objectives and found that significant progress had only been made in four.” The UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, speaking on the occasion, stated that, "if current trends continue, if current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail and cannot be reversed and 'decoupled', then governments will preside over unprecedented levels of damage and degradation”.

Summaries of resource conflict theories are available in SIPRI Yearbook 2011.  It is important to note that most of these issues are not securitised for then they may be more difficult to address as tools are mostly non-military.  Yet, environmental issues are among the main security concerns today.