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DTSTART:20090101T000000
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100416T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100416T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T212302
CREATED:20231223T221838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T130247Z
UID:63659-1271395800-1271395800@idsa.in
SUMMARY:India and Japan: Exploring Strategic Potentials
DESCRIPTION:Chairperson: Prof. V. P. DuttExternal Discussants: Amb. Rajiv Sikri & Amb. T.C.A. RangachariInternal Discussants: Brig. (Retd.) Rumel Dahiya and Dr. Shamshad Ahmed Khan \nDr. Rajaram Panda presented his paper titled India and Japan: Exploring Strategic Potentials on Friday\, April 16\, 2010. The paper’s main focus was on maritime cooperation between India and Japan and more specifically on the strategic dimensions of this cooperation. Dr. Panda argued that the looming Chinese shadow is the rationale behind this cooperation. First\, he defined what a ‘strategic partnership’ means\, arguing that the canvas of a “strategic relationship” was much larger than mere “political relationship”. A strategic partnership includes “defence\, economic\, and security dimensions in the relationship.” \nDr. Panda emphasized that there was a great convergence of interests between India and Japan in the maritime domain. He highlighted India’s unique geographical position\, which makes its cooperation extremely critical for Japan in securing its sea lanes. Much of Japan’s international trade is dependent upon safety of its sea lanes that pass through the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. He argued that security of Japan’s maritime and energy supplies prominently figured in its security calculus. \nDr. Panda discussed two high-level important visits in detail: the first being Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s visit to Japan\, and the other Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama’s visit to India\, which he characterized as a landmark visit. During this visit\, an Action Plan to Advance Security Cooperation Based on the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation was adopted. This plan delineated a host of issue-areas in which a meaningful strategic partnership could be built. However\, he highlighted the Japanese stand on India’s nuclear programme as a major irritant in what is an otherwise cordial relationship. \nDiscussion\nAmb. Rajiv Sikri argued that the economic aspect of the strategic partnership should be part of this paper. He further argued that the China factor was an important factor shaping this strategic partnership\, but it was not the only factor. There are other important factors also which require due focus. Besides\, the importance of China factor will keep varying depending upon who is in power in Japan. The India-Japan relationship is not that undifferentiated as it is being considered. There are more nuances involved in it. He was of the view that the US-Japan alliance had not outlived its utility and should not be underestimated. As to the definition of strategic partnership\, he said that India had very loose definition of the partnership. He further argued that a strategic partnership basically meant macro-level understanding\, not micro. It should be dealt with on that level only. On the question of Japanese investment in India\, he said that Japanese businessmen should understand how business was done in India. He argued that there was no point in Japanese businessmen constantly complaining about India’s business environment. They should follow the example of Korean businessmen and introspect how they have succeeded in India. \nAmb. T.C.A. Rangachari raised some fundamental questions. He asked: if Japan was considered to be a declining power then why there was a need for an India-Japan strategic partnership. Similarly\, why have a strategic partnership with the United States if it is actually declining. If the argument behind these strategic partnerships is a rising China then one must ask as to why China would not be a responsible power. Expressing doubts about China’s rise as a responsible power reflects the influence of Western thinking. He also said that the sea lanes had never been disrupted since World War II\, thus\, the security of sea lanes is not the biggest issue. He argued that we should not be uncritical of Western wisdom\, which had actually projected India as a maritime threat in the 1970s. He further argued that the strategic partnership between India and Japan was ambivalent and Japanese perception of India was changing very slowly. Incidentally\, he said that there was a minority view in Japan that favoured India’s nuclear programme. \nBrigadier Rumel Dahiya argued that the geostrategic importance of Japan must be assessed while exploring any strategic partnership. Dr. Shamshad Ahmed Khan mentioned that the economic aspect needs to be probed more. He further argued that India-Japan defence cooperation has not been strong. He argued that we should also try to understand Japanese laws and constitution\, which prevents Japan from participating in any collective security mechanism. \nConcluding the discussion\, Professor V.P. Dutt said that he felt that Japan’s new foreign policy was dubious\, ambiguous and uncertain. He was of the opinion that Japanese leaders were making very vague statements about their foreign policy and they themselves may not be very clear as to what they want. He raised a larger philosophical point – the Japanese public seems to have lost interest in foreign affairs. Now\, the question is whether Japan will remain confused or it will become even more confused. \nReport prepared by Dr. Prashant Kumar Singh\, Research Assistant\, IDSA
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/india-and-japan-exploring-strategic-potentials
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR,EVENT REPORT
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100416T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Kolkata:20100416T053000
DTSTAMP:20261104T212302
CREATED:20231223T221838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231224T130247Z
UID:63660-1271395800-1271395800@idsa.in
SUMMARY:Transformation of Conflict: An Analysis of “Op Sadbhavana” in Jammu and Kashmir
DESCRIPTION:Chair: Prof. Amitabh MattooExternal Discussants: Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Hari Prasad and Dr. Suba ChandranInternal Discussants: Dr. Namrata Goswami and Col. (Retd.) Ali Ahmed \n \nDr. Arpita Anant’s paper notes that traditionally the Army defends the borders and\, whenever called in\, helps in counter-insurgency operations and provides aid to the victims of calamities. However\, in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)\, the Indian Army has extended its mandate to rebuild the lives of people devastated by terrorism.  Operation Sadbhavana (meaning Goodwill)\, launched in 1998\, is an unique attempt to apply the healing touch to win the hearts and minds (WHAM) of people by promoting development activities focuses on their basic needs. \nThe author points out that the doctrine of sub-conventional warfare of the Indian Army released in January 2007 gives a central place to WHAM in counter-insurgency operations. Such attempts\, it is envisaged\, would provide the healing touch during conflict and win over the alienated sections of people in the conflict zones.  \nAccording to Dr. Anant\, from 1998 to 2008\, a total of Rs. 276.08 crore\, allocated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)\, was spent on various multi-faceted activities under this operation. The Army has been running schools and orphanages\, improving the living standard of the locals by constructing roads and bridges\, installing hand pumps and electrifying villages and giving them free medical services. Excursion and education tours have also been organised during this period.\nDr. Anant adds that the projects are identified and selected jointly with the state administration and the people at the grass root level. The Army acts as a facilitator and catalyst and actively assists in planning\, provides technical assistance\, makes available specialized equipment and supervises it. \nDr. Anant asserts that implementation of the projects under this initiative has had an extremely positive impact on the minds of the local population. Various educational schemes and women empowerment centres have helped in employment generation and transformed many lives. Numerous other community development and healthcare projects have helped in mitigating the hardships of the common man. \nThe author’s tête-à-tête with the civil administration reveals that most of them were very candid in admitting that the Army brought schools\, walking tracks/roads\, small bridges and doctors in areas where the state government could not reach in the difficult years of the insurgency. However\, a common refrain was that there is scope for improvement in coordination between the Army and civil administration. Dr. Anant’s interface with journalists reveals that although the initiative of the Army is very praiseworthy\, real peace will come only with the resolution of the political problem. Some educationists believed that the Army’s initiatives are lacking involvement of the youth in the age group of 18 to 21 years who constitute 60 per cent of the population. Her discussions with the Army reveal that Operation Sadbhavna had a positive impact on the relationship between the people and the Army. However\, some Army officials did believe that the actual impact is only between 50 to 75 per cent of the desired targets. \nDr. Anant’s conclusion is that Operation Sadbhavana has certainly been a successful effort. Although it adds to the responsibilities of the Army\, it has certainly salvaged its image. The ease with which people were interacting with Army officials made this obvious. The unending list of demands\, which ought to be fulfilled by the civil administration\, also proved the same. She points out that the comfort level between the military and the people seemed higher in the Jammu region than in the Valley. Also\, in some places people spoke highly of the Army officials they were interacting with and remembered some officers who had been posted out\, indicating that personalities made all the difference.  \nDr. Anant’s paper suggests following measures for better results:  \n\nCoordination with appropriate civil authorities could be improved.\nProjects like micro-hydel projects that have not worked well could be re-considered. \nThe audit system of Sadbhavana needs to be publicized.\nIn all projects priority should be given to basics. \nQuality of infrastructure projects can be improved.\nCivil society involvement to increase transparency and to add a sense of belonging is necessary. \nEngage the youth in the projects.\nLocal media (rural and urban) could be used to portray best cases and clarify misperceptions.\nTransparency to avoid abuse of power.\n\nDiscussion:\n\nIn J&K what has been achieved through Operation Sadbhavana represents the best feasible for transition to the political process.\nOperation Sadbhavana as a sound strategy for conflict prevention in Ladakh has been widely acclaimed. The scope of the study should be broadened to include this region of J&K as well.\nThe overall aim of Operation Sadbhavana needs to be well-defined. Does it seek out ‘conflict transformation’ or is it just a ‘WHAM’ (winning the hearts and minds) activity?\nOperation Sadbhavana puts the organisational\, medical\, engineering\, transport and educational expertise of the Army at the disposal of the people. It jeopardizes the Army’s primary function of training and deployment for high-intensity conflict.\nMore detailed analysis of the data collected during the field visit will yield many additional important insights and further energize the discussion.\nOrganising children educational tours under the initiative is a good step to showcase the dynamic culture of the country and to witness the fruits of peace and development.\nCases and allegations of corruption and other irregularities against the Army officials engaged in Operation Sadbhavana have been cropping up with alarming regularity of late. This needs to be discussed.\nIf the Army keeps on taking over the functions of the civil administration\, it will further delegitimise the state government.\nThe budget allocation for Operation Sadbhavana is too small to make a big difference in a large state like J&K.\n\nReport prepared by Dr. Imtiyaz Majid\, Research Assistant at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses\, New Delhi.
URL:https://idsa.in/idsa-event/transformation-of-conflict-an-analysis-of-op-sadbhavana-in-jammu-and-kashmir
CATEGORIES:FELLOW'S SEMINAR,EVENT REPORT
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