Why in news?

The Armed Forces have narrowed down the final contours of the integrated theatre commands with a proposal for theatre commanders under a national defence committee likely to be headed by the Defence Minister.

The theaterisation plans seek to integrate the Army, Navy and Indian Air Force and their resources into specific theatre commands.

What is theaterisation of armed forces or the unified approach?

Simply put, a theatre command deploys elements of the three services under a single, unified command structure. Each command is assigned a specific geographical region, combining resources of the three services for operational roles. Given the threat India faces on its northern and western borders, integrated theatre commands and the roles assigned will be key in dealing with any future conflict.

The theaterisation plans also entail overall transformation and better integration of the three service headquarters.

The theatre commands involves jointness and integration of the disparate war-fighting units. Limited cross-postings between the Army, Navy and IAF have already been implemented to promote jointness.

Background

Times are changing. The functional military boundaries of land, sea and air are fading. Brigadiers and colonels are being sent to train with the Navy and the Air Force, while senior Navy and IAF officers are training with the Army.

The department of military affairs (DMA), created on the first day of 2020, is working to promote the culture of theaterisation. Cross-postings are the order of the day. The idea is to integrate units of all three services in a single theatre under a common commander to enhance operational efficiency. The Chinese did it in 2016, the US and most major militaries had done it a long time ago. Even the Pakistanis are reported to be on the job.

What is Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023?

The Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023, a key prerequisite for theatre commands, got parliamentary approval on August 8.

The bill seeks to enable an officer of an inter-services organisation―the actual commander of a unit, ship or establishment―to initiate disciplinary or administrative action over the personnel appointed, deputed, posted or attached to the organisation, irrespective of their parent service. Currently, Army personnel are governed by the Army Act, 1950, IAF personnel by the Air Force Act, 1950, and Naval personnel by the Navy Act, 1957.

What is the aim of theaterisation?

Theaterisation aims to replace the existing functional commands with theatre commands, giving a single commander in a designated zone authority over all the assets and resources of all three services stationed in that particular zone.

When was the idea of theaterisation of military commands first came about?

Theaterisation of military commands was not a foreign idea for Indian forces. It first came about in the aftermath of the Kargil conflict.

The theaterisation idea gained traction in the Kargil Review Committee set up in 2000, and it received a further boost in the form of a recommendation in the Group of Ministers’ report (2001) on Kargil. The report envisaged a joint command in the place of the existing Andaman Nicobar Command as the “crucible for future joint commands”, similar to theatre commands.

What had been the initial steps towards the process of theaterisation?

In 2005, the discussion on theatre commands was started by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Services when Admiral Arun Prakash was the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee. A year later, he wrote to the defence minister that theatre commands were the “end point of jointness”. The discussion continued thereafter, and it was most firmly stated in the report of the Shekatkar Committee (2016), which was constituted to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of armed forces.

In response to the 73-day-long Doklam standoff with China (2017), India had undertaken a massive exercise called ‘Himvijay’ in October 2019. It had a few elements resembling theaterisation. A central feature of Himvijay, which took place in Arunachal Pradesh’s forbidding heights, was battle formations called Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs). The IBGs were slightly bigger brigade formations that deployed a mix of infantry, artillery, tanks, air defence, attack helicopters and logistics units. So, in a way, the effort at ‘jointness’ had already taken off.

The Galwan valley incident on the intervening night of June 15 and 16, 2020, meanwhile, was a mixed blessing for the theaterisation process.

What is the need of theaterisation?

India now has 19 commands, including 17 single-service commands based on operational and geographical needs. The Army has six operational commands and one training command; the IAF has five operational commands, a training command and a maintenance command and the Navy has three commands. Then there are two additional commands―the tri-services command located at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Strategic Forces Command.

In the eventuality of an all-out conflict with China, at least seven commands will be involved in defensive and offensive operations. On the other hand, China’s western theatre command alone will be taking on Indian forces. The advantages of a cohesive and integrated unit in war-fighting cannot be overemphasised.

The crisis in eastern Ladakh has brought to the fore that we have to deal with China head on, and from a position of strength. The theaterisation process could help add meat to India’s efforts to deal with this new strategic reality.

What are the various models being considered for the theaterisation architecture?

While the final definitive contours of the theaterisation architecture is yet to be finalised, various models are already being discussed.

As CDS, General Rawat had hinted at four commands―a western theatre command to face Pakistan, a northern command for the China border, a maritime theatre command and an island command, which is already functional as the Andaman & Nicobar Command. He also considered an aerospace command and a cyber command.

A subsequent model focused on four integrated commands―the maritime theatre command, the air defence command, the eastern theatre command and the western theatre command.

Another model under consideration is a four theatre set-up comprising the northern theatre command (to face China), western theatre command (for the Pakistan border), the southwestern command and the southeastern command for the western part and eastern part of the Indian Ocean, respectively.

Probably, three theatre commands will be set up first — one facing Pakistan, another opposite China, and a maritime theatre command to tackle maritime threats outside the coastal borders of the country. These theatre commands are likely to be located in Jaipur, Lucknow and Karwar, respectively.

The existing tri-service agencies such as cyber, space and the special operations division — to gradually upgrade to commands – might be integrated as a fourth theatre command in the future.

What are the key questions to be addressed during the theaterisation effort?

At the moment, not much details about the theaterisation effort are available in the public domain, but the process would definitely have to address key questions like clearly defining an appropriate hierarchical chain of command, the relationship between service headquarters and the theatre commands and addressing training needs for the wide variety of roles that theaterisation would result in.

The sheer difficulty of promoting the process of theaterisation is fraught with challenges and negotiating those will test the military-bureaucratic processes to the hilt. Evidently, the need for quick resolution is already being challenged by the complexity of the process.