Addressing an event in New Delhi, Gen Pande also said the recent global developments have underscored that the security of the nation can neither be outsourced nor be dependent on the largesse of others.
Who accompanied Prime Minister Narendra D Modi to his Thursday meeting with US President Donald J Trump in the Oval Office, and who did POTUS bring along?
'India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and we continue to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation that directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability.'
"I am going to propose the holding of such manoeuvres," Singh, also chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Indian Armed Forces, said on the eve of his departure for Beijing on a week-long visit as the head of a tri-service delegation.
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
India will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 to mark the 76th Republic Day. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at the event, which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia. The theme of the parade is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution. The parade will feature a number of cutting-edge defense platforms, including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash, as well as the Army's Battle Surveillance System 'Sanjay' and DRDO's surface-to-surface tactical missile 'Pralay'.
"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding the IAF continues to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.
India will display its military prowess and cultural heritage at the 76th Republic Day celebrations on Kartavya Path in New Delhi. The parade will feature 16 tableaux from states and Union Territories, 15 from central ministries, and a tri-services tableau showcasing the spirit of "jointness" among the armed forces. The event will also include a flypast featuring 40 IAF aircraft and three Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, as well as a display of cutting-edge defense platforms including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash.
India as a sovereign democratic republic completed 75 years of its eventful journey on Sunday, with the stage set at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi for the ceremonial parade during which the country will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage.
Present vice chief Lt Gen BS Raju would be succeeding Lt Gen AS Bhinder who is superannuating on February 28 at the South Western Army Command.
In the current complex and dynamic strategic environment, refining the IAF's strategy, building robust capabilities and developing a flexible mindset to "prosecute future wars" will prove decisive, the chief of air staff said.
The IAF chief and his French counterpart, General Stphane Mille, took part in a joint exercise between the two countries.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday indicated that the post of Chief of Defence Staff could be a reality soon, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked defence reforms as a priority and stressed that "jointness at the top" was a need long overdue.
The chief of air staff also said that independent air defence systems in the field will have very little relevance in tomorrow's wars unless they are a part of a larger integrated air defence system.
As soon as one lands at the Leh airfield, one can see the Indian Air Force C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying in with rations and supplies for the troops deployed on the forward locations opposite the Chinese forces.
It's a strategic approach in which the country's military and defence mechanisms evolve continuously in tandem with emerging threats. The new strategy anticipates events and prepares to counter those proactively.
Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Thursday met his United States counterpart and other top ranking military officers and discussed various issues including joint training and exercises between the two countries. General Kapoor, who is on a five day visit to the US, met Joint Chiefs of Staff committee Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, US army chief General George W Casey Junior and Central Command Chief General David H Petraeus in Washington.
The weekend army reshuffle is a clear sign that Musharraf will not step down as army chief in December, say analysts.
In the wake of a significant decline in Covid-19 cases, the Gujarat government on Friday announced that private as well as government offices in the state can now function with 100 per cent staff from June 7.
Despite persisting questions among peer officers in the army about his professional competence and ethics, after his recent 'triumphal' Kabul sojourn, Faiz Hameed remains the hot favourite of both General Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
Gen Colin Powell, former US Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from Covid-19 complications, his family announced on Tuesday. He was 84.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on Monday flagged concerns over growing geo-political power play in the Indo-Pacific, and noted that the US-China rivalry in the region is likely to be a "marathon".
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Musharraf, 79, was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, The Express Tribune reported.
Currently the Army Chief, 59-year-old Dempsey needs to be confirmed by the Senate before taking over the new position.
On Thursday, September 21, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a second trip to Washington, DC since Russia invaded his country on February 24, 2022.
Singh emphasised that the Indo-Pacific is no more a maritime construct, but a full-fledged geo-strategic issue, and that the region is facing "a complex web" of security challenges, including boundary disputes and piracy.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday directed the armed forces to carry out joint exercises with friendly foreign countries specially, in southeast Asia, in tune with India's 'Act East Policy'.
The nature of war and its purpose remains unchanged. The change is in the character of war in terms of a man-machine mix, domination of sensors and certain automation of the tactics and methods of war, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As pressure mounted on Islamabad to move against the Haqqani network, accused by United States of carrying out a spate of attacks in Kabul, Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha rushed to Washington to hold a quite meeting with the new Central Investigation Agency head Gen David Petraeus.
'Given the past practice in the Pakistan army, this delay is most unusual,' notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The strategy for the next week's US visit of Islam was finalised during a high-power meeting co-chaired on Wednesday by President Asif Ali Zardari and Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf, and attended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Wynne, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the naval and air force chiefs.
The rockets uprooted the main door of the C-17 aircraft used by General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, wounding two maintenance officers and also damaging an Apache helicopter gunship parked nearby, the ABC news reported quoting Pentagon officials.
In a joint statement, they noted that while the incident highlights the prevailing "apathy, misgovernance and lack of accountability" in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, the state government's "apparent inclination" to shield perpetrators rather than protect victims is a "grave miscarriage of justice".
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
As India progresses towards formulating its own model of theaterisation, the public must get involved in the debate because in the end, it affects the well-being of the entire nation, asserts Biswajit Dasgupta.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday made it clear that the Indian Air Force is not opposed to the tri-services theaterisation plan but asserted that the doctrinal aspects of the force should not be compromised by the proposed structures.
A packed beyond capacity bus carrying passengers returning to work after Diwali fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora district on Monday, killing at least 36 of the over 60 people on board.
His discussions with the US defence officials would delve on defence cooperation including joint training and exercises, exchanges and military equipment.
