Intro to Defense Policy

Prof. Anak Agung Banyu Perwita

IR DEFENSE 1 2016
Jennifer R. Anton
Hanny Zerlinda
Emmanuella Huang
Fauzan Farhanny
Jessica Cellin

Analyzing India Defense Policy-Making Process in Securing its Territorial

Integrity through Comprehensive Integrated Border Security Management
(CIBMS)
 Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1. Issue Background

In the discourse of International Relations, strategic and defense has played a highly crucial
role. In the state-level, it is of utmost importance as well remembering that security is one of
the core aspect of a nation’s viability and prosperity.1 One must somehow strive to excel in
planning and executing the policies, otherwise the condition might turn into jeopardy. In
practice, one of the most vital particular for a state to defend is regarding their territorial
integrity, as any possible attacks that may come from other states will start from the border
line. It is the gateway for mostly external threats and thus is the key to domestic security. In
this paper, we would like to highlight the case of border security, specifically in India, where
there has been long border conflict with Pakistan.
Since its independence in 1947, India has been constantly in conflict with Pakistan due to the
specific case of Kashmir and Jammu region. To explain in a brief, Kashmir has been a
flashpoint between India and Pakistan for greater than 50 years. Currently a boundary - the
Line of Control - divides the location in two, with one phase administered via India and one
through Pakistan. India would like to formalize this status quo and make it the universal
international boundary. But Pakistan and Kashmiri activists reject this sketch due to the fact
they both favor increased control over the region. In 1947-8 India and Pakistan fought their
first conflict over Jammu and Kashmir.2
Under United Nations' supervision, they agreed to a ceasefire alongside a line which left one-
third of the state administered by India. In 1972, underneath the phrases of the Simla
agreement, the ceasefire line was once renamed the Line of Control. Although India claims
that the entire nation is section of India, it has been prepared to take delivery of the Line of
Control as the worldwide border, with some possible modifications. However, these ceasefire
agreements do not last long.3 There are numerous violations happen in the area and it is where

1Monica Sarkar, CNN Photos and video by Getty Images and AP. (2018, August 15). India,
Pakistan's independence: Story behind one of history's greatest mass migrations. Retrieved from
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/08/asia/india-pakistan-independence-timeline/index.html
2
Ibid.
 most conflict between the two states happened. Below attached is the map of Line of Control
between India and Paksitan:

In order to solve this problem, India’s defense bodies have notably formulated defense policies
and established Border Security Forces to closely watch the increasing number of ceasefire
violations. However, when almost all the conventional measures taken are not enough to solve
the problem and achieve India’s national interests, the defense bodies keep on going to seek
for better solutions. One of the most recent policy formulated by Indian Government is
Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (hereinafter: CIBMS).

1.2. Research Question

 How do Indian defense policy-makers formulate CIBMS policy and how do economics
and political features, as well as strategic environment in India influenced the decision-
making process?

1.3. Theoretical Framework

1.3.1. Defense Policy Making Process

The first step in formulating a defense policy would be deciding national values and national—
particularly security—interests as it will be the core principles on why and how the actions are
going to be taken. The second phase is to consider their strategic environment (consisted of
operational and psychological environment). It is a phase where a state is going to evaluate either
internal or external threats they are facing and it could be highly influenced by many factors, two
of the most prominent that we are going to bring in this paper are economic and political features.
The third phase is deciding on defense objective that they will attempt to achieve. This point is
fundamentally similar to the first phase however must be explained in a more detailed manner,
specified only to defense objectives. The fourth one will be about defense policy and strategy. Out
of the first three phases, a state must take action by translating their concerns and goals into
something feasible which is strategy or policy. Next one, defense mission, refers to the set of
actions as actualization of strategy. The last but not least, forces are basically the actors who are
going to be directly involved in the execution of the mission.
Just like any other government policies, defense policy must acquire clear objectives, means, and
ways. In this context, the objective would be consisted of specific security goals. The means will
be in the form of defense policy, whereas the ways refers to the tactics to execute the policy.

1.3.2. Operational and Psychological Environment

Strategic environment of a state will first be influenced by its operational environment.
This analysis will refer on the facts a state faced in interacting with other states. On the other
hand, strategic environment of a state is mainly derived from threat perceptions. Threat
perception—according to Stephen Walt’s Threat Perception Theory (TPT)—can be structurally
influenced by three factors: aggregate power, geographic proximity, and offensive power. A state
might perceive another state as threatening when they have certain resources (particularly military
resources), is located in ‘threatening’ positions, and potentially have aggressive intentions. These
structural factors might lead to deterrence and spiraling cycle, which is in fact the basis of arms
race in WW1 and space race between Cold War rivals. Aside of the structural factors, Ken Booth
in Strategy and Ethnocentrism (1979) stated that threat perception might also be built upon
emotional factors, as such: ethnocentrism, historical, bureaucratic mechanisms, and so forth.
Furthermore, Tillman developed the characteristics of threat perception according to urgency,
specifications, and impact. The characteristics of threat perception itself are divided into:
specific/diffuse, immediate/remote, probability/severity.
 Chapter 2
Analysis

2.1. India’s Country and Military Profile

India's total land mass is 2,973,190 square kilometers and is divided into three main
geological regions: the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Himalayas, and the Peninsula region. The Indo-
Gangetic Plain and those portions of the Himalayas within India are collectively known as North
India. South India consists of the peninsular region, often termed simply the Peninsula4.
India continues to look beyond its position as a top military importer to that of top military
exporter - with several high-profile programs to market. India is poised to become one of the four
largest military powers in the world by the end of the decade. India is ranked 4 (of 136) out of the
countries currently considered for the annual GFP review. Going beyond military equipment totals
and perceived fighting strength is the actual manpower that makes up a given military force. Wars,
particularly those with high attrition, traditionally favor those with more manpower. Below table
is the compiled data of India’s military profile:

Total manpower (total population) 1,281,935,911 (2nd)

Available manpower 616,000,000 (2nd)
Fit-for-service manpower 489,600,000 (2nd)
Total military personnel 4,207,250
Active personnel 1,362,500 (2nd)
Reserve personnel 2,844,750 (4th)
Total merchant marine strength 1,674 (12th)
Spending budget $47,000,000,000 (5th)

Attack Aircraft are defined as those capable of attacking ground / surface targets (Some
BEING purpose-built while others are modifications of existing products). Attack Helicopters are
defined as those multi-engine, rotary-wing systems developed specifically to attack ground targets.

4
("India - Geography", 2018)
Transports value includes both fixed- and rotary-wing products. India’s total aircraft strength is
2,185 with total 720 helicopter power.
Beside it, India also has land strength which are combat tank value includes Main Battle
Tanks (MBTs), light tanks, and tank destroyers. No distinction is made between tracked and
wheeled designs. Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV) value includes Armored Personnel Carriers
(APCs) as well as Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). Rocket Projectors primary include self-
propelled forms. The total combat tanks are 4,426, armored fighting vehicles 3,147, self-propelled
artillery 190, towered artillery 4,158 and rocket projectors are 266. Added with its naval strength
which value includes diesel-electric and nuclear-powered types, no distinction being made
between conventional and nuclear-attack forms. With total naval power of 295 that contains of 1
aircraft carriers, 14 frigates, 11 destroyers, 22 corvettes, 16 submarines, 139 patrol vessels and 4
mine warfare. UAV values are not considered. India spent $47,000,000,000 for all these abilities5.

2.2. Political Features

Fundamentally, India holds to the value: stable political democracy,
a harmonious territorial unity, and a steadfast religious impartiality. This political feature has
actually sparked conflict between the two states because they have very different ideas. A more
comprehensive analysis between political features and India’s threat perception will be explained
in the strategic environment part.
India is a composite entity that is home to multiple communities, whereas Pakistan become
an area to protect India’s Muslims. India and Pakistan also acquire different culture of democracy.
2.3. Economic Features
In economic features, we shall be talking about economics of India in general first. India’s
economic driven by the service and agricultural sector and India become the 3rd largest economy6
in the world and according to the World Bank, the state is undergoing significant economic growth.
In formulating a defense policy, the government must think about the economic side also
as the planning of a state to execute such policies are often constrained to the respective state’s

5
("2018 India Military Strength", 2018)
6
India, ”India: Pocket book of economic information”(New Delhi: 1961, Government of India Pr)
capabilities and resources. Economic features play one of the most important role, although the
government shouldn’t ignore the other aspects too, like political features7.
The amount of money can give they different point of view to see the world for making the
defense policy, because when one country wants to make the defense policy, they must to thinking
about their state’s financial sector that it can help them to support or still lack of the income to
fulfill the needs. If the one country have low income, it can make that state quite hard to move
freely to doing everything to protect they state from any intervention that can happen from the
outside and make their sate more strong than the previous one, so when there are suddenly attack
from other country, they can still protect and still keep the peace inside the country itself, it
demanding the state to increase their income to help the government for making the great and
strong defense policy. Not also for increasing the income of the country, that state must to reduce
the outcome for make the stability. It cannot work if the income is increasing but the outcome still
bigger than the income, it seems nothing. The state must to press the outcome to the minimum line
to make the economic can growth and reach the target of the state need. And the last is debt, it is
the important one for the state. The real fact that there are no one country in this world doesn’t
have debt. The different is the way that the state can handle the debt.
To put it in a brief, below table is the defense budget of India during the period where
CIBMS was launched:

Statistics of Defense Budget during CIBMS launching: 2016-17

2016-17
DefenSe Budget (Rs. in Crore) 249099.0
Growth of Defence Budget (%) 0.96
Revenue Expenditure (Rs. in Crore) 162759.0
Growth of Revenue Expenditure (%) 6.98
Share of Revenue Expenditure in Defence Budget (%) 65.3

2.4. Strategic Environment of India

7
Han Jongsu, “Economic Perspective on the Distributive Justice”, Journal of Ethics. Vol. 1 issue 69, 2008, 33-51
Operational Environment
There are several occurrences leading up to threat perception towards Pakistan and derived the
establishment of CIBMS. The bilateral relations between the two South Asian neighbors—India
and Pakistan—significantly deteriorated following terror attacks in 2016 that occurred in Indian
military camps. The two sides continue to accuse each other of frequent ceasefire violations along
the de facto border in Kashmir.
In addition to constant accusations, in 2016, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel detected a
cross-border tunnel in the area of Damala nullah in Jammu’s Arnia sub-sector, which is mostly
dominated by forests. The four other tunnels discovered were. Pallanwala sector (August 2014),
and Shakkergarh area (July 2012).1 Besides tunnels, the Jammu sector has also witnessed quite a
few instances of successful infiltration by terrorists during the past couple of years as a prelude to
attacks on strategic installations — prominent among these being the Pathankot and Uri terrorist
attacks in 2016. These incidents have not only raised serious concerns about the efficacy of the
existing border security system in thwarting such breaches but also a consequent demand for the
deployment of hightech border surveillance equipment by the BSF.
Psychological Environment
The main threat perception from India towards Pakistan is influenced by the aforementioned
political factors, which are significant differences of national identities, government system, and
geopolitical interests.8 Fundamentally, India is a democratic state whereas Pakistan’s democracy
is left far behind. This has created a tension and disagreements between the two states. In addition,
India—as a home for culturally diverse societies—also implements secularism in its political
arrangements, whereas Pakistan often acts as the ‘protector’ of Indian Muslims. The threat
perception derived from this factor happens in two-ways: India sees Pakistan as a threat and
otherwise. Out of this, Indian leaders particularly perceive that Geographical proximity of Pakistan
also influences Indian leaders’ threat perception.

India’s Goals, Means, and Ways

Goals

8Can CIBMS alone secure the India’s borders? (2018, September 7). Retrieved from
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/can-cibms-alone-secure-the-indias-
borders/articleshow/65722529.cms
In this case, the authors would like to classify the goals of India’s defense bodies in launching its
CIBMS to three main particulars: highly-stable, stable, and unstable. Highly stable goals will refer
to national interests in a very general sense which could accommodate different aspects, namely
defense and security, economy, politics, social, cultural, and so forth. These goals will be put on
top of India’s priority, and will never be modified in any conditions. In contrast, unstable ones are
to be changed accordingly to conditions and circumstances a state faced and they are usually short-
term goals. Stable goals are basically put in between both high stable and unstable goals. However,
regardless of the classifications, the goals shall be aligned with one another.
High stable goals are largely included in the supreme law of India, the Constitution of India.
Regarding defense and security, Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy Article 51 directly
states, “the State shall endeavor to (a) promote international peace and security, and (b) maintain
just and honorable relations between nations.”9 In a quite similar sense, Narasimha Rao—India’s
former Prime Minister—in 1990 asserted several guidelines in exchange of the non-existent
India’s National Defense Policy official documents. One of the guideline reads, “Defense of
national territory over land, sea and air encompassing among others the inviolability of our
land borders, island territories, offshore assets and our maritime trade routes .”10 As we have
might acknowledged in mind, these two goals are very broad and general. Fundamentally, in
any conditions, these core goals will hardly be changed as it is one of the most vital parts of
India’s—or any other country’s—survival.
Furthermore, in terms of stable security goals, India is clearly aiming to secure unity and
integrity with Pakistan and China through its CIBMS. 11 Indeed, these goals are seemingly
depended on the dynamics of strategic environment of the State. However, we classify the
goal as stable due to the constant conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as India with
China. As have been mentioned before, conflict between India-Pakistan have occurred since
1947. This have included not only security issues, but also economic, social, most
importantly, politics, which are intertwined with each other. The conflict indeed has some
possibility to end, but it will be nearly impossible to achieve remembering the great clash of
interests both parties have.

9
New Constitution Of India. (1937). International Affairs. doi:10.2307/2603026
10
Ibid.
11
India’s National Security – Challenges and Priorities | Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://idsa.in/keyspeeches/IndiasNationalSecurityChallengesandPriorities
The unstable goals that CIBMS is trying to achieve mainly revolves around securing territorial
integrity with Pakistan, which has become one of the biggest issues India is having currently.
The goal is considered unstable because the circumstance might change in the future and it is
more possible to be solved as it is just a part of the whole series of conflict between India and
Pakistan.
To put into more concise manner, we can conclude that the goals of India’s CIBMS defense
policy as follows:

Highly Stable
International peace and security, defense of
national territory over land, sea, and air
Stable
Unity and integrity with Pakistan
Unstable
Secured territorial integrity with Pakistan

Means: Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS)

The CIBMS is touted as a more robust and integrated system that is capable of addressing the gaps
in the present system of border security by seamlessly integrating human resources, weapons, and
high-tech surveillance equipment. It has three main components: a) new high-tech surveillance
devices such as sensors, detectors, cameras, ground-based radar systems, micro-aerostats, lasers
as well as existing equipment for round-the-clock surveillance of the international border; b) an
efficient and dedicated communication network including fibre optic cables and satellite
communication for transmitting data gathered by these diverse high-tech surveillance and
detection devices; and c) a command and control centre to which the data will be transmitted in
order to apprise the senior commanders about the happenings on the ground and thus providing a
composite picture of the international border.12 A composite picture would help senior
commanders analyse and classify the threat and mobilise resources accordingly to assist the field
commander in his response. The purpose of the CIBMS is to eventually replace manual

12 Monica Sarkar, CNN Photos and video by Getty Images and AP. (2018, August 15). India, Pakistan's
independence: Story behind one of history's greatest mass migrations. Retrieved from
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/08/asia/india-pakistan-independence-timeline/index.html
surveillance/patrolling of the international borders by electronic surveillance and organising the
BSF personnel into quick reaction teams to enhance their detection and interception capabilities.
Other factors such as power back up, training of the BSF personnel in handling the sophisticated
equipment, and maintenance of the equipment are incorporated into the CIBMS project.

Ways (Tactics)

The CIBMS involves deployment of a variety of state-of-the-art surveillance systems, such as

thermal imagers, infra-red and laser-based intruder alarms, aerostats for aerial surveillance,
unattended ground sensors, radars, sonar systems, fiber-optic sensors and command and control
systems to receive data from all surveillance devices.
he CIBMS is an integration of a range of new gadgets and technologies to ensure electronic
surveillance of India’s international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The pilot initiatives of
about 5 kilometers of the stretch each and costing round 6-7 crores per assignment are being
handled through two non-public firms – TATA Power SED and DAT Con. The Border Security
Force (BSF) hopes that the new technological equipment's would provide feeds to BSF personnel
at the border outposts, where monitors would be installed. The BSF plans to put up a CIBMS in
areas all alongside the Indo-Pak and India-Bangladesh border, after successful completion of the
pilot initiatives and their feedback, the place it is a key task to impenetrable the borders due to the
nature of the terrain as properly as to check cross-border infiltration and smuggling. At a time
when implementation of similar solutions for the US-Mexico border has been dealing with a
number of technical glitches and economic challenges, funding of a large amount for
implementation of the CIBMS wishes to be revisited. As regards the CIBMS, there are numerous
grey areas in the pilot projects which wishes to be given due consideration. One want no longer
forget that CIBMS’ multi-tier security ring at the border indents to use a variety of sensors, such
as Thermal Imager, Radar, Aerostat, Optical Fiber Intrusion Detection System, Unattended
Ground Sensor and Underwater Sensors. In the current past, the most fulfilling use of sophisticated
technical equipment's has been weighed down through its incompatibility with terrain and present
border safety infrastructure. Third, helium-filled Aerostat balloons can grant an aerial 24/7
surveillance and communications, but they can also be a best taking pictures practice vary for
counter border guards. Due to a rotational policy of the border guarding forces, the expertise
acquired by the border personnel dangers being misplaced as soon as the personal firms depart the
venture site, hampering the technical capability. After all, anyone with sizable virtually experience
on border security in India’s context is painfully aware as to what actually occurs when technical
equipment's in want of urgent repair are compelled to stay unused for strangely lengthy spells
because of procedural and bureaucratic loopholes.

Conclusion
It is generally acknowledged that the approach to national security requires a comprehensive view
of various political, social, economic, technological and strategic aspects. In the case of the
border—known as the Line of Control (LoC)—conflict between India and Pakistan, India’s
defense policy to deploy CIBMS is highly influenced by both psychological and operational.
National Security Promote international peace and security, ensuring territorial
Interest integrity
Strategic Environment India perceives Pakistan as a very distinct country with different
political system, sentiments and thoughts that Pakistan is inferior.
In addition, there has been numerous attacks and ceasefire
violations
Defense Objective Secure Line of Control
Defense Policy 1. Implementing CIBMS in Line of Control
2. Strengthening conventional Border Security Forces
Military Operations
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environment.