Theaterisation: The Reform That China Fears Of

For General Anil Chauhan, who became India’s new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) on September 30, 2022, the primary task is to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan. The theaterisation (Theater command) is called as biggest military reform till now. Several nations in the world have theatre commands, including the United States and China.

What is Theaterisation ?

A theater command is a military structure where all the assets of Army, Navy and Air force in a particular theater of war are under the three . In the simple words, it is a unified command under which all the resources of the army, navy and Air force are pooled, depending upon the threat perception.  It places the resources of all forces at the command of a senior military commander. For example, a “theatre command” will integrate components of the IAF and the Army, and also have integrated navy with it. These “theater commands” are organized either on a geographical basis (with a defined mission in a specific area of responsibility) or on a functional basis.

Why Theaterisation is needed ?

The idea of creating and integrated tri-services command in India is not new – it has been recommended at various levels after the conflict of Kargil. When general Bipin Rawat was appointed as chief of defence staff in January 2020 with a mandate to raise such commands within its three year tenure, then the idea was finally brought to the design table.  After his appointment, general Rawat had commissioned studies within each of the armed forces to come up with ideas of what these command could look like. These were headed by the vice chiefs of the forces.

However, the process has been delayed due to multiple factors, including the Covid -19 pandemic.  After that the misfortune happened , our CDS has been died in a helicopter crash.

What is the proposal of Theaterisation :

A proposal with four to five integrated tri- service theatre commands is under discussion, with each command headed by a three star officer. This three star officer, the theatre commander, will report to the chiefs of staff committee (COSC), which, as the name suggests, includes the three service chiefs, and is headed by the CDS as permanent chairman. This means that the three star commanders will have a lot of powers.

Theatre commands:

Let’s discuss about the theatre commands:

  • Maritime theatre command: maritime theatre command previously referred as peninsular Command , which will take care of all the maritime security needs of the country on both the eastern and the western seaboards, and it will include  air strike assets and amphibian forces of the army. The headquarter of maritime theatre command (MTC) may be headed at INS Kadamba.
  • Air defence command:  An air defence command, which will be mandated with Air defence across the country and beyond. The fighter jets will have reconnaissance and surveillance assets as well. A three star officer from the Indian Air Force will head the proposed Air defence command. This command will be responsible for the Air defence operations of the Indian military.
  • Land based Command: Two or three land- based commands are proposed. If there are two Commands, there will be one each for India’s borders with China and Pakistan. It is not confirmed yet, that how many commands will be related to land based commands.
  • Instead of these commands, there is also a proposal to have another command looking at India’s borders with Pakistan and China in Jammu and Kashmir  and Ladakh , given the unique territory and security needs of the country in that region.

Opinions of Navy, Army and Air force on these Theatre Commands:

  • Opinion of Army: Army is in the favour of theaterisation of armed forces. Army says “it is time to move away from a service specific approach to operations towards a system which avoids duplication, ensures optimum utilization of available resources.
  • Opinion of Navy: Navy is more nuanced,  it is too not in favour of implementing the proposal currently.
  • Opinion of Airforce: the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief has said that the service is not opposed to theaterisation and it only wants to ensure that its doctrine is not compromised. There has been a general perception that the IAF is not very keen on the theaterisation plan.