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New Delhi: The Indian Army can use drones to attack hostile targets in the interior of Jammu and Kashmir and on the other side of the line of control. She sees "no problem" in using them, provided that the country is ready to accept "the mistakes" The head of the army, Bipin Rawat, said Wednesday
that he was responding to a question about India, like the United States, who used drones strike. India has not used air power in national counter-insurgency operations since the 1960s, mainly because of civilian casualties.
"There is no problem in using this type of weapon" on the Indian side of the line of control. or in occupied Pakistan territory, said General Rawat – as long as there is no critical reaction from public opinion or the international community.
The Chief of the Army pronounced the ninth anniversary of the war. Chavan Memorial Lecture at the Institute for Studies and Analysis of Capital Defense. His subject was "Hybrid Conflict" – a term that describes a range of hostile strategies that a belligerent can use instead of conventional warfare, particularly against an enemy with a strong conventional military advantage.
The conference focused on the threat of hybrid warfare. war aimed at India, mainly by Pakistan. He highlighted the use of social media for a hybrid threat – the radicalization of youth in Kashmir – and stressed the need for a "proactive defense".
"If the nation spares us" [19659002] After his prepared lecture, General Rawat answered questions from the public. His full remarks in response to the question about drones are:
"When you talk about striking drones, how does Israel strike Hezbollah – how does it do? You see, they have sources on the ground that locate a vehicle – which says that it is a vehicle in which a leader just came out of a house and someone just gave the information. They electronically mark this vehicle.
"This vehicle is marked. And now, a drone takes off in the air and hits this vehicle. God help you if you are in the next vehicle – you are gone too.
"This kind of thing is possible in this region – in this country. In our country, you've seen the kind of impact … the kind of flak that you face when you do that, even against a rock thrower, who is taking an offensive action against you.
"In our country, the way things move, it's good to say that we need these drones. But will you accept the mistakes made by such weapons systems? You must accept it. If the nation spares us the kind of mistakes that can be made using this type of weapon, then I think we can take a call. "
At that time, the police officer who asked the question said that his question was about deploying drones on the line of control:" I'm talking awkwardly – to kill their bosses, basically. "
General Rawat replied:
"You see, on the other hand, you may be mistaken, either in your territory or on the territory, there will be errors, so if we are willing to accept these mistakes, and if we think there will be no impact, there will be no feedback, there is a solution
"That's not to say we can not use them, that's why we're trying to get those weapons, but these weapons are being bought more for … not for hybrid warfare systems, we let's look at it since the clbadical war … but yes, all we get is dual use
"But the first problem is the damage guarantee, we're so worried, in your own country your people are so worried about collateral damage, when you're doing this kind of war, think you have to accept that collateral damage is occurring. It's the war. If it is something that we can accept, then the use of this type of weapon is no problem.
"But can we accept it? Will the international community go after us? Or will they save us in case of errors? It's a call we must take. Otherwise, there is no problem in using it.
Hybrid Threats, From Russia to Assam
Hybrid warfare involves a wide range of hostile acts, ranging from irregular strategies used up to the time of the war. creation of history. guerrilla uprisings or terrorist acts – to the subterfuges of the 21st century, such as cyberattacks and psy-op via false information and digital propaganda.
Nowadays, it is generally thought that Russia is at the forefront of hybrid warfare in its neighborhood. and as far as the United States. Russian officials, meanwhile, believe that Russia is a victim of the hybrid war of Western origin.
The main difficulty in dealing with most hybrid threats is that they are not played on the battlefield but in the midst of the target country's population. – they are designed to infiltrate and disrupt the fabric of civic and social life. Hostile agents are supposed to be indistinguishable from civilians. They may be armed infiltrators wearing cargo pants, sneakers and backpacks, such as during the Mumbai attacks ten years ago, or malicious instigators on Facebook pages.
No stranger to controversy
Over the past year, the chief of the army has made other controversial remarks, pushing the border between prerogatives military and civilian in response to alleged hybrid threats.
In January 2018, he accused the Kashmiri public schools of creating separatist sentiments ("If you go to In every school in Kashmir, you will find two cards – one from India and the other Another reason why there should be a separate map of J & K! ") And recommended to reform the education in the state
A few weeks later, he said that illegal immigration from Bangladesh was part of a "proxy game … played very well by our western neighbor [Pakistan] supported by our northern border (19459013), in order to keep the area disturbed He also directly referred to the political party AIUDF as a beneficiary of this "indirect dimension of war."
Last year, General Rawat was criticized for having awarded a medal of praise to Major Leetul Gogoi, the officer of the army who courted international controversy by tying the bonds of & # 39; a Kashmir. civilian at the hood of his jeep – even as the own army investigation court on his action was underway.
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