West Asia War Adding To Instability, Economic Turbulence, Says Army Chief

General Manoj Pande said despite an 'unprecedented churn' in the global landscape, which has set into motion a chain of events as well as some new trend lines, India remains a ‘bright spot’.

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande made the remarks at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue ( Image Source :Getty )

The Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande Friday said the war between Israel and Hamas has added to global “instability” and “economic turbulence” along with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but despite these “unprecedented churn” in global landscape India remains a “bright spot”.

Speaking at the inaugural two-day Chanakya Defence Dialogue in New Delhi, Gen. Pande said, “The unprecedented churn in the global landscape has set into motion a chain of events as well as some new trend lines. Amongst others, we need to take particular note of the growing salience of ‘National Security’ in international affairs and the renewed currency of hard power. The Pandemic, which began as the health crisis and ended up as a national security event, closed on the heels of the cataclysm in Ukraine.”

“We are now faced with an escalating conflict in West Asia. These instabilities and challenges are compounded by notable economic turbulence and the weaponization of a multitude of attributes and domains from information to supply chains. Issues like radicalization, terrorism, piracy, illegal migration, refugees and climate change, add to the bouquet of global concerns,” said the Army Chief.

Gen. Pande also said the world is witnessing “new divisions” currently even as the “peace dividends” of the Cold War dissipates and fault lines are being drawn between east and west, north and south.

“Not only is the Cold War peace dividend dwindling, the world seems to be fracturing in myriad ways. New divisions are coming to the fore between the East and the West as also between the Global North and the Global South. The globalised world that we once applauded is now fraught with difficulties. It is moving towards decoupling, de-risking and perhaps de-globalisation,” he added.  

According to the COAS, in current times it is technology that is driving geopolitics, transforming “not only strategic competition but also war fighting.”

He said, “In fact Technology is emerging as a new strategic arena of geo-political competition.”

'India Remains A Bright Spot'

While the world is witnessing multiple conflicts leading to a massive shift in the global orders where increasingly like-minded countries are aligning together, it is India that is holding its own.

“Amidst such despondency it is my belief that India remains a ‘bright spot’. The nation’s resolve, resilience and diverse capacities were put through a severe test during the Pandemic. Not only did we ride the storm rather well, the outreach through ‘Vaccine Maitri’ won universal acclaim. An agile, resilient, consumer driven economy has enabled us to brave the economic downturn of the Russia Ukraine conflict,” the COAS underscored.

“Our pursuits as part of the International Solar Alliance, Global BioFuel Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure reflect our intent to find solutions to global problems. Today, India has a credible voice on the world stage, one that is distinct, rooted in Indian ethos and effective in articulating the concerns of the Global South. The successful conduct of the G20 meet demonstrated India’s ability to bridge divides and achieve consensus on some very knotty issues,” he said.

He added, “A continuous and thoughtful evaluation of the defence and security landscape, from both, the global and regional perspectives is therefore imperative.”