Anil Chopra (2021), Asian Defence Review 2021, New Delhi, KW Publishers
Dr. Sampa Kundu
The years 2020-2021 have been marked by incidents and developments that had brought several changes in the fields of health care, medical technology, cyber security, diplomacy, power relations and economy. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the Galwan valley scuffles between India and China, US withdrawal from Afghanistan, arrival of Rafale fighter jets in India, continuation of Quad security forum, military take-over in Myanmar and several other developments have changed the power dynamics in Asia in the last two years. In this backdrop, Asian Defence Review 2021, edited by Air Marshal Anil Chopra, is a timely contribution to understand and analyse the driving factors in defence procurement and modernisation, the importance of enhanced air power, China’s muscle flexing in the Indian Ocean Region, the US-China competitions and the stakes for India as its equations with Myanmar and South Asian neighbours may witness new trends to name a few in the list of relevant and contemporary defence and security related issues. This edited volume has ten chapters written by ten contributors including the editor.
Thematically, this book delves into the opportunities and challenges for Quad, China’s positions in the Indian Ocean Region, the role of the US in the Indo-Pacific and India’s trends in defence and security cooperation with its immediate neighbours. Sanu Kainikara in the chapter on Quad illustrated rightly that the mini-groups in the Indo-Pacific region (which also have the non-Quad countries) will be included in the geopolitical calculations based on specific issues and expected outcomes. This chapter also explains different and contradictory approaches of the Quad countries as they deal with China from different perspectives. Joshy M. Paul has designed the challenges and risks of China’s Maritime Silk Road where he spoke about the project’s strategic implications for India. In his words, “With the land connectivity through Pakistan and Myanmar, and the enhanced naval capability at the Indian Ocean waters, China will be able to encircle India in South Asia”. (p-129) Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury in his chapter on China-Myanmar relations mentions that India can offer its experience in assimilating different ethnic traditions and cultures into the ‘democratic framework’ in a compact way to Myanmar. (p- 226) This can be India’s way to actively engage the government in Myanmar.
As a reader, I found the chapter on India’s challenges in becoming a drone hub, written by RK Narang. The author has illustrated challenges like testing sites, certification related issues, lack of research and development, accountability concerns and so on. He explained that for India it is important to become the ‘Drone Hub of the World’. (p-92) This can be an eye-opener for those who have initiated their knowledge-hunt on India’s capabilities in drones.
Towards the end of the book, Urmi Tat deals with the issue of development cooperation and neighbourhood first policy of India. For India’s foreign relations, both these approaches have played a crucial role and a continuation of those policies are important.
While this book is extremely useful for those who wants to understand the finer nuances of India’s defence and security policies in the backdrop of the changes and shifts in the global politics and economy, there is a lack of policy-oriented narratives and discussions from Indian point of view. A dedicated chapter on India’s responses to the global political-defence-security trends would have accommodated the interests of the senior and experienced policy makers from the Indian side. Also, the book leaves one critical issue in India’s defence and security policy- the Northeast India dilemma including problems like insurgency, illegal migration and drug trafficking. The organisational capability of the Indian Army is also not considered in the book.
The book however is a good combination of academic thinking and practical experiences by a handful people who have gained knowledge and information either through primary interactions and professional engagements or through national and international information resources. This book is useful for students and researchers who need to see that information in one place.
Dr. Sampa Kundu is Consultant at ASEAN-India Centre at Research and Information System For Developing Countries, India.
