Was addressing the inaugural of the 20th Subroto Mukerjee seminar organised by the think-tank Centre for Air Power Studies
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, December 22
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Friday said the landscape of international relations is shifting and traditional power structures are increasingly being challenged by new players and threat of global conflict looms large, fuelled by ideological divisions, resource scarcity and climate change.
These threats have created interconnected challenges like economic disparity and resource exploitation, ACM Chaudhari said.
He was addressing the inaugural of the 20th Subroto Mukerjee seminar organised by the think-tank Centre for Air Power Studies here.
The IAF chief referred as ‘Global South’ to the countries that were left out of the industrialisation era and were mostly at the receiving end of imperialism and colonial rule, saying India had played a proactive role in international fora to protect the Global South’s interests.
“As we navigate these uncharted skies, air power would undoubtedly play a pivotal role and also serve as a symbol of national strength. The IAF may easily act as a catalyst for progress, fostering strategic partnerships and contributing to the collective advancement of the Global South.
“Our engagements with the countries of the Global South have resonated across the board and allowed us to exchange best practices, improve interoperability and build trust. These engagements are crucial for tackling shared security challenges and ensuring regional stability.”
The IAF has increased the footprint of training and cooperation with these nations and the IAF conducts regular training programmes for these partner nations sharing best practices in the fields of operations and maintenance, ACM Chaudhari said.
He lauded the role played by the Indian Military Advisory Teams saying the courses offered through Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme had paved the way for increased cooperation. Such programmes had focused on capacity building and human resource development, he said.
“Over the years, ITEC has trained more than 2 lakh officials in both civil and defence sectors. The IAF has a long and proud tradition of training AF cadets from nations of this group. This exchange of knowledge and experience has broadened our stature and strengthened diplomatic ties and cooperation. In the past nine years, Indian Air Force alone has trained more than 5,000 foreign trainees from countries of the Global South,” he said.
Beyond long-term training, short-term curated courses on specific areas of expertise for target countries could be formulated and offered on a regular basis, he added.
“India’s growing indigenous defence capability has already opened the doors for partnerships and exports and in future establishing joint ventures with these nations can be mutually beneficial. This could involve co-development of components, sharing production facilities and creating regional maintenance and support hubs.
“Another area that we need to explore is joint research and development projects, defence innovation and technological exchange. The IAF can actively support initiatives that promote sustainable development in the Global South,” he added.
“We must identify contemporary security challenges faced by India and the Global South, and create fora for discussing terrorism, cyber threats, regional conflicts and other shared concerns to create collaborative defence strategies to mitigate these challenges. These fora could be in the form of bilateral or multilateral defence agreements for conduct of joint military exercises, intelligence-sharing and technology collaborations,” he concluded.