WAR DOCTRINES OF VARIOUS COUNTRIES

India

The Indian Army's combat doctrine is based on effectively utilising offensive as well as defensive formations. In the case of an attack, the defensive or holding formations would contain the enemy while offensive or strike formations would counter-attack to neutralise the enemy. In the case of an Indian assault, holding formations would pin down the enemy while strike formations would launch offensives at a time and place of their choosing. The Indian Army's large size and structure ensures that it can employ several corps and independent formations for the strike role. The army is also engaged in enhancing its special forces’ capabilities, for which a new doctrine has been written. With India’s increasing global role and the requirement of protectiing India's interest in far off shores becoming important, the Indian Army and Indian Navy are jointly raising a marine brigade. Emerging doctrines cater for joint inter-service operations and the Indian Armed Forces have conducted several exercises to validate the concept of joint operations and integrated battle groups for offensive operations. A key component of India’s emerging doctrines is the ability to rapidly mobilise and execute offensive actions without crossing the enemy's nuclear-use threshold.

China

While laying emphasis on the relationship between the military and society, Chinese military doctrine views military force as merely a part of an “overarching grand strategy”. Currently, Chinese military doctrine is in a flux, but some senior officers have recently claimed that the People's Liberation Army is trying to build a force capable of attacking the enemy's structural system. Experts opine that the unique aspect of China's military doctrine is that it views everything as a weapon and believes that new technologies shape the battlefield. PLA doctrine lays a huge emphasis on information technology, electronic and information warfare, integrated satellite-based battlefield communication networks, space and aerial surveillance, and long-range precision strikes. China has very few nuclear missiles vis-à-vis Russia and major Western powers and Chinese nuclear doctrine follows a strategy of minimal deterrence capability. Some reports say that Chinese military doctrine is to maintain a nuclear force which allows it to respond to a nuclear attack, though there are indications that it could employ its nuclear arsenal in other situations also.

Pakistan

Pakistan's military orientation is totally India-centric for which it has conceived the Riposte doctrine, a “limited offensive-defence" strategy under which Pakistan, in the event of hostilities, will not wait for India to attack, but, according to expers, launch an offensive of its own along narrow fronts aimed at occupying Indian territory to a depth of 40-50 kms. Since Indian forces may not reach their maximum strength near the border for another 48-72 hours, Pakistan might gain parity or numerical superiority. Reports also state Pakistan is permanently relocating the peacetime bases of its forces closer to the border. This is so because many of Pakistan's major towns and politically and military sensitive targets lie very close to the border and it cannot afford to lose large territories. Moreover, Indian convectional superiority could lead to serious penetration inside Pakistan, with the Pakistani army being unable to maneuver to meet the threat. Counterattacking formations would then be destroyed piecemeal by numerically superior Indian forces and given its geographical shape, Pakistan could well be cut into half by an Indian attack in force. In line with the Riptose, Pakistan has created Army Reserve South, a centralised grouping of several powerful corps and equipped with assets for mechanised capability and vastly increased strategic reserves and logistic support, including ammunition and fuel, to sustain for 45 days in case of a conflict. During the 1965 war, Pakistan had only 13-day reserves, hampering its military operations, veterans recall.