Highlighting the ever-changing technology in the field of modern warfare, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on Saturday underscored the importance of cooperation and working together in the maritime domain.
Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘The future of conflict: Lessons from the Third Decade’ at Delhi: Raisina Dialogue 2023, the Navy said, “In the maritime domain, challenges are not traditional or non-traditional. It is a problem for all of us. We always look to cooperate and work together in the maritime domain.” Modern warfare has changed from large-scale clashes of armies to suppression of civilian populations via chemical weapons, drones (used extensively in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war), etc.
“Whenever technology is developed, we find that there is always a counter to it. As we are seeing in the ongoing Ukraine war, when technology is brought into the battlefield it is immediately countered,” the Navy chief said.
Underlining the importance of small groupings for an agile coalition and partnership, he said, “When we work in smaller groups then it serves the purpose and generates trust in partner countries. India as a country looks at everybody in the region to prosper together.”
Apart from Kumar, the other participants at the panel discussion comprised Bec Shrimpton, Director of the Sydney Dialogue, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and former Defence, DFAT, Austrade and senior adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, General Koji Yamazaki, Chief of Staff of Japan Self-Defense Forces, Admiral John C Aquilino, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief Of Naval Staff, VADM/VAM Angus Topshee, 38th Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy,
Adm Sir Ben Key, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, UK supported the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
“We support ‘Make in India’. India is reaching out for partnerships, but it is also making sure that it is resilient to external threats,” he said.