TRI-SERVICE
COMMON DEFENCE STATION - DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News:
Plans under way to make Mumbai
first tri-service common defence station
What's
in the news?
●
The Armed Forces are planning to turn Mumbai into the first tri-service
common defence station in the country for the Army, Navy and the Indian Air
Force (IAF).
Key
takeaways:
●
This step aimed at achieving jointness
among the three services ahead of the creation of integrated theatre commands.
Present
Status:
●
Currently,
there are no common defence stations in India.
●
The Andaman and Nicobar command is a
full-fledged command raised as a tri-service command in 2001.
●
Currently, Mumbai houses separate wings of
the three services, operating independently.
●
The Navy, with its substantial presence in
Mumbai, will assume the lead role in this new integrated setup.
●
Sulur,
located near Coimbatore, and Guwahati are expected to be
selected as the sites for the second and third common defence stations.
○
While the lead carrier for Sulur is
possibly to be IAF, the Army will possibly be the lead carrier for the Guwahati
station.
Theaterisation
of Armed Forces:
●
It is a concept which seeks to integrate the capabilities of the 3
services – navy, air force and navy – to optimally utilise their resources
for wars and operations.
●
A theatre command/unit might be created by
integrating elements/assets from all the 3 services.
●
A theatre command deploys elements of the
3 services under a single, unified command structure.
●
Each command is assigned a specific
geographical location, combining resources of the 3 services for operational
roles.
●
As of now, almost all predominant
countries like China, Russia, the USA,
the UK and France work on a theatre command concept.
●
For example, China’s Western Theatre
Command looks after the whole borders with India.
Theatre
Commands and India:
●
The Kargil
Review Committee, the Naresh Chandra Committee and the Group of Ministers
had referred to structural modifications in higher defence management.
●
It was the Shekatkar committee, which had recommended the creation of the post
of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and theatre commands.
Current
Command Structure in India:
At present, India has 17 single carrier commands and best
tri-service commands. The 17 single service commands are divided as:
●
Army – 7 commands
●
Airforce – 7 commands
●
Navy – 3 commands.
The tri-service commands are as follows.
●
Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC)
●
The Strategic Force Command (handles the
nuclear guns).
Recent
Measures:
1.
Proposal to create a National Defence Committee:
●
There is a proposal for theatre commanders
under a national defence committee probably headed by the Defence Minister.
2.
Inter-Services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Act 2023:
●
The act empowers the commander-in-chief
and the officer-in-command of inter-services establishments with disciplinary
and administrative powers over employees from the other services serving in
them.
●
Limited cross-postings among the Army,
Navy and IAF have already been carried out to promote jointness.
● Restructuring of the headquarters and the following postings will take place after the final approval from the govt.