Consensus Reached On Military Theatre Commands, Blueprint Soon To Be Presented Before Political Leadership: Report

A consensus has reportedly been reached among the chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) for establishing military theatre commands.

Integrated command structures can enhance resource efficiency and streamline communications. Currently, the three services rely on separate communication frameworks, which has limited their coordination and operational efficiency.

Notably, the consensus was reached initially in April and then reaffirmed in October as chiefs of all three armed forces changed in the intervening months. The theatre command blueprint is reportedly complete and will soon be submitted to senior political leaders for approval.

The government marked its first concrete move in this direction on 10 May 2023 by implementing the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control, and Discipline) Act, aimed at fostering unity across the services.

Instead of imposing these reforms, CDS General Anil Chauhan has led a collaborative approach, engaging service personnel at all levels to shape the proposal from the ground up as can be understood from his speech.

This restructured defense strategy envisions three commands focused on countering military threats from the West, North, and maritime zones, which also encompass India's island territories.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and national security advisors have been briefed on these recommendations, which include consolidated intelligence, cybersecurity, logistics, and a centralised communication network to improve response times and facilitate intelligence sharing.

Experts assert that theatre commands represent the future of defense, noting that all P-5 nations have adopted similar frameworks. India’s move aims to optimise military resources and foster a regionally adapted approach to defense, reducing reliance on purely Western tactics.

The proposed structure will see each of the three theatre commanders rank alongside the service chiefs, reporting directly to the Defence Minister through the CDS for operational updates.

This reorganisation is expected to keep the Defence Minister informed on all critical developments, including border and maritime security, mirroring the operational reporting found in P-5 nations.

With the services now aligned in support of theatre commands, the decision on when to introduce this new defense architecture rests with India’s political leadership, which favours it as the BJP mentioned theatre command in its 2024 manifesto.