Indian military to be restructured under five theatre commands to contain Pakistan, China threat

(Karachi) In a move to strengthen its military amid border disputes, India will have five integrated theatre commands by 2022 with defined areas of operation and a seamless command structure, Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.

Currently, the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy all defend Indian airspace on separate communication frequencies and without synergy.

As per the report, out of the five theatre commands, India has decided to form specific command against China and Pakistan due to rising conflict with these countries. The Indian military is also planning to bring Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir under a theater which will have both the Line of Control (LOC) and the International Border (IB).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the mandate to create a theater command similar to China and the US to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, it stated.

The report mentioned that the remake of Northern Command will begin from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh and continue till Kibithu, the last checkpoint in Arunachal Pradesh has a military mandate guarding 3,425 km of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The headquarters of this command can be Lucknow.

Similarly, the Western Command will be remanded from Indira Col on Saltoro Ridge in the Siachen Glacier area with its headquarters prospecting at Gujarat's trip to Jaipur.

The third theatre command will be the Peninsular Command; Fourth, a full air defence command; and fifth, a marine command. The Peninsular Command's likely headquarters may be Thiruvananthapuram.

The Air Defence Command will not only speed up the country's airstrikes. It will also be responsible for defending Indian airspace through multi-role fighters with all anti-aircraft missiles under its control, the report stated.