(FinancialExpress) Smita Purushottam cautions India’s decision makers on upcoming decisions about telecom networks. Purushottom reports a decision is reportedly soon going to be taken on the inclusion of Chinese equipment in 5G roll-out in India, based on the Principal Scientific Advisor’s inputs. This commentator believes that before such a momentous decision affecting national and economic security is taken, it is essential to fully debate the implications of Chinese equipment inclusion in India’s networks.
One of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s core strengths is ‘information warfare’, which seamlessly interconnects battlefield operations in a 360-degree multi-domain environment, enabling lethal and targeted war-fighting responses in real time. China established the Strategic Support Force to operationalize this evolving doctrine and is thus honing a futuristic, deadly war machine with information warfare at its core, making even the mighty US defense establishment nervous.
In its most recent Defence White Paper, China has stated ‘intelligentisation’ is the next step in the evolution of warfare, beyond informatisation. Paired with hypersonic weapons and quantum encryption technologies, electronic warfare suites and space-based capabilities, China is fast gaining multiple battlefield advantages, and incidentally placing our vast weapons imports at risk of obsolescence.
Smita Purushottam views telecom networks as the changing face of conflict. He is founder & chairperson, SITARA (Science, Indigenous Technology & Advanced Research Accelerator). Views in article are personal.
India’s SITARA Founder Cautions Decision-Makers that “Telcom Networks the Changing Face of Conflict”
