FAUJI INDIA Magazine - June 2020

In this issue

This issue comes at an epochal moment in the world where a pandemic has forced all nations to face, at varying levels, the same challenge. But with Great Power rivalry still persistent, frictions between their camps has set the tone for a new Cold War. The Ladakh standoff between the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a result of this phenomenon, unprecedented in the scale of Chinese incursions. Apparently Coronavirus-induced medical concerns affected even the military's functioning, as a cancelled annual Indian exercise in Ladakh is said to have allowed the Chinese build up.

India that was bogged down by an economic recession that is worsened by the lockdown. The subsequent heart wrenching plight of the daily wagers and the migrant labour crisis has added to the challenges of simultaneously checking the infection in a record-public health effort. Thus the central government could do little to focus on the military front. The Chinese saw this chance and moved quickly. This has challenged ‘deterrence’ that had prevented conventional wars between rival powers. What the future holds for global affairs in general and the Indian security situation in particular, is what we examine in this issue.