New Delhi: Future conflicts will require a more integrated multi-state and multi-agency approach as the security of a nation is no longer confined to preserving territorial integrity but encompasses economic, energy and food security, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday.
Security areas like economic, energy, food, health, environmental and several other dimensions are important for security of a nation, he said while addressing members of 55th batch of National Defence College.
The members of the team of the course comprise members from all the three armed forces, IAS, IPS and officials from friendly nations.
Recalling the words of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, while inaugurating the NDC in 1960, the President said, "defence is not an isolated subject. It is intimately connected with the economic, industrial and many other aspects in the country and is all encompassing".
"Intensive research and quality analysis in all fields and disciplines is thus a pre-requisite which calls for a holistic approach to studies across a vast spectrum of disciplines," he said.
He said the role of the armed forces has expanded far beyond traditional military matters with the revolutions in military affairs and globalisation.
"It is clear that future conflicts in the complex defence and security environment will require a more integrated multi-state and multi-agency approach," Mukherjee said.
"There must be a conscious effort to strengthen the underlying linkages and not divide them into watertight compartments. Adopting such an approach will yield rich dividends. At the same time, one must not lose sight of the larger picture and keep the primary objective always in focus," he said.
Mukherjee, who has earlier served as Minister for Defence and External Affairs, said the global environment on Wednesday poses numerous challenges to the world because of its dynamic nature.
"The astonishing pace at which events have unfolded in the recent past could not have been foreseen a decade earlier," he said.
The President said with power relationships constantly changing, a country needs understand, appreciate and adjusts itself to the changes that are taking place around it as otherwise its own security will be seriously jeopardised.
Natural and man made resources are always at a premium, there will be intense competition among nations to take control of these resources, he said.
Mukherjee said the success of any nation depends on how effectively it harnesses all the available resources at its disposal, foremost among these being the human resource.
"The development of human resource for National Security is an onerous task undertaken by National Defence College of India where senior officers from not only the Armed Forces but also from Civil Services and friendly foreign countries are endowed with background knowledge to make policy decisions related to national security.
"In a democratic system like ours, various organs of the state must understand the strengths and limitations of each other. Political leadership and senior Civil Services officers must be conversant with the capabilities and limitations of the Defence forces," he said.
He said similarly, Armed Forces officers need to understand the limitations and constitutional frame work under which the political set up and Civil Services function.
However, both of them should be aware of the larger perspective of National Security in order to take informed decisions of vital importance, he said.
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