AN ANALYSIS OF INDIA’S CURRENT NATIONAL SECURITY SITUATION

ABSTRACT

The defence of interests in the extended neighbourhood is impractical due to financial constraints and the need to preserve current capabilities against external and internal threats, but it should be possible to adopt the defence of the island nations and extended sea lanes of the Indian Ocean as a fourth priority.India’s economy and population have been gradually expanding since its independence in 1947. India, a nation of more than a billion people, places a high focus on socioeconomic growth. In the meantime, India is of the opinion that this development requires a certain degree of regional stability. India has historically undertaken a comprehensive defensive defence strategy in order to achieve this. Yet due to military advances and escalating conflicts with Pakistan, she has switched to a war preventive approach.India’s defence priorities up until this point have been the protection of small South Asian neighbours from destabilisation by domestic and extraregional actors, the defence of national territory, offshore assets, and sea lanes of communication from external aggression, maintaining national unity in the face of internal challenges. The country’s interests have expanded throughout the Extended Neighbourhood between Suez and Shanghai due to growing economic ties with the rest of Asia and a desire to take the lead.

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