By: Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retd), Editor, GSDN
As the World and South Asia reel in the midst of global & regional uncertainties, three statements merit attention that will have bearing on India after five years. One, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, the Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force expressed concern on January 07, 2025 over the increased militarisation by China and Pakistan and the pace at which technology is growing at a very rapid pace in China.
Two, on March 17, 2025, General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of the Army Staff, Indian Army, while delivering the fourth General Bipin Rawat Memorial Lecture in New Delhi remarked that two-front war was no longer a possibility-it’s a reality.
Three, on July 09, 2025, General Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, stated that the convergence of interests between China, Pakistan & Bangladesh will have serious implications for India’s stability and security dynamics.
From the statements above, it is amply clear that as India is faced with different challenges compared to the one-on-one wars/conflicts/skirmishes fought with either China or Pakistan in 1947-49, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1999, 2020 and 2025. The war ahead will be of a different dimension and enhanced magnitude.
The Kargil Review Committee (KRC) was setup after the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan. The KRC report tabled in the Indian Parliament on February 23, 2000 recommended the creation of the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and various tri-services organisations to promote jointness and integration amongst the three Services of the Indian Armed Forces comprising the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
The Shekatkar Committee headed by Lieutenant General DB Shekatkar in 2016 recommended the creation of three Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs).
After General Bipin Rawat took over as India’s first CDS on January 01, 2020 it was clear that it was a matter of time for the announcement of the ITCs. Next month, in February 2020, General Bipin Rawat announced the setting up of two-five theatre commands.
Thereafter started consultations and conferences amongst the three Services and the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials and finally the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Act, 2023 was promulgated, that empowered the commanders of the Tri-Services organisations and the future theatre commanders with full authority over personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force serving under them.
On June 24, 2025 orders were issued empowering the CDS General Anil Chauhan to issue joint orders for the three Services. With the Government of India already having declared 2025 as the “Year of Reforms”, it is imperative that the ITCs are created this year itself as the war clouds on India are darkening.
Why Theatre Commands should not delay beyond 2025?
Pakistan, India’s neighbour on the west has eyes set on the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and China, India’s neighbour on the north & east has eyes set on the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
With China commencing the construction of the Medog Dam on July 19, 2025 whose completion year is 2030, India can expect the two-front war jointly by China & Pakistan any time after 2030.
If the ITCs are created this year, the Indian Armed Forces will have a clear five-year window to streamline the newly created ITCs which would include planning, logistics, identifying & making-up deficiencies and operational preparedness.
Subsequent to the PLA defence reforms announced by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, the five theatre commands of the PLA came into effect on February 01, 2016 and since then the Western Theatre Command of China tasked for operations against India has been regularly carrying out combat exercises. China already has a one-decade lead in theatre command creation in relation to India.
After 2013 when Xi Jinping became China’s President for the first time, the military cooperation between China and Pakistan has increased manifold with regular joint exercises being carried out between the nations in all the six domains of modern warfare – land, sea, air, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum and space.
It is against this China-Pakistan combine that is in a tight military embrace now, that the Indian ITCs have to be well prepared. With Bangladesh tilting heavily towards the China-Pakistan combine since August 05, 2024, the implementation of the ITCs can’t be delayed beyond the year end for the Indian Armed Forces, as the magnitude and extent of the war on the horizon any time after five years, will be much greater than any war that India has fought in the past.
It is but natural that the ITCs on formation will have teething problems as it accrues in any new raising. As the administrative dust settles after the formation of the ITCs, operational preparedness will have to start in full swing. For, the litmus test of the ITC will be operations when the balloon goes up (military slang means commencement of war).
Even when a battalion comprising about 900-1000 soldiers is newly raised, it takes some time before it can be inducted either in counter-insurgency operations or a conventional war scenario. An ITC on raising will have anything upward of 100,000 soldiers of different Services with equipment that will require streamlining for optimal combat prowess.
There is always a difference between planning on paper and the actual execution on ground which will entail many challenges to be tackled when execution takes effect. The regional uncertainties are getting complicated with each passing day and so are the geopolitical games that the three superpowers are playing.
General Upendra Dwivedi, the Indian Army Chief on August 04, 2025 has stated that India’s next war is closer than what one thinks, is perhaps the clearest indication by any Indian military leader in the present times of the impending war.
For those who say that China & Pakistan will never attack India as China trades in huge volumes in India, should ask themselves that if this is the case then why is China having the biggest military buildup in the world, knowing fully well that no nation including the USA can ever dare attack China? Clearly, China has military designs and the two immediate targets on China’s radar are Taiwan & Arunachal Pradesh, the north-eastern state of India.
As the famous saying goes “If there is even one percent of war, the nation has to be 100 percent prepared”, the chances of the two-front war are definitely a reality and not a possibility any more as has been clearly enumerated by the Indian Army Chief. And hence should be India’s military preparedness accordingly.
The 88-hour conflict between India & Pakistan in May 2025 known as Operation Sindoor in India, brought to fore the close synergy between the three Services which resulted in a thumping military victory for India. It is time to capitalise on this success and create the Theatre Commands before the year ends so that in the flow of this military success, the implementation of the Theatre Commands fructifies.
Operation Sindoor was the trailer of the big future war that awaits the nation in all the domains of modern warfare. On July 04, 2025 Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh, the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, Indian Army in a seminar in New Delhi candidly spoke of Pakistan receiving live updates of the Indian Army’s vectors from China, during Operation Sindoor. The General Officer also mentioned of China using Pakistan as a live laboratory for testing its weapons.
The Theatre Commands are a step in the right direction to increase India’s combat-potential and combat-prowess and they should be created in the next four months to tackle the biggest military challenge that India will face since gaining independence in 1947.
About the Author
Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retd) is the Founder-Editor, Global Strategic & Defence News and has authored the book “China’s War Clouds: The Great Chinese Checkmate”. He tweets at @JassiSodhi24.
Excellent article. Very well researched.
We performed exceptionally well in Op Sindoor with pro active integration. Theatre Commands will introduce hurdles in integration. The air aspect had aircraft from Western and South Western Air Commands about a 100, integrated well to successfully deter the enemy. Theatre Command is an unnecessary complication which we must avoid for combat effectiveness. For the IAF, India is the Theatre.