Expect unexpected and plan accordingly: Rajnath tells Army commanders

New Delhi: Expect the unexpected and plan accordingly – this was the message that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave to the top Indian Army commanders, who have gathered here to take stock of the security situation and prepare for the future.

“We must learn from the incidents, including the global ones, that happened in the present aand also in the past. Expect the unexpected and thereby plan, strategise and prepare,” Singh said here on Wednesday at the year’s second Army Commanders Conference.

Though the Defence Minister did not make specific reference to any country, his comments came at a time when the world is witnessing a raging war in west Asia between Israel and Hamas militants. Also there is no sign of the Russia-Ukraine conflict getting over anytime soon.

“War preparedness should be a continuous phenomena and we should always be ready for the unpredictable and uncertainties that may crop up any time. We should always be strengthening our fighting skills and weapons technologies so as to act effectively wherever called for,” he noted.

Observing that the complex and ambiguous global situation affected everyone, Singh said unconventional warfare would be part of the future conventional wars as evident in the recent conflicts happening in various parts of the world.

The five-day Army Commanders' conference that began on Monday has been focusing on bolstering the force's overall combat capabilities considering the possible national security challenges, including along the frontier with China.

Referring to the situation along the northern border where troops from India and China were in a face-off situation for the last 3.5 years with occasional skirmishes, the minister said he had full confidence in the Army for any contingency, though the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution would continue at all levels.

He also complimented the Border Roads Organisation for incomparable improvement of road communication near western and northern borders. On the situation along the western borders, he said the proxy war by the adversary continued.