The military conflict between India and Pakistan following Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor has not officially ended, it remains on pause. But as per an US intelligent report, India considers Pakistan only as an ancillary security problem. The “2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment” report by the Defence Intelligence Agency states that India views China as its primary adversary.
The report states that Pakistan is considered more an ancillary security problem to be managed by the Indian govt, despite the recent military conflict.
According to the report, India is giving priority to advancing its bilateral defense partnerships in the Indian Ocean region to counter Chinese influence and boost its global leadership role. India is using exercises, training, arms sales, and information sharing for this objective.
The report states that while India and China have reached an agreement to move forces away from the two remaining contested positions along the disputed Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, this has not resolved the longstanding dispute about border demarcation. However, this has reduced some tension that escalated in 2020.
Defence Intelligence Agency report says that India “certainly will continue promoting its “Made in India” initiative this year to build its domestic defense industry, mitigate supply chain concerns, and modernize its military.” It noted testing of nuclear-capable developmental Agni-I Prime MRBM and the Agni-V multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle, apart from commissioning its second nuclear-powered submarine.
The US intelligence report adds that India will maintain its relationship with Russia through 2025 because it views its ties to Russia as important for achieving its economic and defense objectives. It notes that while India has reduced its procurement of Russian-origin military equipment under Modi government, the country still relies on Russian spare parts to maintain and sustain its large inventory of Russian-origin tanks and fighter aircraft.
While the report states that India considers Pakistan as an ancillary security problem, it states that Pakistan regards India as an existential threat. The report predicts that Pakistan will continue to pursue its military modernization effort, including the development of battlefield nuclear weapons, to offset India’s conventional military advantage.
Significantly, the Defence Intelligence Agency says that Pakistan is modernizing its nuclear arsenal and maintaining the security of its nuclear materials and nuclear command and control. The report also says that Pakistan is acquiring weapons of mass destruction. It states, “Pakistan almost certainly procures WMD applicable goods from foreign suppliers and intermediaries.”
It says that Pakistan is acquiring materials and technology needed to develop WMDs from China, which are sometimes transhipped through Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the report adds that while China remains Pakistan’s primary military hardware supplier, terrorist attacks on Chinese workers in Pakistan have emerged as a point of friction between the countries.
