New Delhi: India unveiled a new national security doctrine through its Operation Sindoor and exceeded its strategic aims of destroying terrorist infrastructure and demonstrating its military superiority over Pakistan, a strategic affairs expert said on Wednesday.
John Spencer, the chair of Urban Warfare Studies at US-based think-tank Modern War Institute, said India showcased its ability to strike any target in Pakistan “at will” and drew and enforced a “new red line” for cross-border terrorism under the operation that was launched early on May 7.
The Modern War Institute (MWI) describes itself as a national resource at the United States Military Academy that studies recent and ongoing conflicts
India carried out precision attacks on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.
As Pakistan attempted to target India’s military installations and civilian areas following India’s actions, the Indian armed forces mounted fierce counter-attacks as part of Operation Sindoor over a period of four days.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations of both sides on the afternoon of May 10.
“Operation Sindoor met and exceeded its strategic aims — destroying terrorist infrastructure, demonstrating military superiority, restoring deterrence, and unveiling a new national security doctrine,” Spencer wrote in a piece on the Indo-Pak conflict .
Analysing various dimensions of the conflict, he said a “new red line was drawn and enforced which is: terror attacks from Pakistani soil will now be met with military force”.
“That’s not a threat. It’s precedent,” he observed.
“India showcased its ability to strike any target in Pakistan at will –terror sites, drone coordination hubs, even air bases. Meanwhile, Pakistan was unable to penetrate a single defended area inside India,” he noted.
“That is not parity. That is overwhelming superiority. And that is how real deterrence is established,” Spencer observed.
In his first address to the nation after Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sternly warned Pakistan that India will not succumb to nuclear blackmail and sent a clear message to the world: terror and trade, terror and talks cannot go together.
“Operation Sindoor is India’s new policy against terrorism and our unwavering pledge for justice. It is the new normal. We have only kept in abeyance our operations against Pakistan and the future will depend on their behaviour,” Modi said.
Spencer argued that India “retaliated forcefully” to Pakistani actions but stopped short of a “full war”, adding the “controlled escalation” sent a clear deterrent signal: India will respond, and it controls the pace.
He also delved into the diplomatic aspect of Operation Sindoor and said India handled the crisis without seeking “international mediation”.
“It enforced doctrine on sovereign terms, using sovereign means. Operation Sindoor was not about occupation or regime change,” he said in the piece that he posted on X.
It was executed for specific objectives, he said explaining that strategic success isn’t about the scale of destruction and it is about achieving the desired political effect.
“India was not fighting for vengeance. It was fighting for deterrence. And it worked,” Spencer added.
