The nature of the military threat has become hybrid
5/15/2022
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Nurlan Yermekbayev, statesman:
The Al-Farabi Kazakh National University hosted a leadership lecture by Nurlan Bayuzakovich Yermekbayev, a statesman of the Republic of Kazakhstan, candidate of political sciences, diplomat, Lieutenant General, on "Kazakhstan's policy in military security".
The rector of Kazakh National University Zhanseit Tuimebayev introduced the guest of honor to the audience, noting the importance of promoting patriotism, the policy of Kazakhstan, and its security among the students. Nurlan Ermekbaev started his career in 1984 during a business trip to Angola. He graduated with honors from the Red Banner Order Military Institute of the USSR Ministry of Defense as an officer fluent in Chinese and English. Then he graduated from the Kazakh State Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering as an engineer-economist. In different years he held important state posts. He has the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. From 2018 to 2021, he served as Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The speaker is also a candidate of political science, the author of several dozen articles, co-author of the book "Kazakhstan and the countries of the world," and the author of the idea for the film "Time of Patriots."
At a meeting with students and faculty, the lecturer spoke about the military security of the state, the principles of military security policy, and the political situation in the world today.
"Representatives from several faculties are gathered here. It is a pleasure to meet with you. It is a great honor to speak before you in the oldest, largest university in Kazakhstan, which occupies the first lines in the ratings, has rich traditions, and since 1934 it has had a military department. It trained officers and servicemen for the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. I am glad that there is a strong military department here. You are experts in the fields of law, international relations, Oriental Studies, and political science. With such a faculty, you have great opportunities to get theoretical knowledge and listen to informative lectures, so I'm more useful to you as someone with practical experience who has worked at a certain time and insecurity, in the armed forces, and participated in the preparation of strategic documents. So I'm going to speak in practical, understandable language, but at the same time, we shouldn't forget that you get an academic education, and this, of course, implies scientific skills. And science, as you know, has its own methodology and distinctive features. I would like to highlight its criteria, such as non-politicization, reliable information, evidence, and arguments that ensure the objectivity of science. For example, if we are talking about an armed conflict, as scientists we should not say who is right or wrong. We must evaluate the effectiveness of one side or the other, and evaluate objective causes and consequences, that is, provide an unbiased and objective analysis. We cannot ignore theory, so in the course of our conversation, I will try to find a balance between the scientific approach and practice. So today's topic is "Kazakhstan's Military Security Policy," the speaker said at the beginning of the lecture.
Why is the topic of military security (CS) important today? First of all, if there is a military threat, it will affect all of us. It is not for nothing that the very notion of "defense" in the Law on Defense and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan is formulated as follows: "Defense is a system of state measures of political, military, economic, informational, environmental, socio-legal and other nature to ensure military security, armed protection of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the State border of the Republic of Kazakhstan." Secondly, today, the WB covers almost all spheres. Such phenomena as hybrid wars appeared. Therefore, no matter where you work, your organization will be involved in ensuring the WB.
The purpose of activities in the field of military security is to increase the military potential of the state to deter military threats to the Republic of Kazakhstan. With the support of the country's leadership, a set of measures is being implemented in all areas of Armed Forces development, increasing the status and prestige of military service in society. This allowed to improve considerably the quality of combat training and technical equipment of the troops, guarantee social support for servicemen, solve housing problems systematically, to increase considerably the prestige of the army within the framework of international and military cooperation, the lecturer noted.
The very notion of "military security" as a phenomenon emerged with the emergence of the state and the army. It is believed that the term, "national security" (NS), was coined by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. Different states define different types and directions of the provision of Homeland Security. In accordance with the law "On National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan", article 4, we in Kazakhstan define six types of NS - public, military, political, economic, informational, and environmental. That is, the National Security is a multi-competent, multi-level phenomenon, which includes the IS.
The first task of the military security of the country is to create conditions that exclude the danger of a military attack, so its provision is the most important direction of state activity and especially of foreign policy. At the same time, the goal of activities in the sphere of military security is to increase the military potential of the state to adequately respond to military threats to the Republic of Kazakhstan. The documents of all levels (strategic, operational, and tactical) are developed based on the assessment of the situation and the probable enemy, the decision is made on what to do, and based on the assessment of the likely enemy and the nature of the possible war - how to act, what forces and means. That is, the entire development of any nation's military forces is based on the assessment of the likely enemy, what kind of military threat there could be, what kind of military conflict is possible, and what kind of forces and means are necessary for that. Military planning documents are developed on the basis of such assessments.
The leader's lecture discussed the main factors influencing military security and threats, as well as priorities for the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan today. What is the assessment of the situation today? To put it in a nutshell, the politico-military situation around the world is getting more complicated. At the beginning of the XXI century, the military-power approach is widely used to solve the most acute problems of world politics, including bypassing the UN Security Council and generally accepted norms of international law.
Specific military conflicts, disputes, and security threats are the consequence of deeper processes. The basis is always a clash of practical interests against the background of such factors as shrinking living space, intensified competition, the struggle for survival and resources, markets for products, and for control over transportation routes. Access to almost any information and the enormous speed of its dissemination contributes to the flare-up of conflicts. Today, people have the ability to compare, get information quickly, and organize themselves, and the openness of the border has facilitated the activities of intelligence services. Direct interference in the internal political processes of these states is carried out to squeeze out competing countries or to significantly weaken them. There are more factors provoking various levels of conflict, including interstate conflicts. Even environmental problems and struggles over water resources can cause serious international conflicts. It is quite possible that in the future, despite the development of technology, it is access to freshwater that may underlie a number of military conflicts.
High dynamism, the unpredictability of events, strengthening of national and religious extremism are characteristic features of the modern military and political situation in the world. Sometimes true interests and goals are disguised under plausible pretexts. Military actions or operations begin under the guise of humanitarian ideas "liquidation of tyranny," "development of democracy," "promotion of universal values," etc. There appeared fundamentally new concepts of warfare (network-centric, aerospace, cyber-operation, etc.); development and acceptance for service of the latest weapons, and military equipment, including new combat space systems of multiple-use, high-precision weapons systems, laser strike systems, robotic and unmanned vehicles, 5th generation aircraft, fixed and mobile missile defense systems, etc.
Moreover, the very nature of the military threat has become complex, and hybrid, that is, it includes nonmilitary spheres as well. For example, information warfare is conducted and economic sanctions are widely used to destroy the economy and financial system of competitors. Destructive forces use asymmetric actions with the use of global communications and information-networking technologies to solve military-political tasks. Thus, a brief assessment of the military-political situation and military security suggests that despite the absence of direct threats, there are risks to military security. A distinction must be made between risks, threats, and dangers. One can give different definitions of these concepts, but the Law on Defense provides such definitions.
Next, Nurlan Yermekbayev told the audience about the principles of the WB police, military, and nonmilitary means, about the difference between the military doctrine and the concept. "Military potential is composed not only of weapons and military equipment but also of human capital, the level of economic and scientific and technical development. Therefore, it is always necessary to learn and move forward to the heights of science," the speaker summed up in his lecture. At the end of the leadership lecture, students got answers to their questions. At the end of the meeting Rector Zhanseit Tuimebaev thanked General Nurlan Ermekbaev for the informative lecture.
Kairzhan TUREZHANOV