Operation Sindoor sets India's new baseline for future terror attacks: UK security expert

NEW DELHI: The recent India-Pakistan conflict, triggered by Pahalgam terror attack and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor , marked a “watershed event” in global security dynamics , said Dr Walter Ladwig, senior lecturer in International Relations at King’s College London and a noted security expert. He also noted that Operation Sindoor signals India's new and assertive military doctrine , especially in the wake of cross-border terrorism .

"This is a really watershed event. We are in undiscovered territory in the sense that we have no historical examples of multiple uses of air power by two nuclear-armed states against each other," Dr Ladwig told news agency ANI.

#WATCH | London, UK: On India-Pakistan recent conflict, Dr Walter Ladwig, senior lecturer of International Relations at King's College London and security expert, says, "...This is a really watershed event. We are in undiscovered territory in the sense that we have no historical… pic.twitter.com/hAiAlOrdGO

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2025

"I think it's shown that it [India] is willing to be and can be successfully assertive in its immediate neighbourhood. Operation Sindoor is now the new baseline in terms of how India will respond in the future to terrorist attacks that are reasonably credibly linked to Pakistan or perhaps any of its neighbours. This is not a country that is going to turn the other cheek or simply rely on diplomatic measures," he said.

#WATCH | London, UK: "I think it's shown that it is willing to be and can be successfully assertive in its immediate neighbourhood. I think we should assume that Operation Sindoor is the new baseline in terms of how India will respond in the future to terrorist attacks that are… pic.twitter.com/sCRYwAAU9S

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2025

Asked about the broader geopolitical response, Dr Ladwig remarked on the evolving role of global powers in the India-Pakistan dynamic.

"The United States has shown a clear preference for India and the steps that it has taken over the last two decades to really cultivate a strategic partnership with India," he said, expressing surprise that Pakistan still looks to Washington as an impartial interlocutor.

He added that while Russia and France are seen as firmly aligned with India, China continues to be Pakistan's principal military backer. In this complex and divided landscape, Dr Ladwig observed, “there does not seem to be one single actor necessarily who can really cajole the two sides to the table.”