Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Jacob Jose Source- Eurasia Review Authors- Tan Ming Hui and Lee YingHui Responding to both domestic and external pressures, China sends a strong signal by raising tensions in the East China Sea. Japan is likely to continue engagement of Southeast Asia to balance the perceived Chinese provocation. Can China and Japan explore conciliatory options to avoid a worsening security situation in the region? ..........( Now read on )

Image credits- USNI Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Last week, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) held what state media called a “maritime confrontation drill” in the Sea of Japan. The drill involved a simulated skirmish between two Chinese naval task forces and involved multiple warships from the PLAN’s East China Sea Fleet..............( Read on )

Image credits- VOA Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Starting Friday, Chinese Coast Guard ships, accompanied by more than two hundred fishing vessels, entered disputed waters around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea..... ( Read on )

PLAAF J-10 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Ratxham) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz-Stafan Gady China’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) has accused Japan of aggressive behavior in the East China Sea, claiming that Japanese “provocations” nearly resulted in a dogfight between aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF), according to a statement published on the Chinese MOD website. The Chinese claims came a week after Japanese media reported that a Chinese warplane was close to firing at a JASDF aircraft in the East China Sea—an incident that was immediately denied by Koichi Hagiuda, the deputy chief Cabinet secretary and an aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Hagiuda said that the Chinese aircraft did not make “an attack motion” against JASDF fighter jets. This did not stop a Chinese MOD spokesperson from characterizing the Japanese media report as “distorting facts by calling white black a

PLAN Frigate ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Stekruebe) Source- The Diplomat Author- Steven Stashwick Early last Thursday morning, a Chinese Jiangkai I frigate entered waters near the disputed Japanese Senkaku islands, called the Diaoyu by China. The move sparked an immediate response from the Japanese government, which summoned the Chinese ambassador at 2 am to lodge a protest. When the islands were nationalized by Japan in 2012, incursions by Chinese ships and aircraft increased dramatically, from practically zero to sometimes several per day. This most recent incursion was unique because it was the first time China has used a naval vessel instead of a Coast Guard or other state ship to venture near the islands. One senior Japanese defense official said the warship’s presence meant “the level of crisis has gone up one notch.” However, both the frigate’s route and Japan’s response may actually have confirmed that Japan really has the upper hand in the Senkaku di

J-20 ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Alexandr Chechin) Source- The National Interest Author- Harry J.Kazianis “Aggressive,” “coercive,” “antagonistic,” and “hostile” are some of the words various Asia-security experts have used over the last several years to describe recent Chinese foreign-policy choices. Such talk heated up dramatically in November 2013 when China declared—with no official advanced warning—an Air-Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, a geographic flashpoint between various powers in the region. This unilateral action sparked intense global debate as to the logic of such a move, but also amplified larger concerns over Chinese intentions throughout the Asia-Pacific and wider Indo-Pacific regions. This essay, divided into several sections, offers a rationale for China’s ADIZ declaration, with an eye towards an even more important question: Will Beijing declare such a zone in the area of the South China Sea? This author believes