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Showing posts with the label India's defence relations

Russia proposes information systems for Indian Navy ( Source- Russia & India Report / Author- Konstantin Zavrazhin)

INS Vikramaditya ( R-33) (Image credits- Indian Navy) Source- Russia & India Report Author- Konstantin Zavrazhin , RIR The Russian Morinformsystem-Agat company has held talks with several Indian instrument-making and defence companies on new projects to jointly develop information systems for the Indian Navy, a company press release said. “Talks were held with the GRSE Shipyard, Goa Shipyard, and Hindustan Shipyard on the possibilities for cooperation in the construction of new ships of Indian design, and integration of the concern’s information systems in these projects. Cooperation in development of joint-projects for manufacturing information systems for the Indian Navy were discussed with the instrument-manufacturing companies Bharat Electronics Limited and Mahindra & Mahindra, as well as defence companies Reliance Defence and the SUN Group,” RIA Novosti quoted the company’s press release as saying. Among areas of cooperation between Morinformsystem-Ag

India and the emerging geopolitics of Asia- Pacific

Credits- Flickr / MEA Official image, Government of India " In International relations, there are no permanent friends nor permanent enemies, but only permanent national interests":- So they say in international relations. Nothing exemplifies this more than the emerging geopolitics of Asia-Pacific. There is indeed a tectonic  shift in relations and serious realignment taking place as we speak.  History of Indian Foreign relations After gaining independence, India chose the path of non alignment with a tilt to the socialistic policies emphasizing left leaning politics. This ensured that India cultivated closer relations with the USSR which for the time payed rich dividends for India. Russia was the chief source from which India procured vital and high tech weapon systems and also the USSR had been instrumental in protecting Indian national interests in international forums like the United Nations. They also helped India at the time of national crisis like the

Anti-Submarine Operations in the Indian Ocean ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Abhijit Singh)

Image credits- Indian navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Abhijit Singh As India and Australia prepare to embark on their first-ever bilateral naval interaction in the Bay of Bengal this month, reports suggest the exercises will focus on anti-submarine warfare (ASW). This is being seen as evidence of a growing regional consensus on the threat posed by Chinese undersea operations in the Asian littorals. Australia is reported to be sending a Lockheed Martin’s P-3 anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft, a Collins-class submarine, and ASW frigates, while India will be deploying a P-8 long-range anti-submarine aircraft, along with other surface assets. Over the past two years, China’s submarine deployments in the Indian Ocean have been a source of worry for Indian analysts. Since May this year, when a Chinese Yuan-class submarine visited Karachi, there has been growing unease in New Delhi over the possibility of greater Chinese submarine presence in India’s maritime neighbor

Australia, India to Hold First Ever Naval Exercise Amid China Concerns ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

Royal Australian Navy ship in India ( Image credits- Indian navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran Next month, the Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy will hold their first-ever joint maritime exercise. The exercise, called AUSINDEX, will he held off India’s Visakhapatnam Port in the Bay of Bengal in mid-September. According to defense sources, Australia is sending Lockheed Martin’s P-3 anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft, a Collins-class submarine, a tanker, and frigates, while India will deploy assets including Boeing’s P-8 long-range anti-submarine aircraft and a locally manufactured corvette. The exercise will have both sea and shore phases and include table-top exercises, scenario planning, and at sea, surface and anti-submarine warfare. Unsurprisingly, the media attention has focused on the exercise narrowly as a response to rising concerns about China. For instance, the anti-submarine warfare focus of the exercise – which includes ex

China’s Rise And Assertive Behavior: What It Means For India – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia Review / Author- Biren Nanda / South Asian Monitor)

Image credits- Flickr / Indian PMO Source- Eurasia Review Author- Biren Nanda / South Asian Monitor China’s economic boom and military modernization have brought it to the forefront of the strategic stakes in the Asia Pacific region. In economic terms China is the number one trading partner of many countries in the Asia Pacific, including India and Australia. On the other hand China’s military aggressiveness in the East and South China Seas and the “US pivot” to Asia have raised the prospects of tensions between China and the United States in the future. There seems to be a gap between China’s local bullying behavior and her overall strategy and pronouncements, which seem to advocate a more reasoned rise. This begs the question as to whether China’s aggressiveness is based on the premise that US’ power is on the decline and that it can deter the US at least in the region? Does China believe that US pronouncements notwithstanding, the US will not move to contain China?

India Navy Chief to Boost Defense Cooperation on Southeast Asia Voyage ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

INS Sahyadiri ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Saberwyn) Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R.K. Dhowan will be paying a five-day visit to Singapore and Thailand this week in a bid to strengthen naval cooperation and boost India’s ‘Act East Policy’ in the region, according to an official government statement seen by The Diplomat. Since Narendra Modi took office last year, India has been attempting to further boost cooperation with Southeast Asian states as part of its ‘Act East Policy’, a variation on the ‘Look East Policy’ first formulated under Narasimha Rao in 1991. As I have noted before, the Modi government’s use of the ‘Act East Policy’ is designed to signal a more action-oriented policy toward Southeast Asia (See: “Modi Unveils India’s ‘Act East Policy’ to ASEAN in Myanmar”). This applies to defense relations as well, and Dhowan’s trip is being publicized as a case in point. In Singapore, Dhowan will

India Reacts as Military Strategies Collide in the Asia-Pacific ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Karan Pradhan)

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official, Government of India Source- The Diplomat Author- Karan Pradhan On July 2, the U.S. Department of Defense released the ‘National Military Strategy of the United States of America 2015,’ and a few weeks earlier, on May 26, China too unveiled its defence white paper, titled China’s Military Strategy. Both reports are an annual exercise, and this year’s documents reflect adjustments in military strategy necessitated by geopolitical changes, such as China’s growing global power status, the proliferation of Islamist terrorist organisations, and a resurgence of Cold War rivalries. Soon, Japan too will release its annual defence paper, and the Japanese media has already carried reports about an outline of the paper; Russia is also adjusting its existing defence strategy. All these white papers provide an insight into how each country now perceives a changing world, geopolitically and technologically, and how its policies will adapt to

Will There Be an Indian Air Base in Tajikistan? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Catherine Putz)

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Nord Nord West Source- The Diplomat Author- Catherine Putz A perennial rumor followed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tajikistan over the weekend: that India wants to lease the Ayni airbase outside of Dushanbe. The source of the rumor was Mail Today, the Indian edition of the U.K.’s Daily Mail – a tabloid newspaper read best with an entire block of salt on hand. Mail Today reported Saturday that leasing the Ayni air base was going to top Modi’s agenda in Dushanbe. From there, the rumor spread through the hyperactive Indian press — and made an appearance in Tajikistan’s nascent press. Like all good rumors, the Ayni air base lease story has roots in the truth but doesn’t, ultimately, reflect reality. Tajikistan maintains a hospital facility in southern Tajikistan, which Modi visited Sunday. The India-Tajik Friendship Hospital, according to the Indian government, is located in Qurghonteppa, Tajikistan and opened in November 20

Why Are India's Warships in Thailand and Cambodia? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Prashanth Parameswaran)

INS Satpura- F48 (Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Navy)  Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran This week, Indian warships visited Cambodia and Thailand as part of a two-month long operational deployment in surrounding waters in pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ Policy. According to a June 23 press release by the Indian embassy in Bangkok seen by The Diplomat, the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh entered the two Southeast Asian countries as part of a broader operational deployment to Southeast Asia and the Southern Indian Ocean. The ships had been on a 45-day deployment, which included port calls to Jakarta (Indonesia), Fremantle (Australia), and Singapore, where they participated in the bilateral exercise SIMBEX-15 with the Royal Singapore Navy. The visits, the press release said, were “in pursuance of India’s ‘Act East’ policy.” As I have written before, India’s ‘Act East’ policy under

Restraint No More: India Reassess Its Hard Power ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Harsh V. Pant)

Image credits- Forces India Source- The Diplomat Author- Harsh V. Pant On June 4, tribal guerrillas, using rocket-propelled grenades and detonating improvised explosive devices, killed 20 soldiers and injured several others, in an ambush when a military convoy was traveling to the state capital Imphal from the town of Motul in Manipur. This was one of the most serious attacks on Indian security forces in Manipur for some time. India has struggled to contain the unrest in Manipur despite granting its security forces sweeping shoot-to-kill powers in so-called “disturbed areas” under the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). India’s response to these attacks came five days later—on June 9—when the Indian army attacked rebel camps inside Myanmar early Tuesday morning, destroying two camps and killing up to 15 rebels. Underlining India’s resolve to preempt terror threats, undeterred by borders, Para Commandos of the Indian Army carried out surgical operati

India-France Relations: Look to the Indian Ocean ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Iskander Rehman)

Image credits- Reuters Source- The Diplomat Author- Iskander Rehman Since his investiture last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has startled many observers with the hyperactive nature of his foreign policy. Inevitably, journalistic commentary tends to focus primarily on the Modi administration’s diplomatic engagement with established great powers, such as the United States, or with emerging behemoths such as China. In contrast, when India’s relations with European nations are discussed, it is almost invariably through the softer, blurrier, lens of economic and trade-related issues. There is, however, a “hard” aspect to India’s ties with certain industrialized middle powers in Europe – and all too often the strategic dimension of these relationships is overlooked. This is particularly true with regard to the French Republic. There has always been a rather unique quality to the Franco-Indian relationship. Even at the height of the Cold War, when India’s rapport