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

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Vivek Mishra Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent three-day visit to Japan is a sign that the bilateral relationship between India and Japan is headed for newer heights. More importantly, there seems to be a palpable method to this resurgent Asian connection that does not just attempt to restore the balance of power in Asia. The two sides are astutely restructuring regional formulations in the Asian geopolitical theatre through a mix of economic, political and strategic accomplishments. India was able to draw Japan’s support for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), negotiate small but significant progress in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train timeline, ease Indian student visas and facilitate the training of 30 thousand Indians in Japanese manufacturing practices. Two other developments that took place during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan could turn the India-Japan relationship

Image credits- VOA Source- The Diplomat Authors- Satoru Nagao and Koh Swee Lean Collin The Indo-Pacific region has been fraught with maritime issues, including an array of non-traditional security threats, notably seaborne piracy and terrorism – two salient challenges highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he addressed the valedictory function of India’s recent International Fleet Review. This warning came at an apt moment when regional waters have seen a recent spike in the number of piratical attacks and sea robberies. At the same time, the prospect of extremism and militancy spreading from land to the maritime domain constitutes a very real threat. But without a doubt, simmering tensions in the East and South China Seas have overshadowed reports of, say, pirates in regional waters. In the South China Sea especially, the situation has taken a turn for the worse. Between October 2015 and February this year, the U.S. Navy conducted freedom of navigati

JMSDF ships ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons ) Source- The National Interest Author-  Harry J. Kazianis It seems that Japan is developing plans to craft its own Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) strategy—or what one former Japanese official describes as “maritime supremacy and air superiority”—against the Chinese Navy. The plan itself, detailed by Reuters, makes a tremendous amount of good sense: “Tokyo is responding by stringing a line of anti-ship, anti-aircraft missile batteries along 200 islands in the East China Sea stretching 1,400 km (870 miles) from the country's mainland toward Taiwan. . . “While the installations are not secret, it is the first time such officials have spelled out that the deployment will help keep China at bay in the Western Pacific and amounts to a Japanese version of the "anti-access/area denial" doctrine, known as "A2/AD" in military jargon, that China is using to try to push the United States and its a

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Narendra Modi Official) Source- The National Interest Author-  Richard Fontaine The recent visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to New Delhi marks a new step forward in the quickly deepening ties between India and Japan. Each led by a conservative prime minister with a muscular foreign policy, the two countries are motivated by a desire to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region. They are also united by a concern about rising Chinese power and assertiveness and a determination to balance against it. Washington should welcome the new links between its Japanese ally and its Indian strategic partner and encourage their further growth. The new warmth serves American interests in profound ways. By balancing China and ensuring that it rises in a region where the democratic powers are also strong and working together, closer ties between Tokyo and New Delhi he

Image credits- Narendra Modi Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s five-day visit to Japan was a resounding success. Both the Indian and Japanese press have lauded the visit and its accomplishments—notably, the  elevation  of the India-Japan relationship to a “special” strategic and global partnership, and the big-ticket investments in Indian infrastructure announced to the tune of U.S. $35 billion in assistance over five years. From a Washington perspective, the India-Japan relationship is a positive development and one that the United States has fully  supported . What the visit also shows, however, is the way the state-directed economic policy tools countries like Japan (and China as well) are mobilizing to further their relations with India substantially exceed comparable U.S. approaches. Virtually every account of the Abe-Modi summit emphasizes the Indian interest in attracting greater foreign investment for India’s enormous development needs. Infrastructure has been a par

http://thediplomat.com/2013/12/should-india-japan-ties-worry-china/

http://www.voanews.com/content/japan-china-territorial-tension-rising-over-unmanned-drones/1780574.html

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/10/24/power-politics-in-the-indian-ocean-dont-exaggerate-the-china-threat/

As we enter the second half of the new century,  a new power game that will not only define the future of Asia-Pacific but the entire world is quietly been played out. The predominant players in this great game are Japan, China, India, The United States of America and Russia. A brief analysis of all the powers: JAPAN Japan has historically been one of the most powerful countries in Asia. After the devastating defeat in the second world war, it took Japan just 3 years to become a global power house. But with the strict curbs on military development, Japan followed a pacifist policy. But America nurtured Japan allowing her to develop a credible defense apparatus under the name of Self Defense. Japan now is slowly coming out of it's self imposed exile and building up it's defenses. With it's massive economy, Japan will be one of the main players of the emerging Asian security architecture. CHINA China has predominantly been an Asian super power. With the re