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

INS Satpura (F-48) Frigate of the Indian Navy  ( Image credits-Wikimedia commons/United States Navy) Traffic at the Maritime Self-Defense Force base at Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, is typically dominated by Japanese and U.S. warships, but in July it saw an unusual variety of vessel. An Indian frigate and destroyer docked en route to joint exercises in the Western Pacific. The INS Shivalik and INS Ranvijay’s appearance at the port near Nagasaki showed Japan’s interest in developing ties with the South Asian nation as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government faces deepening tensions with China. Japan for the third time joined the U.S. and India in the annual Malabar drills that usually are held in the Bay of Bengal. With Abe loosening limits on his nation’s military, the exercises that conclude Wednesday showcase Japan’s expanding naval profile as China pushes maritime claims in disputed areas of the East and South China Seas. For newly installed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J

When you talk about a security in Asia, the first name that one consider is the United States. Th Americans has been the predominant power in Asia.  The corner stone of the American power projection is it's network of time tested allies and the security alliance with them. Such alliance has ensured peace in Asia for many decades. But it is this alliance that is now challenged by the rise of China. The Chinese it seems are getting ready to take on the United States and challenge their position of dominance in Asia. But such policies is met by the United States by re positioning major defence assets to Asia and the Pacific. America also has many bases in Asia and Indian ocean by which they can project power. Their relationship with India is also growing with years of careful nurture that ensures the containment of China should a circumstance arise.  When we talk about the 21'st century, the first thing that comes to our mind is China. China which liberalized it's ec

Malabar Naval Exercises ( Image Credits- Wikimedia Commons/United States Navy) India, the United States, and Japan are gearing up for the next iteration of the  Malabar series of naval exercises . The exercise this year will take place in the northern Pacific and will involve naval assets from all three countries. The exercise is seen as a symbol of growing trilateral security cooperation between these three democracies. The Malabar exercise will precede India’s “Yudh Abhyas” counter-terror exercise in Uttarakhand, which is scheduled to take place in September with U.S. forces, according to a  Times of India  report . Both Malabar and Yudh Abhyas represent the two most significant military exercises that the Indian armed forces have been involved in since Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral victory. According to the  Times of India , the Indian navy will be sending four to five ships, including a  Rajput -class destroyer and a  Shivalik -class s

INS Satpura ( Image Credits- Wikimedia commons/United States Navy) India is gearing up for the next round of military exercises with the US, with the top-notch "Malabar" naval war games in the Pacific and the intensive "Yudh Abhyas" counter-terror drills in Uttarakhand, in the first such maneuvres after the Modi government came to power last month.  Just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Japan to meet his counterpart Shinzo Abe on July 3 and 4, India will dispatch four to five warships, including a Rajput-class destroyer and a Shivalik-class stealth frigate, on the long-range overseas deployment.  "The warships will first head for the 'Indra' exercise with Russia off Vladivostok and then reach the North Pacific towards end-July for the Malabar exercises, which apart from India and US will include Japan," said an official.  India had invited Japan to participate in this year's Malabar war games, which have ruffled the feathers