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

Image credits- VOA A new world order is coming into being. Old alliances and friendships are falling and new alliances are coming through that shall change the future. Much as the world is concentrating on China, it is from India that the future alliances shall shape up. America should take the initiative and create a new world order in alliance with India and Israel. National Interest looks deep into the subject in this detailed article. ( The entire article can be read here )

Image credits- VOA One Belt One Road Initiative is a Chinese initiative to link China to Europe through a series of transnational road and sea lines. But China has yet to attract the main economic players including USA, Europe, India and others to participate in the venture, whose participation is imperative for the project to succeed. The National Interest takes a deeper look as how and what China should do and the steps they need to take to make the project a reality and viable. ( To read the entire article, click here .......)

INS Vikramaditya (Image credits- Indian Navy) INS Vikramaditya is the flag ship of the Indian Navy. She was earlier known as Admiral Groshkov before she was inducted into the Indian Navy. Now she is the most powerful ship native to the Indian Ocean. The National Interest looks in detail the troubles that India had to face to get Aircraft Carrier from Russia which ultimately forced India to design it's own aircraft carriers. ( To read the entire article, click here .......)

BRI ( OBOR Meet)- Credits, VOA Chinese One belt and One Road initiative is the biggest project ever undertaken by China to rekindle the ancient famed silk route. But things are not rosy as it seems. The National Interest in a detailed article discusses the challenges and pitfalls of the project. ( To read the article, click here ........)

J-11 Fighter ( Credits- Youtube) Like America, China has developed a specialised variant of it's Shenyang J-16D which like the American EA-18G Growler is designed for electronic warfare. An in depth look by The National Interest at it's abilities and how it can prove to be an headache for the Americans at the time of war ( To the read the entire article, click here .....)

USAF E-6 Mercury ( Credits- Wikimedia Commons / USAF) United States Air force has many types of Aircrafts. But one of the least known but one of the deadliest is the E-6B Mercury, which acts as a command post in the event of a nuclear attack, tasked with communicating with launch platforms including submarines. The National Interest has an interesting article on this amazing bird. (To read the article, click here ........)

                                                               Chinese coast guard ( Image credits- VOA) China has been a building spree in South China Sea with the intention to reinforce their claim. But what is always ignored the environmental coast that associated with these constructions. National Interest looks at the matter deeply to assess the truth. ( read the entire article here ........)

Chinese carrier Liaoning ( Credits- Internet image) China's ambitious ship building ship building plans are steadily progressing. China has a vast ship building capability. With the Varyag design that has become their first carrier Liaoning , China is now building their newest carrier, Type-002 which will be their third carrier. This carrier will have CATOBAR configuration employing steam catapult that will enable them to deploy heavier combat planes. China intends to deploy these carriers on long range petrol that shall enable them to project power as far away as Pacific and the Indian Oceans. National Interest looks as to how the carrier will develop ( Read the entire article here ...............)

USAF X-37B ( Image credits- Wikimedia / NASA) Source- The National Interest The mysterious USAF X-37 B space plane built by Boeing is giving sleepless nights to the Russians and the Chinese. What it is doing up in space is a mystery. The National Interest delves deep into the project to find a credible answer.  ( To read the entire article, click here ......)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Christophe Meneboeuf China is heading for a massive economic crash. Due to the growing credit problems, is the Chinese economy going for a massive crash. The National Interest has dealt the subject in an extensive article. Toread the same, click here

One road one belt (credits- Internet image) As China develops it's one road one belt linking the ancient silk route to Europe, it will need deal with terrorism on the route which has every chance to destroy the entire project. This subject is dealt in detail on the latest article by The National Interest. ( The entire article can be read here )

Russian Kirov class Battle Cruiser ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) The Russian navy is now a shadow of it's former self,  a mere shadow of the mighty former soviet fleet. The main problem confronting the Russian fleet is it's acute problem with it's ship yards that has become inefficient and also a large discrepancy in the procurement process. The Russian navy is fast transforming itself from a blue water navy to a Green water one, albeit with a deadly fang with long range cruise missiles like the Kalibr. The National Interest discusses the problems faced by the Russian Navy in detail. You can read the entire article here

Pearl Harbour ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN) China has been in recent years advancing outrageous claims on lands on the strength of myriad maps and obscure documents which China claims to be authentic but which will not stand the test of International law. On the basis of such claims, The National Interest has an article which advances the argument as to what happens if China claims Hawaii and all of Pacific. Something that can definitely happen. (To read the entire article, click here )

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest Author- Gordon G. Chang On Sunday morning, North Korea launched an intermediate-range missile high into the atmosphere. It fell into the Sea of Japan about five hundred kilometers downrange. Pyongyang identified the missile as a Pukguksong-2, and claimed it was developed by North Korean technicians, but it may have been Chinese in origin. President Trump on Monday said the U.S. has “a big, big problem” with North Korea. In fact, America may have a big, big problem with China. So before his administration crafts a policy, he needs to know where the Pukguksong-2 came from. The consensus view is that the missile tested Sunday is the land-based version of the KN-11. A KN-11 was launched August 24 from below the surface of the Sea of Japan. Video released by Pyongyang shows Sunday’s missile igniting in midair after leaving its mobile launcher, mimicking a submarine-launched missile. ( To read the entire article, cl

Chinese Type-99 Tank ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- National Interest Author- Michael Peck After decades as primarily a ground force with the world’s army (go tell China to never fight a land war in Asia), the Chinese military is reorienting itself toward an air-sea conflict in waters such as the South China Sea. For more than a decade, it has been China’s air and naval forces that have growing in budget and stature, while the army has not. Yet two China scholars ask a perceptive question: Why is the Chinese army going along with these reforms? As we well know from the U.S. military, no service ever voluntarily cedes power to another. It would be like the U.S. Army telling Congress, “cut our budget and give the Air Force more money.”( To read the entire article, click here .....)

Chinese Yaun ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The National Interest Author- Rishika Chauhan “Major powers have to work with each other even if their interests diverge on some issues,” India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar stressed at the recently concluded India China Think-Tanks Forum in New Delhi. However, within the next few days, two articles in significant Indian and Chinese dailies seemed to have dampened the spirit of cooperation. Talking about a Chinese consignment worth $2.8 million dispatched to Nepal, a widely circulated Indian newspaper said that the shipment “will severely hit Indian businesses.” A reporter at the Chinese state-run Global Times was quick to respond, insisting the move did not mean that “Chinese goods will push Indian products out of the country.” Impassioned media debates ensued. While reports of competition between the two rising states is common, such discussions have been frequent since September of last year. Accusing Ind

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Department of Defense Source- The National Interest Authors- Joseph W. PrueherJ. Stapleton RoyPaul HeerDavid M. LamptonMichael D. SwaineEzra Vogel As the Trump administration assumes leadership of American foreign policy, questions prevail about how it perceives the United States’ role in the world and how it will exercise that role.  The appearance of a potentially unconventional U.S. president amidst a world in flux highlights the enormous uncertainties and the potential risks to U.S. stability and prosperity that are now confronting us. The United States is today facing a fundamentally different world from the one it has known for many decades. In fact, the scope and magnitude of global change represents the greatest challenge since America’s emergence as a world power a century ago. Economic, technological, political and military power has dispersed globally in ways that make it impossible for the United States to p

USN FA-18 Super Hornet ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN) Source- The National Interes t Author- Joseph A. Bosco “America doesn't win anymore” was a constant Donald Trump campaign theme and a situation he pledged to reverse. But before we start winning again we need to stop losing — especially with China, which candidate Trump named as the prime exploiter of America's diplomatic naiveté. While he focused on trade and currency issues, we have been losing to Beijing even more dangerously on national security issues. North Korea, the South China Sea and Taiwan are three Asian flashpoints where China's interests are inimical to American interests and values—any one of which could suddenly bring the United States and China into military conflict ( To read the full article, click here ......)

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- Wikimedia Commons / VOA China Source- The National Interest Author- J. Michael Cole For all the talk about the inevitability of the eventual “reunification” of Taiwan and China and bluster about China’s determination to accomplish the “China dream,” ongoing trends in the Taiwan Strait have made it clear that Beijing’s approach to Taiwan is failing. Short of military conquest, there is very little in the current set of options available to Beijing suggesting that “peaceful unification” is even remotely possible. For a while, Beijing seemed to have a strategy, and if one did not look too closely it even seemed to be succeeding. Occurring at a time of shifting balance of economic and military power in the Taiwan Strait, the election of Ma Ying-jeou of the “Beijing-friendly” Kuomintang (KMT) in the 2008 elections, followed by the signing of a series of agreements and indications of political rapprochement, led many analysts to conclude that the Taiwan “ques