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

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons President Obama’s former defense secretary is making a grim prediction: At the end of the day,  Russia will successfully annex Crimea  from Ukraine, no matter how many economic  sanctions or assets freezes  the West imposes. In an interview on Fox News Sunday,  Bob Gates said that Vladimir Putin  “wants to recreate the Soviet Union,” and sees the Crimean invasion as “taking back territory that belonged to them.” The best thing the U.S. and its allies can do at this point, according to Gates, is prevent more countries from falling into Russia’s sphere of influence. “I do not believe that Crimea will slip out of Russia’s hands,” Gates said. “You think Crimea’s gone?,” host Chris Wallace asked. “I do,” Gates responded. Next week,  Crimea will hold a referendum  on whether or not to reincorporate itself into Russia. Moscow, not surprisingly, supports the referendum, while Ukraine’s leadership has called the referendum illegal. Prime Minister

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons Most of the debate that has surrounded the emergence of China as a major military player in the Asia-Pacific has focused on the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) development of an  anti-access/area-denial  (A2AD) strategy and its potential impact on a U.S.-led regional security architecture that remains anchored to old concepts. As China expands its military capabilities and, alongside those, its claims to various territories within the region, the PLA has developed and fielded a variety of platforms that are intended to deter and delay external intervention by U.S. forces in, say, an armed conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The much-discussed  Dong Feng 21D (DF-21D)  anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), which could theoretically threaten a U.S. carrier battle group on its way to the region, is at the core of such a strategy. Far less discussed, however, is the fact that China’s A2/AD strategy, or the likelihood that it will directly affect the cou

Must watch how Ex-Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar exposes Arvind Kejriwal during India Today Conclave!

A Gujarati Replies to the 16 Questions asked  by Arvind Kejriwal to Narendra Modi ! Q : If you become the PM, will you raise price of the KG Basin gas, which has already been doubl ed by the UPA government to $8 per unit? A : This is a highly speculative question, however, to answer your question, please consider these figures. PSU enterprises, led by ONGC produce two thirds of all gas production in India. Reliance produces barely 10%. Hence any rise in the price of gas will benefit ONGC the most, directly contributing in filling up the coffers of the state exchequer. Hence, your allegation that price of gas is being raised to benefit Reliance doesn’t hold ground. The price change in gas has been recommendation by an eminent six member panel headed by C Rangrajan. While you allege that all these experts are on the payroll of Reliance, which is really condemnable, you conveniently hide the fact that this panel was appointed by Shri Jaypal Reddy, the then petroleum minist

Pic credit- Wikimedia China announced a military budget of 808.23 billion Yuan ($131.57 billion) for 2014, a roughly 12.2 percent yearly increase. Naturally, this has raised concern among many of China’s neighbors that are locked in territorial disputes with Beijing, as well as in the United States. For the countries concerned about China’s growing defense spending, there is both bad news and good news (or at least less bad news) contained in this announcement. Let’s begin with the bad. First, as is well known, China’s military spending in 2014 is almost certain to far exceed $132 billion, as Beijing is notorious for keeping much of its defense spending off the books. Many estimates of China’s 2013 defense spending put it closer to $200 billion, although any credible sources contain a caveat that the margin of error is high. Nevertheless, assuming it was around $200 billion in 2013, a 12 percent increase this year would put China’s defense spending at about $224 billion. The

Image courtesy- The Wikimedia Commons Amid escalating tensions between Japan and China, a 12.2 percent  budget increase  in China’s defense spending, and fears that budget cuts for the U.S. military could have a negative impact  on the United States’ ability to “pivot” to Asia, U.S. and Japanese officials have announced plans to co-develop a new high-speed vessel capable of carrying helicopters. Following a meeting between U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on March 4, the two governments announced that the Japanese Defense Ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense would hold studies for the joint development of the vessel under the bilateral Mutual Defense Assistance (MDA) agreement. Although very little information has been released about the project, analysts contend that the trimaran would likely be a lighter variant of the U.S. Navy’s 3,000-tonne littoral combat ship (LCS), a platform designed primarily for missions in

Pic courtesy- Wikimedia and United States Navy As the United States prepares plans to downsize its military, the Navy is set to order fewer Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets than previously expected over the next five years. Citing an unnamed defense official, Reuters reported that beginning in the 2015 fiscal year, the Navy will request the purchase of 36 F-35C fighter jets, which are designed to land on aircraft carriers. That’s nearly half as many as the 69 originally projected. The Air Force, meanwhile, is postponing its own request for four F-35A jets for one year. Beginning in 2016, however, it remains on track to move forward with its purchases as planned, an arrangement that will see the Air Force purchase about 238 jets total. The Marine Corps stands out as the sole player committed to its original plan, still expected to request 69 F-35B jets over five years. These are scheduled to be combat ready and in use by mid-2015. According to Pentagon Comptroller Ro

Image Courtesy- Wikimedia and the Author Ukraine’s Navy flagship, the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, has reportedly refused to follow orders from Kiev, and come over to Russia’s side and is returning home after taking part in NATO operation in the Gulf of Aden flying the Russian naval flag. There has been conflicting information on where exactly the vessel is, but a Russian senator has confirmed to Izvestia daily that the frigate defected to the Russian side. “ Ukraine’s Navy flagship the Hetman Sahaidachny has come over to our side today. It has hung out the St Andrew’s flag, ” Senator Igor Morozov, a member of the committee on the international affairs, told Izvestia daily. He said the flagship is on its way back to the Black Sea after drills in the Mediterranean. “ The crew has fulfilled the order by the chief commander of Ukraine’s armed forces Viktor Yanukovich ,” he added. The move comes after the Navy command resigned Friday. Self-appointed President Aleksandr Turchin

Image Courtesy- Wikimedia and the author The Indian fighter jets have begun the process of changing over to desi tyres, probably signalling an end to escalating cost and non-availability concerns. The Indian Air Force sources confirmed to Express that the ‘India shining’ story is being scripted by the MRF, which has got the clearance from the military airworthiness officials to produce the main wheel tyres of frontline fighters Sukhoi (Su-30 MKI). The indigenous tyres named Aeromuscle are 30 per cent cheaper than the imported ones. The IAF started looking within the country after facing difficulties in sourcing tyres from abroad. It was even forced to use tyres from war reserves for some aircraft, after supplies from Russia became an issue. The idea to approach Indian companies was taken up during P V Nayak’s tenure as the IAF chief. “The MRF agreed to do all design, development and quality tests at their own cost in the nation’s interest,” an IAF official s

There may be accidents. But be proud of our navy and what it will become in years to come 

So this year's edition of the annual reference book - The Military Balance - published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will be eagerly scrutinised to see who is up and who is down, and what this might mean for the global balance of power.................. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26054545