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

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons  An investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner is focusing more on a suspicion of foul play, as evidence suggests it was diverted hundreds of miles off course, sources familiar with the Malaysian probe said. In a far more detailed description of military radar plotting than has been publicly revealed, two sources told Reuters an unidentified aircraft that investigators suspect was missing Flight MH370 appeared to be following a commonly used navigational route when it was last spotted early on Saturday, northwest of Malaysia. That course - headed into the Andaman Sea and towards the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean - could only have been set deliberately, either by flying the Boeing 777-200ER jet manually or by programming the auto-pilot. A third investigative source said inquiries were focusing more on the theory that someone who knew how to fly a plane deliberately diverted the flight hundreds of miles off its

Pic courtesy- Wikimedia commons    In a move that could have serious repercussions for the security situation in the South China Sea, Indonesian officials on Wednesday acknowledged that China was claiming part of Indonesia’s Riau Islands province as its own territory. The Indonesian Military’s (TNI) Air Commodore Fahru Zaini, who is a member of the defense strategy unit at the office of the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said that China had included parts of the Natuna Islands within its so-called nine-dash line. This line indicates the border of China’s maritime claims, comprising almost the entire South China Sea. An image depicting the nine-dash line was also included in newly issued Chinese passports. “What China has done affects the Unitary State of Indonesia,” Fahru said in Natuna on Wednesday. “As such, we have come to Natuna to see firsthand the strategic position of the TNI, especially in its ability, strength and its deployme

Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons The Russian Armed Forces are working on the Mig-41, a new supersonic fighter based on the Mig-31 Foxhound. According to the famous experimental pilot Anatoliy Kvochur, the MiG-41 is to be capable of reaching speeds above Mach 4, even Mach 4,3. That would make the plane faster than the (now retired) American SR-71 Blackbird. Currently, the Foxhound is capable of flying at speeds of Mach 2.8. Nevertheless, while developing a Mach 4+ replacement for the Foxhound, the Russians will to continue the modernization program of the Foxhounds, overhauling over 100 aircraft. MiG-31 is an interceptor based on MiG-25 Foxbat, with a combat radius of 720 km. A group of four Foxhounds is able to control an area that is 1000km wide; 190 MiG-31s are currently in service within the Russian Air Force, 100 of those are still flyable.

Image courtesy- Cardekho  T he Mahindra Group has scaled up its ambitions for its defence business, hoping to be able to take on bigger rivals such as Tata group and Larsen and Toubro Ltd   (   L&T   ) when large defence contracts are finally bid out to local companies that are outside government control. Private Indian defence firms, many of which pale in terms of technical capability when compared with foreign rivals, currently only deliver non-critical vehicles such as trucks to the military and supply parts and equipment to state-run establishments that cater to the more advanced requirements. But  Mahindra  and other private domestic defence companies are hoping to be called to bid for larger and critical projects after the government expanded the scope of its defence procurement policy in June last year. “Our goal is to have critical mass and scale which will allow us to have a diverse portfolio of different technological skills which together will allow us to tak

Image courtesy- Wikipedia commons The creation of a multinational defense organization, not unlike NATO, might be one solution to preserve stability and security in Asia-Pacific. On April 4, 1949, the  North Atlantic Treaty Organization  was born, formed in part to deter Soviet expansionism and to establish a North American presence in Europe, in addition to integrating Europe and preventing the rise of militant nationalism. Although one can certainly debate the relevance of NATO in the world today, elsewhere however, such an alliance might prove necessary. The players and setting might differ, but the challenges remain the same. A source of concern with China’s ascension and increasing assertiveness has more than worried, if not aggravated, a few of its neighbors. Beijing’s unilateral establishment of an ADIZ (Air Defense and Identification Zone) in the East China Sea, which encompassed the much disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands with Japan, is only the latest kerfuffle,

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