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Mauritius orders patrol vessel, military hardware from India ( Copy Right @ Defence Web)

ICGS Viswasth ( Pic courtesy-Wikimedia Commons) The island nation of Mauritius has ordered a 50 metre fast patrol vessel from India, as well as machineguns, ammunition, body armour and interceptor boats in a major re-equipment drive. The government of Mauritius said the order for the $20.5 million fast patrol vessel for the Mauritius Police Force/Coast Guard was signed on May 7 in Port Louis by the Senior Chief Executive of the Prime Minister’s Office, K O Fong Weng-Poorun, and the Chairman and Managing Director of Goa Shipyard Ltd, Shekhar Mital. Also present at the signing ceremony were the Commissioner of Police and the Commander of the National Coast Guard. The fast patrol vessel will be 50.44 metres long with a speed of 35 knots. It will be used for defence and protection work, surveys, pollution control, coastal patrol, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, search and rescue, fisheries protection and monitoring of foreign chartered trawlers, amongst other duties. On the same oc

G7 backs legal remedy, opposes coercion in South China Sea ( Copy Right @ PhilStar)

G-7 Meeting ( Image Courtesy Associated Press) MANILA, Philippines — The Group of Seven Industrialized Countries or G7 pushed for the resolution of the dust-up over East and South China Sea through "legal dispute settlement mechanisms" in a communiqué released in Brussels on Wednesday. "We support the rights of claimants to seek peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including through legal dispute settlement mechanisms," said the forum of leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. The Philippines sought relief from the maritime tensions with China by filing before the United Nations an arbitration case, which it calls a "peaceful, open and friendly resolution mechanism." China, however, rejected the arbitration and refused to participate in the proceedings. It insisted on direct negotiations with rival claimants and continued its surveillance in the w

Putin looks east to bolster ties with North Korea ( Copy Right@ Associated Press/ Yahoo News)

Vladimir Putin ( Image courtesy-Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin) Angry with the West’s response over Ukraine and eager to diversify its options, Russia is moving rapidly to bolster ties with North Korea in a diplomatic nose-thumbing that could complicate the US-led effort to squeeze Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear weapons programme. Russia’s proactive strategy in Asia, which also involves cozying up to China and has been dubbed “Putin’s Pivot,” began years ago as Moscow’s answer to Washington’s much-touted alliance-building and rebalancing of its military forces in the Pacific. But it has gained a new sense of urgency since Ukraine – and Pyongyang is already getting a big windfall. Moscow’s overtures to North Korea reflect both a defensive distancing from the EU and Washington because of their sanctions over Ukraine and a broader, long-term effort by Russia to strengthen its hand in Asia by building political alliances, expanding energy exports and developing Russian re

U.S. vacates base in Central Asia as Russia's clout rises ( Copy Right @ ABS CBN News)

     KC-135 sits at the Manas Airbase ( Image courtesy- Wikimedia commons/ United States Air force)   The United States on Tuesday handed back its only Central Asian airbase to the government of Russia's close ally Kyrgyzstan, as President Barack Obama winds down U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Moscow makes a comeback in its old imperial backyard. In a move aimed at pleasing its former overlord Russia, parliament in Kyrgyzstan voted a year ago to give Washington until July 11 to vacate the Manas Transit Center, which has served U.S. operations in Afghanistan since 2001. The base, at the main civilian airport in the former Soviet republic, moved more than 5.3 million servicemen in and out of Afghanistan and handled tens of thousands of cargo shipments and refuelling missions. "We were known as the gateway to Afghanistan on freedom's frontier," Colonel John Millard, commander of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and Manas base head, told a group of

North Korea airs rare documentary showing footage of submarines ( Copy Right @ Arirang News)

North Korea is known to have about 70 submarines in its arsenal,... but until recently, they had never been seen. Looking to flex its muscles to the outside world,... a documentary has aired on North Korean state television... that flaunts the regime's underwater fire-power. Park Ji-won has more.  This is part of a recent documentary aired on North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television. It's the first time Pyongyang has publicly released video footage of its strategically-important Romeo-class submarines and submarine base. North Korea is currently believed to have about 70 submarines; around 20 are Romeo-class,... their largest submarines,... while the rest are of the shark- and salmon-classes. "It seems like North Korea showed its Romeo-class submarines, although they are rather old models, to promote that it has the capacity to block off all of South Korea's shores." The documentary also showed recent footage of

Russia Lifts Embargo on Weapons Sales to Pakistan ( Copy Right @ The Moscow Times)

Mi-35 ( Image courtesy- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Igor Dvurekov) Russia has lifted an embargo on weapons deliveries to Pakistan and is negotiating the sale of a number of Mi-35 attack helicopters to Islamabad, Sergei Chemezov, head of state-owned technology corporation Rostec, told Itar-Tass on Monday. The potential delivery of weapons and military hardware to Pakistan from Moscow could create tension between Russia and India, which has a long-standing rivalry with neighboring Pakistan. Historically, Russia has sold more weaponry to India — Russia delivered just 70 Mi-17 transport helicopters to Pakistan from 1996 to 2010. In 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who oversees the defense industry, seemingly took offense to Indian journalists asking him whether Moscow could supply Pakistan with weapons in future. Russia "always cooperates with India to ensure safety in the region. We have never created problems for India, unlike other countries. If someone says d

Narendra Modi govt to fast-track $1.5-bn deal, Army to get 197 light utility helicopters ( Copy Right @ The Financial Express)

    Defence Minister Arun Jaitley ( Image courtesy-  Wikimedia Commons/World Economic Forum) The Modi government is set to fast-track a $1.5-billion deal to acquire 197 light utility helicopters (LUH) for the army. The award of the contract was stuck with the previous UPA government, the latest delay coming after the controversy over buying helicopters for VVIP use surfaced. Sources told FE that a fresh request for proposal (RFP) for the chopper deal will be issued by the new government within a month's time. Defence minister Arun Jaitley has already been been briefed about the delayed/on hold projects, including the procurement of the LUHs. Once the RFP process is competed, it would take another two to three years before the first helicopter is delivered. The delays in the previous rounds of bidding have already hurt the army badly as it has been searching for a modern helicopter to replace the aging Cheetah/Chetak helicopter. Most of these are already running on an exte

US flexible to adapt itself to meet India's defence needs: Former US government official ( Copy Right @ The Economic Times)

P-8i Poseidon ( Image courtesy-Wikimedia commons/ Indian Navy) The United States is ready to give a special role to India in its "Asia-Pacific rebalance" strategy and is "flexible" to adapt itself to meet the Indian defence needs, a former US government official has said.  The official, who played a key role in India-US defence ties in past few years, hoped the Narendra Modi-led Indian Government with a decisive mandate would clear the high-tech projects that the two countries can co-produce for their respective armed forces.  He said the Obama Administration is ready to go that extra mile to help India realise its ambition of being self-reliant in defence research, development and production.  About 10 months ago, the then Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter had submitted to the then UPA government a comprehensive list of defence systems, which the US was ready to co-develop and co-produce with India.  "Those were projects that our industry would li

Future Frigates today’s challenge ( Copy Right @ The Australialian)

Image courtesy- Wikimedia commons/ Author The notoriously long gestation period of a major military capability means considerable effort has already been directed at the so-called Future Frigate that will replace the RAN’s eight Anzac-class workhorses sometime in the next decade. Although the Sea 5000 program has yet to complete the ­requirements definition phase, there has been no shortage of ­debate on capability and construction issues within both Defence and industry — until recently. One-on-one discussions in Sydney last year between ­Defence’s Capability Development Group and major industry players were to have been followed by a strong Defence team visiting ship designers in Europe and possibly the US. However, that visit has been cancelled and industry informed that no further developments can be expected until after publication next year of the Defence white paper and its accompanying defence capability plan. According to the 2012 DCP, the eight Future Frigates

Beijing may call Hanoi's bluff and start war: Duowei ( Copy Right @ Want China Times)

Image courtesy- Xinhua Vietnam is taking a big gamble by inflaming its territorial dispute with China as Beijing could very well consider starting a war, reports Duowei News, an outlet run by overseas Chinese. More than 7,000 Chinese citizens have already been evacuated from Vietnam since anti-China riots broke out as a result of a standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese naval ships near a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on May 4. Reports say at least 25 people have died during the riots, which targeted Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong factories across the country, with many forced to shut down due to damage and fires. Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has since sent out three mass text messages to citizens urging them not to participate in further protests, but only after widespread accusations that his government tacitly encouraged them in the first place. Vietnam's diplomatic efforts to garner support against

WILL MODI LOOK AT RUSSIA WITH NEW EYES? – ANALYSIS ( COPY RIGHT @ THE EURASIA REVIEW. AUTHOR- R. SWAMINATHAN AND OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Image courtesy-Wikimedia Commons and the author Tweets these days often indicate which way the wind is blowing long before it becomes an official policy. The warm manner in which India’s prime minister-designate Narendra Modi responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s congratulatory message can well be a harbinger of a new direction in India’s foreign policy. In itself it might be a classic case of over-analysis of what is after all just 140 characters. But a few observers who have an uncommon insight into Team Modi insist that the tweet has a complex back story. On April 12, 2014, a seemingly minor incident in the Black Sea caught the attention of policy mandarins in several world capitals. It also caught the attention of Team Modi’s research unit, which duly marked it for the attention of the top boss. The Americans keen to show their support to a beleaguered Ukraine, as also eager not to miss an opportunity to project their power to their East European allies in the immedi