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

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

JS Izumo ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Dragoner JP) During his visit to San Diego, Itsunori Onodera, Japan's defense minister, inspected US amphibious assault ships, indicating Japan may be mulling introducing the ships to defend the disputed Diaoyutai (Senkaku or Diaoyu) islands against a potential attack from the People's Liberation Army, according to the Tokyo-based Kyodo News. The website of China's nationalistic Global Times, on the other hand, stated that Japan is buying military equipment under the guise of concerns over the disputed East China Sea islands, while in reality they are using this as an excuse to equip the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force at a time when Japan's government has reinterpreted its pacifist postwar constitution to loosen the country's restrictions on the use of its armed forces. Onodera was reportedly very interested in amphibious assault ships, saying that they are useful in disaster rescue missions. The Wasp-class a

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), Image credits-Wikimedia commons/ United States Navy The aircraft carrier inventory question has always been up for debate, but it has largely centered on the number of hulls and not the physical size of each carrier. In an age of shrinking  ‪#‎ defense‬  budgets, smaller wars, and the  ‪#‎ Pacific‬   ‪#‎ Pivot‬ , the U.S. should ditch its supercarrier-only policy and build smaller, less expensive aircraft carriers. In 2010, the magic carrier question turned from more of a theoretical academic exercise to a hardcore fiscal one, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates positing: "Does America need 11 plus super carriers when our competitors don't even have one?" This was the beginning of a painful process that would see America's defense apparatus attempt to rationalize its military might, much of which was built up over a decade of almost totally unbridled spending spurned by the events of 9/11, along with retaining costly elements of

Malabar Series of Exercises ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States Navy) After Chinese President Xi Jinping championed the new Asian security concept, Chinese media loyal to the ruling Communist Party exerted to explain the vision believed to offset the dominance of the United States. State-run Global Times' recent editorial notes how Asian nations including China's rival  ‪#‎ maritime‬  claimants Philippines,  ‪#‎ Japan‬  and  ‪#‎ Vietnam‬ cannot look to the United States to guarantee security in the rapidly growing region. 'The new security vision for Asia proposed by Xi means that we cannot count on countries beyond  ‪#‎ Asia‬  to guarantee Asian  ‪#‎ security‬ ," says the piece's author, Wang Yiwei, director of international affairs at Renmin University of China. "Asian security issues need to be resolved in an Asian way. The Western world is used to forging alliances and fermenting conflicts and confrontations to gain profits, which

A Turksat-4A communications satellite blasts off at Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome on Feb. 15. Turksat 6A will be Turkey's first indigenous communications satellite. (STRINGER/ / AFP/Getty Images) ANKARA — Turkey’s efforts to build the country’s first indigenous communications satellite are progressing “at full speed,” government officials have said. “We are meticulously working on this program, which will be one of our signature projects and pave the way for local production in the field of satellites,” said a senior official from TUBITAK, the state scientific research institute that is building the satellite. The Turksat 6A will be a communications satellite but also will be used for military communications, officials say. “It will be an X-band satellite with geostationary Earth orbit features,” the TUBITAK official said. Industry sources estimate that Turksat 6A will cost Turkey about US $250 million. TUBITAK’s local subcontractors are military electronics specialis

Brahmos cruise missile ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Hemant Rawat ) BALASORE (ODISHA): India today succcessfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range Brahmos supersonic cruise missile off the coast of Odisha, giving the country the capability to hit enemy targets hidden behind mountains or in a cluster of buildings with "pinpoint accuracy". The missile travelled its full strike range of 290 kms in about 500 seconds to hit its simulated target in a copybook fashion after being fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea............... Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/38002394.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Boeing AH-64 Apache ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States DOD)   India is now close to inking major deals worth over $2.5 billion for two iconic American helicopters, the Apache attack and Chinook heavy-lift choppers, which thrashed their Russian rivals both technically and commercially earlier.   Defence ministry sources on Monday said the around $1.4 billion deal for 22 AH-64D Apache Longbow gunships, armed with deadly Hellfire and Stinger missiles, and the $1.1 billion one for 15 CH-47F Chinooks, equipped with powerful contra-rotating tandem rotors, are "almost ready" now.  "These two deals for IAF will be placed for approval before the first defence acquisitions council (DAC) meeting to be chaired by Arun Jaitley on July 19. Thereafter, the cases will be moved for the cabinet committee on security's final nod," said a source.  The deals for the two Boeing-manufactured helicopters, both of which have seen action in Iraq and Afgh

Why do we touch feet? Indians prostrate to their parents, elders, teachers and noble souls by touching their feet. The elder in turn blesses us by placing his or her hand on or over our heads. Prostration is done daily, when we meet elders and particularly on im portant occasions like the beginning of a new task, birthdays, festivals etc, In certain traditional circle, prostration is accompanied by abbivaadana which serves to introduce one self, announce one’s family and social stature. Man stands on his feet....  Now continue reading:  http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/indian-religions/hinduism/why-do-we-touch-feet/

INS Kamorta ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Indian Navy) NEW DELHI: India is all set to induct its newest corvette later this month at Visakhapatnam to boost its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The warship was built by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, one of India’s four defence public sector shipyards. To be commissioned as INS Kamorta, it is a super sophisticated frontline warship with stealth features and it will sail from GRSE to Visakhapatnam ahead of its induction into the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet. Earlier known by its GRSE codename ‘Yard-3017’, Kamorta’s keel was first laid in 2006 and was launched into the waters in 2010.  The Navy has designated Commander Major Jha as the first Captain of Kamorta. Kamorta is the first of the four corvettes, meant to function as submarine hunters and killers, being built by GRSE for the Navy. The other three corvettes -- Kadmatt, Kiltan and Kavaratti -- are under construction at the shipyard an

Image credits- Wikimedia commons India's Narendra Modi government has decided to get moving on the long-delayed construction of strategically critical Chabahar port in Iran that would give India easier access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through a shorter route that would also mean being able to avoid Karachi in neighbouring Pakistan.   The external affairs ministry has circulated a fresh Cabinet note on the project, a senior government official privy to the development told ET.   "The proposal is expected to be taken up shortly," the official said, requesting anonymity.   Modi has declared his keenness to deepen ties with neighbours and the port is expected to play an important role in the economic reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.   The project involves a capital expenditure of about Rs 550 crore. It will be implemented by a special purpose vehicle formed by Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust along with a private pla