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

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

Be proud of being an Indian, be proud of the great Indian Navy

During a recent gathering of my organization’s board, we spent some time touring the U.S. Navy SEAL training facility in Coronado, California. If you have ever been privileged to meet any SEALs, you will probably agree that, beyond their status as elite, highly trained military personnel, they are exemplary individuals in virtually every way – from intelligence and fitness to courage and humility. It’s not an accident. To become a SEAL, you have to endure training that pushes you to the absolute limit of human endurance. Because training a SEAL requires a very significant investment of both time and tax dollars, the Navy doesn’t want to accept people who aren’t a good fit. It’s looking for two qualities in particular that all successful SEALs have – perseverance and an ability to work with a team. How do they find out who has both attributes? Just three weeks into a 24-week training program all candidates go though “Hell Week.” During this incredibly grueling five-and-a-half-

Well meaning laws, if badly framed, can become a tool for extortion.  The Supreme Court has done well to build safeguards around Section 498-A , a provision of the law meant to target those guilty of dowry harassment – essentially to keep alive the basic principle of Indian jurisprudence that one is innocent until proven guilty. That principle is inverted by 498-A which makes dowry crime a cognizable and non-bailable offence. This has been interpreted to mean that anyone accused should be arrested the moment a complaint is registered. Given the ubiquity of marital quarrels and massive corruption among police forces everywhere in India, the extent of misuse of this provision    – for the sake of extortion or plain settling of scores — can easily be imagined. Neither should the issue be seen in a men vs women light. Because female relatives of a husband are equally liable to arrest in case of complaints against them. One is under threat not just if one is a married man but also i

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ United States Navy) In Shakespeare’s “ Romeo and Juliet ,” the latter states that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” What she fails to acknowledge, or perhaps she intentionally deceives her young and naïve paramour, is that while roses would have an olfactory appeal, they still have thorns. It is worth keeping this in mind when reading a recent article in  Proceedings  that advocates for a “ global network of navies ” – the most recent incarnation of the “1,000 ship navy” concept articulated in 2005 by then-Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullen. The “1,000 ship navy” is a fleet-in-being of nations willing to respond to shared challenges, since no navy could “go it alone.” In the new  Proceedings  piece, current Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert and Rear Admiral James Foggo argue that the United States Navy must be “compelled to strengthen the bonds of international maritime cooperation” becaus

Chinese J-11 ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ United States DOD) Buried on page 40 of the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military power is a brief mention of the YJ-12, a recent addition to China’s portfolio of anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM). The report notes that, “The new missile provides an increased threat to naval assets, due to its long range and supersonic speeds.” True, but in an understated way. In fact, the YJ-12 is the most dangerous anti-ship missile China has produced thus far, posing an even greater risk to the U.S. Navy’s surface forces in the Western Pacific than the much-discussed DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile. The arrival of the YJ-12 is one more indication of how the U.S. Navy is falling further behind in the missile competition against China, exposing flaws in operating concepts that U.S. and allied commanders and policymakers have relied on for years. According to a 2011 study that appeared in Naval War College Review, the YJ-12 ASCM h

Japanese Emperor with The Philippines President ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons) With a rising China eclipsing American influence in Asia, Japan has stepped up its efforts to rein in Beijing’s territorial ambitions. And President Aquino’s recent visit to Japan couldn’t be more timely. Despite the dangerous upsurge in maritime disputes between China, on one hand, and the Philippines and Vietnam, on the other, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) still struggles to forge a unified position on the South China Sea disputes. Given the lingering doubts over Washington’s commitment and wherewithal to counter China’s territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea, both Hanoi and Manila have predictably sought more assistance from like-minded powers such as Tokyo. In many ways, Japan has gradually re-emerged as a geopolitical counterweight to China – or, at least, this is what prime minister Shinzo Abe has in mind. Since his return to power in late-2012, Abe has