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

House destroyed in Gaza ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Author- Graha ) The war between Israel and Hamas is one of the more puzzling events in the recent annals of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A ceasefire had held between the two parties for nearly a year and a half; the strategic payoff of the latest conflict is vague for both sides, and neither side seemed to have an obvious interest in going to war. Even if it's clear that both Israel and Hamas had been preparing for a major conflict, with Hamas spending  40% of its budget  on its tunnel network and  booby-trapping UN infrastructure  and the Israelis looking increasingly committed to a long and already costly  ground operation inside of a hostile Gaza Strip, it's uncertain why the worst conflict between Israelis and Palestinians in well over a decade is happening now. The truth is that rival diplomatic, sectarian, and ideological blocs that have been on a steady collision course are colliding

General Dalbir Singh Suhag , New Indian Chief of Army Staff  ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Anup ONGC) General Dalbir Singh Suhag today took charge as India's new army chief, succeeding General Bikram Singh, who has retired. Lt. Gen. Suhag was appointed chief in May by the outgoing UPA government despite protests from former army chief, General VK Singh, and the BJP. 59-year-old Lt. General Suhag, a Gurkha officer who had participated in the 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force operation in Sri Lanka, will have 30-month tenure. He comes from a family of soldiers.  A village in Jhajjar, Haryana, is celebrating the rise of the boy they knew as fearless. "He had a sharp brain and worked hard. He has achieved all this because of his hard work. He was fearless," his mother said. Asked if she was happy, she said, "When my son has reached such great heights...of course I am."  His father Rajpal Singh Suhag is a retired flying officer. "Generations of our fami

INS Satpura (F-48) Frigate of the Indian Navy  ( Image credits-Wikimedia commons/United States Navy) Traffic at the Maritime Self-Defense Force base at Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, is typically dominated by Japanese and U.S. warships, but in July it saw an unusual variety of vessel. An Indian frigate and destroyer docked en route to joint exercises in the Western Pacific. The INS Shivalik and INS Ranvijay’s appearance at the port near Nagasaki showed Japan’s interest in developing ties with the South Asian nation as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government faces deepening tensions with China. Japan for the third time joined the U.S. and India in the annual Malabar drills that usually are held in the Bay of Bengal. With Abe loosening limits on his nation’s military, the exercises that conclude Wednesday showcase Japan’s expanding naval profile as China pushes maritime claims in disputed areas of the East and South China Seas. For newly installed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J

Indian GSLV Launcher ( Image credits-Wikimedia Commons /ISRO/Author) India has been working in cooperation with 33 countries in the area of peaceful use of outer space, the government today said. India is pursuing cooperation with other countries on peaceful uses of outer space. Currently, cooperative arrangements are signed with 33 countries including Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea and Saudi Arabia, said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Department of Space in a written response in Lok Sabha. The countries also include Syria, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Norway, Peru, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile and Venezuela. He said that the areas of cooperation include Remote Sensing of Earth, Satellite Communication, Launch Services, Telemetry and Tracking Support, Space Explo

Indo-Russian Indra Naval exercises-2014 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Indian Navy) In April 2011, the Indian Navy’s three most renowned destroyers, INS Delhi, INS Ranvir and INS Ranvijay, sailed over 8500 km to the eastern Russian port of Vladivostok for the INDRA joint exercise with the remnants of Russia’s once mighty Pacific Fleet. But when the Indian warships arrived in Vladivostok, the Pacific Fleet was missing. According to the Russian naval brass, their ships were assisting the Japanese with rescue operations at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Even as the Indian warships were returning to Visakhapatnam, the Indian Defence Ministry discovered the Russian warships had sailed out for an exercise of their own. According to some observers, the Russians were showing their displeasure at losing out in the Indian jet fighter competition. But it is highly unlikely the professional Russian military would agree to insult their Indian friends at the behest of some wound up diplo

Kargil War Memorial ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Mail to Arunjith) As India celebrates the victory over Pakistan in the heights of Kargil today as the Victory day, it is also the time to honour those who have laid down their lives defending our mother land.  It is time we paid our respects to those who had laid down their lives in the service of the nation, who sacrificed their live to protect our freedom. It is time we pay back the dues that we owe these great souls. We should take good care of our soldiers because it is due to them we enjoy our freedom.It is also time for us to think of those families who have lost their son, father, husband or brother who was their only bread winner and who laid down their lives in the service of our motherland. It is time the government took steps for the welfare of such families. Time will forgive us if we do not look after our brave brothers and sisters in uniform and also take care of their families long after they are gone.  Le

ISRO GSLV launcher ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ISRO) On June 30, India celebrated  another successful launch  of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the workhorse of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). This time, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance. His  SHAR speech  emphasized the role of technology in aiding development and referenced the humble beginnings of the ISRO. Among the many points he made, two were geopolitically significant. First, he observed that the satellite being launched, SPOT 7, belonged to a developed nation: France. Second, he challenged the ISRO to develop a satellite that would serve the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations. Those thoughts  coincide  with two of the three major foreign policy issues that confront India, as noted by Shivsankar Menon: its relations with major powers and its need for a peaceful and prosperous neighborhood. Major Power Relations: France Cooperation with France

Type-33 (Romeo Class) Submarine( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Author) North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un  made headlines last month  when he visited the Korean People’s Army Naval Unit 167, part of the Korean People’s Navy (KPN) East Sea Fleet unit based in the South Hamgyong province. Photographs released by the Korean Central News Agency showed Kim on a rusty green-painted submarine No. 748, toying with the periscope in its control room. Kim also reportedly guided an actual drill onboard. Many foreign analysts used Kim’s visit to comment on the decrepit state of the submarine he was visiting. For example, South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-Seok, remarked that: “It appears that Pyongyang aims to show off its submarine might, but the submarines that our Navy holds are far superior, as ours do not make much noise and it can stay underwater far longer.” The Technological Gap This view is not without merit. From a strictly technical standpoint, submarine No. 7

Malaysian Airline Boeing 777 ( Image credits- Wikimedia commons/ Aero Icarus) Five days after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, U.S. intelligence officials are still not certain who fired the missile that felled the doomed airliner, nor have they conclusively linked the attack to Russian military forces, according to senior intelligence officials. "The leading theory" at this point, said a senior intelligence official, is that pro-Russian separatists equipped and trained by Russia fired the deadly surface-to-air missile on July 17, killing all 298 passengers aboard. But U.S. analysts aren't sure whether the shooters were trained directly by Russian military forces or if they learned how to fire the missile while serving in the Ukrainian military, officials said. In a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, three senior intelligence officials laid out the evidence and showed that the Obama administration is no closer to decisively p