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

Sources- The National Interest Author- Peter Harris Fifty years ago, Washington insiders were preoccupied with speculation that Nikita Khrushchev was about to be ousted as leader of the Soviet Union.  Opaque to the outside world, the tall walls of the Kremlin denied America’s Sovietologists the ability to make firm predictions about when Khrushchev would go and exactly who would replace him.  Intelligence reports were clear, though, that something was afoot.  The LBJ administration was able to plan accordingly.  When Khrushchev was deposed, it came as little surprise. Today, talk is rife that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un might be about to undergo the same fate as Khrushchev.  To be sure, experts downplay the likelihood that Kim has been or will be overthrown.   Yet the recent flurry of conjecture about North Korea’s future only highlights the extent to which outsiders do not know what takes place along Pyongyang’s corridors of power.  The level of uncertainty is far beyond eve

A girl suffering from Polio ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- CDC) Sources- The Diplomat           Author- Ankit Panda Boding poorly for Pakistan’s already dire public health situation, officials noted that the country could be headed to top its own record for polio cases in a single year by the end of 2014. According to a senior official at the Pakistan National Institute of Health (NIH) who spoke to AFP, “The number of polio cases, recorded this year has reached 187 and if it reaches 200, we will cross our own record of 199 in year 2000.” Along with neighboring Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of three countries worldwide where polio remains endemic. Owing to attacks on state and non-governmental organization vaccination workers in Pakistan, efforts to stall the disease have largely been unsuccessful. Access to Pakistan’s tribal regions remains especially difficult for vaccine workers due to security concerns and regular attacks by militants. Pakistan’s

Image credits- Flickr/ MEA India Sources- Russia & India Report (RIR) Does the Russian Government need to worry about the just-concluded visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States? This is not an easy question to answer, it seems. At first glance, the development of relations between India and the United States applies only to those two countries. Modi, as the leader of an independent and influential state, is free to make visits, meet with foreign politicians, and agree on India’s cooperation with other countries on the basis of national interests. Interests of partners may be considered, but they will always remain secondary. In Russia, however, not all agree. As columnist Dmitry Kosyrev wrote,“The main question many Russians are asking is with whom does India stand? The United States or Russia?” Although, it’s true that at the same time he observed that this question does not make sense. The Russian press also fervently responded to the

AEGIS Missile defence system ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ United States navy) Sources- The National Interest Russian violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) should push the United States to reconsider the continued value of the agreement for global security. Abrogating or modifying the treaty to allow the deployment of INF-class weapons to Asia, however, would bring with it substantial political, military, and budgetary risks while producing benefits that are murky at best. Evan Montgomery—a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments—in these digital pages has made one of the stronger cases for the United States acquiring forward-deployed intermediate weapons in Asia. However, even putting aside the potential for unintended consequences for security in other regions and for broader nonproliferation norms associated with renegotiating and modifying the INF, it is unclear if intermediate-range weapons could overcome the shortcomi

MIG-29 ( Image credits- RAC-MIG Corporation) Sources- Russia & India Report (RIR) India is one the countries that has shown an active interest in buying Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG’s fighter jet simulator. “India has taken an interest in the device, as it has proved to be highly effective during the training of navy pilots on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya,” MiG Chief Executive Sergey Korotkov told Tass. “We definitely intend to sell such simulators. As part of the contractual obligations with India we use this simulator for training two groups of pilots. The Indians loved it. I think as soon as they sign the contract for another batch of fighters, hopefully, they will start buying,” he added. The simulator, jointly developed with the Moscow Aviation Institute, is a close replica of a real fighter cockpit. The model enables a large screen reproduction of the entire flight: takeoff, landing, refuelling, aerobatics and manoeuvres. The trainee uses 3D glasses a

PM Narendra Modi meeting Business Leaders ( Image credits- Flickr/ Narendra Modi Official ) Source- The Diplomat Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just completed his much anticipated trip to the United States, returning  to Delhi after a five day visit to New York and Washington, D.C. The enthusiasm, coverage, and according to some, hype, that Modi’s trip to the U.S. generated was enormous. Regardless of the actual policy accomplishments of Modi’s trip, many will regard it as a success. As many recent incidents and events have shown, Indians, especially the middle-class Indians who are most likely to influence public opinion, are prickly about India’s honor and pride. They want a leader who is seen as being a proactive advocate of India and is heard and respected by the international community and world powers. In other words, they want a leader who can generate buzz, and Modi accomplishes this. Marketing Of course, it would be problematic if Modi’s government only aimed

American and Iraqi soldiers in joint operation ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- United States Army) Sources- The Diplomat Tanned, green-eyed, long-bearded Pashtun crossing the border from Afghanistan have never been so feared in Peshawar, the capital city of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Through history this region has been one of the busiest in Central Asia, connecting travelers, traders and storytellers to India and beyond. But the recent decade has been agonizing for local Pashtun, with their identity and geography appropriated by militant groups like al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as their various factions in the region. This week brought the biggest blow yet, when the formidable Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS and ISIL) was discovered openly recruiting in the city. Local fighters in Peshawar and FATA were seen to be showing around about a dozen men who had crossed over from Afghanistan to Pakistan to promote the cause of the caliphate.

Indian Navy's western fleet ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Indian Navy) (I am back again after two days break for the Vijayadhashami Poojas. For my first blog, I have decided to deal with India's greatest security challenge, China) China, the enigma of the modern age. No single word can explain this unique power, be it an economic miracle or a regional bully. China has been a success story with remarkable advances and growth in the economic sector which has transformed a communist country to an economic power house. But China is a country of paradox. On one side, China seeks to develop cooperation economically with it's neighbours but on the other hand it seeks to take the line of confrontation with aggressive military postures that has put it's neighbors at unease.    For India the developments is particularly worrying. India has a long running territorial dispute with China which has seen in recent times to flare up. Three unrelated events p

Due to the Navarathri poojas for the next two days, we are taking a break. We will be back on 3.10.2014 ( The day of Vijayadhashami). Check back with us from 3.10.2014 for more updates.  Good night and see you on 3.10.2014

JDS Kirishima ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Sources- The National Interest T he East China Sea—thanks to tensions between China and Japan—can accurately be described as the most dangerous place on the entire planet. It is entirely conceivable that one of the many coast guard vessels on either side patrolling the contested islets could suddenly come under fire or, more likely still, become severely damaged in a bumping incident (of the type that has occurred recently in the South China Sea). In such circumstances, the steps from gun fire to exchanging volleys of anti-ship missiles between the fleets, to theater wide attacks on major bases, to all out global war could be all too abrupt. Hollywood, which is perennially looking for apocalyptic scenarios, may want to examine contemporary China-Japan relations for developing next summer’s blockbuster suspense film. Thankfully, however, some momentum appears to be building to arrest the downward spiral in this extremely crucial b

                                                           Happy Navarathri wishes to all my friends