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

Indian Prime Minister with his Australian Counterpart ( Image credits- Narendra Modi Official) Source- The Sydney Morning Herald Australia and India have entered a new era of security and military co-operation based on shared values and aimed at defending a rules-based international order. The Indian and Australian governments have now confirmed a Fairfax report this morning that prime ministers Narendra Modi and Tony Abbott quietly signed a sensitive and potentially transformative new framework agreement.  The confirmation came after China's President Xi Jinping had flown from Canberra to Tasmania.  "They have decided to establish the Framework for Security Cooperation to reflect the deepening and expanding security and defence engagement between India and Australia, and to intensify co-operation and consultation between Australia and India in areas of mutual interest," said India's Ministry of External Affairs, on its website. The framework

Indian Prime Minister at Australia ( Image credits- Author/ Internet image) Source- The Diplomat Author- Abhijit Singh There was a palpable excitement in India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi jetted off to attend the G-20 summit at Brisbane. This was partly because of the announcement that Modi would be embarking on a bilateral tour of Australia at the completion of the meeting of world leaders, and that he would be addressing the Indian diaspora in Sydney tomorrow, in what was a much anticipated recreation of the Madison Square Garden moment in New York two months ago. This time, Modi is expected to speak to a crowd of around 20,000 people. Engaging with the Indian expatriate community is, indeed, fast becoming Modi’s signature move on his tours abroad. There is nothing quite as effective as mass fervor in conveying political strength and India’s charismatic premier realizes its inherent potential. From a foreign policy and regional security perspective, however, i

Source- The Diplomat Author- Jongsoo Lee As Germany celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Western press paid attention to the process that culminated in this momentous but unexpected event on the night of November 9, 1989. Lessons from this German experience have policy implications for the other Iron Curtain that still stands today, dividing the Korean peninsula. Although many factors contributed to the collapse of the Wall, the following seems to be particularly instructive for the present Korean standoff: First is the fact that the fall of the Wall could not have taken place without far-reaching changes in the Soviet Union, the main sponsor of the East German regime and its security guarantor. A key aspect of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms was the Soviet leader’s policy of eschewing the use of force and respecting the popular will of the masses in the Soviet satellite countries. This respect for the fundamental human rights and free wil

RQ170- Sentinel ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author-Truth Dowser Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar Sources familiar with the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned reconnaissance aircraft tell the National Interest that Iran’s copy of the drone is probably a fake. Iran’s claims that it built a 60 percent scale prototype of an unmanned combat aircraft reverse engineered from a RQ-170 that crashed over that country in December 2011. Iran claims that it downed the aircraft via a cyberattack while at least one U.S. official said that Tehran’s account might not be entirely inaccurate. Earlier in the week, Iranian state television released a video that allegedly shows the Sentinel knock-off in the air. An aerospace engineer familiar with the RQ-170 said that the Iranian machine is most likely not a prototype, but something more akin to a remote controlled toy, given what is shown in the video footage. The original U.S.-made RQ-170 was not a small aircr

J-20 combat Aircraft ( Image source- Wikimedia commons/ Credits- Alexandr Chechin) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar China’s new stealth fighters might one day be able to match their American equivalents in battle, Pentagon and industry officials fear. Indeed, China is showing off its latest Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter at the Zhuhai air show in the Guangdong province. To meet the challenge, the Pentagon needs to continue to buy the F-35 and start developing a future fighter to counter the rising threat. “The J-31—along with the J-20 [the other Chinese stealth fighter]—is a tangible demonstration of the efforts made by China to counter the significant advantage the U.S. has with the [Lockheed Martin] F-22 and F-35,” said one senior U.S. military official with extensive experience with so-called fifth-generation fighters. “They recognize that fourth-gen airplanes [like the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, Russian Su-27 and so on] are quickly becoming obsolete. Th

Image credits- Narendra Modi Official Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, attending this week’s East Asia Summit and the ASEAN-India Summit in Myanmar presented an ideal forum to act on India’s recent recasting of its decades-old “Look East” policy as its “Act East” policy. To this end, Modi used  his address  at the summit to highlight India’s ambitions for regional leadership and touched on a wide range of issues facing both ASEAN and India. Modi began by inviting ASEAN countries to invest in India, noting that India has “embarked on a new economic journey” with a focus on “infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, skill development, urban renewal, [and] smart cities.” On trade, Modi focused on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), noting its potential for prosperity but cautioning that “we should aim for a balanced agreement, which is beneficial to all and is truly comprehensive in nature.” Du

J-31 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Robert Farley Who’s  going to buy  the J-31? The recent appearance of the aircraft at the Zhuhai airshow, as well as the comments of a smattering of Chinese officials,  led to a spate of articles  suggesting that China was interested in the J-31 primarily  as an export model . Conceivably, the J-31 could occupy a low-end stealth fighter niche that currently has no other entrants. Some have billed the J-31 as China’s answer to the F-35, as if that represented some sort of compliment. It’s hardly a stretch to suggest Pakistan would be a  major customer, and perhaps Egypt  as well.  Beyond that?  The United States can offer the F-35 to a wide range of European and Asian countries, all of which have strong economies, big defense budgets, an appetite for high tech, and an interest in cementing the long-term technological and political relationship with the United States. Beijing doesn’t have the kind o

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author Source- The Diplomat Author- Akhilesh Pillalamari Political scientists in the United States divide American political history into several “party systems,” which refer to periods characterized by certain political alignments and features. For example, the period during and after the American Civil War is known as the Third Party System and was characterized by the dominance of the Republican Party, which won the war, ended slavery, and presided over a period of industrialization. The evolution of party politics through a number of systems is characteristic of most democratic countries. Similarly, India is currently in the process of undergoing a new political alignment with distinct characteristics. While the periodization of India’s political systems is debatable, it is generally accepted that prior to the current political alignment in India, which features a party from the right attaining a majority in India’s Parliament for

Image credits- Narendra Modi Official Source- The Diplomat Author- Harsh V. Pant Non-alignment – now that’s a word few have heard coming out from India over the last few months. India’s Congress Party, which was decimated in the May 2014 elections, is celebrating the 125th anniversary of Nehru’s birth with a major conference on November 17 and 18 highlighting Nehru’s worldview. And India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi is not invited, for Congress claims that he is hell-bent on dismantling Indian foreign policy’s Nehruvian legacy. One of the legacies that Modi has indeed gradually dismantled since coming to office is India’s default foreign policy posturing of non-alignment. Moving beyond ideological rhetoric, Modi is busy engaging confidently with all major global powers without inhibitions. The foreign policies of nations do not alter radically with changes in governments, but with the backing of the Indian electorate’s decisive mandate, Modi today has an oppor

ASAT ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The Diplomat Author- Jaganath Sankaran In May 2013, the Pentagon suggested that a high altitude Chinese sub-orbital space launch—claimed to be a scientific mission by China—was in reality the first test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) interceptor that would reach all the way to geo-synchronous earth orbit. Previously, on January 11, 2007, China had successfully launched an ASAT missile against one of its own low earth orbit (LEO) weather satellites. These and other Chinese actions have provoked strong concerns within the U.S. about China’s motivations. James R. Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, for example, recently told a Senate hearing that: “Chinese and Russian military leaders understand the unique information advantages afforded by space systems and are developing capabilities to disrupt U.S. use of space in conflict. Chinese military writings highlight the need to interfere with, damage, and destroy