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

Image credits- MEA Official Pic, Government of India Source- The Eurasia Review Author- Vijay Sakhuja Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maldives, Mauritius Seychelles and Sri Lanka during this month to reinforce India’s foreign policy objectives. A number of political, economic, social and security issues would constitute the agenda and several agreements and memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed with the Indian Ocean States. At least three maritime issues merit attention. Capacity-Building for Maritime Security First, capacity-building for maritime security is a recurring theme in bilateral discussions between India and the Indian Ocean island States. The 2014 trilateral meeting (India, Maldives and Sri Lanka) held in New Delhi supported the idea of expanding the trilateral engagements to include Seychelles and Mauritius as observers. It was decided to build the capacity of the partners to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), provide

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Navi Mumbai ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- Jaxer) Source- The Diplomat Authors- Bipul Chatterjee & Surender Singh Mega regional trade deals are in vogue in an otherwise fragile global economy. In an environment of falling aggregate demand, these trade deals are seen as a means to insulate economies from market uncertainties. Three important mega regionals are currently under negotiation: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership of Asia and the Pacific (RCEP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It is expected that these agreements, once concluded and implemented, will set the stage for a new generation of global trade and investment rules. From India’s point of view, the RCEP presents a decisive platform which could influence its strategic and economic status in the Asia-Pacific region and bring to fruition its “Act East Policy.” It is expected to be a

Russian Carrier Admiral Kuznesov ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Source- United States Department of Defence)   Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Russia is in the process of building a new aircraft carrier, according to statements made by Admiral Viktor Chirkov, Russia’s senior-most naval commander to state media. On Monday, Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency reported that the Russian navy will “receive a new promising aircraft carrier.” Additionally, Chirkov told state media that the Russian Navy can expect to add a total of 50 vessels of multiple types. The Russian Navy currently operates a sole carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, which has been in operation since 1991 after being launched in the late-1980s by the Soviet Union. “The Navy will have an aircraft carrier. The research companies are working on it, and strictly in compliance with the requirements from the Chief Commander,” Chirkov remarked, reportedly during a trip to a diesel engine supply plant for

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Craig Nagy Source- The National Interest Author- Peter Mattis A couple of weeks ago, AEI scholar Michael Auslin published a column for the Wall Street Journal about a quiet dinner in Washington where a senior China scholar declared the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had reached the final stage before collapse. The political collapse of the world’s second-largest economy and a nuclear power is no small thing. What should Washington do? Go outside the Fourth Ring Road (a Chinese reference akin to saying go outside the Beltway), forge links to marginalized Chinese and speak out about Chinese human rights to show the Chinese people that the United States has “a moral stake in China’s development.” Even if the CCP’s collapse does not occur for years, these measures will help U.S. policy makers be “on the right side of history.” Such measures appear trivial in the face of a problem the size of China’s potential political instability

Mitsubishi F-2 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Air Force) Source- The National Interest Author- Kyle Mizokami In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China’s defense budget, which has increased ten fold in the last twenty five years, has funded the construction of a modern, ocean-going navy. This includes the recently fielded aircraft carrier, Liaoning, as well as fleets of destroyers, frigates, corvettes, replenishment ships, and amphibious assault ships. The PLAN is indeed an impressive force, but local geography will create challenges during wartime. Japan controls a string of islands that form the Miyako Strait, which Chinese naval forces must transit to enter the western Pacific. Properly fortified, the Japanese-held Ryukyu Islands could conceivably block passage of the Strait altogether. The Ryukyus have been used to defend Japan before. Okinawa, the gateway to the Home Isla

Imphal Airport ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Herojith) Source- The Diplomat Author- Edmund Downie Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May, he has sought to project to foreign-policy watchers a renewed commitment to India’s Look East Policy (LEP) – or, as Modi’s administration has renamed it, the “Act East Policy.” The LEP was put forward in 1991 to reorient Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia. But half-hearted commitment to the policy has severely restricted India’s footprint in these regions, even as Chinese influence destabilizes Indian hegemony in South Asia. Major deals with Bangladesh and Japan, in addition to a flurry of meetings between top Indian officials and their regional counterparts, have been taken as early signs that Act East represents a genuine shift in Indian foreign policy. With Myanmar, deliverables under Modi thus far have been fairly modest: an agreement to crack down on regional insurg