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

MQ-9 (Image source- Wikimedia Commons/ Source- United States Air Force) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady This week, U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced that he will streamline the navy’s efforts to keep up with advances in unmanned technology by appointing a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems, who will bring “together all the many stakeholders and operators who are currently working on this technology.” “Additionally, the Navy Staff will add a new office for unmanned in the N-9, the N-Code for Warfare Systems, so that all aspects of unmanned – in all domains – over, on and under the sea and coming from the sea to operate on land – will be coordinated and championed,” the secretary noted. As as Breaking Defense reported today, this may help the U.S. military’s push to acquire genuine autonomously operating weapon systems. Breaking Defense’s Sydney Freedberg Jr. muses:  Imagine a swarm of buzzing, scuttling or swimm

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Navy by Christopher B. Long, USN Source- The National Interest Authors- Brad Glosserman & David Santoro Reassuring allies is a never-ending assignment. That task is especially challenging in Northeast Asia, where the usual problems created by geography and different geopolitical interests are compounded by an evolving security environment characterized by North Korea’s continued progress in developing long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, China’s steady military modernization and more assertive regional role, growing diffusion of the nature and source of threats (notably due to the rising prominence of the cyber and space domains), and political dysfunction in Washington that makes it more difficult for allies to anticipate America’s reaction to a crisis. Fortunately, the United States understands the critical importance of honoring its alliance commitments and defending its allies. Failure to do so would

Credits- Internet Image Source- The Diplomat Author- Andrew S.Erickson To its first unclassified report on China’s navy in six years, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has just added sophisticated posters detailing Chinese ships and aircraft, equipment, and leadership structure. ONI’s main document, “The PLA Navy: New Capabilities and Missions for the 21st Century,” already offers a cornucopia of new insights and highly vetted data points. But it is with the supplementary reference materials that the Suitland, MD-based agency is going where no publicly released U.S. government report has ever gone before. This article reviews key findings from ONI’s latest set of publications and assesses their significance. Unprecedented Offerings Perhaps most exciting, for the first time ever, ONI is making available publicly 148 carefully labeled silhouettes and 89 photos of China’s myriad People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and maritime law enforcement ships and air

THAAD Launcher ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- United States Army) Source- The Diplomat Author- John K.Warden & Brad Glosserman South Korea is stuck between a rock and a hard place. After news leaked that the United States is exploring the possibility of deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea to counter North Korean missile threats, China  voiced a strong objection , claiming that such a deployment would threaten its security. If the U.S. decides to make a formal request, Seoul will  face an uncomfortable choice  between its indispensable security provider and its largest trading partner – and China might not like the result. China claims that THAAD – in particular the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control Model 2 (AN/TPY-2) X-band radar that would accompany the interceptors – is unnecessary to counter North Korean missiles. Many Chinese analysts believe that, in fact, an overly hyped North Korean thre

Tibetan protest against China ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Flickr-Tom Booth) Source- The Diplomat Author- Kevin Holden The United Nations is set to receive evidence that Chinese People’s Armed Police troops have repeatedly opened fire on unarmed Tibetan protesters calling for religious freedom over the past seven years. Evidence of deadly attacks by the Chinese paramilitary on Buddhist demonstrators across the Tibetan Plateau – provided by witnesses, whistleblowers, and a secret government document smuggled out of Tibet – will be presented to the UN’s Committee against Torture later this year. International human rights groups, working with figures inside Tibet who aim to expose these killings internationally, will gather in Geneva in November for the UN hearing. “The usage of live ammunition against peaceful Tibetan protestors does exist and it is also disproportionate,” Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay, the head of Tibet’s government-in-exile,

Vishukani (Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Suresh C.Nair) Wishing all my readers a very Happy and a Prosperous Vishu. May this new bring with it all the happiness and success, may all your dreams come true. Happy Vishu to you and your family - Manoj Ambat

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official photo gallery, Government of India Source- The National Interest Authors- Jon Huntsman Jr & Bharath Gopalaswamy Although India’s economic story has been the subject of much discussion in the United States in the past decade, its foreign policy has not received similar attention. This has something to do with the consensus in Washington about India’s hesitancy in the exercise of realpolitik. Last month, however, India’s newly appointed foreign secretary and leading strategist Subrahmanyam Jaishankar delivered an attention getter. In a major speech, Jaishankar emphasized that India was intent on playing the role of a “leading” instead a “balancing” power in Asia. This statement comes as a significant shift to the prevailing perceptions concerning India’s reluctance to actualize its role as a great power.   Until recently, India was seen as a power that could serve as a counterweight to China and help the United States in bal

Dassault Rafale ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Air Force by Capt Jason Smith)  Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s big announcement in Paris that New Delhi would purchase 36 Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters off-the-shelf (prêt-à-porter, if you will) in a government-to-government deal, the future of the $20 billion tender for India’s medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) that was being negotiated between France’s Dassault Aviation and the Indian government fell into limbo. That ambiguity was resolved on Monday, three days after Modi’s announcement, when Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar clarified that the $20 billion tender would not move forward. Just like that, the “mother of all defense deals,” as India’s MMRCA project was known, was dead. Though Parrikar avoided shutting the door on the project entirely, he emphasized that the Indian government would not move forward with thos