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

BPC Dixmude ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Simon Ghesquiere, Marine Nationale) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda In 2014, France determined that it would avert plans to sell two of its Mistral-class amphibious assault ships that were originally bound for sale to Russia. The decision was spurred, in part, by pressure from French allies, including the United States, who saw a sale of a complex naval asset to Russia in the wake of its support of anti-government Ukrainian rebels as inappropriate. The deal between France and Russia had originally been concluded in 2011, and was canceled last year, leaving the French with two Mistrals in hand, miffed at the lack of an eager customer. The Franco-Russian agreement for the Mistral sale reached a final price of $1.37 billion euros for the two ships. Two weeks ago, reports emerged in the Taiwan-based China Times, citing Duowei News, that China may be the latest customer for the French Mistral vessels. The re

Image source- Flickr / Credits- MEA Official gallery Source- The National Interest Author- Gordon G. Chang On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry completed a two-day trip to Beijing. The day before, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his three-day visit to Xian, Shanghai, and Beijing. Everyone, it seems, is going to China, implicitly acknowledging that this is indeed its century. In reality, however, the period of Chinese primacy, if it ever existed, is just about over. Neither Modi nor Kerry was in any mood to accommodate Beijing on core issues. We start with Modi. The Indian leader was happy to travel to China to pick up commitments for Chinese investment into his country, and on this score, he appeared successful. On Saturday, he inked twenty-six memos of understanding for business deals valued by his government at $22 billion.  Modi, however, was not persuaded to agree to what Beijing wanted. He did not, for instance, endorse Chinese pre

Prime Minister Modi in China  ( Image source- Flickr ? Credits- MEA Official gallery) Source- The Diplomat Author- Harsh V.Pant For all the pomp and circumstance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to China will likely only be remembered for his plain-speaking. And it is by no means a small achievement. For years, Indian political leaders have gone to China and said what the Chinese wanted to hear. Modi changed all that when he openly “stressed the need for China to reconsider its approach on some of the issues that hold us back from realizing full potential of our partnership” and “suggested that China should take a strategic and long-term view of our relations.” In his speech at Tsinghua University too, Modi went beyond the rhetorical flourishes of Sino-Indian cooperation and pointed out the need to resolve the border dispute and in the interim, clarify the Line of Actual Control to “ensure that our relationships with other countries do not become a source of c

Image credits- Internet Pic Source- The National Interest Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin The recent reported test of North Korea’s KN-11, dubbed Pukgeukseong-1 (Polaris-1) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) has created quite a buzz. In fact, not long before the test took place, the South Korean defense ministry remarked that there were no signs that Pyongyang would launch missiles in the near future despite the visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to the country’s satellite command and control center, operated by the National Aerospace Development Administration. Washington took the recent development seriously, accusing Pyongyang of contravening existing United Nations Security Council resolutions by staging the test. South Korean government authorities sought to downplay the test, pointing out that it was no more than an ejector test and the missile was assumed to have flown only 100 meters upon lift-off. This appears to correspond with the subsequent ass

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official gallery For last few days, we have seen quite a few jokes on Narendra Modi's foreign visits.... and people are curious why Narendra Modi visits so many countries, What India achieving from it. A few achievements are indicated here: 1. BJP Govt. convinced Saudi Arabia to not charge “On-Time Delivery” Premium charges on Crude Oil – Young Petrolium minister Dharmendra Pradhan & External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj sealed the deal successfully! 2. India will build 4 Hydropower stations + Dams in Bhutan (India will get share in Green energy that would be produced in future)! 3. India will build d Biggest ever dam of Nepal (China was trying hard to get that) – India will get 83% Green energy produce from that hydropower station for free – in future! 4. Increased relationship with Japan and they agreed to invest $30 Billion in DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) 5. Increased relationship with Vietnam who now agree to give cont

INS Visakhapatnam ( Image credits- Internet Image) As India launches it's newest Destroyer, the stealthy INS Visakhapatnam, it is time to reflect on the quiet transformation that is taking place for the Indian navy.Indian Navy is in the process of inducting several ships that is highly capable that will see the Indian navy transforming itself to a young and a highly capable force having the capability to project force far away from it's shores achieving a truly blue water capability. OVERVIEW The legacy of the Indian navy dates back to the British raj when as part of the Royal Navy, the Indian navy played a crucial role during the second world war. Soon after the independence, the Royal Indian Navy was partitioned into two parts and assets divided between India and Pakistan. Those were transformative years for the navy. After India became a republic, the navy came to be known as the Indian Navy, dropping the Royal prefix. At this time, the ships of the Indian Navy

USS San Antonio- LPD17 ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Government of the United States) Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran Earlier this week, media outlets reported that the U.S. Marine Corps was bringing together foreign commanders from amphibious forces – mostly those deployed in the Asia-Pacific – for a new conference to help integrate amphibious operations, with China excluded from the event. The engagement in question is the inaugural U.S. Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS) held from May 17 to 21 in Hawaii involving around two dozen foreign nations. The Star Advertiser notes that according to the Marine Corps, the objective of the symposium is to get a handle on regional considerations with respect to amphibious operations – useful for a variety of purposes including humanitarian assistance, power projection and territorial defense. PALS reportedly includes group briefings, scenario-based exercises, and the observatio

Air India Boeing-777-300 ER ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Kentaro Lemoto) Source- The Defence World Indian Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) on Wednesday cleared a proposal to convert two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for VVIP travel as a replacement to Air India’s Jumbo jets. The two jets will be tasked to ferry the President, Prime minister and other VVIPs. The aircraft will be equipped with advanced self-protection suites to jam and beat hostile incoming missiles besides having encrypted satellite communication facilities. "These old aircraft do not have anti-missile defense systems, which the SPG holds is necessary. The decision was taken after a committee of secretaries from top ministries and aviation experts examined the matter," an unnamed source was by several media after a briefing following the DAC meeting. The two 777-300 (ER) aircraft will be bought from Air India, which has a dozen such relatively new wide-bodied planes, and then

Image credits- Xinhua  Source- The Diplomat Author- Peter E.Robertson China’s economic rise means that the world’s largest army now also has the resources of the world’s second largest economy. The security implications of this are discussed in the U.S. Department of Defence’s latest report, which highlights not only the sheer growth of China’s military, but also its sustainability. Although China still spends less on its military than the United States spends on its own defense forces, China’s far higher economic growth suggests it will be able to catch-up rapidly, with relatively little economic burden. This contrasts with America’s economic malaise and raises questions over the credibility of the U.S. security guarantees to Western Pacific allies and its pivot to Asia. But the economics of growth are not quite so simple. Though China’s economy is indeed growing rapidly, this doesn’t mean you can get more of everything at the same rate. Some things become much more