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

Image credits- Flickr / PMO Official gallery Source- The Diplomat Author- Rohan Joshi In his first year in office as prime minister of India, Narendra Modi has infused vitality into India’s engagement with the rest of the world. He has worked to correct the faltering trajectory of India’s relationship with the United States and has attempted to expand economic ties with China while being forthright in his appraisal about challenges in the relationship.  He has also attempted to re-engage the smaller states in India’s immediate neighborhood and has reached out to the democracies of East Asia and the West. As of May 19, 2015 Modi has visited 18 countries in an official capacity, unprecedented for any Indian Prime Minister in so short a time.  For some, it may seem surprising that Modi, whose electoral campaign focused heavily on the economy and government corruption, has dedicated as much time as he has on foreign policy matters. In reality, Modi, like previous Indi

Image source- Wikimedia Commons Source- The Diplomat Author- Muhammad Daim Fazil A month ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Islamabad, where he unveiled a $46 billion infrastructure spending blueprint for Pakistan, to serve as a linchpin of Beijing’s drive to open new trade and transport routes across Asia and challenge the U.S. as the dominant regional power. Pakistani officials hailed the visit as a landmark and game changer. Despite decades of mismanagement and a feeble socioeconomic infrastructure, Pakistan does enjoy a strategic location. Among its neighbors, the only one with which Pakistan has maintained cordial ties since independence is China. Enjoying genial relations with a neighbor that is also a major power is clearly a boon for an otherwise diplomatically isolated Pakistan. For China, which has begun to build a presence in multiple regions, Pakistan is a gateway to the Gulf States and Middle East, where China seeks to showcase its soft power, a

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Syed Naqvi90 Source- The National Interest Author- Saira Bano Nuclear relations in South Asia cannot be fully analyzed without taking into account the China factor. Strategic relations between China, India, and Pakistan constitute a unique nuclear triangle in which the parties share a history of conflicts and border disputes. Two earlier nuclear triangles — the U.S.-Europe-USSR and the U.S.-USSR-China—provide a framework to analyze how these nuclear triangles are different from each other, as well as what similarities exist. One commonality is the fear that a small nuclear power is the most likely state to initiate a war. It is, therefore, important to pay attention to the nuclear postures of small states in a triangle. In the first nuclear triangle, France developed battlefield nuclear weapons. China, in the second triangle, maintained an “assured retaliation” posture. Pakistan, like France, has adopted an offensive nuclear p

Image credits- Reuters Source- Want China Times Tensions are high in the South China Sea with the US stating that it may patrol disputed areas in the region after a P8 Poseidon aircraft patrolled the skies over Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratlys, leading to an exchange of words between Beijing and Washington, according to Duowei News, a media outlet run by overseas Chinese. Other claimants are also building up their naval forces, leading to fears that open conflict may be imminent in the region. The most vocal rival to China is the Philippines, which has openly requested military aid from the US and has discussed joint action with Japan on the South China Sea issue as well as taking its case to the UN for arbitration. Military Build-up By 2020, the average military spending of Southeast Asian countries will increase from the current US$42 billion to US$58 billion, according to the UK's IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Beijing's acceleration of land reclama

PLAN Type-54A Frigate ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Bruno Corpet) Source- Want China Times No fewer than 11 countries are upgrading their navies amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times. As could be expected, China and the United States are leading the charge. China's submarine fleet is expected to match that of the US by 2020 — in numbers, at least — with 78 subs. Many are to be stationed at the Yulin Naval Base along the southern coast of Hainan. Despite continuing to increase its military budget every year, China's national defense spending still pales in comparison to the United States. The latest statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute say the United States remains by far the world's top military spender, with its US$665 billion defense budget equal to the total of the next seven countries behind it on the list. US military expenditure is still thr

Sukhoi T-50 ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Dmitry Pichugin) Source- Russia &India Report / ITAR TASS Russia’s fifth-generation fighter jets known as PAK FA aircraft will enter service in 2016 and their serial supplies will start from 2017, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Viktor Bondarev said on Thursday. "The fifth-generation fighter jets will enter service from next year," Bondarev said. "We’re completing the aircraft tests and from 2017 they will be serially supplied," the Air Force chief said. Russia’s new fighter jet "will not be in any way inferior to US F-22 and F-35 fighters and will surpass them by all practical parameters," Bondarev said. The PAK FA will be a multifunctional plane designated to "deliver strikes against ground, air and sea targets," the Russian Air Force chief said. Russia’s new-generation plane has a speed of over Mach 2 but today "invisibility, armament and maneuv

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- 蚊注射 Source- The National Interest Author- Emily S. Chen Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan is steadily loosening the shackles of its postwar pacifist constitution. The April announcement of the new U.S.-Japan defense guidelines aims to bolster U.S.-Japanese defense cooperation without preset geographical limits and enables “seamless and effective” alliance responses to security threats. Keeping up the momentum, Prime Minister Abe is in full force to push forward Japan’s defense-reform legislations. On May 14, Japan’s Cabinet endorsed two defense bills that would allow the country’s Self Defense Forces (SDF) to operate under a broader definition of self-defense and play a larger role internationally. Still, removing Japan’s postwar security restraints is no easy task. To boost Japan’s defense reforms, the Japanese government has to address both international and domestic concerns. In addition to reassuring

PLAN Type-96 SSBN (Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Midgetman433)  Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady China is fielding an impressive fleet of conventional and nuclear submarines. According to the Pentagon’s Office of Naval Intelligence, the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) underwater force consists of five nuclear attack submarines (SSN), four nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), and 53 diesel attack submarines (SS/SSP). The Pentagon in its annual report to the U.S. Congress on Chinese military developments estimated that by 2020 this force will likely grow to between 69 and 78 submarines. The bulk of China’s conventional sub armada consists of 13 Song-class (Type 039) diesel-attack subs and 13 Yuan-class (Type 039A) air independent-powered (AIP) attack submarines with an additional 20 Yuan-class vessels planned for production. The submarine force’s main mission remains anti-surface warfare (ASUW) along major sea lines of co

PLAN Type-54A Frigate Yueyang(575) ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shannon Tiezzi On May 26, China’s Defense Ministry unveiled a new white paper in a press conference. The paper, entitled “China’s Military Strategy,” is the ninth such white paper focused on China’s military to be released since 1998, but it’s also unique. Defense Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun noted a stronger strategic and forward-looking focus in this year’s white paper compared to its predecessors. The Diplomat has already looked at the new white paper, with Franz-Stefan Gady providing an overview and Ankit Panda noting the continued focus on Taiwan. But there’s another aspect on the broad strategic and forward-looking level noted by Yang deserving of attention: China’s vision for a more global role for its military. The white paper started with an emphasis on the positive: “world war is unlikely and the international situation is e

Greek Submarine S-120 Papanikolis ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- GDK) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady Today, German Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, began an official two-day visit to India with the aim of promoting stronger bilateral defense cooperation. While in New Delhi, she held talks with top Indian officials, including her Indian counterpart. Von der Leyen offered Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar German submarine technology as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter, manufactured by a consortium of European defense contractors, Der Spiegel reports. “I wanted to send a clear signal that the [German] federal government will support this,” von der Leyen told Der Spiegel. The German defense minister also noted that “there is Indian interest in industry cooperation for the construction of submarines.” India accounts for almost 15 percent of global defense imports and German arms exporters are looking to pr

Image credits- Prime Minister's office, Government of India Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Vietnamese Defense Minister Phùng Quang Thanh is in India for a three-day visit this week. On Monday, Thanh met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. Thanh’s visit to India is intended to bolster strategic ties between India and Vietnam and comes at a time of rising tensions in the South China Sea–where Vietnam disputes the sovereignty of various islands and reefs with China. Additionally, the Indian government has framed its approach toward Vietnam in terms of its proactive “Act East” policy. Parallel to Thanh’s visit to New Delhi, Indian and Vietnamese senior diplomats held their seventh deputy ministerial-level political consultation in Hanoi. According to a statement posted on the Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) website, “Gen. Thanh briefed Prime Minister Modi about defence and security related developments in the