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

ISRO's MOM ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Nesnad) Source- The Dipomat Author- John Johnson Freese The world rightfully applauded when India’s Mangalyaan spacecraft began orbiting Mars in September 2014. After all, new entries were being logged in the record books: India became the first Asian country to reach Mars, the first country to orbit Mars on its first attempt, and only the fourth country to orbit Mars, with such space heavy-hitters as the United States, the Soviet Union and Europe. But who pays attention to record books any longer when it comes to space anyway? Everyone. The benefits for India to be seen as a space power range from regional and geostrategic influence vis-à-vis China, to raising the credibility of sophisticated space technology produced by Anthrix, the commercial arm of India’s Space Research Organization, credibility accompanied by potentially substantial economic returns. Additionally, India achieved its success reaching Mars i

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Anurag Source- The National Interest Author- Akhilesh Pillalamarri Indian fighter jets will soon be equipped with the world’s fastest cruise missile. According to Indian news outlets, New Delhi India recently developed a modification for its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter airplane that will allow it to carry the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Earlier this year, it was reported that India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) had begun receiving 42 Su-30MKI air dominance fighters modified to carry air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. The BrahMos missile will be tested from the modified Sukhoi Su-30 MKI plane this year. According to Sudhir K. Mishra, CEO and managing director of the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), “It will take about four to five months to complete the instrument flight test, the dummy test and the actual flight.” The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI is a twin-seater,

Russian Yasen class SSN ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- www.kremlin.ru) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck Fresh off building the fourth-generation Yasen-class submarines, Russia is already developing a fifth-generation submarine. Vladimir Dorofeyev, CEO of Russia’s Malakhit Marine Engineering Design Bureau, told TASS last week that "The work on the fifth generation of submarines is already underway. The project will be implemented after the Yasen nuclear submarine construction project is completed.”  This was subsequently confirmed by Admiral Viktor Chirkov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy. Speaking at the Army 2015 international military and technical forum in Moscow last Wednesday, Chirkov said that “In order to avoid pauses and standstill, we have started design work on developing submarines of the next, i.e. fifth generation.” Both men said the submarines would be built within the Russian shipbuilding program through

Yoga being performed ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Eli Christman) Source- Wikimedia Commons  Author- Rajni Bakshi On June 21, elaborate celebrations in New Delhi  marked the first United Nations International Day of Yoga. What this UN day highlights is part of a process that has been unfolding for well over a century and transcends the boundaries of nation states. In India, this process is commonly perceived to date back to Swami Vivekananda’s address at the Parliament of World Religions at Chicago in 1893. When the young Hindu monk declared that all humans are “children of immortal bliss,” he was sharing a philosophical and spiritual truth that transcends human-made boundaries of race, religious doctrine, and nationhood. In the decade that followed, Vivekananda exerted a substantial influence in intellectual circles on both sides of the Atlantic. This was largely because he powerfully expressed the transcendent dimensions of Indic spiritual and philosophi

PLAN Ship Hongzehu (Source- Wikimedia Commons/ Author- United States Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shannon Tiezzi The Philippines released photos of China’s construction and land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, on May 15, 2014, a day after Manila accused Beijing of violating the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea by carrying out such construction. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying was asked about the photographs in her regular press conference on May 15. Here’s her response, in full: China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha [Spratly] Islands including Chigua Reef [Johnson South Reef] and the contiguous waters. Whatever construction China carries out in the Chigua Reef is completely within China’s sovereignty. That response did not evolve much over the next ten months. In March 2015, Hua was still defending China’s construction with terse proclamations: “China’s normal construction activities

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Syed Naqvi Source- The Diplomat Author- Saira Bano During the seventh round of the U.S.-Pakistan Security, Strategic Stability, and Nonproliferation (SSS&NP) working group earlier this month, Pakistan again demanded an India-style civil nuclear agreement under the auspices of the U.S.-Pakistan strategic dialogue. As previously, the idea received a noncommittal response from Washington. Islamabad has been critical of the India-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement, signed in 2008, under which nuclear sanctions against New Delhi were lifted and India was allowed to have civilian nuclear trade along with its nuclear weapons program. The Indo-U.S. nuclear deal recognized the nuclear status of India, while continuing to exclude Pakistan from the nuclear club. U.S. officials argued that India’s case was unique and Pakistan does not qualify for similar treatment. The questions arise: What were the factors that pushed the United States