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

INS Vikramaditya being inducted into the Indian Navy (Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Indian Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- C.Raja Mohan On a March 2015 trip to Seychelles and Mauritius, Narendra Modi outlined a bold framework that overturned the political approach that India had taken towards the Indian Ocean for half a century.  Beginning in the late 1960s, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked all major powers to withdraw from the Indian Ocean out of concern for great power rivalry. This approach fit with India’s self-perception as a non-aligned and Third World state, and its desire to be economically self reliant and to distance itself from the British Raj, which had long been the central security provider in the Indian Ocean. The context which gave rise to the Gandhi approach began to change in the 1990s, as India embarked on a policy of economic globalization and ended its military isolation. India’s new maritime imperatives did not, however, tran

INS Satpura- F48 (Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- United States Navy)  Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran This week, Indian warships visited Cambodia and Thailand as part of a two-month long operational deployment in surrounding waters in pursuit of India’s ‘Act East’ Policy. According to a June 23 press release by the Indian embassy in Bangkok seen by The Diplomat, the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh entered the two Southeast Asian countries as part of a broader operational deployment to Southeast Asia and the Southern Indian Ocean. The ships had been on a 45-day deployment, which included port calls to Jakarta (Indonesia), Fremantle (Australia), and Singapore, where they participated in the bilateral exercise SIMBEX-15 with the Royal Singapore Navy. The visits, the press release said, were “in pursuance of India’s ‘Act East’ policy.” As I have written before, India’s ‘Act East’ policy under

Pagodas of Bagan Burma ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Corto Maltese) Source- The Diplomat  Author- Vibhanshu Shankar The Indian army’s cross-border strike against insurgents over the border with Myanmar has received significant attention over the past few weeks. Lost amidst the debates about the rise of a potential new Indian ‘doctrine’ and endless details about the operation itself has been the effect that such incidents – as well as the posturing that results from them – can have on the relationship between New Delhi and Naypyidaw. Indeed, an assessment of the overall Indo-Myanmar relationship suggests the need for greater Indian humility, rather than hubris, in its relationship with its Southeast Asian neighbor. By focusing too much on the operation itself, some have missed two valuable points. First, India-Myanmar ties have reached a strategic depth. This alignment is based on a new understanding of shifting inter-regional geopolitics and a shared sense of

What 11 most successful people did as teenagers http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/What-11-extremely-successful-people-were-doing-as-teenagers/listshow/47825051.cms via@timesofindia

Source- Want China Times With the domestic market increasingly saturated, Chinese handset makers have turned their focus on India with its similarly huge population but it has proved a tough market to crack, according to a technology blog on web portal Sina. Although brands including ZTE, Huawei, Coolpad, Lenovo and Xiaomi have successfully snatched up the medium and low-end market in China from HTC and Samsung, they face tough home-grown rivals in India. Indian company Micromax recently clinched the No. 1 spot in its home market with a 22% market share, overtaking Samsung's dominance this year. Although Micromax's phones are mostly produced by Chinese contract manufacturers with chips supplied by China's Spreadtrum Communications, it knows the Indian market better and has products that are more price competitive than Chinese competitors, Sina said. In other words, local manufacturers are leveraging their knowledge of the domestic market in the same way

Credits- Art of Living Source- Eurasia Review Author- Sanghamitra Kalita / South Asia Monitor Over the last decade, many scholars and analysts have assessed the emergence of India as a major global player in the context of military capabilities, economic growth and political dynamism. This has often resulted in the overlooking of India’s credentials for developing its soft power existing in the form of culture, values and policies. This new form of power called ‘soft power’ has gained credence in International relations discourse in the post-Cold War era. The term ‘soft power’ which was coined by Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye, is the ability to obtain what one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payments. The smart power, according to Nye, is the combination of hard power and soft power. The concept of power is the mainstay of the traditional approaches to security studies in International Relations. Power is the ability of actor A to influence

JMSDF P3C Orion ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author: Namazu- tron) Source- The Diplomat  Author- Shannon Tiezzi A Japanese surveillance plane flew over disputed waters in the South China Sea on Tuesday, as part of joint drills with the Philippines. As The Diplomat reported previously, the Philippines is holding separate drills with the United States and Japan this week, with both exercises held near the South China Sea. The Japan-Philippine drill, only the second ever between the two countries, simulated maritime search and rescue operations, part of the drill’s larger focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. As part of the drill, a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) P3-C Orion surveillance plane flew past Reed Bank, an area claimed by both China and the Philippines. The Japanese plane carried three Philippine crew members on board as guests, and was accompanied by a Philippine patrol aircraft, Reuters reported. Philippine Marine Colonel Jon

Credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Patrick Gruban Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda On Tuesday, China blocked an Indian bid to question Pakistan at the United Nations sanctions committee (per resolution 1267) over the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a commander in Lashkar-e-Taiba, an anti-India terror group, and a central planner in the November 2008 terror attack on Mumbai which claimed over 160 lives. Lakhvi was released on bail by a Pakistani court in April, a move that India alleged was in violation of resolution 1267. China’s justification for blocking the Indian request—which sought clarification from Pakistan over Lakhvi’s release—was that India “failed to provide enough information.” The move is the latest in a series of recent moves by China to block or stall Indian proposals on countering or sanctioning Pakistan-based terrorism. Though seemingly a bureaucratic snub from Beijing, the action has understandably stirred a hornet’s nest of negativity i

USS Carl Vinson ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Lt.Mitchell, United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Authors- J.Randy Forbes, Jim Talent The Obama administration’s “rebalance” to the Pacific is manifestly failing to prevent Chinese expansionism.  The reason is that China’s rapid military buildup is shifting the regional balance of power in their direction.  Until the United States and its partners reinforce their own position in the region, China will continue its coercive tactics in the East and South China Seas, increasing the risk of armed conflict, and undermining both the rights of neighboring countries and the vital interests of the United States.      The entire world has now heard of China’s actions across seven islets and reefs in the South China Sea and its ongoing conversion of those features into military installations.  But that is just the latest in a series of aggressive Chinese actions over the last several years.  In 2012, Chinese

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Whispertome Source- Eurasia Review Author- Dr Subhash kapila / SAAG China’s strategic lust to enmesh Pakistan in a gridlock embrace has impelled it shockingly to support Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism against India by blocking in the United Nations, India’s proposals demanding action against Pakistan over the release of Mumbai 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi China offered a feeble explanation that technically it could not support India due to lack of adequate evidence presented. Is this not reminiscent of and repetition of Pakistan’s arguments since 2008 whenever India presented dozens of dossiers on Lakhvi and Pakistan’s ISI complicity in Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks. Is China not mindful that UN Resolution 1267 demands such actions or is it that China maintains that there are technical snags in the UN Resolution itself? Media reports indicate that PM Modi has taken up the matter with China at the highest levels a

Image source- The Baluch.com/ Karlos Zurutuza Source- The Diplomat Author- Karlos Zurutuza Their existence is palpable across locations of every size in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The initials of the several Baloch insurgent groups sprayed on brick walls and mud houses across the country’s southernmost region remind us of an insurgent movement the world still knows little about. The Baloch live in a vast territory the size of France boasting enormous reserves of gas, gold and copper, as well as untapped sources of oil and uranium, yet one that is criss-crossed by the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Islamabad’s exploitation of natural resources in the area, combined with repressive state-run policies, have led to five armed uprisings in the region since the territory was annexed by Pakistan in 1948. “Parliamentary politics is not an option for us so we’re forced to make politics with weapons,” Khair Bux Marri, the tribal leader widely perceived

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