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

Image credits- stripes.com Source- The Diplomat Author- David Volodzko Last week Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying commented on the passage of the controversial Legislation for Peace and Security by the lower house of the National Diet, urging Japan to “draw hard lessons from history […] respect the major security concerns of its Asian neighbors, and refrain from […] crippling regional peace and stability.” This last accusation in particular has been picked up by The Japan Times, The New York Times, France24, The Telegraph and others, and it deserves critical public reflection. China’s sermons on history are undermined by the aggressive repression of its own historical truths, such as the Tiananmen massacre, just as the call to respect neighbors’ security concerns are undermined by Beijing’s flagrant disrespect for such concerns in the South China Sea. Let’s consider these two points independently. As for historical grievances, Beijing isn’t likel

Malabar series of exercises ( Image credits- Indian Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Harsh V. Pant New configurations in Asian geopolitics are emerging thick and fast. Last month saw the initiative of a new trilateral involving India, Japan, and Australia when Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar met his Australian counterpart and the Japanese vice foreign minister. Japan will also be a part of bilateral India-U.S. annual naval exercises–the Malabar–slated to be held over the next few months. Though Japan has participated in these exercises in the past as well, this will be only the second time when Japan will join these exercises in the geostrategically critical Indian Ocean region. There is a growing convergence in the region now that the strategic framework of the Indo-Pacific remains the best way forward to manage the rapidly shifting contours of Asia. Proposed first by Japan and adopted with enthusiasm by Australia under the Tony Abbott government, in particu

A TRIBUTE:    Please do read it: There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but every one was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job. One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him-"Sir I have promised to my children that I will take him to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5.30 pm".His boss replied "OK, you' re p ermitted to leave the office early today". The scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to complexion. The time was 8.30 pm. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children. He looked for his boss. He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was

PLAN Destroyer Shenzhen ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Andrew S. Erickson In what follows, I offer my assessment of the current situation in the South China Sea, how the U.S. government should understand the situation, and how it may best address the situation. A major Chinese narrative regarding the South China Sea is one of reciprocated restraint. But Chinese leaders have clearly had an ambitious long-term vision of some sort, backed by years of island seizures, themselves based on longstanding claims encapsulated in an ambiguous “nine-dash line” enclosing virtually all of the South China Sea. In 2014, China greatly accelerated what had long been a very modest process of “island building,” developing land features in the Spratlys and Paracels with a scale and sophistication that its neighbors simply cannot match, even collectively over time. But it’s what China’s constructing atop these

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Vikramjit kakati) "Legends die hard. They survive as truth rarely does" : Helen Hayes This hold true for one of the greatest personalities of this century India has ever produced. The legend is no more. Remembering one of the greatest personalities of modern India, the father of India's missile program, former president, eminent statesman, thinker and a philosopher. The man who taught us to dream about the future. May his soul rest in peace.  We celebrate this great life with a walk though his life in this brief blog: Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam 15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015) was an Indian scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Deve

Type-52 D class Destroyer Kunming ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- 海防先锋) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its second Type 052D Luyang III-class destroyer, the Yangsha, IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly reports. According to IHS Jane’s, the vessel was inducted into the PLAN’s South Sea Fleet in mid-July and will in all likelihood operate out of Yalong Bay naval base on Hainan Island. The first Type 052D Luyang III-class destroyer, Kunming, was launched in March 2014 and the Yangsha launched in July 2014. However, the vessel was commissioned a full 16 months after the Kunming, “suggesting an extensive program of trials,” according to the article. All in all, the PLAN plans to build a fleet of 12 Type 052D destroyers–nicknamed “Chinese Aegis”–before shifting production to the newer Type 055D multi-role cruiser. IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly further notes that “[e]arlier in July, the seventh

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The Diplomat Author- Chau Bao Nguyen The redeployment of a Chinese oil rig in the South China Sea (SCS) shows an inconsistency in the rhetoric and practice of China’s policy in the disputed waters. Together with its mass land reclamation activities, these actions are part and parcel of coercive diplomacy. It affirms China’s territorial ambition in the highly strategic sea. But is it likely to escalate into regional conflict? China’s Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HD-981) oil rig was redeployed in June after the 2014 dispute with Vietnam. This time, the rig returned at a crucial moment: just weeks before the first visit by the General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong to Washington. With a rapprochement that is leading towards a US–Vietnam comprehensive partnership, the meeting’s agenda also includes South China Sea concerns, to China’s annoyance. The move itself, announced by China’s maritime safety authorities,