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

Image credits- Oleg Zabielin Source- The Diplomat Author- Rohan Joshi On August 8, 2015, Kabul witnessed its deadliest day since the 2001 U.S. invasion, when a series of attacks in the city left over 50 dead and hundreds injured. A suicide bomber dressed in police uniform detonated explosives outside the National Police Academy that resulted in almost 30 deaths. Then, a truck laden with explosives was detonated, killing 15 people and injuring over 200. Finally, a commando-style assault on Camp Integrity, a NATO military facility killed 10 people, including a U.S. soldier. The attacks in Kabul come at a time when “peace negotiations” between the Afghan government and the Taliban are in a precarious position. Just a few days prior to the second round of talks between Kabul and the Taliban, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and President Ghani’s office confirmed that Mullah Muhammad Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, ha

Indonesian warship KRI Patimura entering Port Blair for joint exercises with the Indian navy  ( Image credits- Indian Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Prashanth Parameswaran ndia wants to support the development of Indonesia’s military and defense industry, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) noted August 10. Following a meeting between Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and India’s ambassador to Indonesia, Gurjit Singh, on August 10, the MoD said the defense partnership between the two countries would focus on two key areas. Both of these were touched on when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Indonesian president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last year in Myanmar. The first area was a general joint commitment by the two countries to enhance maritime security for mutual and global benefit. This is already an area of focus, with both countries engaging in coordinated patrols as well as joint bilateral and multilateral exercises in surrounding waters.

Image source- Flickr / MEA India Source- The Diplomat Author- Harsh V. Pant Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this week has once again brought to focus India’s changing role in the Middle East. This will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the UAE in 34 years. Then-prime minister Indira Gandhi visited the Emirates in 1981. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to travel to the UAE in March 2013, but the visit was cancelled at the last minute. India’s policy toward the Middle East has often been viewed through the prism of Indian–Iranian relations. The international community, and the West in particular, has been obsessed with New Delhi’s ties to Tehran, while missing India’s much more substantive simultaneous engagement with Arab Gulf states and Israel. India’s engagements with Arab states in the Middle East have gained momentum in the last few years, even as Iran continued to hog the limelight. India

Mahendra Rajapakse ( Source- The Presidency of Sri Lanka) Source- The Diplomat Author- Sudha Ramachandran On August 17, Sri Lanka will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. While the electoral contest is primarily between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the United National Party (UNP)-led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG), it is former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid to return to power as prime minister that has hogged the media spotlight. Seven months ago Rajapaksa lost his quest for a third successive term as president when his former health minister, Maithripala Sirisena defeated him in the presidential election. Rajapaksa’s ouster was widely described as the end of the Rajapaksa era in Sri Lankan politics. In fact, that era may not be quite finished yet – Rajapaksa is eyeing a comeback as prime minister. His reasons for doing so are not hard to fathom. Rajapaksa and his family benefited en

Iskander Missile  ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- A Savin) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck Saudi Arabia wants to buy a short-range ballistic missile system from Russia, the Kingdom’s top diplomat says. Speaking in Moscow this week, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said, "Saudi Arabia is set to intensify relations with Russia in all the spheres, including in the military field.” He added: “Intensive contacts are taking place between the military delegations and specialists from both countries and a wide range of intended types of armaments from Russia are being discussed, including Iskander missile systems.” According to Russian state-owned media, “The Iskander tactical ballistic missile system includes a launcher, a loader-transporter, a routine maintenance vehicle, a command post vehicle, an information post, an ammunition equipment set and training aids.” As Robert Farley has noted on The National Interest, th

Image credits- United States navy Source- The National Interest Author- Do Thanh Hai Over the last six years, the South China Sea has become a boiling cauldron. China's expansive claim and stubborn assertiveness in this body of water, through which half of the world's shipping tonnage passes, have rattled not only littoral countries but also the world's major powers. What should these countries do to reverse China's assertive course and stabilize the South China Sea? China's Winning Strategy   China has a geopolitical design and a subtle strategy for the South China Sea. Beijing usually blames other countries for causing its assertive actions and denies allegations of strategic intentions in the South China Sea. However, playing the victim is no way to deceive public opinion. It is China's hope that a combination of "4 Ps"—power, proximity, patience, and persistence—would eventually make it the ruler of the South China Sea. Li

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- NASA Source- Eurasia Review Author- David C. DeFrieze Space is a contested, congested, and competitive domain. Each year the international community relies ever more on space-based technology for defense, civil, and commercial purposes. Accordingly, the weaponization of space has increasingly become an issue of concern. Space is an international common and is thus easier to protect through international cooperation. Since the beginnings of humanity’s venture into space, the international community has made attempts to define and regulate the placement and use of weapons there, but with only limited success. This article discusses the international interest in controlling the weaponization of space and prior attempts to define and regulate it.1 It then offers an approach to better achieve the international cooperation needed to meet global concerns over space weapons. Increasing Reliance on Space The international comm

Credits- VOA Source- The Diplomat Author- James Kraska China operates a network of fishing vessels organized into a maritime militia with paramilitary roles in peacetime and during armed conflict. The maritime militia forms an irregular naval force that provides the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) with an inexpensive force multiplier, raising operational, legal and political challenges for any opponent. The sheer size and scope of the vast network of China’s maritime militia complicates the battlespace, degrades any opponent’s decision-making process and exposes adversaries to political dilemmas that will make them more cautious to act against China during a maritime crisis or naval war. The legal implications are no less profound. The maritime militia erases the longstanding distinction between warships and civilian ships in the law of naval warfare, which is analyzed in depth in a recent Naval War College study, The Law of Naval Warfare and China’s Maritime Mil