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

Forbidden city, Beijing ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The National Interest Author- Linda Jakobson When I first moved from China to Australia in 2011 I was surprised to hear rumblings about the perils of Australian complacency in the face of rapid changes taking place across the Indo–Pacific. Australia’s destiny is tied to Asia and China in particular—this struck me as a given. The living standards of Australians are inherently dependent on the ability of Australian businesses to continue to make profit and on the region continuing to be without major conflict. The former means increasingly relying on the region to generate profit. The latter means that Canberra’s diplomatic efforts must focus on encouraging the peaceful rise of China and the establishment of a new equilibrium of power acceptable to Australia and others in the region. Over the past four years, I’ve been confronted with this complaint of complacency in countless conversations about Au

United States Naval personal ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author-  James Holmes So Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations (CNO), a.k.a. the United States’ top uniformed naval officer, plans to unfurl a “campaign design” next month to guide the U.S. Navy’s future endeavors. We know very little about the draft document. Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile proffering a few thoughts in this largely fact-free setting—even while the draft remains under strict embargo. Some ideas animating the directive have begun to seep out of the Navy Staff. For one, the world is changing around the sea services—the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard—at a fast and quickening rate. While the U.S. Navy remains tops in knowledge and capability—the human and material sinews of sea power—for now, prospective antagonists are improving even more swiftly. They’re coming from behind. To visualize this way of thinking, im