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

North Korea announcing that it has carried out a thermonuclear test ( Credits- AP) Source- Eurasia Review Author- South Asian Monitor / Aniket Bhavthankar On January 6, 2016 seismometers across the world had measured a 5.1 Richter scale seismic event. Immediately after that North Korea claimed that it has successfully conducted its first Hydrogen Bomb test. Arch rival and its immediate neighbor South Korea, reacted very strongly to the North Korean assertion; the United States (US) sent a stern warning to Pyongyang. Japan is equally alarmed and asked for a firm global response. China and Russia, long time supporters of North Korea have also expressed their dissatisfaction about recent developments. Unlike earlier instances, North Korea didn’t give advance notices to China, Russia or the US. North Korea is likely to face more sanctions; it has been under the UN Security Council sanctions since it first carried out a nuclear test in 2006. If claims made by North Korea are t

INS Kadmatt ( Image credits- Indian navy) Source- The Indian Navy INS Kadmatt, the second indigenous stealth Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) is scheduled to be commissioned by Admiral RK Dhowan, the Chief of the Naval Staff at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on Thursday, 07 January 16. A unique feature of the ship is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating our national objective of ‘Make in India’. About 90% of the ship is indigenous. The ship has been indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design and constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata.Directorate of Naval Design (DND) is the Navy’s Design Organisation undertaking indigenous design of all surface combatants.  Kadmatt is the latest indigenous ship after Shivalik class, Kolkata class and INS Kamorta wherein a plethora of weapons and

PLAN Air Craft Carrier Liaoning ( Credits- Internet image) Source- The National Interest Author- James Goldrick China has at last formally acknowledged that it has a new aircraft carrier under construction, the first to be built in China and the second in the People's Liberation Army-Navy's order of battle. The PLA Navy appears to have embarked on a substantial carrier program, probably with the intention of creating four and perhaps up to six carrier battle groups (Chinese commentators have publicly acknowledged the need for at least three units in order to have an effective carrier capability). The rehabilitated ex-Russian carrier Liaoning, designated Carrier 16, has been the start of this effort, although its reliability has yet to be confirmed. Experience gained with the ship will be used to evolve the follow-on units which are entering production. However, the challenge involved with these new carriers will not so much be the build, but the design. T

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest Author-  Koh Swee Lean Collin While attention has been on the simmering tensions in the East and South China Seas letely, a small event took place in the East China Sea off the coast of Shanghai. Pakistan Navy (PN) guided missile frigate Shamsheer and fleet replenishment vessel Nasr drilled with a pair of PLA Navy Type-054A Jiangkai II frigates, Xuzhou and Yangzhou from December 31 to January 1. According to Chinese reports, the fast-paced, high-intensity exercise involved day and night maneuvers including joint escort, counter-piracy and live-firing. This constitutes a logical progression from the limited scope when this bilateral exercise first began in 2003 as a simple search-and-rescue drill. The objectives of these exercises are to hone interoperability between the two navies, while affording PN personnel the opportunity to get acquainted with Chinese technologies. What was new in this latest iteration, howeve

Source- The Diplomat Author- Yuki Tatsumi On January 6, North Korea announced that it had conducted its fourth nuclear test. Its state media broadcast a statement signed by Kim Jong-un that celebrated “opening the year with exciting noise of the first hydrogen bomb.” If confirmed, this means a great leap forward for North Korea’s nuclear program. With its ongoing missile programs, it would pose a grave direct threat not only to its neighbors in East Asia but also vis-à-vis the United States. Even if the test turns out to be a regular nuclear test, it still is a clear violation of numerous UN Security Council Resolutions that have been adopted against North Korea, including UNSRES 2049 adopted on March 7, 2013 in response to North Korea’s third nuclear test on February 12, 2013. What made North Korea decide to carry out a nuclear test? Some say Pyongyang was frustrated that it is increasingly isolated in Northeast Asia, particularly with the improving relationship