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

INS Chakra ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Indian Navy) Source- Russia & India Report Author-  Ivan Safronov , Kommersant Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and Manohar Parrikar, India’s Defence Minister discussed the lease of a second nuclear submarine to India. While discussing military-technical cooperation between the two countries during a telephone conversation on March 23, the two ministers agreed to work out details for the transfer, on a leasing agreement, of a second nuclear-powered submarine (NPS) to the Indian Navy. According to Kommersant, the situation is being complicated by different approaches to this issue. In New Delhi they want to rent the latest multi-purpose project 885 Yasen-class submarine, but the Russian Navy has its own plans for this sub. A compromise being considered is the transfer of a project 971 submarine. Kommersant learned about the phone conversation between the two ministers from an official Defence Ministry press

Tributaries of the Mekong river  ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Shannon1) Source- Eurasia Review Author-  Kalinga Seneviratne China would like to project the release of Mekong River waters from its dams in March to “assist” drought-stricken farmers and fisheries further downstream, especially in Vietnam, as a magnanimous gesture from a friendly neighbour. But that action is in fact the reflection of a greater environmental and political crisis that is brewing in the region. China announced middle of March that in response to a Vietnamese request, it will discharge from March 15 to April 10 water from the Jinghong hydropower station on the Mekong River in Yunnan province to the lower reaches of the Mekong River to alleviate drought in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. “In order to accommodate the concerns of countries at the lower reach of the Mekong River, the Chinese government decides to overcome its own difficulties to offer emergency water

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office Source- The National Interest Author-  Togzhan Kassenova Just in time for the annual appearance of cherry blossoms, fifty-two heads of state will come to Washington to discuss nuclear security. The fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit, launched by President Barack Obama in 2010, will take stock of the progress made in securing vulnerable nuclear material over the last six years. Thanks to the summit process, nuclear security, which was previously relegated to small groups of mainly Western bureaucrats and nuclear nerds, has become a prominent issue on the international stage. Major media outlets cover it, governments around the world have been forced to learn about it and greater understanding exists of why protecting nuclear material is critical to international security. Despite the buzz that these regular meetings of heads of states have generated, many states a

Model of Japanese ATD-X Fifth Gen Fighter Aircraft ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Hunini) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar Japan has opened talks with Western defense contractors—including Lockheed Martin and Boeing—to develop a next-generation air superiority fighter. Tokyo is locked in a regional dogfight with Beijing to maintain control over the skies over the Sea of Japan. The new Japanese aircraft could be based in part on the technologies being matured on Mitsubishi’s X-2 ATD-X stealth fighter concept demonstrator. The X-2 prototype is set to take to the skies for the first time in days, reports Reuters. “They have begun exploratory engagement to look at our capabilities,” a source with a Western defense contractor told the news agency. “There is no policy decision and no program of record for the next fighter. There is only some discussion that, logically, there will be a fighter at some point.” Japan needs to replace i

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Poncahot Source- The National Interest Authors- Truong-Minh Vu , Nhung Bui How Vietnam’s foreign policies will change after January’s 12th Party Congress has been a subject of vibrant debate in recent weeks, especially because the party congress has consolidated the power of party conservatives, led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Some commentators have espoused the view that the reappointment of Mr. Trong will lead Vietnam to lean more towards China, due to the two countries’ shared Communist ideology and political system. The leadership reshuffle, which also involves the retirement of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, would allow leaders to reemphasize the security of the Communist Party over economic reform and nationalism. According to a recent commentary in the National Interest, this could mean that Vietnam’s pivot to the United States might come to an end under the new leadership, despite positive developments in recent years