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

PLAN Sailors ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The Diplomat Author- Andrew Poulin China’s Navy is undergoing a transformation that will have ramifications for years to come. Significant military investments and critical changes in maritime strategy have enabled a dramatic shift from a traditionally brown-water force to a blue-water navy. As a result, China’s naval ships are increasingly serving outside of their regional waters, taking part in more humanitarian and international security operations, and seeking and gaining additional access to ports throughout the world. China’s Navy is going blue. This transformation did not happen overnight. Although the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was founded in 1927, it was not until September 1950 that the PLA Navy (PLAN) was formally established. From the PLAN’s founding through the end of the 1970s, their primary mission was inshore defense. At the time, this helped China focus internally on lay

IRNSS Coverage area ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Brilliant Wiki-II) Source- Russia & India Re port Author- Sputnik The decision of China and India to work together on a joint system of satellites would allow the members of BRICS to be more independent and implement more complex engineering projects in space without having to depend on US technology, Russian military expert Vasiliy Kashin told Sputnik in an interview. A few days ago during his visit to India, Wu Yanhua, Deputy Administrator for the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), said Chinese and Indian space scientists would begin cooperation in the field of aerospace. This announcement also comes amidst the plan of all BRICS members to have their own satellite system to avoid becoming dependent from US technology and equipment in space. "Any form of technological dependence from the United States is a serious risk, both political and commercial. BRICS nations should use each other'

PLAN Destroyer ( Credits- Internet image) Source- The National Interest Author-  Marie-Alice McLean-Dreyfus For many outside observers, the Great Wall of China is a symbol of ancient China's strength, military might and power. The Xi Jinping Administration is currently undertaking land reclamation in the South China Sea, which has been dubbed by some as the 'great wall of sand'. Could the Great Wall of the past shed light on the current wall of sand? When the Great Wall was first built, and until the 20th Century when it was adopted as a national symbol by Sun Yat-sen, most Chinese perceived it as a sign of despotism, political failure and suffering due to a loss of national 'greatness'. It was European settlers in China who crafted the notion of a 'Great Wall of China' – an invention consequently adopted by Chinese rulers in the 20th Century as a nation building tool. One of the key narrative shells of Merriden Varrall's Chinese w

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Source- Eurasia Review Author- Stewart Taggart Can China’s Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) lay the groundwork for a Global Energy Internet? The goals look aligned. The AIIB is keen to invest in infrastructure. State Grid Corp. of China foresees a global energy grid by 2050. Combining the two could create a global pump-priming fiscal economic stimulus that solve a host of collective problems at once — ranging from reducing destructive climate change to spurring economic growth to funding the needs of an aging global population. A Global Energy Grid would be the mother of all economic stimulus projects. It would be built out in phases and completed by mid-century. The logical pathway looks remarkably obvious. The place to start would be Asia, the world’s fastest growing region, where much infrastructure is yet to be built out for the first time. Asia is also the world’s fastest growing regional economy and its largest single trading bloc. Deepen

Image credits- Flickr/ United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Eddie Linczer China’s domination of the South China Sea is not yet a fait accompli, but the United States must implement a countercoercion strategy more urgently in order to maintain a favorable balance of power. Since the beginning of this year, China has deployed surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, as well as fighter aircraft, to Woody Island, a part of the Paracel Island chain in the South China Sea. These actions are stepping stones for China to dispatch missile batteries and jets to the more geopolitically significant Spratly Island chain. Now, there is growing concern that Beijing may declare an air-defense identification zone in the South China Sea. Left unchallenged, the Chinese are on track to create “mini denial zones” and bring greater coercive force to bear against neighboring Southeast Asian states. If current trends continue, the South China Sea will be a “Chinese lake” b