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

Image credits- Indian navy Source- The National Interest Author- McDaniel Wicker India and China are on a collision course. They boast the world’s two largest populations, two of the fastest growing economies on the globe and aspirations to lead the way into a new Asian century. The two nations’ fates will be intertwined for decades to come. Troublingly, China’s move last week to block Indian membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is merely the latest sign of tension to emerge between the two Asian giants. Further competition and even confrontation await. Competition between rising powers is hardly new or surprising. This particular case, however, shows China’s intent to remain the sole Asian power stretching from Siberia to the Arabian Sea. This was most recently demonstrated last week when China led the push to exclude India from the NSG. Membership in the prestigious group, which controls the trade of nuclear material and related technologies, would fac

USS Nimitz ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Anders Corr The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague released a stinging rebuke to China in last week’s ruling on the arbitration case brought by the Philippines. Philippine presidents Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte both risked their relations with China by initiating and, in the latter case, not acquiescing to Chinese demands that they withdraw the case. The Philippines should be strongly supported by the United States and our allies in this moment of need, including through U.S. naval enforcement of the ruling and U.S. ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The intensity and unanimity of the court’s ruling was a surprise to most analysts, and must feel like a crushing humiliation to Chinese officials. China reacted swiftly and with equal intensity. “The arbitration tribunal made the illegal and invalid so-called final verdict on

Chinese coast guard ship in South China Sea ( Image credits- VOA) At last the long awaited ruling has come in the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines. The Permanent Court of Arbitration Tribunal has ruled over overwhelmingly in favour of the Philippines. The ruling has set at rest the long held Chinese argument of claim over the whole of South China Sea on the ground of historical precedent. It laid down the broader law by which China's claim to the islands in South China Sea and it's encompassing Exclusive Economic Zone has been rejected. China is put to great embarrassment as China is a signatory to The United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is bound by the terms and laws laid down in the said convention. China outright rejected the ruling saying that the same is unilateral in nature and the Court does not have the right to adjudicate in sovereign disputes.  What is the South China Sea Dispute: The South China Sea dispute

USAF F-35 ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USAF) Source- The National Interest Author- Robert Farley The focus of ground combat operations has shifted dramatically since the end of the Cold War. Relatively few operations now involve the defeat of a technologically and doctrinally similar force, leading to the conquest or liberation of territory. Preparation for these operations remains important, but ground combat branches also have a host of other priorities, some (including counter-insurgency and policing) harkening back to the origins of the modern military organization. What will the balance of ground combat power look like in 2030, presumably after the Wars on Terror and the Wars of Russian Reconsolidation (more to come on this idea below) shake out? Predictions are hard, especially about the future, but a few relatively simple questions can help illuminate our analysis. In particular, three questions motivate this study: • Does the army have access

Sukhoi PAK FA ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Rulexip) Source- The National Interest Author- Robert Farley The PAK FA has played the bugbear for Western air forces for nearly a decade, the terrifying Russian jet that will eat F-35s for breakfast. American aviation analysts in search of something, anything that might threaten U.S. air dominance settled on the PAK FA, a frankly evil looking jet that bore a very mild resemblance to the MiG-31 “Firefox” that Clint Eastwood made famous. Say what you will about the F-35, but Lockheed Martin has actually built and delivered one hundred and seventy one aircraft thus far.  The Russian Air Force, meanwhile, has yet to receive its first PAK FA.  In lieu of the PAK FA, Russia has continued to acquire generation 4.5 fighters (mostly of the Flanker family) as well as upgrading generation 4 fighters (including various Flankers, the MiG-29 Fulcrum, and the MiG-31 Foxhound). Sukhoi will likely never build the number of fighters

PLA soldiers( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Chairman, Joint  Chiefs of Staff, United States) Source- The National Interest Author- Julian Ku The Philippines’ sweeping victory in this week’s arbitral decision issued under the UN Convention for the Law of the Sea dealt a serious blow to China. But while the arbitral award dramatically changed the legal landscape and geography of the South China Sea in favor of the Philippines and the United States, it is important to keep in mind that even following the award’s legal conclusions, China may have the legal right to maintain a strong and even dominant presence in the Spratly Islands.  To be sure, the arbitral award is a big defeat for China’s legal claims in the region. Prior to the decision, China had a series of ambiguous but legally plausible claims to historic rights under its famous “9 Dash Line” as well as an unspecified series of exclusive economic zones covering all of the Spratly Islands.  Such unspecified c