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

In the intervening hours on the night of 28'th and 29'th, something dramatic had happened. In revenge of the recent Poonch attack on an Indian army camp, Indian Special Forces took out surgical strikes inside POK in terrorist camps and launch pads killing many terrorists in the process. This is a marked departure from the established norm of self restraint. India has awaken to the fact that the path of appeasement will not work with Pakistan and sometimes you will need to wield the big stick to beat the hell out of Pakistan. Now India is sending out the message to Pakistan that India will not lie low if India is again targeted by Pakistan or their cronies. In a strategic level, Pakistan's bluff of nuclear retaliation is exposed. India now is showing that it will not be cowed down by nuclear blackmail. Pakistan had breached the threshold in recent days when they stepped up terrorist activities inside India. It was in a way a desperate move by Pakista

Indo-Iranian Chabahar Port ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Amirhossein Nikroo) Source- Eurasia Review Author- Mehraveh Kharazmi Iran and India are going through a new stage in their bilateral relations. The two countries, which have maintained cordial relations characterized by low tension in the past centuries, are now opening a new chapter, whose impact can even transcend the limits of their bilateral ties. Iran’s relations with India, which had become restricted to import of non-essential goods from India in return for selling Iran’s crude to Indian oil companies due to anti-Iran sanctions and because Tehran did not have much of an option, have now entered a totally different phase. This is true because following the endorsement and implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran has now more options for the establishment of political and economic relations with various coun

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Abhijit Singh Ever since it was signed late last month, India’s logistics agreement with the United States has been a contested issue in India’s strategic circles. The pact has attracted some criticism from a section of India’s political and strategic elite who feel it restricts India’s freedom of military action. The critics appear convinced the pact does not benefit India strategically in the same way as it advantages the U.S. military. As a leading Indian defense analyst put it, “the government seems to have been guided more by the fear of being accused of succumbing to pressure from Washington and less by an evaluation of whether this might benefit India’s military.” As a result, Indian defense ministry officials find themselves under pressure to explain why they believe an agreement with the United States on military logistics is in India’s best interests. Meanwhile, supporters of the pact claim that it only

PLA Ground Forces ( Image credits- VOA) Source- The National Interest Author-  Liang Xiaojun For a great power to lead the world there are a few qualities that it should bring to the table. These include, but are not limited to, material strength, an aspiration for recognition, and sufficient international support. Does China currently possess these qualities? Material strength is the idea that a great power can survive a natural disaster or a man-made catastrophe by virtue of its geographical advantage or large population. Russia, for instance, was able to hold back Napoleon’s ambitions and, later on, undermine Hitler’s aggression. The United States also had enough material strength to play a dominant role in rebuilding the world after the devastation of World War II. And, more recently, China’s material strength led it to dominate the regional response to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis..... ( Now read on )

Wishing all our readers a Happy and a Prosperous Onam

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Jacob Jose Source- Eurasia Review Authors- Tan Ming Hui and Lee YingHui Responding to both domestic and external pressures, China sends a strong signal by raising tensions in the East China Sea. Japan is likely to continue engagement of Southeast Asia to balance the perceived Chinese provocation. Can China and Japan explore conciliatory options to avoid a worsening security situation in the region? ..........( Now read on )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN Source- The National Interest Author- Abhijit Singh China is waging a relentless propaganda campaign against its opponents in the South China Sea. Following the Hague arbitral tribunal’s verdict rejecting Beijing’s historical rights within the nine-dash line, China’s publicity managers have raised their game with devastating effect. With well-timed reports suggesting a plan for a Chinese ADIZ in the South China Sea, the fresh reclamation of reefs and shoals in the Spratly group of islands and even reports of military aircraft patrols over the disputed islands, they’ve managed to convince many regional watchers that China has emerged as a dominant maritime power in the Asia–Pacific.( Now read on .........)

Mother Teresa  ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Manfredo Ferrari)   As Mother Teresa is canonized by the Vatican today, giving her sainthood, it is time for us to travel through the lives and time of this enigma we call, Mother Teresa. She has a special place in the hears and minds of us Indians, because it is here that she spent the better part of her life helping the poor and destitutes of Kolkata. A tribute to this angel of mercy: Mother Teresa or Saint Teresa also known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, MC, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (modern Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire. After having lived in Macedonia for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and was active in 133 countries

PLAN SSN ( Image credits- Internet image) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz-Stefan Gady China will provide the Pakistan Navy with eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines by 2028, the head of the country’s next-generation submarine program told the Pakistan National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense during the committee’s visit to the Naval Headquarters in Islamabad on August 26, according to local media reports. The Pakistani senior naval official’s statement in front of the committee members provides official confirmation that the program is moving ahead, although it is still unclear whether a contract has been signed. In April, a senior Pakistan Navy official announced that Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) had secured a contract to produce four of the eight submarines, which will be fitted with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems. ( Now read on ....... )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author-  Mike Scrafton Under what circumstances would Australia join in a war against China? RAND’s report War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable (WwC) illuminates the gravity of that decision. WwC explores “two variables: intensity (from mild to severe) and duration (from a few days to a year or more).” It models a number of conventional war scenarios confined to East Asia/Western Pacific between 2015 and 2025 and waged with maritime assets—surface and submarine—and aircraft, missiles, space assets and in cyberspace. The US homeland isn’t attacked but assets in China are.......( Read on )

Image credits- USNI Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda Last week, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) held what state media called a “maritime confrontation drill” in the Sea of Japan. The drill involved a simulated skirmish between two Chinese naval task forces and involved multiple warships from the PLAN’s East China Sea Fleet..............( Read on )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar While the Russian Kalibr cruise missile continues to capture the spotlight in Syria, on the other side of the globe, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is also developing advanced long-range precision strike weapons. Indeed, Chinese designers are hoping to develop a family of modular cruise missiles that could match many of the capabilities found onboard the U.S. Navy’s Block IV Tomahawks—including the ability to retarget in-flight....................................  ( Read on )

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / NASA Source- The Diplomat Author- John Power North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has set himself a challenge that’s out of this world: planting his country’s flag on the moon within a decade. Pyongyang’s answer to NASA is engrossed in a five-year plan to put more sophisticated satellites into orbit by 2020, and the experience will inform a lunar mission within the next 10 years. That’s according to an interview with a senior official at the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), published by the Associated Press on Thursday............. ( Read on )

USS John C. Stennis ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Loren B. Thomson Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the signature expression of American military power.  No other combat system available to U.S. warfighters comes close to delivering so much offensive punch for months at a time without requiring land bases near the action.  As a result, the ten carriers in the current fleet are in continuous demand from regional commanders -- so much so that extended overseas combat tours are becoming the norm.  ( Read on )

PLAAF J-11 B Fighter ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Department of Defense, United States of America) Source- The National Interest Author- Sebastin Rublin The Shenyang J-11 is a Chinese copy of the excellent Russian Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” multirole fighter. In fact, it was at first an authorized copy—but Chinese ambitions to adapt it with locally produced technology transformed it into a reverse-engineered headache for Russian industry. In successive variants, the J-11 and the Flanker-derived J-15 and J-16 have been at the forefront of Chinese efforts to produce long-range fourth-generation fighters that can contest the seas around China—if only Chinese engineers can work out the kinks in their domestically produced jet engines......( Read on )