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

As the new year dawn on us, I am trying to bring in some changes to the blog. Due to my professional commitments, I was not able to regularly update the blog in the last few months . From January onwards, I am bringing about a slight change in the format of this blog. Hope you enjoy the new beginning. Thank you for being part of the journey with us and expect your cooperation and blessing for the journey forward, -Admin

Wishing all my friends a very Happy and a Prosperous New Year

Kolkata Class destroyer ( Image credits- Indian Navy) Credits- Defencyclopedia Author- NRP Top 10 Most Powerful Destroyers In The World ( Click to read the entire article here .....)

Chinese Type-99 Tank ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- National Interest Author- Michael Peck After decades as primarily a ground force with the world’s army (go tell China to never fight a land war in Asia), the Chinese military is reorienting itself toward an air-sea conflict in waters such as the South China Sea. For more than a decade, it has been China’s air and naval forces that have growing in budget and stature, while the army has not. Yet two China scholars ask a perceptive question: Why is the Chinese army going along with these reforms? As we well know from the U.S. military, no service ever voluntarily cedes power to another. It would be like the U.S. Army telling Congress, “cut our budget and give the Air Force more money.”( To read the entire article, click here .....)

Merry Christmas to all my readers. May the lord shower on you his blessings.

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Jeff M. Smith “India has done enough to simplify its defense procurement and other norms,” opined Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar at a speech in Washington last December. “It is time for U.S. Government and Industry to reciprocate. It is easy to blame Indian bureaucracy but in some cases, U.S. bureaucracy is much worse.’’ With all due respect to Parrikar—who has been a breath of fresh air after the paralytic reign of his predecessor, AK “Mr. No” Antony—few in Washington or Delhi would agree. Fortunately, the reforms he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have shepherded are steering India in the right direction ( To read the entire article, click here .......)

Chinese Yaun ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The National Interest Author- Rishika Chauhan “Major powers have to work with each other even if their interests diverge on some issues,” India’s Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar stressed at the recently concluded India China Think-Tanks Forum in New Delhi. However, within the next few days, two articles in significant Indian and Chinese dailies seemed to have dampened the spirit of cooperation. Talking about a Chinese consignment worth $2.8 million dispatched to Nepal, a widely circulated Indian newspaper said that the shipment “will severely hit Indian businesses.” A reporter at the Chinese state-run Global Times was quick to respond, insisting the move did not mean that “Chinese goods will push Indian products out of the country.” Impassioned media debates ensued. While reports of competition between the two rising states is common, such discussions have been frequent since September of last year. Accusing Ind

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Department of Defense Source- The National Interest Authors- Joseph W. PrueherJ. Stapleton RoyPaul HeerDavid M. LamptonMichael D. SwaineEzra Vogel As the Trump administration assumes leadership of American foreign policy, questions prevail about how it perceives the United States’ role in the world and how it will exercise that role.  The appearance of a potentially unconventional U.S. president amidst a world in flux highlights the enormous uncertainties and the potential risks to U.S. stability and prosperity that are now confronting us. The United States is today facing a fundamentally different world from the one it has known for many decades. In fact, the scope and magnitude of global change represents the greatest challenge since America’s emergence as a world power a century ago. Economic, technological, political and military power has dispersed globally in ways that make it impossible for the United States to p

USN FA-18 Super Hornet ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / USN) Source- The National Interes t Author- Joseph A. Bosco “America doesn't win anymore” was a constant Donald Trump campaign theme and a situation he pledged to reverse. But before we start winning again we need to stop losing — especially with China, which candidate Trump named as the prime exploiter of America's diplomatic naiveté. While he focused on trade and currency issues, we have been losing to Beijing even more dangerously on national security issues. North Korea, the South China Sea and Taiwan are three Asian flashpoints where China's interests are inimical to American interests and values—any one of which could suddenly bring the United States and China into military conflict ( To read the full article, click here ......)

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The National Interest Author- Vivek Mishra Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent three-day visit to Japan is a sign that the bilateral relationship between India and Japan is headed for newer heights. More importantly, there seems to be a palpable method to this resurgent Asian connection that does not just attempt to restore the balance of power in Asia. The two sides are astutely restructuring regional formulations in the Asian geopolitical theatre through a mix of economic, political and strategic accomplishments. India was able to draw Japan’s support for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), negotiate small but significant progress in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train timeline, ease Indian student visas and facilitate the training of 30 thousand Indians in Japanese manufacturing practices. Two other developments that took place during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan could turn the India-Japan relationship

Image credits- VOA Source- The Diplomat Author- Jeff M. Smith The Sino-Sri Lankan relationship was fundamentally transformed by the 2005 election of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Unlike many South Asian capitals India had shielded from Chinese influence, Colombo established cordial, if limited, diplomatic ties with Beijing by the late 20th century, even importing arms from China in the 1990s. Rajapaksa entered office two decades into a brutal conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), a hyper-violent separatist movement claiming to defend the interests of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority. Colombo and the LTTE reached a ceasefire in 2002 but the violence continued and Sri Lanka’s foreign minister was assassinated shortly before Rajapaksa’s inauguration. Within weeks of taking office the president privately appealed to Delhi for military aid to underpin a major offensive he was planning to crush the LTTE. In 2006 Delhi quietly gifted Rajapaksa five Mi-17 hel

Credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Gage Skidmore (After a month's time, I am back again with active blogging. Lot of things have happened. For my new article, I have decided to concentrate on the new American President, Donald Trump and what it means for India) The Trump era has dawned on the United States and the world. As President elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office as the 45'th President of the United States, the world is left in deep confusion and uncertainty as to how the Trump administration will affect them and their country.  Donald Trump is not new to the world. The hard headed businessmen who defies all logic and who fights and makes a come back is well known. He is tenacious, outspoken and gets his way. From the time his business was in the verge of collapse in the mid 90's to making a coming back and getting to greater heights are all part of the enigma called Donald Trump. His Presidential aspirations are also well known choosing to back