Deploying tanks in the mountainous region With the arrival of the first of ten C-17 Globemaster heavy lift aircraft from the US the possibility of India being able to deploy tanks in support of ground operations against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army north of the Himalayas has improved exponentially. India’s ability to deploy its armored corps, mechanized infantry and artillery regiments along the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas was severely constrained by the… Read More »Assured destruction

US woos Maldives with SOFA As Maldives prepares for Presidential election in September, a fierce debate is going on in the Maldivian political circles about the US offer to sign a Status of Forces Agreement. With the US focusing its strategy towards Asia Pacific by promoting its new Rebalancing Asia earlier called Pivot to Asia policy among the Asian powers, it seems to have chosen Maldives as one of the pivots on which it will… Read More »Cajoling act

India’s Africa safari opens new opportunities As compared to the four China-Africa summits held since2000, Indiacould organize only two. But the second India-Africa summit held in Addis Ababa on May 25 can be termed as a landmark event inpushing India’s engagementwith Africa to a new height. With large parts of Africa now enjoying peace and stabilityand democratic governance, it was high time that India engaged with the Africanleaders at the highest level and reassures them… Read More »Continent future

Roadmap to engage China along Indian borders It does not need a rocket scientist to understand the game that China and Pakistan are playing on the roof of the world. Its first impact is intended to be regional domination leading towards a bi-polar world. Should India stand by and watch it happen? STRATEGIC AFFAIRS, in earlier articles on the developments in the north Kashmir salient, has warned about the danger of India being sidelined even… Read More »Engaging China

China’s space forays in India’s neighborhoods After indulging in port diplomacy with India’s neighbors China is now engaged in Space diplomacy with them. This has caused jitters in Indian security establishment, which incidentally was not caught off guard. Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh had floated global Request for Proposal for acquiring communication satellites and the relevant Indian departments did not take note of this. However, much later they realized that the Chinese has taken advantage… Read More »Eye in space

Chinese border incursion and violation of agreements Though India and China have signed two landmark agreements on the maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border, the two armies have indulged in extensive competitive deployment, violating the letter and spirit of the two agreements signed in 1993 and 1996. The credit must be given to these agreements for the absence of cross border firing as regularly witnessed on the Line of Control between India and… Read More »Putting pressure

Emerging pirate-jihadi nexus Even as the Indian Navy is being modernized with the acquisition of stealth technology frigates and fast offshore patrol vessels a chink is beginning to appear in maritime defence that has all the hallmarks of the land-based “sub-conventional warfare” by non-State actors instigated, financed and launched by nation-States that have, like Pakistan become rogues in their mentality and worldview. One symptom of that change is the “revision” of India’s anti-piracy rules of… Read More »Ready to counter

MiG-29K joins the Indian Navy The supersonic MiG-29K joined the Indian Navy on the day when the Indian Naval Aviation was celebrating the diamond jubilee of its establishment on 11th May, 1953. Six decades later, the Indian Navy has emerged as a dominant force in the Indian Ocean and with the joining of the Mig-29K as the front line maritime fighter, the Indian Navy will command greater respect from the rival navies in the maritime… Read More »Sea birds

India’soptions in Afghanistan     The manner in which the USmanaged to find and destroy Osama Bin Laden, the founder of the umbrellaterrorist organization Al Qaeda, it has changed the rules of engagement whichcould well have a salubrious effect on India’srole in Afghanistan.     A change in the rules of engagement would mean, first andforemost, that Pakistan must respect the sovereignty and integrity ofAfghanistan and not treat it as its “sixth province”.   “Sixth… Read More »Stability is key

Hostile Indian borders and the need of UCAVS The recent experience with China along the Line of Actual Control in the Ladakh sector has brought to the fore the need for unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) that will put an end to the perennial crib about the absence of adequate infrastructure in the high Himalayas. Our road building projects are believed to be about three years behind schedule because of difficulties in rock-cutting and bridge-building.… Read More »Tailless bombers