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The Dragon Bares Its Fangs: Modernisation of Plarf to Support an Expansionist Policy
Full text linkOn December 31, 2015, China elevated the status and stature of its nuclear and missile forces by making the People\u27s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) a fourth military Service alongside the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Since then, the pronouncements and directions of Chinese President Xi Jinping and press releases have bolstered and further enhanced the importance that China attaches to its PLARF. Owing to China\u27s increasing attention to the PLARF, it becomes imperative to understand the Chinese approach to the modernisation of the PLARF and its future role. The pertinent query lies in understanding how this capability will be instrumental in actualising China\u27s role in the future. Keeping this context, the assessments will be drawn from a context and content analysis of the official papers and documents of press releases to determine if there is a genuine commitment to the official word or there is an asymmetry in the theory and practice. In doing so, the paper seeks to examine two key issues: first, application of the proposed thoughts and ideas; and second, evaluation of the consonance between professing and practice
“Reflections on American Grand Strategy in Asia” By Ash Carter, October 2018
Full text linkAsh Carter, an academic with considerable experience in the Pentagon as also United States (US) Secretary of Defence from February 2015 to January 2017, is a strategic thinker. This is evident from his treatise on “Reflections on American Grand Strategy in Asia”; which is easily one of the better essays on US President Barack Obama\u27s rebalance\u27 and what should be done for its implementation. It is logically presented and charts the course to be followed to fulfill the medium and long-term interests of the US
Strategic Relevance of the Indo-Pacific: An Assessment
Full text linkAt Davos in 2016, John Chipman, Director General (DG) and Chief Executive of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) while participating in a discussion on world affairs, stated that the world during the 20th century had lived tactically but in the 21st century, the world will have to learn to live strategically. What does that mean and how is it relevant in understanding the strategic relevance of the Indo-Pacific? The Indo-Pacific region1 as a whole is witnessing major shifts in terms of economics, strategic behaviour, and diplomatic manoeuvring among the major powers. Especially, as each nation competes with the other in order to create its own sphere of influence to exploit the potential of the region as a whole. The creation of a single strategic system in the Indo-Pacific region by combining accelerated economic and security connections becomes the fulcrum between the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Will the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific\u27 region help in integrating and uniting the major powers into one single strategic system? NOTE: This paper is adapted from an address at a Round Table Conference on the Indo-Pacific Region: Emerging Geopolitical Scenario at the UGC Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati, on August 28, 2018.
This paper is adapted from an address at a Round Table Conference on the Indo-Pacific Region: Emerging Geopolitical Scenario at the UGC Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies, Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati, on August 28, 2018
Civil-Military Relations in the Present Context
Full text linkIndia is a vibrant plural democracy. The Indian armed forces were inherited from the British on attaining independence. The Indian soldier who forms a part of the three Services has been involved in combat right from the formation of the nation, The Indian soldier has always followed the motto stated by Field Marshal Philip Chetwode which states that the honour, safety, and welfare of the country comes first always, and every time, the honour, safety, and welfare of the men you command comes next; and your own comforts come last, always and every time.1 Whatever be the situation, the soldiers of the three Services have placed service before self and served the nation, its elected representatives, and the nation with humility, courage, and fortitude. The soldiers have always risen to the occasion and enabled the nation to grow as the world\u27s biggest and most vibrant democracy. At the current juncture, the Indian armed forces are professional and can execute operations with the military profession
How India Manages Its National Security: by Arvind Gupta
Full text linkPublished by Penguin Random House, 2018ISBN 978-0670090686, pp. 41
Artificial Intelligence in Armed Forces: An Analysis
Full text linkToday is the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The current period of rapid, simultaneous, and systemic transformations driven by advances in science is reshaping industries, blurring geographical boundaries, challenging existing regulatory frameworks, and even redefining what it means to be human. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the software engine that drives the Fourth Industrial Revolution. AI is creating targeted marketing, safer travel through self-driving cars, smarter weapons, and new efficiencies in manufacturing processes, supply chain management, and agricultural production. It holds the promise of solving some of the most pressing issues facing society but also presents challenges such as inscrutable “black box” algorithms, unethical use of data, and potential job displacement
Army and Nation: by Steven I. Wilkinson
Full text linkSteven I. Wilkinson explores how India has succeeded in keeping the military out of politics when so many other countries have failed. He uncovers the command and control strategies, the careful ethnic balancing, and the political, foreign policy, and strategic decisions that have made the army safe for Indian democracy. Published by Harvard University Press, 2015, pp. 30
Quest for Nagalim: Mapping of Perceptions Outside Nagaland
Full text linkThe Nagas of Nagaland could always identify themselves with the Naga identity due to being in a state named after their own collective identity. However, the Naga tribes outside Nagaland, especially those of Manipur and Assam, always had a strong reason to reassert their Naga-ness. The response to the idea of a separate Nagalim has been wide-ranging across the entire region affected by the Naga insurgency. A Framework Agreement was signed between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) on August 03, 2015. The agreement affected four states and approximately 35 Naga and other ethnic tribes inhabiting the traditional Naga areas. The agreement set three crucial parameters for the detailed settlement. First, it recognised that Naga ‘history and situation\u27 was unique. Second, it proposed that sovereign powers would be shared between the Centre and the Nagas through a division of competencies, that is, through renegotiating the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists of competencies of the Indian Constitution. Third, the two sides would strive for a mutually acceptable and peaceful settlement
Oil Security and Its Impact on India
Full text linkOil as a strategic commodity made its mark from the day it was discovered in 1859. We have now become a “Hydrocarbon Society” as Daniel Yergin claims in his book The Prize.1 Climate change, with 97 percent scientific consensus has, however, jolted the status of oil, which the world had taken for granted. Realisation has now dawned on the need to find an alternative for oil because it is the largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG). Efforts to replace oil with alternative sources have affected energy planning entailing a relook at the energy strategies of nations. Of particular significance is the consumption of energy by air and sea transportation because there is yet no alternative for aviation jet fuel, and ocean shipping, carrying 80 percent of world trade, emits 3 percent of global GHG. In October 2016, 194 countries, including India, signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and agreed to make “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDCs).  Reducing the use of crude oil will make countries self-reliant by making do with domestic production. This will shake the world\u27s balance of power. The transition to a post-fossil fuel age should be smooth, without affecting energy security
Future of Land Warfare: A Global Perspective
Full text linkWar is always a messy business. It brings in its wake, a tremendous amount of death, destruction, and devastation. In an idealistic world, one would banish war for good. However, we live in an imperfect world wherein human egos, greed, power, religion, revenge, etc. have a major role to play in shaping the environment. This usher in the inevitability of war as the final arbiter in deciding which way the world should move at a particular point of time in history. We are also aware, of course, that history has a way of repeating itself, thus, underlining the frailty of the human mind in repeatedly falling prey to the same mistakes and not learning much from the past. Warfare is perpetually evolving. From ancient times, when foot soldiers held sway with swords, spears, bows, and arrows, and used forts and obstacles for effective defence, it moved to the use of elephants and horses to provide enhanced mobility and raised platforms for dominating the foot soldier. The introduction of dynamite brought about a revolutionary change in the concept, methodology, conduct, and execution of warfare. A similar effect was created when the tank, followed by the aircraft, entered the battlefield. A study of the two World Wars fought in the 20th century clearly brings out how rapid changes in mobility, lethality, battlefield transparency, and precision affected the very methodology of the conduct of warfare from one to the other, thus, dictating the outcomes. Of course, the use of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki added a dimension, the consequences of which have threatened the very existence of mankind