More Info.

• Pakistan's Taliban Tangle • Europe Bound India • Pakistan -Saudi Arabia Reset 1.0 • K21-105: Light Tank Solution from Hanwha • Turkey US Afghanistan Linkages • Second Wave - India at War • Why India Needs a Blue Water Navy • Drone Killers: Raytheon's Laser Weapon Systems • Bilateral Fault Lines – India and Nepal • Pandemic, National Security and Armed Forces • Reappraisal of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) • Diplomacy versus Tragic Flaw of Overconfidence • Navy’s Missile Arsenal – A Decisive Factor • India-China Cyber Asymmetry: Act Now • India-US Ties Survive Vaccine Test

Spotlight

Pakistan’s Taliban Tangle

Reading Time: 7 minutes By Sushant Sareen ....Pakistanis will do everything to wave the Islamist threat in the face of not just the gullible Americans but also the equally gullible Indians. But while the Pakistanis will pretend they are concerned about a Taliban takeover, and will make statements about how they don’t want the Taliban in power, the fact of the matter is that the Pakistanis think they have worked out and gamed all possible fallouts of the Taliban coming into power, at least in terms of Afghanistan becoming a security nightmare. The Pakistanis believe that they have their loyalists in crucial positions in the Taliban rank and file and these assets – Haqqani Network for instance – can be activated in case things start going awry.

OP-ED

Europe Bound India

Reading Time: 7 minutes OP-ED by Kanwal Sibal, former Foreign Secretary of India....With the virtual summits with the UK on May 4 and the European Union (EU) on May 8, a new dynamism is bring imparted to India’s relations with Europe. Brexit has provided the opportunity to put bilateral ties with the UK on a new footing independently of the EU. The EU has been reviewing its ties with India in the evolving international context, with a new recognition that these need to be strengthened to meet the new challenges that both are facing.

Spotlight

Pakistan – Saudi Arabia Reset 1.0

Reading Time: 5 minutes by Vivek Verma .....Reports of resetting relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have revived behind the scenes by Pakistan's top military officer. The recent trip by Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Bajwa, followed by Prime Minister Imran Khan trip to Saudi Arabia on 07 May 2021, attempts to recast the relationship on a more solid footing. Tightening economic stress calls for Pakistan to re calibrate its strategic priorities. Read more....

FROM THE GENERAL’S DESK

By Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM*

Pandemics and Their Effect ...Read more

THE CHANAKYA DIALOGUES

00:25:36 sec

COVID Wars: Time to Deploy the Army? Major Gaurav Arya (Retd), CEO of Chanakya Forum and Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma (Retd) Former Adjutant General, Indian Army discuss

International Affairs

India-US Ties Survive Vaccine Test

Wed, 28 Apr 2021

Reading Time: 5 minutes by Kanwal Sibal, Former Foreign Secretary …The White House read-out said Biden pledged the US “steadfast support” for India. A day earlier Tim Manning, the White House covid-19 Supply Coordinator in a Twitter post said that the US had “diverted our pending orders of vaccine filters to India’s vaccine manufacturing effort. This will help India make more vaccine. And it’s only one effort among many to help the their COVID19 response (e.g. therapeutics, PPE, and oxygen).” Vice-President Harris, Defence Secretary Austin and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman have also issued messages of support to India, with the US Defense Department being directed to send across necessary equipment needed by Indian health workers. . Read more…

Fulfillment of Chinese Dream
Tue, 27 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 8 minutes By Former Ambassador Debnath Shaw …The Chinese Dream envisages it to once again emerge as a global superpower, a position it reportedly held in the last millennia. The pain of losing imperial greatness is kept alive by the CPC in the collective memory of its people. Given its pace of growth and all round development including in military strength, scientific innovation and cultural spread, the country seems well poised to achieve its target of developed country status by the middle of this century. Read more ….
Read more
America’s Vaccine War
Fri, 23 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 9 minutes by Col (Dr) DPK Pillay (Retd) Shaurya Chakra …. The US is the world’s only superpower and the selfish act to protect Americans first during the pandemic at the cost of the rest of the world seems even stranger when you see how rich America is compared to the rest of the world who they seek to deny the benefits of the vaccine. American export restrictions are a shroud to cover for the appetite of the pharmaceutical giants to make money from this humanitarian crisis. Distributing vaccine supplies globally without hindrance to the populations where they can do the most good is the most efficient way to bring herd immunity against this pandemic.
Read more

Defence and Strategy

Why India Needs a Blue Water Navy

Thu, 06 May 2021

Reading Time: 7 minutes By Vice Admiral Anup Singh, (Retd) former C-in-C Eastern Naval Command …India’s maritime force needs to wear a deterrent look against adversaries, protect Indian sea lines of communication (SLOCS), exercise presence in all areas of the region, extend support and succour to our friends and partners during crises, and maintain interoperability with like-minded navies. Nothing but a Blue Water Navy can achieve that effectively…

India-China Cyber Asymmetry: Act Now
Thu, 29 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 9 minutes by Cdr Sandeep Dhawan, Veteran ……The Chinese PLA Unit 61398, APT41, APT22, and some other groups from North Korea are known to systematically target and sabotage Indian defence and offence mechanisms. It is also public knowledge who controls North Korea, externally. We, in India, have been a little slow on the start, therefore over the years, a capability differential has come in. Most important, where the biggest differential lies, is in the field of cyber. We know that China is capable of launching cyber attacks on us, and that can disrupt a large amount of our systems -says the CDS. Read more….
Read more
Rapid Response – Intervention Operations
Fri, 16 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 8 minutes by Lt Gen Satisn Nambiar, PVSM, AVSM, VrC (Retd) ….Within the international setting in the first half of the 21st Century and beyond, India will have a role to play both regionally and globally. There is a compelling case for India to put in place and maintain, a sizeable dedicated rapid reaction force for intervention, stabilisation, and peacekeeping operations, as also for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), within the region, and beyond.
Read more

Policy & Governance

Reappraisal of Indus Water Treaty (IWT)

Sun, 02 May 2021

Reading Time: 7 minutes by Lt Gen KJ Singh (Retd), Former Army Commander and Haryana State Information Commissioner. India and Pakistan resumed periodic consultations on Indus Water Treaty (IWT) after a gap of nearly eighteen months. Last meeting was held on 30-31 August 2018 at Lahore.

Kashmir Fashion Shows vs Jihad
Thu, 15 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 5 minutes by Javed Beigh, State Secretary of PDF in Kashmir …The greater question remains about the hypocrisy of Kashmir’s Muslim society, which tries to act more Muslim than even the Arabs. At a time, when most of the Muslim world is confronting religious radical elements in their respective countries by asserting pride in their pre-Islamic culture. Is the opposition to Fashion Show really against Islam?
Read more
Ground Realities – Chhattisgarh Ambush
Tue, 20 Apr 2021
Reading Time: 7 minutes by Mr BN Sharma, Former Inspector General of BSF. The ambush by Naxals in Chhattisgarh on 3 April 2021 inflicting heavy casualty on police and CRPF party came as a big shock and caused anguish across the country and also led to debate as to why the force designated for Internal Security continues to suffer high losses, surely enough, there have to be reasons behind it.
Read more