Carnegie event with Tellis, Markey, Curtis & Rossow

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

For those interested and residing in the Washington area and farther afield, the US launch event of my book — ‘Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)’ is scheduled at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC for Thursday Nov 12, 1030-1230 hrs. Carnegie requires registration. The event notice, etc. at
http://carnegieendowment.org/2015/11/12/why-india-is-not-great-power-yet/ikva

About Bharat Karnad

Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, he was Member of the (1st) National Security Advisory Board and the Nuclear Doctrine-drafting Group, and author, among other books of, 'Nuclear Weapons and Indian Security: The Realist Foundations of Strategy', 'India's Nuclear Policy' and most recently, 'Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)'. Educated at the University of California (undergrad and grad), he was Visiting Scholar at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, and Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC.

View all posts by Bharat Karnad →

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2 Responses to Carnegie event with Tellis, Markey, Curtis & Rossow

Vihan says:

November 5, 2015 at 12:54 pm

Dear Bharat,

Thanks for sharing this. I had some questions, in Ashley Tellis’ paper :

Click to access making_waves.pdf

It says :

Factoring such considerations, U.S. Senator John McCain, in a September 9, 2014, address at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, challenged the U.S. and Indian governments to expand their defense cooperation to include “more ambitious joint ventures, like shipbuild ing and maritime capabilities, even aircraft carriers.” This vision was realized during U.S. President Barack Obama’s January 2015 visit to India when the two nations agreed to “form a working group to explore aircraft carrier technology sharing and design.”

My question: Has this working group gone anywhere? Is there anything positive which can come out of it?

…the possibilities of military nuclear cooperation, outside the arena of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles, therefore, remain a subject that should be explored, given that the United States has even aided a country such as China—which is, in fact, its rival—far more consequentially in the past.

My question: I am not exactly sure what incident he is quoting about fare more consequential co-operation.

Equally problematic is the Indian Navy’s warship design regimen itself, which has traditionally involved a “telescopic” method of ship building in which hull construction is initiated before the vessel’s final design parameters and the configuration of its key subsystems are settled. Historically, such an approach contributed significantly to cost overruns and pervasive delays in warship delivery.

My question: Construction before finalisation of design is a very big short sightedness. Is there any sign this is changing for the Indian Navy, or for that matter in other organisations/institutions in India?

Best,

– vihan

Reply
- Bharat Karnad says:
  
  November 7, 2015 at 7:24 pm
  
  @ Vihan — 1) Yes, the working group is functioning.
  2) Not sure either!
  3) May be wrong here, but most ship-building starts keel up to bear max weight, even as the innards are
  worked out
  
  Reply