Category Archives: China

Why is Modi seeking US permission to remove Yameen in Maldives?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Yameen among friends) As was intimated in previous post,  and something newspaper reports today confirm, the Modi government is seeking Washington’s permission to act on Maldives to restore the sanctity of the Courts in that country that ruled against President … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, society, South Asia, Special Forces, United States, US. | 17 Comments

Modi should not miss the opportunity to rid Maldives of Yameen NOW

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(The arrest and bloodying of Maldives opposition leaders)   The BJP government of Narendra Modi will rue not ousting Abdullah Yameen in Male now when it has the opportunity, the Maldivan opposition and people, and just cause on its side … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Sri Lanka, Terrorism | 8 Comments

Hurt China in its soft under-belly

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Sihanoukville, main port of Cambodia) Indian foreign and strategic policies suffer from perennial weaknesses. One of them is the Indian government’s/MEA’s lack of what the great geopolitical theorist, Sir Halford Mackinder, called “the map reading habit of mind”.  That’s why … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Myanmar, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Vietnam, Weapons | 17 Comments

Fairy tales about the “Indian” F-16

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

(Block 70, F-16) A pink paper carried a startling bit of news suggesting that Lockheed Martin had readied a variant of its frontline F-35, in service with the US military and allied air forces, for offer to the Indian Air … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Defence Industry, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 5 Comments

Challenges for Defence Forces

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

Panel discussion on “Challenges för Defence Forces” on the Rajya Sabha TV programme — ‘Security Scan’ broadcast December 28, 2017, featuring retired VCAS, Lt Gen Philip Campose, Saikat Datta of Asia Times and myself.    

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 1 Comment

Tough US Stand on Pak: Implications

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

Panel discussion aired January 8, 2018 on Rajya Sabha TV programme ‘India’s World’, with former Foreign Secretary Shashank, ex-High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan, and yours truly.

Posted in Afghanistan, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism, United States, US. | 9 Comments

Pivoting against China?

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Bharat Karnad

  The Indian government and its agencies, including the armed services, have been so infected by myopia and the supposed Pakistan threat that, as I have argued for some 40 years now, no one in an official post in Delhi … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Pakistan, Pakistan military, society, South Asia, Special Forces, Terrorism, Tibet, Weapons | 16 Comments

What, Rafale as a nuclear delivery system?!

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

(Rafale) Indian Express first carried a story Sept 18, 2016 justifying the purchase of 36 Rafales announced in Paris by PM Narendra Modi  17 months earlier because of its supposedly strategic role as nuclear weapon delivery system, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/behind-rafale-deal-their-strategic-role-in-delivery-of-nuclear-weapons-3036852/ . On … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 34 Comments

China in the Maldives

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

Rajya Sabha TV panel discussion in ‘India’s World’ programme on the subject of China at India’s backdoor in the IO. It was broadcast yesterday evening at 10PM.

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Intelligence, Japan, Maldives, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Special Forces, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, United States, US. | 3 Comments

Aussie-think on Quad

Posted on December 3, 2017 by Bharat Karnad

(Julie Bishop Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade at the release of the White Paper) Spent a good part of the past week in Sydney and that part of New South Wales, doing touristy stuff — and being a … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, Culture, Decision-making, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Ocean, MEA/foreign policy, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 15 Comments