Category Archives: Great Power imperatives

Perils of Double-hedging

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Delhi after leading the American delegation in the latest round of the US-China Economic and Strategic Dialogue held in Beijing on May 3-4, an exercise that usually involves the largest American delegation of officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 5 Comments

India can play bigger military role in Asia

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Singapore statesman, Lee Kuan Yew likened Asia to an airplane with India and China as the two wings keeping the continent flying. This aviation metaphor was constructed, at least in part, on the hope and prayer that India would … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 14 Comments

Rethinking Indian Policies Towards Pakistan

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The transcript of my talk and subsequent interaction at the Atlantic Council, Washington DC, took place mid-November 2011, but the subject is ever-green and topical now with the Indian and Pak govts seeking to forge economic and trade ties, etc., … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Geopolitics, 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, Indian Politics, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism | 1 Comment

Risat SAR

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The important thing about the Risat-1 sent up a few days back is that the synthetic aperture radar in it is of Israeli origin. However, the SAR on board Risat-2 will be the entirely indigeneous, tho’ a little bulkier than … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Ocean, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, satellites, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Technology transfer | 11 Comments

India’s missile bamboozle

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad There has been needless confusion and obfuscation about the Agni-V missile test-fired on April 19. First was the delay in the launch by some 11 hours. For a missile touted as “all weather”, a bit of lightning shouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian Ocean, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer | 7 Comments

Agni-5 tid-bits

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The Agni-5 performance has proved the quality of many new and advanced technologies on board. Most important among these is the chip-embedded guidance system that, besides rendering the missile so-called “fly by wire”, immunizes it against the effect of re-entry heat that previously … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, Military Acquisitions, Missiles | 4 Comments

Squandering Agni opportunity? Hope not

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

It is over an hour since Agni-5’s successful launch. Tremendous stuff, in a series of successes the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program has notched up since its founding in 1983. Awaiting reports on the telemetry data that is now being furiously processed … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 2 Comments

Exaggerating capabilities

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The day of the first Agni-5 test launch from the Odisha range is also the occasion when a Ministry of External Affairs-sponsored seminar with international participation on Strategic Export Controls was inaugurated in IDSA, by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, who spoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Defence Industry, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons | 15 Comments

Indo-US ties downgraded

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The health of a relationship between the United States and any other country is best gauged by whether a political appointee has been named as American ambassador to that country, and how close this ambassador-designate is personally and politically to … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 8 Comments

U.S. Wrong on India’s Iran Policy

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Bharat Karnad

The nuclear deal was supposed to be emblematic of a burgeoning strategic relationship between India and the United States. After some forty or so years of frosty relations, the beginning of the 21st Century saw leaders in Washington and Delhi … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian Politics, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment