Category Archives: Strategic Relations with the US & West

India & America: The Future of a Strategic Partnership

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

Third Annual Symposium, Center for International Security Studies, Princeton University, Nov 10-12, 2011 Nov 12 1st Session: “Military Challenges and Defense Cooperation”/Bharat Karnad 1)    State and trajectory of India-Pakistan military balance and the India-China military balance The India-Pakistan military balance … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Navy, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 1 Comment

Weak Lightning

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

A multi-role combat aircraft is one of those things air forces the world over love for no good reason other than the desire to fly a plane that can do everything. Some 30 years ago, when as an MRCA (Multi-Role … Continue reading →

Posted in India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Military Acquisitions, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 4 Comments

Nuclear reactor politics

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

What’s with the stir over the Koodankulam nuclear power plant? Over the years, India has constructed 20 nuclear power plants — four units in Kaiga, Karnataka, two in Kakrapar, Gujarat, two in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, two in Narora, Uttar Pradesh, … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Politics, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | 2 Comments

Endless delusion

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

Come the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in autumn and there’s India, predictably making the same old pitch for a permanent seat in the Security Council as part of “comprehensive reform” of the UN. As in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

No buckling down to China

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

Many years ago, an Indian flotilla out in the Gulf led by Rear Admiral Madanjit Singh (later Vice Admiral and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command) was asked by an United States naval ship to identify itself and to its … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, Indian Navy, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

MMRCA or Bust?

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

The Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, worth some $11 billion, is currently the biggest military deal on the block.  There are two prongs to the deal: providing the Indian Air Force with a so-called “4.5 generation” multi-mission aircraft and securing transfer … Continue reading →

Posted in Indian Air Force, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

Nuclear Independence

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

At bottom, the unrest in Jaitapur is not about the prospective Areva nuclear park and its perils but rather about angry locals feeling cheated and is akin to the agitations in Singur, Nandigram, and several other locations identified for big … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

Legacy as lasting nightmare

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

The near 9-Richter earthquake, tsunami, disrupted coolant systems, the consequent partial core meltdown in the nuclear reactors, and spreading radioactivity around the Fukushima Daiichi complex constitute the perfect disaster, and could not have been foreseen. But certain nuclear aspects of … Continue reading →

Posted in India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Politics, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment

A Flying Lemon

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Bharat Karnad

The anger and angst in Washington policy circles when the US fighter planes — the Lockheed Martin F-16IN and the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet — did not make it to the Indian Air Force’s Medium-range Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) shortlist … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Relations with Russia, Strategic Relations with the US & West | Leave a comment