Cyberspace has turned out to be one of the greatest discoveries of mankind. Today, we have more than four and a half billion people connected to the internet and this number is all set to increase dramatically as the next generational Internet of Things (IoT) devices and 5G technology gets fully rolled out.

India has been at the forefront of this amazing digital revolution and is a major stakeholder in the global cyberspace eco system. As the world embarks on embracing internet 2.0 characterised by 5G high speed wireless interconnect, generation of vast quantities of data and domination of transformational technologies of Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain and Big Data, India has been presented with a unique opportunity to leapfrog from a developing country to a developed knowledge based nation in a matter of years and not decades.

This book presents an exciting and fascinating journey into the world of cyberspace with focus on the impactful technologies of AI, block chain and Big Data analysis coupled with an appraisal of the India cyberspace eco system. It has been written especially for a policy maker in order to provide a helicopter overview of the cyberspace domain in adequate detail in simple and understandable language.

This book aims to map the Asian power trajectory and the continent’s contemporary journey towards greater multipolarity. This volume examines the impact of plurilateral and multilateral dialogues and cooperative mechanisms on Asia’s security and economic architecture. It is based on the proceedings of the thought-provoking 20th edition of the Asian Security Conference which was held from March 26-28, 2019 at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

Combat aircraft, a powerful component of military strength, define the battle space today. In the last five decades, world combat aircraft inventory, after peaking in 1988, gradually declined owing to changes in the geopolitical landscape, altering character of war, evolving technology and emerging alternatives. Today, there are 106 countries in the world that own and operate around 80 types of approximately 18,000 combat aircraft. But, there are only 19 countries that have more than 200 combat aircraft in their inventories. In this book, the available data of the world’s combat aircraft inventory is analysed for the trends and probable reasons for changes in the holdings, before predicting the future trajectory of manned combat aircraft. Additionally, the role of combat aircraft and their interplay with various tenets of Indian air power capability and the likely future is discussed.

India and Israel contextualises the varied aspects of the partnership between India and Israel, with a specific focus on the dominant driver — the defence engagement between the two sides, forged in the context of mutual complementarities.

India’s broad-spectrum relationship with Israel transformed into a strategic partnership in 2017, a quarter century after the establishment of full diplomatic ties. India and Israel have successfully steered the relationship forward, despite the baggage of fraught and convulsive neighbourhoods. The contributors to this volume include policy makers and military leaders who played an important role in the growth of the relationship, as well as academics who have closely followed its growth, shedding important light on the transformation of the India-Israel bilateral relationship into a strategic partnership over the course of past tumultuous 25 years. Chapters highlight Israel’s increasing engagement with India’s diverse federal polity, the de-hyphenation of the India-Israel ties from India’s relationship with Palestine, as well as the role played by US non-state (pro-Israel US-based interest groups) and sub-state (US Congressmen) actors in shaping India-Israel ties. The concluding chapter examines Israel’s relationship with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), given that both the PRC and India established diplomatic ties with Israel almost simultaneously.

India and Israel will be of great interest to scholars of strategic studies, international relations, Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, as well as those working in diplomacy, government and the military. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Strategic Analysis.

This book assesses the strategic linkages that the Korean Peninsula shares with the Indo-Pacific and provides a succinct picture of issues which will shape the trajectory of the Korean Peninsula in the future.

This book analyses how critical actors such as the United States, China, Russia and Japan are caught in a tightly balanced power struggle affecting the Korean Peninsula. It shows how these countries are exerting control over the Korean Peninsula while also holding on to their status as critical actors in the broader Indo-Pacific. The prospects of peace, stability and unity in the Korean Peninsula and the impact of this on Indo-Pacific power politics are explored as well as the contending and competing interests in the region. Chapters present country-specific positions and approaches as case studies and review the impact of power politics on stakeholders’ relationships in the Indo-Pacific. The book also argues that the Korean Peninsula and the issue of denuclearization is of primary importance to any direction an Indo-Pacific Partnership may take.

Bringing together scholars, journalists and ex-diplomats, this book will be of interest to academics working in the field of international relations, foreign policy, security studies and Asian studies as well as audiences interested

This book aims to examine the scope and potential of India-Japan cooperation factoring infrastructure connectivity and corridors in Indo-Pacific. The volume examines the bilateral, trilateral and multilateral contours of the growing partnership in the backdrop of a rising China that is rapidly changing the geo-political order of the region. The volume examines the scope of India-Japan relations beyond 2025 and evaluates how their common pledge to have a “partnership for prosperity” is not free from challenges. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the United States bilateral-oriented approach towards Asia, and the struggle to successfully conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is testing the character of India-Japan relations which the volume covers at length.

In recent years, transfer of defence technology to India, as an alternate route to indigenous development, has been frequently brought up with widely varying views from the Indian defence technology fraternity. Some lament its failure to help India achieve self-reliance, while others suggest it can enable India to leapfrog ahead. While it has been paradoxically found to be more expensive than outright purchase of defence systems, there are indications that countries such as Israel, South Korea and China have gained immensely from it. While there has been a flood of ToT proposals from foreign OEMs after the launch of the Make in India initiative, there have been few proposals which have materialised and a miniscule number successfully implemented. Acknowledging the need to unravel these mysteries, this book attempts to throw light on the entire range of connected aspects from a brief historical perspective to an understanding of its fundamentals and nuances, to how ToT should be aligned with national goals and there on to its implementation issues. Initially addressing the conventional mode and its complexities, it expands to touch upon the others, then the unconventional ones, the facilitators such as offsets and the transaction in its widest sense. Thus enveloping the complete spectrum, it brings its insights together to converge on a possibly successful arrangement for India. Written in an explorative, questioning style, this book will intrigue interested readers and propel the Indian defence technology community to dwell on its findings and suggestions for the formulation of a cogent way forward.

The Korean Peninsula, which constitutes one of the strategic pivots of Northeast Asian security, has remained a contested theatre for major powers. Denuclearisation of the Peninsula is unfolding as one of the most defining challenges in shaping regional security. The end state in the Peninsula and how it is to be realised is debated amongst the stakeholders. This book aims to situate some of the critical issues in the Korean theatre within the competing geopolitical interests, strategic choices and policy debates among the major powers. This volume is an endeavour to bring together leading Indian experts including former Indian ambassadors to the Republic of Korea, senior members from the defence and strategic community to analyse the developing situation in the Korean Peninsula.

The Kargil conflict was fought 20 years ago. However, it continues to remain relevant for strategic analysts, military historians, academics, armed forces personnel and diplomats. This book, delves into the structures, planning processes and procedures adopted while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications, on both sides of the Line of Control during the Kargil conflict. In doing so, existing arguments are challenged and alternative conclusions drawn. This includes the debate around the decision not to cross the LoC during operations, the decision making process involved with the employment of air power and limitations of existing strategic communication structures of the armed forces, as observed during the conflict.

The second part of the book employs Kargil and the succeeding 20 years, as the basis for analysing the changing character of war. This includes a study of its implications on the notion of victory and shifts needed while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications. It also introduces the concept of finite and infinite game theory to conflicts in the sub-continental context, in an attempt to contextualise it through a fresh perspective.

This book analyses the structure of the India–China relationship and the two prominent powers’ positions with and against each other, bilaterally and globally, in a complex Asian environment and beyond. India and China’s perceptions of one another are evaluated to reveal how the order of Asia is influenced by engaging in different power equations that affect equilibrium and disequilibrium.

Contributors address three critical perspectives of India and China in Asia which are increasingly shaping the future of Asia and impacting the Indo-Pacific power balance. First, they examine the mutual perceptions of India and China as an integral part of Asia’s evolving politics and the impact of this on the emerging Asian order and disorder. Second, they assess how classical and contemporary characteristics of the India–China boundary and beyond-border disputes or conflicts are shaping Asia’s political trajectory and leaving an impact on the Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, contributors observe the prevailing power equations in which India and China are currently engaged to reveal that they are not only geographically limited to the Asian region. Instead, having a strong global or intercontinental character attached to it, the India–China relationship involves extra-territorial powers and extra-territorial regions.

This book will be of interest to academics, students and policymakers working on Asian studies, international relations, area studies, emerging powers studies, strategic studies, security studies and conflict studies.