Comment & Briefs

The government’s decision to allow the private sector to undertake the development of complex defence equipment is a step in the right direction. It will help forge a larger innovation system to meet the diverse requirements of national security. However, caution may be required to avoid duplication of efforts and prevent indirect import.

South Asia has a common history and celebrates its great cultural and linguistic overlap. However, the South Asian experience in building cooperative security architecture has been mixed. India on its part remains committed to strengthening cooperative security in the region.

With a failing foreign policy and a crippling economy, and growing domestic opposition as well as criticism within the army, Imran Khan and his government is clearly caught between the devil and the deep sea.

Turkish President Erdo?an has made the issue of establishing a ‘safe zone’ inside Syria a domestic political issue, linked to national security. However, given the complexities of the Syrian crisis, the differences between the United States and Turkey over the expanse of the planned safe zone, and lack of Russian and Iranian support for the plan, the chances of establishing the safe zone appears bleak.

While there is no immediate shortage of oil as the market is balanced for the time being, there are growing concerns about potential conflict in the region leading to supply disruption and resultant price spike, affecting the already nervous market sentiment.

The recent spate of violence in South Africa appears to be rooted in the country’s failure to fully transform itself in the post-apartheid era. If the government fails to effectively address the issue of rising unemployment and widening socio-economic inequality in the country, the violence is likely to recur from time to time.

Given China’s stated policy of using its rare earth dominance for strategic purposes, countries have been looking for ways to diversify their sources of supply. India too needs to acquire expertise in valorising rare earth minerals and shift to developing its downstream sector.

The government seems to have little fiscal space for accommodating the demand of the armed forces for additional funds, given its quantum on the one hand and the state of its revenues on the other which are already quite stressed.

The incremental and calibrated improvement in the India-China defence ties has withstood the test of time. The next step in building M2M relations could provide the required impetus to further accelerate the process of strengthening peace and stability along the LAC.

The Defence Minister’s recent statement on ‘no first use’ basically underlines the fact that India’s current nuclear doctrine is working well.