Directed Energy Weapons for the Indian Armed Forces Military planners believe that the ‘blast and fragmentation’ type conventional weapons cannot advance much further technologically.The next chapter in weapons technology development is expected to be realized from Directed Energy weapons (DEWs). It can be assumed that by 2035, DEWs consisting of laser, microwave and millimeter waves can reach current performance levels of the existing kinetic energy weapons(KEWs) and conventional weapons. While these will co-exist with KEWs,a non-DEW option would have a debilitating effect on the defence preparedness of any nation. Bishwajit Bose | January 2014 | Journal of Defence Studies
China’s Gorbachov Angst Till China’s economy gallops along developing at 9 per cent annually, there is little chance that domestic dissidence will get out of hand. But China’s Gorbachov moment will arrive if either the economy begins to slow down and shows irretrievable signs of faltering or China suffers a major foreign policy and military fiasco as did the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. R. S. Kalha | January 16, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Measures for Improving Management of National Security Foremost on the government’s defence and national security reforms agenda should be the formulation of a comprehensive National Security Strategy (NSS), including that for internal security. The NSS should be formulated after carrying out an inter-departmental, inter-agency, multi-disciplinary strategic defence review and must take the public into confidence. Gurmeet Kanwal | January 16, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Post-CHOGM Dilemmas of Rajapaksa There is a view in Lanka that CHOGM did more harm than good and many, in fact, are questioning the wisdom of the government to host the meet. However, the pro-government media is defiant with editorials strongly denouncing the threat of international investigation as interference of Sri Lanka’s internal affairs and it is expected to galvanize popular support for Rajapaksa. Gulbin Sultana | January 15, 2014 | IDSA Comments
A Fractured Peace Achieving a lasting and successful peace would involve addressing the root causes of the tension and a commitment to keeping peace. The world is looking to see how the youngest nation can prove that rebel movements can not only win freedom, but also sustain it. George Thomas | January-March 2014 | Africa Trends
African Countries and the UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka The vote reflected a geopolitical contest wherein the West still has considerable influence and the Chinese influence is on the rise. The discussion and the voting pattern of the African countries also revealed their deep sense of resentment at the West for using the issue of human rights as an excuse against them. Saurabh Mishra | January-March 2014 | Africa Trends
Crisis in Central African Republic The UN resolution comes not a moment too soon but the actual deployment of troops is still a few months away as modalities about the troop contributing nations and funding are yet to be figured out. The crisis is of a disturbing magnitude but a swift and effective response may still pull the country back from the verge of complete collapse Divita Shandilya | January-March 2014 | Africa Trends
India and Maldives: Ties Must Be Consolidated President Yameen decision to visit India soon after his election in November 2013, is an indication that he wants to put India-Maldives relations on a positive track which had received a setback since President Nasheed was deposed in 2011. A notable feature of the visit was a joint declaration recognising India-Maldivian cooperation not only in the context of South Asia but also in the context of the Indian Ocean. Arvind Gupta | January 13, 2014 | Policy Brief
Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: An Indian Perspective For a maritime nation like India, its conception of maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and, specifically, its approach to maritime security has a long historical legacy. The modern Indian Navy has its origins in the colonial period. But it is the post-colonial period spanning independence and then the imperatives of the Cold War, and later to the interim phase in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union to the present day strategic partnerships—all of which have contributed to moulding the Indian perspective of maritime security. Sarabjeet Singh Parmar | January 2014 | Journal of Defence Studies
Border Defence Cooperation Agreement: The Icebreaker in Making? The long expected Agreement on Border Defence Cooperation (BDCA) was signed between the governments of India and China on 23 October 2013 in Beijing, during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to the People’s Republic of China. The draft of the agreement had been through close-door negotiations by both the governments for about a year prior to its signing. Incidentally, it was also during these negotiations that a three week long face-to-face incident occurred—in April-May 2013—at Depsang located in the Aksai Chin region which is disputed between India and China. Bijoy Das | January 2014 | Journal of Defence Studies
