Journal of Defence Studies

India’s Military Conflicts and Diplomacy: An Inside View of Decision-making, by General V.P. Malik, Noida: Harper Collins

The book is a good example of chorological tabulation through a method of historical narrative of events of significant strategic decision making in the military history of post-independent India. General V.P.

Pakistan and Biological Weapons

Pakistan is a state party to the Biological Weapons Convention, yet at least part of its related outward conduct is rather exhibitory, aiming to foster the image of an obedient, sheer science- and protection-oriented profile. Although it is publicly accentuated that an ongoing Pakistani biological weapons (BW) programme cannot be proved, it is fairly clear that some Western intelligence agencies possess classified information that is highly supportive of such an active programme taking place in actuality.

Relevance of Cloud Computing for Defence

Technology has always played the key role in defining the outcome of war. A modern-day military is investing in cutting-edge technologies to leverage their benefits in the evolving nature of warfare, which encompasses every aspect of science. In the case of information and communication technology (ICT), the research and development has unleashed vast potential for civilian and military applications, which vary from simple logic execution to high-end supercomputing.

New Perspective for Oceanographic Studies in the Indian Ocean Region

India’s location in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) compels it to play a larger strategic role in the region. The growing energy needs of China—with the Gulf continuing to be its most preferred source—further causes the Chinese merchant fleet to transit the IOR. To ensure uninterrupted supply of energy resource, the Chinese have started to increase their presence in the region and this has, in turn, encouraged the Americans to also deploy their marine assets in the region.

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.

Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb, by Feroz Hassan Khan

Brigadier Feroz Hassan Khan (Retd) brings to bear the right credentialsto this six year effort under review. The career Pakistan Army officer andJohns Hopkins University graduate (1989–91), currently a faculty memberof the Naval Postgraduate School, Moneterey, California, spent the lastdecade of his 32 year service (he retired in 2001) dealing with nuclearissues in key positions.

Critical Issues in Indian Politics: India’s Foreign Policy, edited by Kanti P. Bajpai and Harsh V. Pant Critical Issues in Indian Politics: India’s National Security, edited by Kanti P. Bajpai and Harsh V. Pant

Indian foreign policy has made tremendous progress since the collapse ofthe Berlin Wall. Today, India is being seen as an important regional powerand a responsible global player. It is the goal of India’s foreign policy toachieve major power status for the country in the international arena.This ambition has been a common thread in the policies of all politicaldispensations to have ruled the country. To achieve this stated goal, Indianeeds to be pragmatic and instead of being guided by the past, it has tolook at safeguarding its interest in the future.

From the Editor

While it is commonly believed that the time for major wars has passed, thesecurity environment is becoming more complex. We should, however,remember that whereas there has been no global war after 1945 and noideological war after 1991, the world has not witnessed an absence ofconflict either. Besides the ongoing regional contestations and bilateraldisputes involving sovereignty we are now faced with internal wars of highintensity, often with deep external involvement.

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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.

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.