French Army Contingent During Republic Day Parade 2016 - New Delhi, India

India successfully launches canister version of Agni V "China Killer" ICBM

  

Marking another technological milestone in the country’s missile programme, the maiden canister-based trial of India’s most potent strategic missile, Agni-V was successfully carried out for its full range of more than 5,000 km from the Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast on Saturday.

  A DRDO missile technologist who was associated with the launch described it as a grand success and said it was a perfect launch. Another missile technologist said it would be the footprint for future configuration of Agni-V.

Will Chinese View US President Obama As A Diminished Figure?

     

    The last time President Barack Obama went to China, five years ago, he was a political supernova from a nation with a depleted, debt-ridden economy. When he returns to Beijing on Monday, he will be a political casualty from a country with a resurgent economy. 

White House officials hope the later distinction will outweigh the earlier one when Obama meets with President Xi Jinping before traveling on to Myanmar and Australia. But they are likely to be disappointed: China, analysts say, is likely to dwell more on Obama's electoral reversals than on the comparatively robust American recovery. 


"Politics trumps economics, at the end of the day," said Nicholas R. Lardy, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. 

That is not to understate the shift in economic fortunes between China and the United States since 2009. At that time, in the depths of the financial crisis, visiting Americans were lectured by Chinese officials about the need for the United States to put its fiscal house in order. Now, Obama has cut the deficit in half while the Chinese economy is the one slowing sharply, weighed down by a sea of bad loans. 

But Lardy said the Chinese economy was not as troubled as some in Washington believe. The government, he said, was orchestrating a slowdown in growth to squeeze out excesses in housing and other markets - a difficult process that he said Beijing was managing fairly well. 

Obama, meanwhile, has been preoccupied by other crises, from the Ebola outbreak to the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The Republican takeover of the Senate has added to doubts that the president will have either the time or the political influence to push forward his much-promoted strategic pivot to Asia. 

China's state media has been unforgiving about Obama's political travails. 

"Obama always utters 'Yes, we can,' which led to the high expectations people had for him," The Global Times, an English-language website affiliated with the People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, said in a postelection editorial. "But he has done an insipid job, offering nearly nothing to his supporters. U.S. society has grown tired of his banality." 

The timing of the editorial, just a few days before Obama's arrival in Beijing, was unusual. But it reflects a broader nationalist strain in China, embodied by Xi, who has consolidated his power and displayed few signs of conciliation toward Obama on thorny issues like Chinese cyberattacks on U.S. companies. 

Obama's best bet to counter doubts about his standing, analysts said, will be to move quickly on projects that reinforce America's presence in the region, like a proposed trade deal, and in areas where China and the United States can work together, like climate change. 

"It's a matter of, in part, communicating through your body language, through your ambitions, and through what you commit to," said Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a China adviser in the Clinton administration who is now at the Brookings Institution. "That's an important part of what he'll do, but I certainly think that the election does not help him in that." 

One of the areas where a Republican-controlled Congress might actually help rather than hinder Obama is in passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an ambitious trade pact involving 12 countries that is a centerpiece of the president's pivot to Asia. 

Negotiations for a deal have bogged down in the last year, in part because Japan and other Asian countries are reluctant to make big concessions without knowing whether Obama will have "fast-track" authority to pass a treaty in Congress. The White House held off asking for such authority before the midterm elections, at the request of Democrats. 

Now, though, a free-trade-friendly Congress is more likely to grant Obama fast-track authority. That could give the administration a genuine window to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2015 before the next presidential election. While in Beijing, Obama is expected to meet with leaders of the countries involved in the negotiation. They will be there for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, an annual meeting of Pacific Rim countries being held in China. 

The U.S. trade representative, Michael B. Froman, has played down expectations for any breakthrough in Beijing. And China, which has not been invited to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, will be watching the U.S. efforts with some skepticism. 

Still, Xi and Obama could find common ground on climate change. As the world's two largest carbon emitters, China and the United States are trying to develop a common position on new targets for emissions reductions in advance of climate talks in Paris next year. The thinking is that they could then pull the rest of the world into a treaty. 

While the Chinese may view Obama as a diminished figure, analysts say they are well aware that his successor - whether Hillary Rodham Clinton or a Republican - could end up taking a tougher line toward China. That means they will keep looking for ways to work with him. 

Administration officials reject the contention that Obama's focus on Asia has been impeded by events elsewhere in the world. Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser, noted that it was his second visit to the region this year - a "substantial investment of time and attention," she said, given "all the issues that we are all facing." 

On the eve of the trip, the White House got good news from unlikely sources: Japan and China, which agreed to set aside a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea. The United States has fretted about being drawn into an increasingly dangerous confrontation. 

"The tensions between Japan and China have been overshadowing the whole region, and the relationship between the United States and China," said Jeffrey A. Bader, a former China adviser to Obama. "When relations between China and its neighbors are stable, that helps us."

China, Pakistan Ink 20 Pacts, Boost Ties

"Iron friends" China and Pakistan today inked 20 agreements amounting to Chinese investment reportedly worth about $46 billion, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held wide-ranging talks with the leadership here. 

Sharif, who is here to take part in the neighbourhood leaders conference being organised by China on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting, held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. 


Terming China and Pakistan as "iron friends", Xi, who cancelled his to visit to Islamabad during his South Asia tour in September due to tense confrontation between the government and the opposition parties in Islamabad, told Sharif that the two countries will continue to support each other and strengthen cooperation. 

"Iron friends" is a term frequently used in China to mean trustworthy friends whose friendship is as solid as iron. 

Some Chinese netizens have coined the phrase of "Iron Paks" to refer to Pakistanis, Xi was quoted as telling Sharif. 

Besides issues related to China's concerns over terrorist attacks in Xinjiang with militants infiltration from across the border in Pakistan, the two leaders discussed the emerging situation in Afghanistan in view of the US plans to pullout its troops from the war-torn country, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. 

China looks to play a bigger role in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the US troops withdrawal. 

Sharif said Pakistan will strengthen cooperation with China in building infrastructure and crackdown on terrorist forces such as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is blamed for terrorist attacks in Xinjiang bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). 

China has been pressing Pakistan to crackdown on ETIM militants. During Sharif's meeting with Li, the two sides signed 20 agreements, the report said. 

The agreements signed during Sharif's visit according to Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal are worth about $46 billion.

Chinese Subs Challenge India's Control Over Sea Routes

     China has said that submarines docking in Colombo are routine calls and are for refueling in anti-piracy missions in Gulf of Aden. But this is ridiculous. As the ultimate offensive weapon, even the thought of using submarines in anti-piracy ops is overkill. For that matter, even destroyers, frigates and corvettes are not cost-effective solutions in such missions. Modern offshore patrol vessels and special forces would be more than adequate.
 

It is clear that the nuclear submarines that do not require any basing facility in times of war were here earlier this year to test India's response and the waters, literally. Operation from Indian Ocean provides these lethal platforms the nuclear option against all adversaries including India. 

Conventional submarines, however, do require some form of support on extended missions which explains the presence of an auxiliary during the recent visit. Colombo or Hambanthota could well be on the radar of China for creation of such a facility. And Sri Lanka may find it increasingly difficult to say no to such Chinese requests. Even PNS Ghazi which ultimately met its watery grave off Vizag, was on a mission to sink Vikrant during 1971 war. It is on record that Ghazi was supported logistically by Sri Lanka on its passage to Bay of Bengal. 

China is aware that its merchant fleet, which carries more than 80% of its energy needs, and its trade through the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) happen under the watchful eyes of Indi an Navy. If there is any spillover of a conflict with India over land borders to the maritime domain, the Indian Navy is in a position to intercept these Chinese vessels even before they enter Malacca straits. 

The presence of nuclear or conventional submarines in areas where the Indian Navy would like to exercise Sea Control would make this task of the Indian Navy a challenging one. It also needs to be borne in mind that the concept of operations (CONOPS) of the Indian Navy is centered on the Carrier Task Force (CTF) whose center of grav ity is the aircraft carrier. Nuclear and conventional submarines would be able to target the aircraft carrier. 

Interdiction of merchant fleet by submarines and surface forces is a legacy from the World War though not witnessed since. What the deployment of the Chinese submarines would do as a game changer is challenge the modern surface forces of the Indian Navy in this possible task, to compel a shift in emphasis on anti-submarine forces. 

Sea Control by Indian Navy could become even more complicated should there be some synergy between Pakistan and China in operating sub-surface forces in the event of a maritime conflict. 

The Indian Navy depends largely on its newly inducted P8i Boeing, the older Tu 142 M long-range maritime and antisubmarine aircraft operating from Rajali, a naval air station in Arakkonam, and IL38 aircraft from Goa to keep track of submarines. This is complemented by a dwindling strength of Integral Helicopters in the form of Seaking Mk 42B and Kamov. While there is a lot of public awareness of the acute shortage of submarines, the same is not the case when it comes to both surface and integral anti-submarine assets. Many new surface vessels suffer from the lack of an integral dedicated helicopter for anti-submarine warfare missions. The delay in the acquisition of Mine Counter Measure vessels from South Korea adds to the challenges of the Indian Navy to keep its channels and vital areas clear of possible mines that could be planted by the Chinese submarines, which are designed to do just that.

It is clear that the government has to move on fast track at many levels and work closely with the Navy to overcome the above deficiencies, which would dent the capability of the Indian Navy to pursue its missions.On the part of the Indian Navy, it would need to work on all contingencies by scenario-building and work in a time bound manner to optimize the efficiency of the present capability to counter the designs of China till it achieves a balanced force structure. 

China to have 10,000-ton coast guard vessel in East China Sea by next year

     China is likely to deploy its first 10,000-ton coast guard vessel to patrol the disputed waters of the East China Sea, where is currently has a territorial dispute with Japan who administers a small group of islands called the Senkakus (Chinese claim them as the Diaoyutai and Taiwan as the Diaoyu). This should begin next year according to Tokyo's Yomiuri Shimbun.

The 10,000-ton patrol boat is still under construction in China. Beijing purchased 40 high-powered diesel engines from Germany to power those large ships referred as "monsters" in Japan. Currently, the Japanese Coast Guard's two Shikishima-class boats are the world's largest patrol vessels. The tonnage of Shikishima and its sister ship, Akitsushima is 7,175. As for China, the largest patrol vessel is Haijian 50 with a displacement of 4,000 tons.

Since the serial number of the 10,000-ton patrol boat is 2901, the Japanese newspaper concluded that it will be deployed to the East China Sea Branch of the Chinese coast guard like all other vessels with 2 at the beginning of their serial number. The newspaper also pointed out that this new vessel is capable to carry a helicopter. The construction of the vessel is almost completed, and the report said it is likely to begin its service with the Chinese Coast Guard next year.

China conducted two anti-satellite tests: Voice of Russia

     China had conducted two anti-satellite tests recently with its new laser technology, Konstantin Sivkov, the first deputy head of the Moscow-based Academy of Geopolitical Problems, told the Voice of Russia on Nov. 6.

Sivkov said that several exercises against tank and unmanned aerial vehicles had been launched by the PLA with its new laser weapons. The China Academy of Engineering Physics' low-altitude air defense system designed to intercept aircraft below 500 meters was used in several drills against drones. Yi Jinsong from the China Academy of Engineering Physics told the Beijing-based Sina Military Network that unmanned aerial vehicles can be operated by terrorists against the Chinese homeland.

The PLA carried out two anti-satellite exercises with its laser weapon system as well, Sivkov also said, adding that it is crucial for China to destroy US satellites at the beginning of a conflict, should one arise. By shooting down US satellites, the PLA will be capable of blinding American air, ground and naval forces on the battlefield. After China tested its anti-satellite weapon for the first time in 2007, US satellites have been periodically disturbed by the Chinese laser weapon several times in orbit, the Defense News reported.

A source from the US government told the Defense News that Washington decided to keep quiet regarding the those events because Beijing is an important trade partner. At the same time, the US needs China to seek a peaceful solution on the Korean peninsula. Realizing that lasers are capable of destroying every advanced weapon systems, including aircraft carriers, China has invested huge sums in the development of such weaponry since the 1960s.

During an exercise held in 2009, the PLA successfully destroyed incoming rockets with a laser cannon. After the Shenguang 1 and Shenguang 2, the China Academy of Engineering Physics put the Shenguang 3 high-energy research center in service at Sichuan province located in southwestern China. Once the project is completed, it will help the PLA to speed up and promote the development of its future laser weaponry.