Antony is set to
undertake a two-day visit to the East Asian nation South Korea in a bid to “boost
defence co-operation between the two countries”.
Antony, who will
begin his visit on 2 September, will be accompanied by defence
secretary Pradeep Kumar, defence adviser Sundaram Krishna and senior
army and navy officials.
“The visit is part of India’s ‘Look East
policy’ and a wide range of issues, including defence and bilateral
co-operation in research and development for manufacture of military
equipment, will figure prominently during the visit,” the defence
ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The visit comes in the
backdrop of reports of a massive Chinese military presence in the
Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and a recent
Pentagon report that details the Chinese build-up. “Antony was supposed
to visit South Korea later this year but the fact that he is going now,
so close after Krishna’s visit, indicates that there is some urgency in
countering China’s military build-up by forging stronger military and
strategic ties with South Korea,” said Rajaram Panda, senior fellow at
the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (Idsa). Since May,
Antony has visited Oman and Seychelles and is scheduled to visit the US
in late September and Vietnam in October as part of a summit of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Panda said India
is looking to effectively counter the Chinese “string of pearls”
strategy and Antony’s visit should be looked at in a larger context.
“We could safely say that these are the beginnings of an India-South
Korea-Japan axis as a counterpoise to the Pakistan-China-North Korea
one,” he said. China’s “string of pearls” strategy is designed to
control maritime interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)) by
building bases or partnering with countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka
and Myanmar in securing sea routes to move cargo and oil.
India
and Japan have been holding negotiations toward concluding a civil
nuclear deal and analysts point out that India would actively look to
pursue a similar deal with South Korea. “Although chances of an
Indo-Japan civil nuclear deal appear bright, Japan does have domestic
political issues which could come in the way. In South Korea’s case,
though, there is no such issue,” said Panda.
“Japan has always
been on India’s strategic grid but not South Korea, which, because of
its technological prowess, has a potentially large stake in India’s
defence market,” said defence analyst Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar. “These
back-to-back visits and bilateral exchanges are a tacit acknowledgement
of that fact.”
Analysts say India would also seek to tap into
South Korea’s strong capabilities in ship-building technology. “South
Korea has marched ahead of Japan in naval ship-building technology, so
it makes sense for India to build synergies with that country,
considering the fact that our naval ship-building yards have their
hands full,” added Bhaskar.
In recent years, India has increased its military, especially maritime, engagement with countries in the IOR.
The Indian Navy has been involved in anti-piracy operations off the Gulf of Aden.
“Both
the South Koreans and the Japanese are equally dependent on the IOR as
their maritime trade routes run via the IOR. Considering the fact that
India is the predominant naval force in the IOR, co-operation with
India becomes inevitable,” Bhaskar said.
BAE
Systems has submitted a fresh bid for an Indian Army order for 155mm
towed howitzers, the company said Tuesday, adding that it was offering
an advanced version of the gun that had performed extremely creditably
during the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan.
The BAE offer is 'based on the FH77 B05 155mm
howitzer, and a significant proportion will be manufactured in India to
meet the specific needs of the Indian Army', a company statement said.
September 01, 2010
RAWALPINDI:
A delegation, comprising officials from Pakistan Army, has resolved
cancellation of US visit after they were mishandled by US officials of
Transport Security at Washington Airport, Geo News reported.
According
to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) sources, a delegation of
Pakistan Army was invited to Central Command meeting in US where
delegation announced calling off visit after arrival at Washington
airport when US security officials misbehaved Pakistan army officials.
Delegation has been called back to country.
Meanwhile, US Defense Department has strongly deplored the incident, sources said.
SOURCE HERE
TEHRAN will
target Israel's Dimona reactor in a retaliatory attack if the it is attacked by an Israeli or US air strike, a Iranian official told
the Arabic-language newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Monday.
Tehran is aware that Israel and the United States
want to attack Iran, but we are also aware that while they actually
have the option to launch war, they do not have the option to end it.
This is America's and Israel's point of weakness. We know that there is
no solution to this point of weakness, thanks to the importance of the
Gulf region, America's problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the
(geographically) small area of the Zionist entity," the anonymous
official was quoted by the paper as saying. He also specified that the
Dimona Nuclear reactor would be on the top of Iran's target list in a potential
war.
There are NEWS on INDIAN INTERNET AND INDIAN NEWS FORUMS THAT
While India keeps cancelling and re-issuing RFPs endlessly, Pakistan is
forging ahead on a war footing. They are ahead of India in the
following:-
1. Howitzers
India has been dilly-dallying over artillery guns for close to 30 years
since the Bofors scam. Pakistan has inducted U.S. made M-109 howitzers.
Indian Express: United Nations data reveal that delivery of the M-109
A5 self-propelled artillery guns took place last year. The guns were
transferred under the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme
that was granted to Pakistan for the fight against militant groups on
its border with Afghanistan. Experts say these M-109 A5 155 mm
howitzers give Pakistan a definite conventional edge over the Indian
Army that is years away from induction of similar systems. Full news
The U.S. has announced the sale of new radar upgrades for Taiwan's
Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). The announcement came during a
two-day tri-service military exercise in southern Taiwan from Aug.
24-25.
During the exercise, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) source said
the radar deal was part of phase two of the IDF's ****-1C/D Hsiang
Sheng upgrade program. Specifics of the deal were not released.
The decision to release was made on Aug. 12, but U.S. State Department
spokesman Philip Crowley did not make the announcement official until
Aug. 24.
NEW DELHI: India has cancelled defence exchanges with China after
Beijing refused to allow the visit of the Indian army's General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Area Command, because he was responsible
for (Occupied) Jammu & Kashmir, a state that China maintained was
disputed.
In keeping with a practice for the past few years, the Indian defence
establishment in June had began preparations for a regular high-level
exchange visit to China this August by one of the top commanders of the
Indian army — the northern area commander, Lt-Gen B S Jaswal.
North Korea has developed camouflage materials such as stealth paint to hide its warships, tanks or fighter jets from foreign reconnaissance satellites and aircraft, reports said Monday. A confidential field manual used by the communist North's military showed the isolated regime has also built a network of foxholes and caves, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.
PARIS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two French soldiers were killed and three
others wounded in a military operation in Afghanistan, said French
President Nicolas Sarkozy's office on Monday, raising the country's
total fatalities in Afghanistan to 47.
The two dead were a soldier and an officer from the 21st Marine
Infantry Regiment. They were fatally wounded by gun fire during an
overnight operation in Tagab, north of Kabul, while three others were
injured at the start of the operation.
"These soldiers gave their lives in the service of France's
commitment to the peace and security of the Afghan people," Sarkozy
said in a statement.
The French president condemned "insurgents' murderous attacks" on
NATO military forces in Afghanistan, stressing France would continue to
be a part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF).
About 3,500 French troops are deployed in Afghanistan.
Karrar: Iran’s new combat UAV Karrar: Iran’s new combat UAV Military Videos — By DefenceTalk on August 24, 2010 at 3:54 am 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Loading ... Karrar: IR Iran's new combat UAV jet, Aug. 2010 This UAV can deliver weapons and has a range of 1000 km from ground to target. Karrar means relentless striker. It lands using a parachute system, this way it can land pretty much everywhere. Also, it is launched using a catapult/rocket system that can fit on the back of a truck, making it possible to take off from pretty much everywhere.
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WASHINGTON: Expressing concern over the series of recent additions to Iran's military arsenal, including the aerial drone and assault boats, the US has cautioned Tehran that it might find itself "less secure" than ever if it continues on this path.
"This is something that is of concern to us and concern to Iran's
neighbours. On the one hand, every country is sovereign and has the
right to provide for its own self-defense, but obviously, we take into
account systems that can potentially threaten particular countries or
peace and stability in the region more broadly," state department
spokesman P J Crowley said.
NEW DELHI: Move aside Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, DRDO is trying to develop its own set of Star Wars-like weapons. From laser dazzlers to control rioting crowds to high-powered lasers to destroy incoming missiles, DRDO is working on a slew of directed energy weapons (DEWs).
"Lasers are weapons of the future. We can, for instance, use laser
beams to shoot down an enemy missile in its boost or terminal phase,''
said DRDO's Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC) director
Anil Kumar Maini, talking to TOI on Monday.
The Russian fifth-generation T-50 fighter, currently being developed by
Sukhoi, will exceed all rivals, according to Russian Air Force
commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin.
The Russian Air Force will acquire 60 T-50s, which will be delivered from 2015 onwards. The T-50 will feature low visibility, supersonic cruising speed and highly integrated control systems. It will have a take-off weight of over 30t and have similar dimensions to the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. The Sukhoi Design Bureau designed the current prototype of the T-50 and developed it at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia's Far East. |
