India To Build Major Overseas Military Base Off Africa To Combat China

 

India is preparing to construct a significant overseas military base on an island in Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa to counter growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

Last month, Seychelles and India signed a twenty-year agreement, permitting the Indian military to build an airbase and naval installations on Assumption Island, a small island in the Outer Islands of Seychelles north of Madagascar, said Seychelles News Agency.

India’s own string of pearls: Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Seychelles and Maldives

On 7 March, Shiv Shankar Menon, India’s National Security Advisor, announced that the Indian Ocean island states of Seychelles and Mauritius had joined India’s naval arrangement with Sri Lanka and the Maldives in a new Indian Ocean security grouping that some have called the ‘IO-5’.

The new arrangement signals a significant consolidation of India’s leading security role among the Indian Ocean islands. It is a manifestation of last year’s announcement by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that henceforth India should be seen as a ‘net security provider to the region.’ While Mr Singh did not specify the boundaries of India’s ‘region’ it was clear that much of the initial focus was on the Indian Ocean islands.

India activates ‘secret’ undersea missile

Amid escalation of simmering tension along the LoC in the wake of unprovoked killing of jawans leading to heightened resentment across the nation, India is contemplating to go for the maiden trial of its long range nuke-capable undersea missile K-4, which had been kept secret so far.

If things go as per the programme, defence sources said the indigenously built submarine launched ballistic (SLBM) missile, which has a strike range of 3000-km to 3,500-km will be test fired from a submerged pontoon, which is almost identical to submarine, off the Vishakhapatnam coast next month.

India to deploy 50,000 additional troops along China border

NEW DELHI: Boosting Army’s war fighting capabilities along the line of actual control (LAC), the government on Wednesday has given the go ahead to the creation of a corps including deployment of 50,000 additional troops along the China border at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.

The Cabinet committee on security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cleared the proposal in its meeting, sources told PTI.

Indian advance in space

Everybody is advancing, just not the United States.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 – On July 1, 2013 Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS) received another boost by the launch of a geostationary satellite. Though the rocket has a presumable reach of 6000 km but this apparently peaceful advancement in space has military potential. For instance, it is a step towards India’s gradually building anti-ballistic missile defense shield and enhancement of its reconnaissance potential. One wonders if this potential militarization of space will ultimately lead to weaponisation and compel New Delhi’s current and future adversaries to respond in letter and in spirit.

These satellites carry peaceful payloads and can also carry weapons of mass destruction. For instance, satellites delivery systems help place in the outer space navigation solutions like the American Global Positioning System, Russian GLONASS and Chinese Beidou. Likewise, if nuclear weapon warhead is emplaced on the rocket, it can take the living daylights out of the civilizations.

India sheds its ‘landlocked mindset’

TIMES A-CHANGIN’: The Indian navy and army are looking East and pursuing strategic defence ties with regional allies

FOUR Indian Navy ships’ voyage last month through the strategic Malacca Straits, calling at Port Klang, Da Nang and Manila, though not extraordinary, points to a significant trend.

Slowly, India seems to be shedding what critics call its “landlocked mindset” and is surveying the vast expanse of water around it.

A country conducting maritime trade from times immemorial rarely flaunted its naval power. Its navy came into being, thanks to the British East India Company only four centuries ago.

‘India preparing for a possible two-front war with Pak, China’

India continues to view Pakistan as the “real threat” even though it is adjusting its military strategy to include the possibility of a limited two-front war with both Pakistan and China, the first Blue Book on India published by a Chinese think tank said.

Pakistan is India’s main “real threat” to maintain a high degree of vigilance and preparedness, the summary of the Blue Book released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, (CASS) said.

Russia and India Sign $3 Billion Weapons Agreement

India agreed Monday of last week to buy $2.9 billion worth of Russian military equipment, as Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the longtime Kremlin ally. The quantities at play here mean these transactions are, literally, a big deal. It’s the equivalent of one fifth of Russia’s total defense sales in 2012. Germany, the world’s third-largest arms exporter, approved a total of $7.1 billion worth of exports in 2011.

The agreement says India will buy kits to assemble 42 Sukhoi-30 fighter jets for $1.6 billion, and 71 Mi-17 military helicopters for $1.3 billion. Russia has custom designed the jets specifically for India, and they are engineered to become the very backbone of the nation’s air force. Russia and India have also recently collaborated on a supersonic missile for the Sukhoi-30s, and India is rumored to be equipping this jet to deliver its nuclear weapons. “We agreed to strengthen the partnership of Russia and India in the area of military equipment cooperation further and advance new projects, including creating joint ventures and transferring technology,” Putin said after his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Joint naval exercise with Russia

INDRA, joint military exercise with Russia, is being held in Mumbai from November 28 to December 3.

Destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, replenishment oiler Irkut and rescue tug Alatau of the Russian Federation’s Navy Pacific Fleet (PF) Task Unit and India’s INS Mysore and INS Tabar are participating in the exercise.

India and Russia to hold joint military exercise

The exercise, codenamed as Indra-2012 will start from this month 7th. More than 250 soldiers are expected to take place in the exercise, which will take place in the Siberian republic of Buryatia. The exercise will go on for 10 days, ending on August 16. Indra-2012 is one of the several bilateral military exercises between India and Russia planned for this year.

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From the Indian side, in addition to the army, a contingent from the Indian Air Force (IAF) will also be taking part in the operations. The Ilyushin Il-76 multi-purpose strategic airlifter is likely to reach Russia by next week. The army contingent will be commanded by Additional Director General (Mechanised Forces) Maj Gen R S Chand. Troops from the 16 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, Army Medical Corps, 14th Mechanised Infantry, Parachute Regiment, and Artillery are likely to take part from the Indian side.

From the Russian side, hundreds of soldiers will take part, in addition to the armored infantry vehicles and Main Battle Tanks (MBTs). Troops from the Russian Special Forces are also likely to take part in the exercises. The Indian troops will be given the opportunity to use Russian equipment during the drills.

This is the fourth “Indra” exercises to be conducted by India and Russia. The first exercise was carried out in the Indian state of Rajasthan, in 2005. The Russian province of Pskov hosted the second event, while the third one took place in Kumaon, India.

Full article: India and Russia to hold joint military exercise (Indian Defence)

With eye on China, India tests new long-range missile

India views the 50-tonne Agni V as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows — albeit slightly — the huge gap with China’s technologically advanced missile systems.

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“The Agni V can strike targets across China, potentially freeing up other short- and intermediate-range missiles for use against Pakistan and much of west and south-central China,” said IHS Jane’s analyst Poornima Subramaniam.

“Extensive land- and sea-launched missile development programmes have become important elements in India’s nuclear strategy, and in that context the Agni V is a significant development,” Subramaniam told AFP.

Full article: With eye on China, India tests new long-range missile (Defence Talk)

Leaked Memo: India’s Military Decimated, Obsolete

As a regional Asian bloc is already slowly, but surely forming under the SCO, one should anticipate India worrying less about its internal woes as it is likely to join the protectorate club within the foreseeable future.

India’s military is desperately low on supplies, the world learned today, in a major embarrassment for the country. In a leaked memo, the country’s military chief tells its prime minister that India’s tank fleet lacks ammunition, its elite forces are “woefully short” on essential weapons, and its air defenses are “97% obsolete.” The leak just happens to come as that military chief, General VK Singh, is locked in a public battle with the government over his impending mandatory retirement, the AFP reports.

Full article: Leaked Memo: India’s Military Decimated, Obsolete (Newser)