Asian Defence Review 2013

Going by all estimates, this is going to be an Asia-centred century. Indeed, a shift of global power is under way from West to East. The rise of China and India, the recovery and resurgence of Russia on one side, and Japan, on the other, and the nature of the international order are leading to enormous changes. These transformational changes in the military, economic, social and political dynamics of Asia will only accelerate with the passage of time. Historically, changes in the international order and equations of power among nations have been almost inevitably accompanied by conflicts and wars. The challenge ahead, therefore, for the international community in general, and the Asian countries in particular, is to ensure that this is avoided, and competition, which is inevitable, is managed without escalating to the level of armed conflict. This is crucial for most countries, and especially so for India so that its pursuit of comprehensive national development can progress without adverse distractions. In order to work toward such goals, it is necessary to look at security and military-related issues as objectively as possible. It is with this objective in view that the Centre for Air Power Studies has been bringing out the Asian Defence Review. This volume, a resource base for both the professional and the general readers, is the eighth in the series under this title, which aims to fill a critical information and knowledge gap in current strategic literature dealing with military strategy, defence politics and trends in military capabilities that impact countries in Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important issues that affect the Asian countries, including those related to air power, outer space, Pakistan, China, cruise missiles and sea-based deterrence.

Going by all estimates, this is going to be an Asia-centred century. Indeed, a shift of global power is under way from West to East. The rise of China and India, the recovery and resurgence of Russia on one side, and Japan, on the other, and the nature of the international order are leading to enormous changes. These transformational changes in the military, economic, social and political dynamics of Asia will only accelerate with the passage of time. Historically, changes in the international order and equations of power among nations have been almost inevitably accompanied by conflicts and wars. The challenge ahead, therefore, for the international community in general, and the Asian countries in particular, is to ensure that this is avoided, and competition, which is inevitable, is managed without escalating to the level of armed conflict. This is crucial for most countries, and especially so for India so that its pursuit of comprehensive national development can progress without adverse distractions. In order to work toward such goals, it is necessary to look at security and military-related issues as objectively as possible. It is with this objective in view that the Centre for Air Power Studies has been bringing out the Asian Defence Review. This volume, a resource base for both the professional and the general readers, is the eighth in the series under this title, which aims to fill a critical information and knowledge gap in current strategic literature dealing with military strategy, defence politics and trends in military capabilities that impact countries in Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important issues that affect the Asian countries, including those related to air power, outer space, Pakistan, China, cruise missiles and sea-based deterrence.

The revival of major world power rivalry is a striking feature of the current international affairs. In the year gone by, Europe, supported by the US, vied with Russia for influence in Ukraine–a race that led to the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a pro-Russian insurgency in that region. In Asia, while the US is gradually drawing down in Afghanistan, it is also seeking to counter the growing influence of China. The sole Super Power is garnering support from China’s neighbours, India included, to balance the resurgent Dragon. Meanwhile, the rapid growth of ISIS has disturbed the world peace. The progress made in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme is likely to affect calculations and equations all over the world. No region is impervious to the happenings in another part of the world. Competition (read rivalries) and geopolitical shifts pose myriad challenges to the peace-loving nations of the world–quite often, they are faced with the difficulty of evading armed conflicts. It requires conscious and sustained effort to do so. In order to work towards such goals, it is necessary to look at geopolitical, security and military-related issues objectively. The Centre for Air Power Studies has been publishing the Asian Defence Review to fulfill this need. This volume, a resource base for both the professional and the general readers, is the eighth in the series under this title. It aims to add to the pool of information and knowledge in the current strategic discourse dealing with military strategy, defence, politics and trends in military capabilities that impact Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important issues related to Air Power, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Cyber Security, Network-Centric Warfare, Environmental Degradation, Iran, Pakistan and China.

This volume, aims to fill a critical information and knowledge gap incurrent strategic literature dealing with military strategy, defence policies and trends in military capabilities that impact countries in Asia. In particular it covers some of the important areas that affects Asian countries and the developments in Asian countries with a focus on China, India and Pakistan to provide the requisite regional balance.

Last year, the war in Syria became a melee––the US, Russia, NATO, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and some others struggled to bring peace to the region. But each stakeholder hankered after a different end state––President Bashar al-Assad’s continuance in power became a contentious issue. In due course of time Syria and the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) jumped the order of priorities for the US forces in the area. In importance, they have left behind the drawdown in Afghanistan, which has been back-burnered provisionally. As it appears, garnering the support of the countries of the region like India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, etc. to counter the rise of China, will continue to be high on the US agenda. Likewise, lifting of sanctions against Iran, following its rapprochement with the West will influence the world in many ways. The fallout of the testing of the hydrogen bomb by North Korea, the South China Sea imbroglio and Indo-Pak relations in the wake of the Pathankot terror strike too will cast their shadows on the geo-politics of the region in 2016. Evading war and conflict in the prevailing environment is an effort; economic interests and geo-political compulsions make the choice of alignment difficult for peace-loving nations of the world. They are faced with the dilemma of evading armed conflicts. It requires a conscious and sustained effort to do so. In order to work towards such goals, it is necessary to look at the geo-political, security and military-related issues objectively. The Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) has been publishing the Asian Defence Review to fulfill this need. This volume, a resource base for both the professional and general readers, is the ninth in the series under this title. It aims to add to the pool of information and knowledge in the current strategic discourse dealing with military strategy, defence, politics and trends in military capabilities that impact Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important issues related to India’s security environment, the Indian Air Force, cyber warfare, nuclear security, warfare technologies, export control regimes, Russia, China and Pakistan.

With the shift of global power from West to East, we have entered the era of an Asia-centred century. The rise of China and India, the recovery and resurgence of Russia on one side and Japan on the other, and the nature of the international order are leading to enormous changes. These transformational changes in the military, economic and political dynamics of Asia are accelerating with the passage of time. Historically, changes in the international order and equations of power among national have been almost inevitably accompanied by conflicts and wars. The challenge ahead of the international community in general and Asian countries in particular would be how to ensure that this is avoided, and competition, so necessary to shaping the future, is managed below the levels of armed conflict. This is crucial for most countries like India so that their comprehensive national development can progress without adverse developments. In order towork toward such goals, it is necessary to look at security and military-related issues as objectively as possible. This volume, a resource base for the professional and the general reader, is the sixth in the series of the annual publication of the Centre for Air Power Studies under this title, which aims to fill a critical information and knowledge gap in current strategic literature dealing with military strategy, defence politics and trends in military capabilities that impact countries in Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important areas that affect Asian countries, with a focus on China, India and Pakistan, to provide the requisite regional balance.

This volume, a resource base for the professional and the general reader, is the third in the series of the annual publication of the Centre for Air Power Studies under this title, which aims to fill a critical information and knowledge gap in current strategic literature dealing with military strategy, defence politics and trends in military capabilities that impact countries in Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important areas that affect Asian countries and the developments in Asian countries, with a focus on China, India and Pakistan, to provide the requisite regional balance.