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Military capabilities remain the sine qua non of international politics. Therefore, critical defence reforms in India will have to be pushed with greater vigour. Without institutional, doctrinal and procedural changes, New Delhi will not be able to make the most of this moment in global geopolitics

What is a matter of grave concern has been the lopsided priorities of the government towards the military vis-a-vis the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) that have come to the fore.

The rapidly changing battlefield—framed by emerging transnational threats and the rising influence of public opinion—has transformed military diplomacy; today the focus is shifting from traditional combat to joint multinational operations and non-combat activities. Since the early 21st century, China has modernised its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and expanded military diplomacy to protect the country’s interests. Using civil-military f

Managing China is becoming a weightier challenge for the world, as the country’s economic, military and technological power grows. The challenge is more immense for India, given its border dispute with China and their geopolitical rivalry, overall. The relationship between the two Asian giants, also neighbours, went through a particularly troubled period in the last five years following the as-yet-unexplained Chinese incursions across the Line

Even though the Egyptian army has refrained from taking over governance in the interim period, analysts say the fear of repeating the same mistakes are legitimate. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether or not this political transition will have a long-lasting impact on Egypt's nascent democracy.

Pakistan is living through turbulent times and, General Musharraf, its self-styled President, is under tremendous pressure. The United States-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan has shaken Pakistan's polity like no other event in its troubled history.

In January 2000, when I spoke about the concept of limited conventional wars under the nuclear threshold at an international seminar in New Delhi, there was considerable uproar in the media and the strategic community, particularly in Pakistan.

Defence structures around the world are seeing a technological upheaving as new and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are being added to military arsenals. However, military AI largely lacks precision and is often developed without any threat-modelling which takes gender into account, examples of which are already being seen in civilian applications of AI. Translated into a conflict environment, deploying such AI systems cou

I have no problem with military officers running a nation as long as they are out of uniform and have won the mandate to do so. But when a military officer ousts a legitimate civilian government, refuses to shed his uniform and abuses the basic democratic right of franchise, there is a reason for the civilized world to be alarmed and ashamed. Such men are a blot on the democratic, civilized world.

Peaceful relations with Pakistan is a prerequisite to India’s domestic stability and its quest for great power status.

The convergence of Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI) can serve as a strategic enabler for China to accelerate its geopolitical dominance and realise its ‘Middle Kingdom Dream’ by 2049. By embedding dual-use technologies into development projects, China effectively expands the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) logistical reach, strengthens cyber capabilities, and promotes state-controlled governance mod

The 2625 kg GSAT-7, developed at a cost of INR 185 crores, will be India's first dedicated satellite for maritime communications, providing UHF, S-band, C-band, and Ku band relay capacity over the Indian landmass and surrounding seas.

The late-first millennium BCE Arthaśāstra is popularly known for its vile recommendations—a perception that tends to overshadow its far more comprehensive and holistic message on state-building. While the treatise itself gives no geographical or chronological pointers, this paper takes a historicist approach to contextualise it in time and space to show that it was not a one-off product but the result of an entrenched tradition of enlightened

The Indian army’s higher leadership must reflect on its role as the sword arm of the republic, and have a clear vision of itself as the upholder of law.

Most of the joint exercises being conducted by security forces, like like the Malabar 2015, are of the simple basic variety and, hence, really provide no 'net value addition' to the Indian force that participates. Thus, approvals for such exercises should necessitate a case-by-case approach in the future.

The country is merely following in the footsteps of other major global powers that have established military bases abroad to secure their interests.

The US Navy has already developed a generic "Road Map" against climate change while we are yet to assess the impact of such changes, let alone formulate doctrinal responses. Let us not get caught napping.

This report is the text of a presentation made at a seminar on ’Military-technical Cooperation between Russia and India: Status and Perspectives for Cooperation’, organised jointly by Observer Research Foundation and Unity for Russia Foundation, on October 5-7, 2007 in Moscow.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law, response to it highlights the fragility and resilience of democratic principles in the country

Proactively taking advantage of China’s involvement in the Taiwan Strait to fight China in multiple theatres is something Indian military planners should think about.

Reform of the Central Military Commission underscores Xi’s absolute dominance in the army, which helped put the Communist Party of China (CCP) in power. No other CCP leader, including Mao, has controlled the military to the same extent as Xi does today.

The Navy needs a strategy of distant power projection. By employing a plan for sustained presence in the Western Pacific, New Delhi can show its resolve to Beijing.

Following up with the SIPRI-ORF-SWF seminar in New Delhi earlier this year, the Secure World Foundation organised a panel discussion in Washington on "India's Military Space Efforts and Regional Security Considerations".

The military exercise, titled “Harimau Shakti,” is being held in Malaysia from 30 April to 13 May. The joint combat exercise is meant to create greater synergy and interoperability between the two armed forces.

The India-Russia military technical relationship has withstood the test of time. Despite strains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationship has remained highly critical both in terms of the level of trust between the two states and the imperatives of sustaining a military-technical relationship to counter the growth of Chinese power. A more synergistic military-technical is possible, and Moscow and New Delhi must explore ways to con

The country continues to face the sober reality of both rising threats and serious resource constraints.

China’s increasing activities in the Indo-Pacific have motivated India to embrace military logistics agreements with a wide variety of partners.

China is a new entrant into the Indian Ocean, and there is a lot of concern over its development of ports and infrastructure and links with various countries. India must not overstate China's significance.

Tehran is using the opportunity to send a strategic message to other powers in the region and beyond.

Notwithstanding the recent media leaks on a 'US military base' in Maldives, a decision on whatever that facility be, may have to wait until after the parliamentary polls of May 2014, not stopping with the presidential elections due in September this year.

The rapid uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military in the past couple decades has been accompanied by a slow but gradual build-up in attempts to understand how these AI systems work to achieve better results in military operations. The idea behind what is called ‘eXplainable AI’ (XAI), and the technologies driving it, are a manifestation of this trend. The question, however, is if XAI in its current form is the solution

Since Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has witnessed an accelerated modernisation drive. Following the 2015-16 organisational reforms, the CPC further standardised its service-level force structure and upgraded its military doctrine, combat capabilities, and weapons systems. This report analyses recent improvements with the development and integration of new we

By announcing the creation of a chief of defense staff, New Delhi hopes to modernise India’s armed forces.