Firstpost | Propelled by shared security concerns, India-Australia defence partnership gains dynamic momentum

The India-Australia relationship has seen meteoric growth since the turn of the century, with defence and security cooperation increasing in concert with stronger ties in other areas. Their converging security interests — due to the rise of the Indo-Pacific as a strategic construct, shared concerns in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and a shared threat perception with respect to China — have led to numerous domains in which India and Australia cooperate. Read the full article here.

China lowered the gun for Modi-Xi Uzbekistan meet. India can’t take its eyes off the barrel yet

Breaking the military deadlock at Gogra-Hot Springs in Ladakh has been touted as paving the way for the Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit scheduled in Uzbekistan on 15-16 September. The military commanders had probably arrived at a consensus when they met for the 16th round of negotiations on 17 July. But political approval by both sides seems to have taken nearly two months. The delay conceals more than it reveals about the contemporary dynamics of China-India relations and the role of the military confrontation on India’s northern border in the context of power shifts leading to geopolitical competition at the global level.

After INS Vikrant, India’s next steps should be new carrier, submarines

On 2 September 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the commissioning ceremony of India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, the event flags a major milestone in India’s journey to the expansion of its maritime power. The achievement is laudable but must not be allowed to mask the point that maritime power is a generic term that encompasses naval, merchant marine capacity and infrastructure assets like ports and inland connectivity. The journey is not only endless but also extremely high in financial outlays. Yet, it is one that has the potential of being offset through economic benefits derived from maritime trade.

BrahMos, INS Vikrant have immense capability but also expose India’s short-sightedness

The accidental firing of an unarmed BrahMos missile into Pakistan has resulted in the sacking of three Air Force officers. In all probability, the speed and mode of delivering justice, within five months of the incident, must have been guided by the imperatives of secrecy.

While the accident could not have occurred without the failure of safety systems at multiple levels, human error must have been the prime culprit. Moreover, it was not a combat situation where the psychological impact of danger and uncertainty could have fuelled the error, which was the case in the accidental shooting down of an Mi-17 helicopter in Kashmir, a day after the Balakot air strike, that resulted in the death of six IAF personnel and one civilian. Two IAF officers were punished.

Is India’s Rising Defence Pension Bill Affecting Modernisation of Military? 5 Myths Busted

Business, as usual, is no longer an option. India must tackle the rising defence pension bill.

Lt Gen Prakash Menon and Pranay Kotasthane bust five myths of the defence pensions debate. Read the full article on ThePrint here.

On US President Trump's India Visit

The Print’s daily roundtable TalkPoint posed a question connected to the US President's upcoming India visit: Will the spectacle of Trump's visit without a trade deal boost India-US ties?The US-India relationship over the last four years has been a case of one step forward, two steps backward. The convergence of the threat posed by China has led to a deepening of military ties between the countries with the operationalisation of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA).At the same time, both the US and India have been unable to move forward on the issue of trade. While the Donald Trump administration has hung on to notions of ‘reciprocity’, the Narendra Modi government has raised import tariffs and pushed itself into a corner. Trump’s position on Pakistan has also changed; the plan to reduce and eventually withdraw US troops from Afghanistan is contingent on an understanding with Pakistan. Finally, India’s falling economic growth trajectory has restricted our ability to negotiate both with the US and China.Trump’s visit is unlikely to change any of these structural factors. Apart from a few defence purchase agreements, there is little to look forward to the US president’s tour.Read the entire discussion on ThePrint. here.