Military | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

02/10/2012

* ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar

It would seem that 28 years is not long enough for those directly affected by Operation Bluestar to forgive and forget. That’s assuming the four suspects were indeed separatist-Sikhs bent on revenge.

BBC: “Police in London say the stabbing of the Indian general who led the 1984 raid on Sikhism’s holiest shrine was attempted murder.

Lt-Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar was stabbed in the neck by four men with beards on Sunday night. He is out of hospital.

Hundreds died when troops flushed Sikh separatist militants out of the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab state.

The 78-year-old is thought still to be a target for extremist Sikhs, but the identity of his attackers is unclear.

Lt-Gen Brar, himself a Sikh, was one of the architects of Operation Bluestar, which removed armed Sikh militants fighting for an independent homeland of Khalistan from the temple.

According to the Indian government, the operation left about 400 people, including 87 soldiers, dead.

Sikhs groups contest this figure, saying the number of casualties was several times higher.

via BBC News – ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar.

Posted in Dissident, Ethnic clash, India alert, Insurgency, Military, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Amritsar, golden temple in amritsar, Khalistan movement, Kuldip Singh Brar, Operation Blue Star, politics, Sikh

29/09/2012

Suddenly, China’s aircraft carriers will increase by 100%!

China Commissions First Aircraft Carrier (voanews.com)

Posted in China alert, GeoPolitics, Military, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Aerospace and Defense, Aircraft carrier, Beijing, China, Liaoning, Shanghai, Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag

02/09/2012

* Asian giants seek better ties; China defence minister in India

The Times of India: “A rare visit to India by China’s defence minister should help avoid flare-ups along the border between the nuclear-armed Asian giants at a time when Beijing is grappling with a change of leadership and friction in the South China Sea.

Chinese Minister of National Defense General Liang Guanglie stands on a balcony overlooking the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, May 10, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Segar

But General Liang Guanglie‘s trip — the first by a Chinese defence minister in eight years — also highlights growing competition between the two emerging powers as they jostle for influence and resources across Asia.

Liang is due to arrive in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon after stopping in Sri Lanka, the island nation off the south coast of India that sits on vital ocean trade routes.

There he sought to play down Indian fears that China is threading a “string of pearls” — or encircling it by financing infrastructure and military strength in neighbours stretching from Pakistan to the Maldives.

“China attaches great importance to its relations with the South Asian nations, and commits itself to forging harmonious co-existence and mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with them,” he said in speech to Sri Lankan soldiers.

“The PLA’s (People’s Liberation Army) efforts in conducting friendly exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts in the South Asian nations are intended for maintaining regional security and stability and not targeted at any third party.”

As neighbours and emerging superpowers, India and China have a complex relationship. Trade has grown at a dizzying rate but Beijing is wary of India’s close ties to Washington and memories of a border war with China half a century ago are still fresh in New Delhi.

Despite 15 rounds of high level talks to resolve the dispute about where their Himalayan border lies, neither side is close to giving up any territory. Liang is not expected to broach the territorial issue on his trip.

Analysts say Liang’s India tour will demonstrate that Beijing is managing the often twitchy relations with its neighour just ahead of its once-in-a-decade leadership transition.”

via Asian giants seek better ties; China defence minister in India – The Times of India.

Tags: Beijing, China, India, Liang Guanglie, New Delhi, People's Liberation Army, politics

29/08/2012

* China’s aircraft carrier: in name only

Reuters: “When Japanese activists scrambled ashore on a disputed island chain in the East China Sea this month, one of China’s most hawkish military commentators proposed an uncharacteristically mild response.

A half-built Chinese-owned aircraft carrier Varyag, which is to be converted into a floating casino in China, is towed and escorted by a flotilla of tugboats and pilot ships past the Leandros Tower built in 419 B.C. on the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul November 1, 2001. REUTERS-Fatih Saribas-Files

Retired Major General Luo Yuan suggested naming China’s new aircraft carrier Diaoyu, after the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. It would demonstrate China’s sovereignty over the islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese, he said.

For a notable hardliner, it was one of the least bellicose reactions he has advocated throughout a series of territorial rows that have soured China’s ties with its neighbors in recent months.

More typical was General Luo’s warning in April that the Chinese navy would “strike hard” if provoked during a dispute with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

One possible reason for General Luo’s restraint, military analysts say, is he knows it could be towards the end of the decade before China can actually deploy the new carrier to the disputed islands or any other trouble spot.

Despite public anticipation in China that the carrier — a refitted, Soviet-era vessel bought from Ukraine — will soon become the flagship of a powerful navy, defense experts say it lacks the strike aircraft, weapons, electronics, training and logistical support it needs to become a fighting warship.

“There is considerable uncertainty involved, but it could take anything from three to five years,” said Carlo Kopp, the Melbourne, Australia based co-founder of Air Power Australia, an independent military think tank.”

via Analysis: China’s aircraft carrier: in name only | Reuters.

See also: China’s military presence

Posted in China alert, Defence, GeoPolitics, Military, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Air Power Australia, Aircraft carrier, China, East China Sea, Philippines, Scarborough Shoal

09/08/2012

* Agni-II successfully test-fired

the Hindu: “India successfully test-fired nuclear weapons capable strategic ballistic missile, Agni-II, for its full range of more than 2,000 km from Wheeler Island off the Odisha Coast on Thursday.

The launch was carried out by Strategic Force Command personnel from a mobile launcher. The Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, which carried a dummy payload of 1,000 kg, was fired at 8.46 a.m. from a rail mobile launcher. Agni-II has already been inducted into the services and belongs to the group of Agni class of strategic missiles which form the bulwark of India”s nuclear deterrence policy.

Top Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials told The Hindu from Wheeler Island that the two-stage solid-propelled missile followed a text-book trajectory and zeroed in on to a pre-determined target point in the Bay of Bengal with a single to two digit accuracy after a 700-second flight.

They said the re-entry systems worked well and all other systems functioned perfectly.The electro-optical systems and telemetry stations tracked and monitored the missile’s flight path. Two ships stationed in the vicinity of the target point witnessed the terminal event.

The SFC personnel conducted the trial as part of regular user exercise. Agni-II is 20 metres long and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead weighing one ton.

It was the third success in a row for Agni variants following the launch of Agni-V in April and Agni-1 recently.”

via The Hindu : News / National : Agni-II successfully test-fired.

Posted in Aerospace, India alert, Military, Space flight, Technology | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Agni, Agni-II, aviation, Bay of Bengal, deterrence policy, dummy payload, India, Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, range ballistic missile, Strategic Force Command

03/08/2012

* Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists

NY Times: “In one of India’s most violent internal conflicts, between Maoist rebels and government security forces, civil society activists appear to be collateral damage.

“Indian authorities and Maoist insurgents have threatened and attacked civil society activists, undermining basic freedoms and interfering with aid delivery in embattled areas of central and eastern India,” Human Rights Watch said in a report this week.

Through a broad swath of India, Maoist rebels, also known as Naxalites, have attempted to overthrow the government in an armed struggle that has its roots in a 1967 rural uprising. In the last two years, 1,611 people have died in a total of 3,968 incidents said to be related to the Maoist struggle.

As recently as last month, the police said they killed a group of Maoists in the dense forest of Chhattisgarh state, but civil rights activists demanded a judicial inquiry over what they called the slaughter of innocent tribal villagers.

The Human Rights Watch report said that grassroots activists who deliver development assistance and highlight abuses risk being targeted by security forces and Maoist insurgents.

“The police demand that they serve as informers, and those that refuse risk being accused of being Maoist supporters and subject to arbitrary arrest and torture,” the watchdog notes. “The authorities use sedition laws to curtail free speech and also concoct criminal cases to lock up critics of the government.”

The Maoists, on the other hand, frequently accuse activists of being informers and warn them against implementing government programs, according to the report.

“The Maoists have been particularly brutal towards those perceived to be government informers or “class enemies” and do not hesitate to punish them by shooting or beheading after a summary “trial” in a self-declared “people’s court” (jan adalat),” the report notes. It adds that this court in no way conforms to international standards.

The rights group said this report is based on more than 60 interviews with witnesses or those familiar with abuses in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, from July 2011 to April this year.”

via Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists – NYTimes.com.

India: Government, Maoists Target Civil Society Activists (hrw.org)
Rights group: India’s Maoist fight hurts activists (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
India authorities, Maoists threatening activists: HRW (jurist.org)
Rights Group Accuse Indian Government, Maoists of Targeting Activists (voanews.com)

Posted in Dissident, Freedom, India alert, Inequalities, Insurgency, Military, Politics, unrest | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Chhattisgarh, Human rights, Human Rights Watch, India, Jharkhand, Maoism, Maoist, Naxalite, Orissa, politics

01/08/2012

Let us hope that the various calls for reform are genuine and sincere and not an attempt to ‘out’ pro-democrats in the manner of Chairman Mao’s “Let a hundred flowers bloom” call in the 50s that led to the anti-rightist movement and major purges that followed.

Tags: Anti-Rightist Movement, China, Hundred Flowers Campaign, Mao, Mao Zedong

31/05/2012

* Bikram Singh assumes charge as new Army Chief

The Hindu: “Gen Bikram Singh, a veteran infantry officer, on Thursday took over as the 25th Chief of the Indian Army succeeding Gen V.K. Singh whose 26-month tenure was mired by controversies.

The 59-year-old Gen Bikram Singh will have a tenure of two years and three months in the top post. Prior to his appointment as Army Chief, Gen Bikram was commanding the Kolkata-based Eastern Army Command.

He has held several important appointments in counter insurgency areas as the Corps Commander of Srinagar-based 15 Corps and Akhnoor-based 10 Division as Major General.

The officer, better known as ‘Bikki’ to his friends, was commissioned into the Sikh Light Infantry regiment on March 31, 1972 after attending the prestigious Indian Military Academy IMA.”

via The Hindu : News / National : Bikram Singh assumes charge as new Army Chief.

Posted in India alert, Military | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Bikram Singh, Chief of Army Staff, indian army, indian military academy, Kolkata, light infantry regiment, Sikh Light Infantry, Singh, Srinagar

23/05/2012

* Taiwan spies increase in carrier threat

Hong Kong Standard: “Taiwan’s intelligence chief said Beijing plans to build two aircraft carriers to go with the first one in its fleet, a refitted former Soviet carrier currently undergoing sea trials.

“Indeed, the Chinese communists have decided to build two aircraft carriers on their own,” Tsai Teh-sheng, head of the National Security Bureau, told lawmakers. Construction is expected to start next year and in 2015, with the warships, which would be conventionally powered, to be delivered in 2020 and 2022. Tsai said Beijing has conducted six sea trials of its first carrier since the middle of last year, and that Taiwan expects it to go into service before the end of this year. Initially it may simply be used for training purposes but it can be sent for battles when necessary in the future,” he said. The ship’s sea trials have sparked international concern about the mainlands widening naval reach amid growing regional tensions over maritime disputes and a US campaign to assert itself as a Pacific power.”

via Taiwan spies increase in carrier threat – The Standard.

Taiwan to deploy additional ‘carrier killers’ (chinadailymail.com)

Posted in China alert, Defence, GeoPolitics, Military, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Tags: Aircraft carrier, Beijing, China, Sea trial, Taiwan

15/05/2012

* Carr: China concerned by Australia-US military ties

BBC News: “China has raised concerns over growing military ties between Australia and the US, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said as he visited Beijing.

Chinese officials had told him that “the time for Cold War alliances has long since passed”, he told reporters. The US has recently started rotating troops through bases in Australia.

On Monday Mr Carr met counterpart Yang Jiechi. He is also due to meet Vice Premier Li Keqiang to discuss a China-Australia free trade deal. China is a major trading partner for Australia and about a quarter of all Australian exports now go to China. But Australia’s key security partnership is with the US. Last month the first contingent of some US marines to be stationed in Darwin arrived; the US will eventually deploy a 2,500-strong force in northern Australia by 2017.”

via BBC News – Carr: China concerned by Australia-US military ties.

Tags: Australia, Bob Carr, China, Cold War, politics

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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* ‘Murder attempt’ on Golden Temple raid General Brar

* Asian giants seek better ties; China defence minister in India

* China’s aircraft carrier: in name only

* Agni-II successfully test-fired

* Activists Trapped Between Government and Maoists

* Bikram Singh assumes charge as new Army Chief

* Taiwan spies increase in carrier threat

* Carr: China concerned by Australia-US military ties

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