China plans record 20 space launches this year - including maiden flight of its own space shuttle

China's space authorities have announced plans to launch over 40 different spacecrafts into orbit in 20 separate launches this year.

One of the vessels to be launched is the ground-breaking Yuanzheng 1 - also known as the 'space bus' - which can launch 10 different satellites at once.

2013 was a massive year for China whose scientists launched 16 spacecraft to firmly establish their cosmic credentials.

In October 2003, it became only the third country in history to independently launch a manned mission into space on the Shenzhou 5.

A spokesman for the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said the vessels going up this year will mostly be 'communication satellites' orbiting at around 36,000ft.

Director of its Space Department Zhao Xiaojin added: 'There will also be some remote sensing satellites sent up to observe the earth as well as navigation satellites.'

Chinese space authorities also said a number of 'cutting edge' technologies will be tested for the first time, including the highly anticipated 'space bus'.

The Yuanzheng 1 is China's largest ever rocket with a diameter of 5.2 meters. It needs to be assembled at the launch site because trains carrying it would not be able to pass through tunnels. 

Its engine can restart over 20 times when flying in orbit and it is thought to be 75 per cent more efficient than spacecraft of the same size.

It also has the capability to move old, scrapped satellites out of useful orbit and into so-called 'cemetery orbits' to prevent them from hindering other space-faring vehicles. 

In December 2013, the Chang'e 3 lander - named after the Chinese moon goddess - became the first object to soft-land on the moon since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976.

China's National Space Administration operated the mission which incorporated a robotic lander and the country's first ever lunar rover.

The county announced its aspiration to carry out deep space exploration in September 2010 and planned to send a man to the moon by 2025.

Mr Xiaojin says work is also continuing to extend China's lunar program, adding: 'We have made breakthroughs in most of the key technology needed for the Chang'e-5 mission [which is expected to land on the Moon by 2017].

'This year we will conduct more ground tests, particularly ones involving theconditions which will imitate the environment on the moon.'

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has already begun opening up its its lunar exploration program to private investment.

India activates maritime surveillance radar in the Seychelles

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has activated a donated maritime surveillance radar system in the Seychelles and promised to donate another Do 228 surveillance aircraft to the island nation during a visit there last week.

On 11 March Modi launched the Coastal Surveillance Radar station located on a mountainous central region of the main island of Mahé, describing it as another symbol of the cooperation between the two countries, reports the Seychelles News Agency.

In early 2012 India and the Seychelles signed several agreements related to maritime security in the Indian Ocean, including a pact for the supply of a coastal surveillance radar system worth $10 million (140 million rupees), and Dornier surveillance aircraft.

During his visit last week, Modi also announced that a second Dornier surveillance aircraft would be donated to the Seychelles Coast Guard to increase maritime security. The first Dornier Do 228 was given to the Seychelles in early 2013.

“Our security partnership is strong. It has enabled us to fulfil our shared responsibility to advance maritime security in the region,” said Modi. “It is a privilege to be a partner of Seychelles in the development of its security capabilities.”

He added that the radar system is part of a regional surveillance network being installed in several Indian Ocean island states and hoped the Seychelles would become a full partner in the maritime security cooperation arrangement between India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

India has had bilateral relations with the Seychelles since it gained independence in 1976, especially in the fields of health, education and defence. In November last year India donated a second 46 metre SDB Mk 5 patrol boat to the Seychelles, the PS Constant, nine years after donating the PS Topaz (formerly INS Tarmugli) in 2005. 

INS Tarasa is an SDB Mk 5 patrol boat built by India's state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata and refurbished by the Naval Dockyard Mumbai. She has a displacement of 319 tons, a maximum speed of 28 knots and a complement of 24.

The Seychelles Coast Guard fleet further expanded in April 2014 when China donated the 38 metre Etoile patrol boat, built specifically for the Seychelles. The new vessels join the Topaz, Andromache, La Fleche and Le Vigilant (the latter two donated by the UAE). China previously donated two Y-12 aircraft for maritime surveillance.

A400M joins RMAF’s fleet

PETALING JAYA: The Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF) latest asset, an Airbus A400M airlifter aircraft, is not meant to replace the C130 Hercules aircraft, said RMAF chief Jen Datuk Seri Roslan Saad.

Each aircraft had a different role to play, he said.

“The C130 has its own role and so does the Airbus (A400M). The C130 is still strong. It is still our airlift,” he told reporters after a ceremony at the Subang Air Force Base yesterday to receive the A400M, which was flown in from Seville, Spain.

The RMAF received delivery of the first of four such aircraft on March 9 after they were purchased in 2005.

Malaysia is expected to receive two more of the aircraft by the end of this year and the last one next year.

Jen Roslan said the targeted initial operating capability was in three months’ time.

“That’s the time that we need as we are talking about capability to operate the aircraft at maximum. So it will take about three months,” he said.

He added that the A400M would be operated by RMAF’s newly formed No. 22 Squadron with 16 officers comprising pilots and engineers, as well as 30 personnel consisting of load masters and technicians who had undergone basic courses at the International Training Centre in Seville.

The first aircraft was flown to Malaysia by a team headed by Lt-Col Masro Kaliwon. The aircraft left Seville on Thursday before flying to Abu Dhabi and arriving in Malaysia yesterday.

“We are very excited with this new aircraft. It will give us an increase in load capacity and a further range,” he said, adding that the aircraft would also increase the capabilities of the RMAF for strategic airlift as well as tactical airlift.

He said the aircraft was capable of performing missions that include assignments related to medical evacuation, air-to-air refuelling, aerial delivery paratroop and logistics, and humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations.

The A400M is also set to star at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015.

UAE, Sikorsky Work to Weaponize Black Hawks

ABU DHABI — Sikorsky is close to beginning upgrades to the UAE's helicopters that would them the "most advanced armed Black Hawks ever produced," a company vice president told Defense News.

Robert Kokorda, vice president of sales, said the UAE-funded development program of the kits to weaponize UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters is in its final development stages.

The certification of the UAE-mandated weapons kit will be completed in the near future, he added, once the test-firing program is finalized.

Kokorda was not able able to provide more details on the completion dates of the test-firing program.

The UAE is estimated to have almost 70 Black Hawks with Sikorsky investing in the Advanced Military Maintenence Repair and Overhaul Company (AMMROC) joint venture with Lockheed Martin and UAE state-owned Emirates Defence Industries Co. (EDIC).

In February 2011, the UAE announced a $270.5 million upgrade order from Sikorsky for 23 UH-60Ms with Battlehawk kits.

The UAE was the launch customer for the Battlehawk kits, which include guided weapons, optical and laser-guided anti-armor missiles, Hellfire and emerging laser-guided rockets.

Abu Dhabi has already upgraded some of its Black Hawks for the "close-air support role with gun turrets and missile mounts as well, said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Some of those, the [UH-60]M model were upgraded and modified for the close-air support role with gun turrets and missile mounts as well," Barrie said.

"This is somehow a continuation of the path the UAE was going down in this area of interest."

The requirements for the weapons systems kit over the years, however, has changed, Kokorda told Defense News.

"The changing requirements over the years and the evolving security needs has led us to adapt this project that we envisioned together years ago to meet all the current needs of the UAE," Kokorda said.

"We have been underway now for a couple of years and it's going along well where we are working to finalize the different configurations that the UAE want on the aircraft and are in the testing phase," Kokorda added..

The Battlehawk would provide the UAE forces with a combat support capability as well as a personnel lift capability, much like the Russian Mi-24 Hinds, Barrie said.

"[The kit] would make it a weaponized utility helicopter, which goes some of the way of being an attack helicopter, but not all the way," he said.

"The closest in original content to it would be the Mi-24 Hind helicopter because that was combat support helicopter and that could carry troops and pack a fair punch as well."

The development program has been completely funded by the UAE, but is being marketed to other customers.

"Right now [this product] is for them and until we have finished creating the product for them, we are actively marketing it, telling everybody that we are going to have this weapons kit available, but we are not necessarily developing other things beyond what the UAE is looking to put in," Kokorda said.

Sikorsky will also supply some to the development information to the UAE for its use, he added.

"We understand that before we embark on a project like that together, what the ITAR [International Traffic in Arms Regulations] framework allows us to do and so both sides have to agree that that's acceptable," he said. "We are now in a mode where we are developing products together and bringing that to the larger market."

He stated that the joint development of this program, which will bring the most advanced weaponized Black Hawk to the market, is an important aspect for Sikorsky.

"One way to make sure that both sides get something out of this within the framework of the ITAR is that there is investment coming from the UAE to the United States."

"So it's not just Sikorsky investing in AMMROC, this is the UAE investing in development in the United States and that weapons kit intact is fueling engineers in the United States to do work."

India Pushing Russia For Faster Development For Stealth Aircraft As Rafale Deal Stuck

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force is about to start a deep-dive process that will eventually decide what technologies and capabilities it will fund to ensure air dominance in the world of 2030.

And while that includes the potential for a sixth-generation fighter, top service officials continue to stress that the result of the process will likely be a family of systems approach.

Maj. Gen. Tim Ray, director of Global Power in the service's acquisition realm, and Maj. Gen. Paul Johnson, director for Operational Capability Requirements, told Defense News that the Air Force will shortly stand up a team to begin researching these decisions.

The Next-Generation Air Dominance program will be the first pilot program for the Air Force's new Capability Collaboration Team (CCT) structure, part of a broader strategic process unveiled by Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, at last month's Air Force Association convention in Orlando.

The CCT comprises a number of operational, scientific and technical experts from an array of backgrounds, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Research Labs and the major commands. The group will explore in depth various options that could matter in the future, before putting out a product with two components.

The first is a list of technologies the CCT has decided will be needed for air superiority in 2030. The second is a road map for how to achieve those technologies.

For example, the CCT could decide that directed energy weapons are a key part of the strategy. It will present to the chief and secretary a guide for what areas of directed energy need investment, how those investments should be prioritized, and perhaps most importantly, a timeline for when those investments would need to pay off in order to be fielded by 2030.

Johnson said the goal is to be able to guide limited research and development funds from being spread to many projects — with the hope that one works out — toward being focused on a small handful of technologies.

"It's not about a decision to start a program, to go do x, y and z," Johnson said. "It's not a decision to go build the next-generation fighter. It's a set of decisions about what more do we want to learn, how do we want to learn it, and how fast do we want to learn it? It's 'out of this set of technologies, we want to chase these four.' "

Timewise, the CCT will begin meeting in the next few weeks. It will spend the next three years researching technologies before presenting a final product in 2018.

The Pentagon is littered with well-intentioned studies into new technologies. What makes this different, Ray said, is the focus on finding actionable items and then creating guidelines to make them real.

"This isn't a slush fund," Ray said. "It's not just. 'hey I'm going to go solve cold fusion, give me a couple of years and I'll get back to you.' It's 'how do I get that power supply correct of that kind of pod to do directed energy,' or 'how do I get this signature from this range to that range?' "

For that to work, Ray said, industry must play a critical role. That fits with a promise from Welsh, who in Orlando pledged that industry would be brought in earlier in the technology development process.

"[Right now] you have to wait until we kind of make up our mind and give you a plan, so you can't energize your resources, your thinking, to help us get ahead of this curve," he said at the conference. "We're not talking to you about it. We must do that. You should be part of this transition planning. You should be part of the [process] in developmental planning."

At the same time, Ray warned that industry needs to be prepared for a shift away from the days of one prime controlling everything from development through production.

"We have a lot of known players and we want to hear what they have to say. The interesting part will be if we get out of the program business, how many more voices will we get that aren't the prime players?" Ray asked rhetorically. "Technology is moving way too fast for us to lock down a program and say it's all got to go through one guy."

That may lead to more focus on studying and prototyping technology without a guarantee of future production, Johnson said.

"When I bring industry in here, industry is understandably interested in what the program is going to look like, which is not my conversation at this point," Johnson said. "So I've got to make it workable so when I get ready to do some experimentation or prototyping, that industry is willing to participate in that, knowing that at the end of the day there may not be anything after that."

Rebecca Grant of IRIS Research said opening another avenue of communication with industry is a net positive for the service. And while she said the CCT brings "all the right ingredients" together, she said the service needs to stick with the concept to make it really work.

"The best technology development stories come out of this mix of people and insights," she said. "What we don't know is if you can get everyone together in a room and just [have] the big insights. Like exercise, you need do this on a regular basis and go for the small gains as well."

Mark Gunzinger, a former service official now with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, called the CCT a "great idea" that could "help accelerate the transition of new, potentially game-changing technologies into the program of record." However, he also offered a word of caution.

"Beginning these efforts by 'researching new technologies' may take teams down the path of trying to figure out how emerging technologies could help airmen improve how they operate today," he said. "I think it's also important to challenge current operational concepts and think through how new technologies could enable airmen to operate very differently in the future."

Hints of the Future

Both generals stressed that the goal is to allow the CCT to be as open as possible as it explores future concepts.

"We can't be prescriptive. We do have to be open," Ray said. "We have to show them what's going on in the intel community with data management, with cyber, with space, so they can begin to look at the tools and what they mean and the implications of those things. It's a broader exposure."

However, the men did drop a few hints as to what technologies they foresee the CCT considering.

Johnson expressed confidence that the 2030 solution would not involve just the development of a heavily advanced fighter with all-onboard capability, noting "there is every likelihood it's going to be some sort of family of systems, and hopefully it will be a mix of old and new.

"I would have every expectation that it will probably be 'programs' — that's one man's opinion," he added. "Sensors, weapons, the whole collection of things."

That family could include a mix of modernized versions of legacy systems in use today, working hand-in-hand with new systems that will be online by 2030. The CCT will be on the lookout for what Johnson called "quick wins," things like experimental sensor upgrades that could be put onto current systems relatively quickly.

The CCT will also look at how to build in growth for potential future technologies, Ray said, noting "we certainly realize we need to build in more inherent adaptability in what we do."

That includes looking at how to build in excess power and create space for any new system, to make sure there is the ability to add newer technologies as they come along.

The generals casually mentioned directed energy and signature reduction as other technologies that will likely be looked at, which isn't news to anyone who has followed the talk about a potential next-generation fighter.

Grant highlighted directed energy as an area that could really gain from the CCT model.

"The time is right for demonstrating progress in directed energy," she said. "I think all future systems from here on out, we're going to have a discussion in directed energy on those systems. We'll be talking about it a lot more."

While the focus now is on the family of systems, there is confidence in industry that a major part of that will involve a sixth-generation fighter.

The Air Force isn't alone in looking at next-gen air dominance technologies. The Navy has said it is looking at a next-gen fighter to replace the F/A-18 and complement the F-35C, and Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall has launched the Aerospace Innovation Initiative, a DARPA-led development program for X-planes to test technologies and concepts.

Johnson said he is in regular contact with his counterpart in the Navy, and Ray added that the lead Air Force representative to the initiative will also be part of the CCT.

That should create a cross-cutting of technologies between the three sides, including, perhaps, letting the CCT test some of the technologies on a prototype plane, then bring those results back into its research.

Industry, meanwhile, is gearing up for what could be a lucrative contract.

Northrop Grumman has already stood up a pair of teams, dedicated to the Navy and Air Force programs respectively, while Boeing has quietly released several mock-ups of future fighter concepts.

Orlando Carvalho, the head of Lockheed Martin's aerospace division, told Defense News that the company's SkunkWorks division is working on a design, but said that work is a natural outgrowth from the company's previous developments.

"When it comes to next-generation air dominance, that work for us is a continuum," he said. "We don't discretely stand up teams, disband teams around that — that's what we do at the SkunkWorks, and it's a continuum."

Carvalho said the Pentagon has "definitely" communicated with companies about what future threat scenarios, tactics and requirements may be.

Both Ray and Johnson are sympathetic to industry's desire to know what a next-generation fighter may look like, but insist they need this structure to prevent the proverbial cart from leading the horse.

"The automatic question [from industry] is when do we do the AOA [analysis of alternatives]? I don't want to hear about an AOA," Ray said. "I want to do some learning first. I want to know what the alternatives are before I begin to analyze those alternatives. Right now we don't even know what the alternatives are."

US Air Force: Stealth bomber in need of modernization, upgrades

The B-2 stealth bomber is one of the Air Force's youngest aircraft, but its maintenance and modernization needs are great. To meet those needs, the services has an effective maintenance program and is seeking authorization for multiple modernization projects in its fiscal 2016 budget, a top acquisition official told lawmakers Wednesday.

William LaPlante, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, credited new sustainment programs with keeping the B-2 Spirit in the air. The aircraft in fiscal 2014 flew at a mission capable rate of 56.9 percent, up from 46.7 percent the year before.

The increase is because of a "cost effective" program to sustain problem areas of the stealth bomber, namely the stealth materials on its skin, LaPlante said.

"In fact, one of the biggest contributors to the availability challenge is the maintenance of those materials," LaPlante told the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee. "That's something going in the right direction. The availability is getting better because of that work."

The service only flies 20 of the B-2s. With a constant rotation of the jets in scheduled depot maintenance, the mission-capable rate of the aircraft has been lower than those of other aircraft in the service's fleet. The depot cycle takes approximately 13 months at Northrop Grumman's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. About 70 percent of the B-2's programmed depot maintenance tasks is related to treating the low-observable coating system, according to the Air Force.

The biggest modernization priority is an effort to upgrade the jet's Defensive Management System, which includes new on-board computers and antenna systems.

"If we don't do DMS, we won't have the capability to operate in a modern, contested environment," LaPlante said.

The service is also operating other software on the jet, including a new weapons strike program that will let it carry advanced weapons such as the modernized B61-12 nuclear bomb.

US Says North Korea Nuclear and Missile Work 'of Great Concern'

The United States said on Wednesday that North Korea's nuclear program and the increased range and precision of its missiles were of great concern, a day after the isolated Asian country said it had the power to deter a US nuclear threat with a pre-emptive strike if necessary.

The US mission to International Organizations in Vienna, home to the UN's International Atomic Energy Organisation, said the restart of North Korea's graphite-moderated nuclear reactor could enable it to produce additional plutonium for weapons in the near future.

"These activities are clear violations of multiple (UN) resolutions and must cease immediately," it said in a statement.

In Washington, General Vincent Brooks, commander of the US Army in the Pacific, said the United States had detected "increased militarization" of North Korea's nuclear program.

He said the increased range and precision of North Korean missiles were "of great concern" and represented a physical threat to US territory. He emphasized the need to conduct military exercises with South Korea, which have provoked increasingly heated North Korean rhetoric in recent days.

Brooks told the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank it was "difficult to surmise exactly" where North Korea was in terms of its ability to weaponize its nuclear capability by mounting a warhead on a missile.

However he added: "It's difficult time, it's a dangerous time, and the potential for miscalculation is high."

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong told the UN-backed Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday that his country had the power to deter an "ever-increasing nuclear threat" by the United States with a pre-emptive strike.

Ri said the military exercises being staged by South Korea and the United States were "unprecedentedly provocative in nature and have an especially high possibility of sparking off a war."

North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its eastern coast on Monday, South Korean officials said, in a move seen as a response to the exercises, which Pyongyang regularly denounces as a preparation for war.

Brooks said in an interview with Reuters earlier on Wednesday that North Korea's demonstrations of increased capabilities emphasized the need for nations to cooperate on missile defense.

Brooks did not respond to a question at the think tank on whether he believed a prediction by a US research institute last month that Pyongyang could possess as many as 100 nuclear weapons within five years.

New weapons to make up bulk of China's new defense budget

Acquisitions of new weapons and equipment will likely take up the bulk of China's latest defense budget, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.

On Wednesday, State Council spokesperson Fu Ying announced that China will increase its defense budget by around 10% this year to 889 billion yuan (US$142 billion), the lowest increase in expenditure over the last five years. As a big country, China needs an army that can safeguard its national security and people, Fu said.

"To tell the truth, there is still a gap between China's armed forces [and foreign counterparts] in terms of overall military equipment. We still need more time," Fu said, adding that capital support is needed for the modernization of China's national defense and its army.

"Lagging behind leaves one vulnerable to attacks. That is a lesson we have learned from history," she said, claiming that China's defense policy is defensive in nature.

Last year's defense budget increased by 12.2% to 808.2 billion yuan (US$129 billion). Taking inflation into account, this year's increase is therefore not significant, Sina Military said.

In the US, President Obama's recent fiscal 2016 budget proposal, military expenditure was pegged at US$585 billion, an increase of US$24.7 billion from the 2015 fisical year and more than four times overall that of China's. In Russia's fiscal 2016 budget, defense expenditure was estimated at US$93.9 billion, equal to about 66% of China's and a US$10.2 billion rise from the previous year.

Sina Military estimates that a large portion of China's defense budget will be applied to the salaries and living expenses of the 23 million soldiers and officers in the People's Liberation Army, especially as pay levels have been bumped up this year.

The most interesting aspect of the budget, however, is how much money will be applied to the procurement of new weapons and equipment. While there are currently no reliable reports available on what military equipment China intends to add, Sina Military says it is possible to provide an educated guess estimated from the prices of Chinese weapons exports.

In recent years, China discussed exporting 32 HQ-9/FD-2000 medium- to long-range, active radar homing surface-to-air missiles and eight launch vehicles to Turkey for US$300 million. The MBT 3000/VT4 third-generation main battle tank, on the other hand, is reportedly being exported for around US$4 million per tank.

China's FC-1 Xiaolong (or JF-17 Thunder) multirole fighter jet is said to cost about US$30 million, while in 2002, the modern Type 956E Sovremenny-class destroyer was sold for about US$500 million. There are also reports that the Type 636M Kilo-class submarine is selling for US$200 million and that the Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft costs about US$85 million.

In terms of identifable annual expenditures, the PLA Air Force and Navy are said to provide facelifts to around 50 or so J-10 and J-11 fighter jets and around 20-30 bombers and large aircraft. Each year, the PLA Navy can also add around one or two Type 052C/DD destroyers, two to three Type 54A frigates and three to four Type 056 corvettes, as well as an unspecified number of conventional and nuclear submarines. This does not take into account the costs of other auxillary ships.

Operating aircraft and ships can also be expensive. The cost of a single flight for a J-10 fighter is around 300,000 yuan (US$48,000), which is lower than that of the heavier J-11. The PLA Navy's costs of deploying a ship is difficult to gauge, though the increasing number of maritime drills and joint exercises means the expenses will be astronomical, Sina Military said.

Japan and India's Warming Defense Ties

The assertiveness of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy in the Indian Ocean is forcing the government of Narenda Modi to look to modernize India’s naval forces as quickly as possible. This venture, as would be expected, includes overtures to the U.S. (for example, to share technology for India’s next aircraft carrier), but India is increasingly seeking cooperation with Japan as well. India has asked Japan to consider working with India to build submarines and recently announced its plans to purchase Japanese amphibious search and rescue (SAR) aircraft.

Russian-made SAR flying boats had also been considered, but India chose the Japanese option because the Indian defense ministry valued the US-2’s ability to take off and land on waters with high waves. If the export of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force’s US-2 air-sea SAR aircraft to India is realized, it will be the first export under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new three principles on defense equipment transfers, declared in April 2014.

Aside from defense equipment deals, Japan and India have been working to improve their bilateral cooperation in the fields of maritime security, counter-terrorism, and anti-piracy operations since January 2014, when then-Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony met with then-Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.

At the time, the two defense ministers put off the issue of Japanese US-2 sales to India, but it was given added momentum during Modi’s trip to Japan last September. Modi declared during a joint press briefing with Abe, “We intend to give a new thrust and direction to our defense cooperation, including collaboration in defense technology and equipment, given our shared interest in peace and stability and maritime security.” At the same meeting, Abe and Modi agreed to upgrade “two-plus-two” security talks, increase working level talks on defense equipment and technology cooperation, hold regular maritime exercises, and continue Japanese participation in U.S.-India drills.

Abe and Modi have capitalized on their close personal ties with each other – and the increasingly uncertain external environment created by China’s bellicose foreign policy – to increase security cooperation despite several remaining obstacles, such as the lack of a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.

Last July, Japan participated in the Malabar exercises, traditionally a bilateral India-U.S. exercise, at India’s invitation. Prior to 2014, the last time Japan had participated was in 2007 and 2009. There is no word yet on Japan’s participation in this year’s exercises — whether India and Japan will stand firm in the face of Chinese criticism of Japan’s participation is a critical test of how strong and resilient India-Japan relations can be in the near future.

To counter China, govt pushes naval exports to small Indian Ocean nations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioning Barracuda — India’s first ever export warship — in Mauritius on the island country’s national day on March 12 is set to be followed by a bigger orders from countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

While the government has already cleared export of 13 warships to Mauritius, which will be supplied over the next year, senior officials in the MoD have said that a task to “identify” and “support” maritime needs of smaller nations in the IOR is being undertaken so as to counter the Chinese presence in the region.

“This forms a strategy in which the government is looking at supporting the maritime infrastructure of friendly foreign countries… Most navies in our littoral look for sub-20 metre boats for harbour patrol, 50-60 metre boats for their territorial waters and 80-110 metre boats for their EEZ surveillance. GSL (Goa Shipyards Limited) and GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers), Kolkata, have set up production lines so that these ships can be produced and offered at competitive prices and in a fixed, time-bound manner to these friendly nations,” a senior Navy official said.

According to the official, India will not only be maintaining the supplied vessels, but will also be deploying Indian personnel in these nations to “look after the supplied assets”. “We have signed MoUs with some countries where we will provide operational availability at sea-guarantee to them through GSL and GRSE,” he added.

While the defence ministry has been pushing indigenous defence production under its ‘Make in India’ slogan, some of the recent clearances include two Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) and 11 Fast Attack Crafts to Mauritius. These projects, cleared over the past 11 months, “are in different stages of execution and total to about Rs 1,200 crore” according to Rear Admiral Shekhar Mittal, CMD, GSL. GSL, has also secured orders from Sri Lanka for two Offshore Patrol Vessels and a damage control simulator to Myanmar. GRSE, which has built the $50.8 million Barracuda for Mauritius, is also participating in a global tender to supply two frigates to Philippines. “One meeting took place in Manila in January. Also in the pipeline is the supply of 10 patrol vessels to Vietnam. This will be under the line of credit extended to the nation by GoI,” said a GRSE official.

US shares India’s concern over Chinese role in South China Sea

New Delhi: The US on Tuesday said that they “share” India’s concern about “what China is doing in South China Sea”. Visiting commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Harry Harris, on Tuesday told a group of reporters: “A China that recognises norms” is in interest of everyone. “We encourage China to follow international laws,” he said. According to Harris, the US is also looking at placing “60 per cent of its naval fleet” in the Pacific region by 2020. “Right now we have 60 per cent of our sub-surface fleet and 55 per cent of surface ships” in the Pacific region… We are sending two ships to Japan and will bring an aircraft carrier in addition to the existing five in the Pacific,” Harris said.

China needs more carriers to secure Indian Ocean routes: PLA hawk

China must continue to develop aircraft carriers to maintain the security of its Indian Ocean routes, says People's Liberation Army hawk Yin Zhuo.

The 69-year-old rear admiral made the comments Monday, a day before the commencement of the annial "two sessions" of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.

As a member of the CPPCC National Committee, China's top political advisory body, Yin said the PLA's continued development of aircraft carriers is imperative given that neighboring countries all have ongoing carrier programs in place. South Korea is still in the planning stages, though Japan already has two carriers and India will soon have three or four, he said. China on the other hand only has one, the Lianoning, commissioned in 2012.

China's seas are expansive and coupled with economic interests in distant waters, the PLA Navy's speed and power need to improve in order to catch up to those of other nations, Yin said, adding that the safety of the country's Indian Ocean routes can only be secured through more aircraft carriers.

A day earlier, Yin stated that the PLA Navy requires at least six aircraft carriers to meet strategic needs.

The rear admiral also shot down comparisons between President Xi Jinping's "belt and road" initiative to the Marshall Plan — the American initiative to aid European and Asian economics after World War II.

Such a comparison reflects an ignorance of history, he said, noting that the Marshall Plan, rejected by the Soviets, contributed to the onset of the Cold War that lasted for more than 40 years.

On the other hand, the motive behind China's Silk Road Economic Belt, a land-based belt from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a maritime route through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa, is strictly one of peace and economic cooperation, Yin said, adding that the project will not alter the world's current security patterns.

US wants India’s help in multilateral naval engagements in Asia-Pacific

The US still wants India to act as a "lynchpin'' in its ongoing strategic "re-balancing'' of military forces towards the Asia-Pacific, or at least help cobble up multilateral naval engagements for greater stability in what it considers to be an increasingly critical region. 

Visiting US Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Harry Harris, after meeting Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan and others on Tuesday, said China was indulging in "provocative" tactics in the South China Sea which were "raising tensions" in the entire region. "It's an issue of concern for all of us... It's a dramatic land reclamation. We don't view South China Sea as anybody's territorial waters... they are international waters," he said. 

Slated to soon take over the reins of the massive US Pacific Command that covers 36 nations, Admiral Harris was, however, quick to add that the "re-balance" to Asia-Pacific, under which 60% of the formidable US naval fleet will be positioned in the Pacific by 2020, was not directed against China. 

"It is not about China. It's really about us. It's about recognising that our economic future lies in the Pacific and Indian Oceans," he said, adding it was up to India to decide whether it wanted to show more "presence" in the South China Sea though he would "personally welcome" it. 

But India does not want to get caught in the middle of this new 'Great Game' unfolding in Asia-Pacific, with China already irked by the US strategy to increasingly show the flag in the region. India, however, has stressed that all should respect "unhindered freedom of navigation in international waters" like South China Sea, where China is locked in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and others. 

The US is also very keen on upgrading the annual Indo-US Malabar naval exercise into a multilateral venture, with regular participation from countries like Japan and Australia. "There is a role for each of our navies to play in building multinational maritime relationships in the Indo-Asia-Pacific," Admiral Harris said. 

"An enhanced India-US partnership helps us to ensure other nations respect international law and drives our mutual commitment to open access by all nations to the shared global commons of sea, air, space and cyberspace," he added. 

India has largely restricted the Malabar exercise to a bilateral one with the US after China protested against the 2007 edition of the war games in the Bay of Bengal since they were expanded to include the Australian, Japanese and Singaporean navies as well. But Japan did take part in the 2009 and 2014 editions, and is likely to do so this year as well.