From Today's Papers - 23 May 2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130523/main6.htm

RIL bags strategic military aviation tie-up with Boeing

US aerospace major to source 30% of its components from Reliance

Man Mohan

Our Roving Editor

New Delhi, May 22

India’s one of the richest businessman Mukesh Ambani’s $76 billion Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has bagged a strategic military aviation tie-up with the leading US aerospace company, Boeing, in the field of offsets. That means Boeing will be sourcing 30% of its components worth hundreds of crores of rupees from the RIL.

Sources in the Defence Ministry confirmed to The Tribune on Monday that there was a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place between the RIL and nearly $80 billion-strong Boeing for the defence offsets programmes.

Since India’s capability in aerospace manufacturing is poor, it is expected that this tie-up could lead to capability build-up in the country in either manufacturing or services.

A Fortune 500 company, the RIL has so far dealt in the businesses of energy and material value chain. But it has been making aggressive moves for past two years to enter lucrative high technology manufacturing, especially in aerospace and homeland security businesses. Indian private sector military aviation segment is expected to touch nearly $100 billion by 2020.

The RIL’s first major leap was in the beginning of 2012, when it signed an MoU with the French aerospace giant Dassault Aviation a week after the Central government on January 31 announced the French fighter Rafale as the winner in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal. Dassault manufactures Rafale combat jets and Falcon business jets, and the proposed venture should foray into both these sectors.

Rafale emerged winner in the ‘dogfight’, beating the other short listed European consortium Eurofighter Typhoon, in over $20 billion (everything included, like co-production) the Indian Air Force deal for the 4.5 generation 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The deal is yet to be inked. Industry sources said it was likely to be done soon.

In the context of the RIL-Boeing MoU, sources said the Defence Ministry has on order eight Boeing P81 aircraft and the first one is expected to arrive this year. It is estimated that eventually more than 20 P81s could be required to protect India’s vast 7517-km coastline. The P81 aircraft are capable of long-range maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare. Pakistan is using P3 aircraft, which is a previous version of the naval reconnaissance aero plane from Boeing.

In addition, Boeing’s offset programme in India runs into several billion dollars. Other programmes include C-17 military transport aircraft, Harpoon missiles, Apache attack helicopters and Chinook heavy lift helicopters. Apache and Chinook deals are at the negotiation stage.

A senior defence ministry official on condition of anonymity said it was a crying need of the country to establish military hardware manufacturing competency on a large scale to complement what the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has created. The RIL’s and other such private sector ventures are in the national interest. “It is a big ticket business for the RIL which over the years can overshoot its current ventures,” he felt.

The RIL last year incorporated a new firm to enter into aerospace and defence ventures. The new business company - Reliance Aerospace Technologies (P) Limited has been registered with appropriate authorities, including the Registrar of Companies. It is headed by an American Indian aerospace expert, Dr Vivek Lall (44) as President and the CEO. Lall earlier worked with the NASA and defence majors Raytheon and Boeing.

Industry sources said the RIL’s aerospace venture is likely to spend over $1 billion in foreign aircraft components manufacturing area. It is planning to hire over 2,000 engineers over the years. The margin of profit in this high technology oriented industry is huge.

Lall refused to comment on the RIL-Boeing tie-up. Lall, who is the chairman of the Indo-American Strategic Dialogue, also refused to talk about the RIL’s aerospace vision. Recently, he was inducted into the Joint Working Group on cyber security led by the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister.

Any defence related venture with a foreign firm requires several procedural and security clearances from the government. While in-principle approval for such collaborations already exists as per the Defence Procurement Procedure, the government has cleared an important proposal permitting the Defence Public Sector Undertakings like the HAL to forge partnerships with private sector companies to speed up technology induction as well as production of strategic systems for the armed forces.

The private sector ties-ups with global military giants are in the backdrop of a real push for reforms to boost private industry in India to step up their capabilities. Recently, the Central government announced a set of reforms in the defence sector to boost the private industry.

It is understood that the government is actively considering raising the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit to be greater than 26% in this sector. Apparently, the decision rests with Defence Minister A. K. Antony whether to pull that trigger.

Looking up

* Sources confirmed that there was a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place between the RIL and nearly $80 billion-strong Boeing for the defence offsets programmes

* A Fortune 500 company, the RIL has been making aggressive moves for the past two years to enter lucrative high technology manufacturing, especially in aerospace and homeland security businesses

* The RIL last year incorporated a new firm to enter into aerospace and defence ventures. The new business company - Reliance Aerospace Technologies (P) Limited has been registered with appropriate authorities

* It is headed by an American Indian aerospace expert, Dr Vivek Lall (44) as President and the CEO. Lall earlier worked with the NASA and defence majors Raytheon and Boeing

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130523/nation.htm#6

Kabul seeks military equipment from India

Ajay Banerjee/TNS

New Delhi, May 22

Afghanistan's demand for military equipment from India includes armoured vehicles, utility helicopters, heavy weaponry, sophisticated communication equipment and maintenance of its small fleet of helicopters.

Sources said Afghanistan's wish-list and arguments for seeking the same run into some 15-16 pages which are being studied at various wings of the Ministry of Defence before a final call is made. The US has already welcomed Afghanistan's move to seek military-aid from India which has, since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, been building roads and hospitals.

Kabul's request is to seek an increase in the number of vacancies for its officers to get trained at various institutes, especially those who get trained in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism. With the US-led forces exiting Afghanistan in 2014, the strife-torn country is looking to establish a stable government that can manage on its own.

At present some 800 Afghanistan Army personnel get trained each year in India under various courses. This includes the training in counter-terrorism and counter insurgency at the specialised counter insurgency and jungle warfare military school at Vairangte, Mizoram. A training course is also run at the Signals, military nomenclature for those who handle communications between bases, unit at Jabalpur. Another course is in training officers in handling improvised explosive devices besides training in engineering activities like laying iron bridges across mountainous streams and building roads.

The fresh demand includes courses in English, information technology, military policing, managing of stores and logistics. The Indian Army runs one of the difficult supply chains in the world for its troops stationed in one of the most inaccessible terrains in the world at Siachen, remote parts of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

Besides this, India provides pre-commissioning training to Afghan Army cadets in India. The National Defence Academy in Pune, the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun and the Officers Training Academy in Chennai collectively train some 100 officers from Afghanistan each. Sources said increasing the vacancies for Afghan forces would be an easy issue to tackle, the tricky part is the supply of weaponry. New Delhi will also have to keep in mind that China could step in the vacuum.

The wish-list

It includes armoured vehicles, utility helicopters, heavy weaponry, sophisticated communication equipment and maintenance of its small fleet of helicopters

Afghanistan also seeks an increase in the number of vacancies for its officers to get trained at various institutes, especially those which train in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism

At present, some 800 Afghanistan Army personnel get trained each year in India under various courses. The fresh demand includes courses in English, information technology, military policing, managing of stores & logistics 

http://bdnews24.com/world/2013/05/22/india-to-raise-a-strike-corps

India to raise a strike corps

India is all set to raise a new mountain strike corps, more than 45000 soldiers in all, for deployment against China in the high Himalayas.

The Indian defence ministry has okayed the army’s proposal and put it up with the finance ministry for clearance.

After early May’s fracas with the Chinese at the Depsang bulge, the finance ministry has indicated it will soon clear the proposal.

he defence ministry has asked for 81,000 crore Indian rupees for raising this mountain strike corps alongwith two independent infantry brigades and two independent armoured brigades in it to plug the gaps along the 4000-kilometre Line of Actual Control on the Himalayas.

The clearance for the strike corps which will cost 62,000 crore is on its way, ministry of defence officials said.

Once the finance ministry clears the raising proposal, it will be put up to the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs (CCSA) which is expected to clear it without much delay.

The raising will cover the whole 12th Five Year plan period (2012-2017), they said.

This will not only beef up Indian defences but provide the Indian army “offensive capability” against China which it now lacks.

Indian military formations are tasked in a defensive role on the disputed Himalayan border with China, mainly to hold the line and prevent the Chinese from breaking through, as they did during the 1962 border war.

India raised two mountain divisions, more than 30000 troops in all, in the last two years and deployed in the eastern sector with China, basing one division at Lekhapani in Arunachal Pradesh and another at Missamari in Assam.

The strike corps, when raised will be based in Panagarh in West Bengal and its forward elements will be based in Sikkim and the ‘Chicken neck’ that connects seven northeastern states to the Indian mainland.

While formations deployed on the ‘Chicken neck’ will ensure that is not cut off by the Chinese in the event of an war, those based in Sikkim will be able to strike across into Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) across the Chumbi valley where the Indian army enjoys crucial tactical advantage.

This formation will have rapid reaction elements.

Once the strike corps is raised, Indian military doctrine vis-à-vis China will undergo a change with a clear element of ‘offensive defence’ worked into it.

India has also expedited development of its defence infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, building key mountain roads, renovating airstrips for airborne landings and supplies, setting up fortifications and much else.

China appears upset with the Indian military effort which will negate its current area dominance on the Line of Actual Control.

Analysts say April-May incursion of a Chinese platoon 19 kms into the Indian-held side of LAC at Depsang Bulge in Eastern Ladakh was a reflection of Beijing’s angst.

Indian army chief General Bikram Singh was not averse to a tough military action to push them out but was restrained by Delhi.

Instead Delhi threatened to cancel Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid’s May 9 visit to Beijing which would have led to the cancellation of Chinese premier Li Keqiang’s visit to India( 19-21 May) .

Beijing pulled back its troops and Premier Li tried to allay Indian apprehensions by promising an early settlement of the border dispute – until that happens, he said repeatedly, the two Asian giants have mechanisms in place to handle border tensions.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/cbi-issues-notices-in-the-defence-land-scam_850177.html

CBI issues notices in the defence land scam

Jodhpur: Initiating its probe into the alleged defence land scam here, CBI on Wednesday issued notices to the Defence Estate Officer and a trust belonging to a royal family among others.

Defence Minister AK Antony had ordered a CBI probe on May 6 into the land scam involving transfer of a 4.84 acre army plot to Maharaja Harisingh Trust in 2007 by officials of the ministry and the service.

CBI issued notices to the Defence Estate Officer, Maharaja Harisingh Trust, army administration, district authorities and a coloniser seeking all documents pertaining to the land involved from them, sources said.

"CBI will check the procedures followed by the army while handing over the piece of land to the trust. Apart from that they will also probe the intentions behind the transferring of the land and the role of the officers," said a CBI source adding that "we will also check the revenue land records of the land available with the district administration".

Col S D Goswami, defence spokesperson, said that army has nominated an officer to coordinate between army and the CBI.

"We will provide all the documents related to this deal, as and when demanded by the CBI and will offer our full cooperation to the CBI in ascertaining the facts of the matter in order to reach the guilty," said Goswami.

The piece of land, located at the foothills of the Umaid Bhawan Palace, is now being developed as a residential colony and is worth Rs 15 crore, sources said.

According to the revenue records, it is government land but the certified revenue map of this land is not available.

It is alleged that the deal was done in violation of not just the defence ministry's Acquisition, Custody and Relinquishment of Military Lands in India (ACR) Rules. Also, it violates a 1997 government order which explicitely states that efence land cannot be transferred or leased out without approval of the Union Cabinet and no land can be declared private except through a court or government order.

http://www.indiawrites.org/india-and-the-world/himalayan-handshake-its-time-india-bolster-border-infrastructure/

A Himalayan handshake? It’s time for India to bolster border infrastructure

Around the time India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was telling off Chinese Premier Li Keqiang about Chinese shenanighans on the LAC, Defence Minister A.K. Antony was chairing a meeting in the Ministry of Defence reviewing progress on border infrastructure. Informed sources indicated that the minister seemed less than happy. Like it or not, there doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency in India when it comes to building roads along sensitive frontiers.

That complicates Antony’s agenda when he heads to Beijing for talks with his counterpart, likely next month. He knows and the Chinese know that along much of the western and eastern sectors, there are gaps where the Chinese can walk in, perhaps do another face-off. There’s nothing in the May 20 India-China joint statement that followed Manmohan Singh-Li talks to suggest the Chinese won’t do a repeat. You can bet they will, but probably not immediately.

The gaps need to be closed, the forces on the ground beefed up, but the pace at which India moves is elephantine. The constraints range from bureaucratic sluggishness to environmental issues and plain incompetence. But in all fairness the situation along the LAC today is not akin to 1962; things have vastly improved and it’s something the Chinese understand.  “Since Kargil, the Chinese have revised their opinion about the Indian army,” said a senior army officer.  There’s new respect for the capacities of the Indian Navy, especially its undersea nuclear element. And there’s no doubt about the IAF’s abilities either. The Chinese do have the advantage of numbers, but don’t forget they haven’t fought a war since 1979 (against Vietnam when they got a drubbing!).

Antony may (like Manmohan Singh) want to know from the Chinese why they did what they did at Raki Nulla in Depsang Valley in Ladakh April 15, but as a senior diplomat with long experience of China warned: “Don’t expect the Chinese to ever explain why the Raki Nulla face-off happened. But reading the tea leaves, it would seem somebody perhaps in the military overstepped his brief. We’ll probably learn of some action against that person or persons in course of time.”

The face-off has also lent weight to another argument, that China’s powerful People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has a problem responding to the directions of the Chinese state as opposed to the Communist Party. Traditionally, the PLA has been identified with the party and it could well be that the PLA generals have issues with directions given by the government bureaucracy.

This is not to imply a civil-military divide, there isn’t one, says the diplomat. President Xi Jinping heads the Central Military Commission and in the Chinese system, no military commander can act on his own. The face-off was carefully planned, but the media outcry in India perhaps resulted in the face-off lasting longer than the Chinese may have intended.

The official word is India conceded nothing to get the Chinese to leave, but there are reports of the army having to dismantle shelters for surveillance cameras at Chumar in southern Ladakh. There are also reports suggesting the army has ceased “aggressive patrolling” in the Raki Nulla area.

The diplomat clarified that it is the Cabinet Committee on Security alone which defines the limits of patrolling. This is based on inputs from the army, which is hardly likely to suggest measures that could constrain it on the ground. Also, while it is the Ministry of External Affairs that leads discussions with the Chinese on the border, “the MEA basically fronts for the army, basing its discussions with the Chinese on the briefs provided by the army.” (And contrary to media reports, the China Study Group is only an advisory body headed by the Foreign Secretary. It has no executive powers.)

The mystery about the incursion is not going to clear anytime soon. But one point is clear: Antony would have given the word to speed up infrastructure work on the LAC. Hopefully, the elephant’s pace will quicken.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/us-usa-defense-sexassault-idUSBRE94L13A20130522

Army sergeant accused of videotaping female cadets

Reuters) - An Army sergeant at the Military Academy has been accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers a West Point, a defense official said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of sex-related incidents that has rocked the armed forces.

Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon was charged last week with four violations of U.S. military law in connection with the incident and has been transferred to a new base pending outcome of an investigation by Army investigators, officials said.

The incident was disclosed on Wednesday hours after Army Secretary John McHugh and Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno told a Senate panel they were addressing the service's sexual harassment and sexual assault problem as their top priority.

"I want to assure this committee of the Army's unwavering commitment to eliminating sexual assault and harassment in our ranks," McHugh said. "These crimes violate virtually everything the Army stands for ... and they will not be tolerated."

But lawmakers voiced concern about the military's handling of the issue, with Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, warning that the incidents "have shaken the trust that many have in the ability of our military to deal with this."

In the incident at West Point, McClendon was charged last week with indecent acts, dereliction of duty, cruelty and another count, Army spokesman George Wright said.

Wright said McClendon was being investigated for possession of inappropriate images taken without consent. He did not elaborate. The New York Times, which first reported the case, said the pictures included female cadets in the shower, which a defense official confirmed on condition of anonymity.

"The Army has notified those involved and offered support services at their individual locations," Wright said. "It appears to be at least a dozen or more alleged victims who may have been photographed without their consent."

McClendon had served as a tactical noncommissioned officer at the prestigious academy since 2009, a job that put him in charge of mentoring and training a company of about 121 cadets, focusing on leadership development and other responsibilities.

General John Campbell, the Army's vice chief of staff, said the service moved to address the situation at West Point as soon as the problem was reported, seeking to reassure cadets that such issues would be "handled quickly and decisively."

The report of charges against McClendon follows a spate of sex-related incidents that have embarrassed the U.S. military and prompted members of Congress to introduce legislation designed to toughen up the Pentagon's handling of sex crimes.

A study released by the Defense Department two weeks ago estimated that reports of unwanted sexual contact in the military, from groping to rape, rose 37 percent in 2012, to about 26,000 cases from 19,000 the previous year.

The report was released just days after Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Krusinski, 41, who led the Air Force sexual assault prevention effort, was charged with sexual battery involving a civilian woman in a parking lot not far from the Pentagon.

Several days later a U.S. Army sergeant who worked as a sexual assault prevention coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas, was accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact and assault.

McHugh and Odierno said the Army was aggressively moving to retrain and re-evaluate personnel assigned to serve as sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates after some people in those jobs were accused of sexual misconduct.

Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, asked how soldiers where chosen for the positions and whether they were viewed as "throw-away" jobs assigned to whoever was available.

"I hope that's not true," McHugh said. "I've signed a number of directives already to ensure it isn't true."

He and Odierno sent a note to all commanders last week telling them "it is your personal responsibility to ensure these positions are filled by the best qualified individuals," according to a copy of the memo obtained from the Army.

McHugh said he was considering a directive requiring that people who work with sexual assault victims have a more thorough criminal background check, and he said he thought they should probably have behavioral health screening as well.

The Army secretary also advocated additional recognition for people who serve honorably in helping sexual assault victims, such as giving them preference toward promotions later on.

"Without those kinds of incentives, if people don't feel that the jobs are important, they're not likely to bring the kinds of assets and attributes that we wish," McHugh said.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/india-afghanistan-idINDEE94L07220130522

Karzai gives India military equipment "wish list"

(Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a "wish list" of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests.

India wants to stabilise Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014.

But arming Afghanistan would alarm Pakistan. It takes issue with the influence of its old rival in Afghanistan. India does not want to get drawn into a proxy war with Pakistan, which has ties to the Taliban.

India and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011 under which New Delhi agreed to assist in the training and equipping of Afghan security forces.

India has trained Afghan security force personnel in its military academies, but it has provided little military equipment, according to Indian officials. India's Afghan strategy has centred on boosting its influence through economic reconstruction projects.

"We have a wish list that we have put before the government of India," Karzai told reporters, adding that it was up to India to decide how much help it was prepared to give Afghanistan.

Karzai would not say what was on the list, but India's firstpost.com website said it included 105 mm artillery, medium-lift aircraft, bridge-laying equipment and trucks.

The Indian government had no immediate comment on Karzai's statement. Karzai's spokesman said both countries had agreed not to discuss the contents of the shopping list.

An Indian government official said earlier that India had already provided some military equipment to Afghanistan but he declined to give details. He said he was surprised that Afghanistan was speaking openly about a weapons request.

India is not a major weapons exporter, and suffers chronic shortages of defence equipment itself, including artillery.

CONTESTED BORDER

Afghanistan's request for military equipment comes as its relations with Pakistan, which have been difficult for decades, are again at a low.

This month, Pakistan border guards and Afghan police clashed over a contested border area. The Afghan police complained they had been out-gunned and said they wanted heavy artillery and tanks.

Afghan security forces have also made no secret of their desire for an air force.

The clash over their border, which Afghanistan has never officially recognised, raised new tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan and its Western allies have or years complained that Pakistan has failed to act against militants taking refuge in Pakistan and launching attacks into Afghanistan from Pakistani refuges.

Pakistan denies helping the Taliban and complains of militants fighting the Pakistani state taking refuge in Afghanistan.

But Karzai did not directly criticise Pakistan on Wednesday.

He said no peace deal was possible in Afghanistan without Pakistan's involvement because of its influence over the Taliban, who are fighting to expel Western forces, topple Karzai's government and establish Islamist rule.

"Pakistan cooperation is key to a politically successful peace process and key to the end of violence in Afghanistan," he said.

He said that at a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif last year the latter had acknowledged the danger that "terrorism and radicalism" posed to Pakistan.

"I hope the new prime minister will be able to deliver what he so much wishes to achieve," Karzai said.

Sharif has said he aims to boost ties with India

From Today's Papers - 22 May 2013

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130522/nation.htm#2

India to consider Afghanistan’s request for defence equipment

Ashok Tuteja/TNS

New Delhi, May 21

India is not averse to considering Afghanistan’s request for providing defence equipment to the war-torn nation.

This indication was available tonight after visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Karzai, who is visiting New Delhi for the second time in six months, is understood to have asked India to expand its role in ensuring the security of his embattled nation by providing lethal weapons to his forces.

India has so far been training Afghan security personnel in Indian institutions only. It has also supplied limited number of non-lethal equipment like jeeps and trucks to Afghanistan.

New Delhi has advised Kabul to raise the issue of lethal equipment at the security partnership council meeting of the two countries to be held soon.

The Afghan leader is learnt to have briefed the Indian leadership on the situation evolving in Afghanistan as foreign troops prepare to leave his nation within a year from now.

At his meeting with the President, Karzai was told that India was prepared to increase its bilateral cooperation to institution building, training and equipment to the extent it could.

“India would stand by the government and the people of Afghanistan in the critical period of transition, development and nation-building. India is proud to partner Afghanistan in its efforts towards reconstruction of Afghanistan,” Mukherjee told Karzai.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130522/edit.htm#4

Defence indigenisation

Government should stop paying lip service

by Gurmeet Kanwal

The Defence Minister, Mr A K Antony, has repeatedly exhorted the armed forces to procure their weapons and equipment from indigenous sources in recent months. It is a well-established fact that no nation aspiring to great power status can expect to achieve it without being substantively self-reliant in defence production. However, it is not the armed forces that are the stumbling block. Unless the government drastically reorients its policies, the import content of defence acquisitions will continue to remain over 80 per cent.

India’s procurement of weapons platforms and other equipment as part of its plans for defence modernisation must simultaneously lead to a transformative change in the country’s defence technology base and manufacturing prowess. Or else, defence procurement will remain mired in disadvantageous buyer-seller, patron-client relationships like that with the erstwhile Soviet Union and now Russia. While we manufactured Russian fighter aircraft and tanks under licence, the Russians never actually transferred technology to India.

Although the country has now diversified its acquisition sources beyond Russia to the West and Israel, recent deals have failed to include transfer-of-technology (ToT) clauses. The much-delayed MMRCA deal with Rafale also appears to have run into rough weather on this account. If this trend continues, India’s defence technology base will continue to remain low and the country will remain dependent almost solely on imports. Whatever India procures now must be procured with a ToT clause being built into the contract even if it means having to pay a higher price. The aim should be to make India a design, development, manufacturing and export hub for defence equipment in two decades.

Though it seeks to publicly encourage public-private partnerships, privately the government continues to retain its monopoly on research and development and defence production through the DRDO, the ordnance factories and the defence PSUs (DPSUs). The latest Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) was amended in April 2013 to reflect the current thinking on ‘buying Indian’. However, in effect it still favours the defence PSUs over the private sector. MNCs are allowed to bring in only up to 26 per cent FDI as against 74 per cent for non-defence sector joint ventures. Though the procurement of weapons and equipment worth more than Rs 300 crore from MNCs has been linked with 30-50 per cent offsets, it is doubtful whether the economy is ready to absorb such high levels of offsets.

Since its inception in 1958, the DRDO has achieved some spectacular successes like the missile development programme, but also has many failures to its name. Programmes like the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun have suffered inordinate delays and time and cost overruns. However, to its credit, the DRDO worked under extremely restrictive technology denial regimes and with a rather low indigenous technology base. The DRDO is now in the process of implementing the report of the P Rama Rao committee that had asked it to identify eight to 10 critical areas that best fit its existing human resource pool, technological threshold and established capacity to take up new projects. And it must scrupulously stay out of production. The private sector has shown its readiness and technological proficiency to take up the production of weapons and equipment designed and developed by the DRDO and must be trusted to deliver.

The DRDO must now concentrate its efforts on developing critical cutting edge technologies that no strategic partner is likely to be willing to share; for example, ballistic missile defence (BMD) technology. Other future weapons platforms should be jointly developed, produced and marketed with India’s strategic partners in conjunction with the private sector. The development of technologies that are not critical should be outsourced completely to the private sector. Also, the armed forces should be given funding support to undertake research geared towards the improvement of in-service equipment with a view to enhancing operational performance and increasing service life. Gradually, the universities and the IITs should be involved in undertaking defence R&D. This five-pronged approach will help raise India’s technological threshold over the next two decades by an order of magnitude.

The defence production process must provide a level playing field between defence PSUs and private Indian companies forming joint ventures with MNCs where necessary. The amount of FDI that MNCs can bring in must be raised to 49 per cent immediately and to 74 per cent in due course to make it attractive for MNCs. However, no MNC that is unable to provide transfer of technology - either due to the home country’s restrictive laws or due to proprietary considerations - should be considered for future defence acquisitions.

India cannot leap-frog to a higher defence technology trajectory virtually overnight. Transforming a low technology base to a higher plane will need time, patience and large-scale capital investment. It will also need strong support across the political spectrum. In the interim period, inevitably, there will be a further dip in defence preparedness. This short-term weakness in capacity building will need to be carefully weighed against long-term gains that will be strategic in nature. The risk involved will require fine political judgement backed by sound military advice.

As the largest importer of arms and equipment in the world, India has the advantage of buyers’ clout. This clout must be exploited fully to further India’s quest for self-sufficiency in the indigenous production of weapons and equipment. The immediate requirement is to think big in keeping with the country’s growing economic clout and to plan for the future with a level of confidence that policy planners have not dared to exhibit before.

In 10 to 15 years India must begin to acquire most of its defence equipment needs from Indian companies-with or without a joint venture with an MNC. Only then will the era of self-reliance in defence acquisition truly dawn on the country. It will be a difficult quest, but not one that a great nation cannot realise.

The writer is a Delhi-based strategic analyst.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/pakistan-s-china-made-fighter-jets-to-escort-chinese-premier-li-keqiang-s-plane-369603?pfrom=home-otherstories

Pakistan's China-made fighter jets to escort Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's plane

Islamabad: Six JF-17 Thunder jets of the Pakistan Air Force will escort Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's aircraft when it enters Pakistani airspace on Wednesday at the start of his two-day visit, symbolising the close links between the two sides in defence and strategic sectors.

The JF-17s, developed and built jointly by China and Pakistan, will guide the special Air China Boeing 747 aircraft to Nur Khan airbase, where a 21-gun salute will mark Mr Li's arrival, officials said.

The JF-17s will fly past the airbase as Mr Li will be received by President Asif Ali Zardari and caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, they said.

This is Mr Li's first visit to Pakistan since assuming office in March and a "warm welcome awaits him", said a statement from the Foreign Office.

The visit will focus on "broadening the horizons of multi-faceted ties" between the two countries.

Mr Li's visit is taking place at a time when Pakistan has elected new national and provincial assemblies and the PML-N party is set to form the new government.

During his stay in Islamabad, Mr Li will hold talks with Mr Zardari and Mr Khoso.

Mr Zardari will host a luncheon for Mr Li to which the leaders of major political parties have been invited.

The Prime Minister will also host a banquet for his Chinese counterpart.

On the second day of his visit, PML-N chief and Prime Minister-designate Nawaz Sharif will meet Mr Li.

The two countries will also sign several memoranda of understanding for cooperation in different fields.

Mr Li will address the Pakistan Senate on May 23.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/army-chief-to-visit-france-to-boost-defence-ties_850035.html

Army chief to visit France to boost defence ties

New Delhi: Seeking to strengthen bilateral defence ties, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh would be on a five-day visit to France starting Sunday.

The Army Chief would be on a five-day visit to France starting May 26 and will discuss ways of strengthening defence ties between the armed forces of the two sides, Army officials said here.

During the visit, he will go around several important institutions of the French Army and hold parleys with the top military leadership there to discuss ways of further strengthening ties, they said.

The two sides are also expected to discuss joint exercises and hardware cooperation, they said.

Several French companies are in the race for Indian military tenders including the artillery firm Nexter, which is vying to supply towed howitzers to the Army.

The Army main stay in anti-tank weaponry Milan 2T missile is also supplied by the French firm MBDA.

Indian Army had also held exercises with French troops in Uttarakhand area a couple of years ago.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130521/DEFREG03/305210026/Indian-Firms-Tapped-Howitzer-Trials

Indian Firms Tapped for Howitzer Trials

NEW DELHI — For the first time, Indian defense companies have been selected for trials in a howitzer gun tender.

The Indian Ministry of Defence has failed to buy a single howitzer gun in the past 13 years because the global competition for a variety of 155mm/52-caliber guns was aborted over the blacklisting of an overseas competitor on charges of corruption.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which has tied up with South Korean company Samsung, and state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML), which has partnered with Slovakian company Konstrukha, are competing with Russia’s Rosoboron export for the tracked gun tender.

The Indian Army wants to buy 100 tracked guns valued at more than US $750 million.

The tender issued in 2011, which was a rebid of a 2007 tender, went to India’s Tata Power SED, Larsen & Toubro, BEML and Rosoboronexport. Tata Power SED had tied up with Huta Stalowa Wola HSW of Poland.

“The selection of a domestic defense company in the howitzer gun tender will encourage more tie-ups with overseas defense companies in tapping the howitzer gun market in India, valued at over $5 billion,” said Nitin Mehta, a defense analyst based here.

As part of the Indian Army’s plan to replace all of its field guns, named the Field Artillery Rationalization Plan, the Army would buy a mix of around 3,600 155mm/52-caliber guns by 2020-25.

In the past 13 years, the MoD floated tenders for 1,580 towed guns, 100 tracked guns, 180 wheeled and self-propelled guns, and 145 ultra-light howitzers. So far, not a single gun has been bought.

Since 2005, when India banned South African company Denel, the MoD also has banned howitzer competitors ST Kinetics of Singapore, Israel Military Industries and Germany’s Rheinmetall Air Defense from doing business in India for 10 years.

The blacklisting resulted in termination of the procurement process and rebids of the tender.

The overseas companies were blacklisted on charges of corruption, and the government’s anti-fraud agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, is probing the charges.

An L&T executive said it has built a tracked version based on the portfolio of its partner, Samsung, which he said would be a homemade advanced version of Samsung’s K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer.

Earlier, BEML had developed a tracked gun with a fully autonomous turret developed by Denel. After the blacklisting, BEML teamed up with Konstrukha, a BEML executive said.

The Indian Army’s artillery consists of 155mm/39-caliber Bofors FH-77B howitzers bought in the late 1980s, and only 200 of the 410 guns are functioning. In addition, the Army uses 105mm field guns and Russian 130mm guns.

India has negotiated the purchase of 145 155mm/52-caliber guns from the US subsidiary of Britain’s BAE Systems on a government-to-government basis.

As part of the homemade initiative, the state-owned Ordnance Factories Board has developed prototypes of 155mm/45-caliber Bofors-type howitzers based on the blueprint of 155mm/39-caliber guns.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/karzai-seeks-indian-military-aid-to-fill-gap-left-by-nato

Karzai seeks Indian military aid to fill gap left by Nato

NEW DELHI // The Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s visit to New Delhi to seek military support will force India into a regional “balancing act”, say analysts.

Mr Karzai’s trip is seen as an effort to strengthen ties with India, a country that could help Afghanistan fill the power vacuum that will be created when Nato troops withdraw in 2014. He met the president, Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday and planned talks later with Manmohan Singh, the prime minister.

Afghanistan’s engagement with New Delhi will be watched closely by the government of Pakistan, now headed by prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has promised improved economic and diplomatic links with India.

Pakistan shares a border with Afghanistan and is eager to retain its influence in the region, which might be threatened by any Indian agreements with Kabul.

“It’s a balancing act. It’s one that New Delhi is capable of managing,” said Nitin Pai, co-founder of the Chennai-based Takshashila Institution, a defence policy think tank.

Mr Karzai arrived for his two-day visit on Monday to bolster their ties as 100,000 Nato troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year. Concern is mounting that the Taliban will exploit the power vacuum after the withdrawal.

The talks expanded on a 2011 “strategic partnership” between India and Afghanistan that aimed at deepening security and economic ties, including training an estimated 2,000 Afghan military officers a year.

India has provided little else in terms of military support.

“India is prepared to increase bilateral contribution to institution-building, training and equipment to the extent India can,” a statement from Mr Mukherjee’s office said yesterday. It did not say whether it would include military aid.

Before the meetings, Mr Karzai’s office said that Afghanistan had requested “all kinds of assistance from India to strengthen our military and security institutions”.

Pakistan had proposed a partnership with Afghanistan in 2012 and offered military training to its army, but the Afghan government has not been receptive to the idea.

Border skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have added to the tension. This month, border guards clashed at the disputed pre-colonial border, the Durand Line.

Afghanistan accused Pakistan of using heavy artillery and tanks during fighting along Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province. Pakistan claimed the clashes were a result of unprovoked Afghan action.

Afghan security forces have since asked for better equipment on the border. An official said the Afghan delegation would explore the possibility of equipping the army with Indian artillery.

The meetings between Mr Karzai and Indian leaders served a dual purpose for India, said Mr Pai.

“Karzai’s trip to India is to get India to use its political and diplomatic capital to shape a modern, liberal, democratic dispensation in Afghanistan and possibly to employ military power as well,” he said.

But retired Brig Rumel Dahiya, deputy director general, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, played down speculation that India would be a major military equipment supplier to Afghanistan.

“India imports most of its military equipment and there are obvious restrictions to third party sales,” Mr Dahiya said.

“What little India produces, that may have been asked to fill the gap that is needed for Afghanistan’s capacity-building and military shortages but it will not be to empower a fight with Pakistan.”

On Monday, Mr Karzai received an honorary doctorate from the Lovely Professional University in Chandigarh, a private university in Punjab.

Mr Karzai thanked India for its support in his acceptance speech.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/781259.shtml#.UZwi80olGSo

Border conflict stirs old resentments over ‘incursions’ in Indian media

The Sino-Indian border is heating up again. A "tent confrontation" between the Chinese army and the Indian army has been continuing near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

From an Indian perception, the Chinese army has invaded Indian territory, and this time is the most serious invasion in the past 25 years. Some Indian media outlets claim China has invaded Indian territory 600 times in the past three years.

The Sino-Indian border issue is very complicated, and even resulted in war in 1962.

That conflict became the excuse for India to bolster the military and develop nuclear weapons. The root reason for so many "incursions" is that the two sides have not reached a consensus on the LAC, let alone a formal border.

However, since 1993, China and India have signed two agreements and one protocol on the maintenance of peace and tranquility and confidence-building measures in the border areas, and have set up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination on border affairs.

These efforts have helped ensure durable peace and stability in the region. There is a very small possibility that China and India will fall into serious conflict.

Nevertheless, bilateral relations between China and India are very delicate. As well as the boundary problem, China-Pakistan relations, the Dalai Lama issue, and tension over water resources also hinder the promotion of China-India relations. These problems mean India has a deep-seated distrust of China.

With the US "rebalancing" toward the Asia-Pacific, the Sino-Indian relationship is seeing subtle changes these days.

Some Indian scholars trumpet an alliance under US leadership to counterbalance China. For example, Harsh V. Pant, a professor of defense studies at King's College London, argues that India's strategic interests can only be realized by an Asia-Pacific arrangement where the US retains its predominant status, while Indian Express columnist C. Raja Mohan advocates that India should shift its policy of strategic autonomy and strategically cooperate with the US.

So far, India has strengthened its "Look East" policy. It has enhanced strategic and security cooperation with countries such as Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, and has taken a high profile in the South China Sea disputes.

In December 2011, the first trilateral dialogue between the US, Japan and India was presided over by the US, and one of the topics discussed was China's growing military and political global position.

It's no wonder many think that India may abandon strategic autonomy in order to ally with the US and contain China.

Currently, Indian policymakers have a relatively clear judgment on Sino-Indian relations and Indian-US ones. India doesn't have the ability to directly confront China yet, and as a country prioritizing economic development, India is in need of a peaceful neighboring environment.

Affected by the economic crisis, the US is also heavily burdened by its domestic economic problems.

Within India, the so-called China threat is a trick by Indian political figures to fool their people and Western countries. By making waves about China, Indian politicians can avoid domestic problems, bolster up national morale, and raise votes. And on the international level, India can obtain advanced weaponry and technologies from Western countries.

However in fact, the major direction of Indian military expansion is the Indian Ocean, and the navy has the largest part of India's rapid growing defense budget. India's military strategy on land is defensive, and it has another, more serious competitor than China in the Indian Ocean.

The border issue is still an obstacle in bilateral relations. India has never fully confronted its failings in 1962.

For instance, the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat report, detailing the reasons why the country lost the war, was never declassified and has not been released to the Indian public.

It's time for Chinese and Indian scholars to conduct joint research on some historical problems, to alter both sides' long-standing misconceptions.  

http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Defence-Minister-to-visit-China-soon/2013/05/21/article1599049.ece

Defence Minister to visit China soon

Indicating that the military stand-off with China in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh sector in April was a thing of the past, India on Monday announced that Union Defence Minister A K Antony will visit China later this year as part of the efforts to further enhance the bilateral ties.

The official announcement coincided with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s ongoing visit to the country. Li had earlier in the day met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which also witnessed the signing of eight crucial pacts on bilateral cooperation . Besides, the two leaders agreed on the need to settle the Sino-Indian border row at the earliest.

New Delhi’s Ambassador to Beijing S Jaishankar told reporters here that Antony will be among the top Indian government functionaries scheduled to visit the Communist nation later this year. Other key visits will be those of Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon.

“On the bilateral side, we ( the Centre) are looking at Union Defence Minister (Antony) going to China soon. We have had some amount of discussion on more defence cooperation and defence exchanges, apart from maritime security,” the envoy said. On the occasion of Li’s visit, the two nations also issued a joint statement, in which the two sides agreed to further enhance bilateral cooperation on maritime security, search and rescue at sea, oceanic scientific research and environment protection.

They also agreed to “work together to tackle increasingly outstanding non-traditional security threats, and strengthen cooperation on Naval escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Coast of Somalia, earnestly safeguarding the security of international sea-lanes and freedom of navigation.”

The two sides noted that “enhanced interaction in the military field was conducive to building mutual trust and confidence.” Both sides also agreed to “hold the next round of joint training exercises later this year.”

They also decided to increase exchanges between the Armies, Navies and the Air Force. India and China had last month finalised plans for their third joint Army exercise, that will be held at Kunming in Southern China in the second half of this year.

Codenamed ‘Hand-in-Hand’, it will focus on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations.

http://ekantipur.com/2013/05/21/capital/gen-singh-to-be-invited-to-laud-joint-everest-expedition/371974.html

Gen Singh to be invited to laud joint Everest expedition

Chief of Army Staff Gen Gaurav SJB Rana is preparing to invite Indian Army chief Gen Bikram Singh to Nepal to congratulate a joint Nepal-Indian Army expedition that successfully climbed Mt Everest.

The Nepal Army leadership held informal talks with senior Defence Ministry officials on inviting Gen Singh as a special guest for a ceremony to be held in Kathmandu early next month, said a source at the Army Headquarters.

The ministry has suggested that the Army leadership hold informal talks with the Indian Army brass to confirm their presence in the function.

Of the 20 Nepal and Indian Army soldiers that reached the top of the world, nine reached the summit on Sunday while the remaining 11 made it to the top on Monday morning. The expedition collected 2,000 kg garbage and brought it down to the Everest Base Camp, said Nepal Army spokesman Suresh Sharma.

Of the summiteers, six from Nepal and five from India are scheduled to participate in the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon, a run to be held at the highest altitude beginning May 29. The joint military expedition reached the Everest Base camp last month.