AGNI-II NIGHT TRIAL FAILURE BRINGS DEFENCE FLAWS TO LIGHT

Dashing the high hopes pinned on it by the defence forces, the Indian missile fraternity and the entire nation, the maiden night trial of the nuclear weapon capable Agni-II failed recently. The mission’s aim was to test the missile’s reliability in adverse conditions, however, the missile failed to pass the test. The term failure is not new to us. We have perhaps become used to this word, especially when it comes to defence equipment and trials of other indispensable armory that makes a country self-reliant on the defence front. Here Light Combat Aircraft [LCA] and the much-troubled Main Battle Tank [MBT] deserve a special mention.

With the government spending tens of millions of taxpayer’s money, these recurring failures raise serious concern and questions in the minds of the defence and scientific fraternities and also in the minds of common people regarding the fact that despite tens of millions being pumped into these programmes and government assurances that the best technology is in use, these failures continue to reoccur. As pointed out by one of the analysts, the debacle highlights serious, structural problems within the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and its chronic inability to overcome them.

Pointing out the inefficiency of the DRDO despite a whopping annual budget of US$670 million, Admiral L. Ramdas, a former chief of staff of the Indian Navy revealed that the DRDO isn't the world's most reliable weapons R&D agency. The Indian armed services' experience with DRDO-made armaments has not been a happy one. Their reliability is often extremely poor. ‘We often used to joke that one had to pray they would somehow work in the battlefield.’

The arena of science and defence technology is very dynamic, constantly changing and of course not a cake walk. One failure can have several reasons and no experiment comes with the guarantee of a hundred percent success rate. In the past we witnessed an example of scientific disappointment in 2006 during the launch failure of Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) carrying the Insat-4c communications satellite. Moreover, Agni-II’s last test on 19 May was not fully successful either.

But what makes the failure of Agni-II so important that the entire media has been flooded with the news of its failure? The answer is threefold; first the test launch was significant from India's strategic point of view as it was the first time since the beginning of DRDO’s missile development programme that a missile was tested in the night. It was a major step towards making it fully operational in the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which unfortunately was a failure. Second, the recent report indicating that Pakistan, with the help of China and North Korea, has surpassed India in the missile arena is a cause of worry. Third, General Kapoor’s announcement, hours before India tested the nuclear enabled missile Agni-II, that the Indian sub-continent is prone to nuclear war, meant that the test failure put our preparedness with regard to how we are going to deal with this kind of conflict and instability into question.

This brings us to the question of how much this failure harms the image of the country, which aspires to be a superpower one day. These kinds of failures can prove to be intensely embarrassing for the nation's prestige and raise doubts about India’s military-industrial high-tech capabilities. It also highlights our inefficacy in learning from our past shortcomings and political limitations and prevents India from fulfilling its ambitions to pursue a military capability, which would give it a superpower standing.

With its military capability being questioned, embarrassment on the international front and disappointment on the domestic front, what immediate steps can be taken to rectify these enormous errors? One of the answers lies in DRDO’s accountability and transparency. As a taxpayer, citizens have the right to know how their hard earned money is being used. If the organization undertaking the enormous responsibility to work on these programmes fails to accomplish the objective it should be accountable to one billion Indians. The nation is not looking for a statement full of scientific jargon but a statement that states that why we failed and who is taking responsibility for it and how the error is going to be rectified. There is an urgent need to overhaul the entire DRDO machinery. The DRDO should come out with facts, for they relate to the country's security and tax payer's money.

In addition to this, the government should take a serious look into the matter as reoccurrences of this kind do not improve the image of the country’s defence system either in the domestic stratum or on the international pedestal. The need of the hour demands that the government looks into concrete measures to stem the rot in the existing system as the country’s territorial integrity and security is at stake with these kinds of failures. Not only is Agni missile success indispensable in providing a strong strategic position for India but it is also an answer to China’s striking capability to hit the Indian gangetic plain from Tibet. It is also capable of hitting any part of Pakistan, which is plagued by political instability and fear of a Taliban managed coup. Looking at the current scenario where power respects power and meek remains weak, such events should be dealt with, with extraordinary swiftness and absolute commitment so that there is no room for error in future.

Courtesy:- IPCS

http://ipcs.org/article/india/agni-ii-night-trial-failure-brings-defence-flaws-to-light-3024.html

CHINESE NAVAL AMBITIONS – CONCERN FOR INDIA?

As Chinese interests continue to amplify, China is reaching out to upgrade its ability to protect its interests beyond the Great Wall. Last year witnessed a three dimensional approach from Beijing to increase its area of influence across land, in the sea and into space.

International concern was triggered by an interview published on a Chinese Defence website. Yin Zhuo, a retired Admiral, now a senior researcher at the navy's Equipment Research Centre, came up with a proposal to set up a permanent base to support ships on anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. This has raised international concern in general and in India in particular that China was preparing to build naval bases far from its shores.

Yin's proposal came in the backdrop of the release of a Chinese cargo ship with a 25 member crew from Somali pirates after the payment of a 3.5-million-dollar ransom. While highlighting the need of an oversea naval base, Yin Zhuo said, "I feel that it would be appropriate if we could have a relatively stable, fixed base for supplies and maintenance."

In support of his argument he stated that the first of the four PLA Navy task forces sent to the Gulf of Aden had to spend 123 days at sea without calling at any port, leading to resupply, medical, and morale problems. He stressed that a naval base would provide Chinese sailors with assured access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and water, as well as communications, repair, medical, and other facilities.

Further he noted that these bases would facilitate the fulfillment of mounting global expectations on Beijing as a global stakeholder. But, he was also quick to assert that he foresaw the need for only a few bases and China did not need to send its navy everywhere.

Although it was published on a Chinese defence website, Chinese authorities were quick to detach themselves from the proposal. Later on, Chinese Defence Ministry clarified that, "An overseas supply base might be an option in the future, but it's not being considered at this time." However, the Ministry asserted that the PLA Navy would continue its existing practice of supporting its Gulf of Aden operations through the use of maritime resupply at sea and temporary access to a French base at Djibouti.

From the Chinese analyst point of view, the need of overseas bases has risen from increasing expectations placed on Beijing, its growing interest in foreign countries, and its ability to protect those interests. Besides, the proposal is in itself an indication of change in the PRC’s existing doctrines. Till date China does not have any permanent base of operations outside its own territory. Yin’s proposal further reinforces the Chinese defense analysts’ arguments on modifying the "no foreign bases" doctrine. However, if media reports are to be believed, China is reportedly interested in establishing naval bases in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand and the South China Sea to protect its sea lines of communication.

From a strategic point of view, owning an overseas naval base near the Middle East and Africa will give China an advantage to exhibit its military might and maintain forward military operations in other military contingencies. The region holds great value for Beijing as it imports much of its oil, natural gas, and other raw materials from here. Moreover, if China is successful in making one overseas base, then the future can witness more such developments

Elaborating on the implications on India if China establishes foreign bases, an Indian analyst Pankaj Kumar Jha, at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, observed that,” If the bases are closer to its coastline then it will have some implications but it would be US which would be more perturbed. India will be disturbed only if the bases are close to Andamans like Rondo, Coco Islands or western coast of Malay Peninsula. More so only bases are not enough, one must have power projection capabilities like aircraft carrier. China does have sea denial and deterrence capability because of nuclear submarines but lacks projection capabilities.”

In response to a question as to how should India counter this threat, Jha said,”To my belief there is no such thinking. But if India has to devise something then it can act on building an axis with Vietnam and Indonesia. One must understand that Vietnam and Indonesia can act as a counter balance to China if India organizes its military diplomacy in a proactive and productive framework. Also with increasing closeness between US and Vietnam as well as Indonesia being an old ally of US this looks feasible. The other option is to closely cooperate with Japan and Australia with regard to naval co-operation, which is very much on the cards.”

Words like expansion and encroachment are not new for the Dragon, but every time it is used it sounds alarm bells around the world and in India. But, the question of China’s growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean remains a serious concern to India.

Source:- http://www.ipcs.org/article/china/chinese-naval-ambitions-concern-for-india-3045.html