Bangladeshi National Citizen Party’s leader Hasnat Abdullah has rhetorically threatened to cut off India’s north-eastern states by cutting off India’s Chicken’s Neck, i.e. the Siliguri Corridor, while downplaying India’s contribution in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The Siliguri Corridor is the narrow land strip linking India’s northeast to the mainland. For decades, the Siliguri CorridorContinue reading “Whose Chicken Neck and Whose Vulnerabilities”
Category Archives: South Asian Geopolitics
World Needs Skilled Workforce – India Best to Make Good Shortages – Win-Win for Both
Since the war with Ukraine, Russia is grappling with a major labour shortage in its industrial hubs and plans to bring in up to one million foreign workers, including Indians. The shortfall could widen to 3.1 million workers by 2030, says the Russian Ministry of Labour. To address the gap, the ministry wants to increaseContinue reading “World Needs Skilled Workforce – India Best to Make Good Shortages – Win-Win for Both”
Turkey-Pakistan Strategic Closeness – Implications & Challenges India
Turkey’s support to Pakistan during Op Sindoor is well known and was flagged by India during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Tianjin, China, in early September. Turkey has provided Pakistan with defence hardware, including uninhabited aerial systems (UAS) and drones. Pakistani engineers and technicians have been working at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI),Continue reading “Turkey-Pakistan Strategic Closeness – Implications & Challenges India”
USA vs Chinese Air Power – Is China Catching Up?
China has just become the first country to fly what it calls a sixth-generation fighter aircraft. China’s PLA Air Force (PLAAF) is already good and improving quickly, but it is yet not a match to the air combat capabilities of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), according to the Pentagon’s 2024 annual report on Chinese military power. The report mentions that ChinaContinue reading “USA vs Chinese Air Power – Is China Catching Up?”
Lessons from Operation Sindoor: Key Areas of Military Modernisation
India’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, without qualification, acknowledged some tactical errors on Day 1 of the Indian Air Force (IAF) campaign of Op Sindoor. He was giving an interview to two international media houses. In what is seen clearly as a deliberate and calculated interview, on the sidelines of the Shangri-LaContinue reading “Lessons from Operation Sindoor: Key Areas of Military Modernisation”
Military and Security Developments in China – India Needs to Build Conventional Capability
As China seeks to achieve “national rejuvenation” by its centenary in 2049, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders view a modern, capable, and “world-class” military as essential to achieving its revisionist aims (changing the current status quo) and overcoming what Beijing sees as an increasingly turbulent international environment. This is the guiding principle charting China’s national, economic, and military strategy. It is thus importantContinue reading “Military and Security Developments in China – India Needs to Build Conventional Capability”
KAAN, KF-21 and AMCA – Three Parallel Fifth Generation Programs
Fifth-generation fighter aircraft have been the flavour of all discussions on South Asia. A British Royal Navy F-35 fighter jet was stuck in Thiruvananthapuram, India for 37 days after a mid-air emergency forced it to land on June 14. It finally flew back to the UK on July 22. It put into question the logistic-maintenanceContinue reading “KAAN, KF-21 and AMCA – Three Parallel Fifth Generation Programs”
Air Power Asia 