Tag: presence

Large presence of Chinese vessels in Indian Ocean region, India keeping close watch: Navy chief

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New Delhi: There is a “large presence” of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean Region and India keeps a “very close watch” on the developments in the region to protect and preserve its national interests in the maritime domain, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday.
During an interaction at a conclave here, he also said that the Indian Navy is seized of the docking of various PLA Navy ships at ports in Pakistan, and it is “keeping a watch on it”.
Asked about the threat aspects, the Navy chief spoke of both conventional and non-conventional threats, besides those emerging from what he described as “silent and inclusive paradigm” resulting in a “web of threats” that are emerging.

Meanwhile, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari in a separate interaction themed on ‘Indian Air Force: The Future is Now’, held at The Chanakya Conclave in Delhi, said in future what needs to be worked on is that besides the land-based offensive platforms, “we will have space-based offensive systems too”.
This will lead to “reduced response time” and “greater effect” on adversaries, so the future lies in having “space-based offensive platforms,” he said in response to a question from the audience on evolving military threats.
The IAF chief also said that the fundamental utilisation of space for military use is in three domains, including ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and communication, which have seen a “quantum jump” in their capabilities in the last several years.
After Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari’s session, the Navy chief took part in a session on ‘Indian Navy in the 21st Century: Evolving Maritime Threats’.
The Indian Navy’s role is to protect, promote and preserve national interests in the maritime domain, wherever they are, and it assesses the threats and challenges, the Navy chief said.

On a daily basis, it is being seen that there is a certain amount of contestation happening at sea. It is well below the threshold of conflict, but possibility of a full-fledged war cannot be ruled out, the Navy chief said.
On a question on PLA Navy ships docking at ports in Pakistan, he said, these ships are docking at ports in various countries, and not just in Pakistan.
As far as their visit to ports in Pakistan are concerned, “we are seized of it, and keep a watch on it”, he said.
Admiral Kumar said the Pakistan Navy is modernising itself at a “good pace” and seeks to become a 50-platform force in 10-15 years, and they are adding new corvettes and frigates to their fleet.
As far as China is concerned, in the last 10 years, a large number of ships and submarines have been commissioned by it, the third aircraft carrier is under construction, and much larger destroyers they are working on, he said, adding, “we feel this will plateau at some time”.
“We are keeping a very close watch in the Indian Ocean Region… and effort is to know whose presence is there and what are they up to, and monitoring it 24×7, and we deploy aircraft, UAVs, ships, submarines, etc.,” the Navy chief said.
“There is a large presence of Chinese vessels. At any point of time, there are 3-6 Chinese warships in the India Ocean Region,” he said, adding some are close to the Gulf of Oman, and some in the eastern part of the IOR, among other places.
Chinese research vessels are ever present, numbering from 2-4 and Chinese fishing vessels as well. So, there is a large presence of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean Region, and India Navy keeps track of it, the Navy chief said.
“So, we refine our plans, actions that are required to be taken, and this also feeds into our capability development,” the Navy chief said.
Later, in response to a query from audience on Chinese research vessels, Admiral Kumar said, these vessels have the ability to track and collect electronic signals.
When they operate, close to “our areas of national interest”, the Indian Navy keeps an eye, and it has its ships which “monitor them very, very closely”.
On a question on whether modernisation and capability development has any link with threat assessment, he said, modernisation is part of the process and not threat-driven.
And, a Navy has to be a “well-balanced force”, so, it’s not about nuclear submarine vis-a-vis aircraft carrier, as each of the two bring their own capabilities and they are “not either/or”, Admiral Kumar said.
On Atmanirbhar Bharat, he reiterated that the Indian Navy has “committed to the national leadership that we (Navy) will be fully Atmanirbhar by 2047”.
He added that as Indian economy is poised to grow in coming years, the volume of trade will multiply along with it, and hence the importance of role of Indian Navy will also grow.
He explained that there are three components to a naval asset — float, move and fight.
In float component, about 95 per cent self-reliance has been achieved, while in move components which includes system propellers etc., it is about 65 per cent. And, in fight component, the figure is about 55 per cent, the Navy chief said.
Among other challenges, Admiral Kumar, also spoke of the region being prone to natural disasters, as also “non-combatant evacuations” which have been happening rather frequently.
Admiral Kumar underlined the challenge of cyber threat as well and “weaponisaion of cognitive domain” through largely use of social media.
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#Large #presence #Chinese #vessels #Indian #Ocean #region #India #keeping #close #watch #Navy #chief
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
BJP MLA defends ‘Visha Kanye’ jibe at Sonia in PM Modi’s presence

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Bengaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Karnataka’s Vijayapura constituency Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Saturday defended his ‘Visha Kanye’ (poisonous woman) jibe at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a huge gathering in Vijayapura, Yatnal, who spoke ahead of PM Modi, also mentioned Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as the “first prime minister of the country”.
“Our Sanatan Dharm, our mother and our Bharat Mata are everything to us. We will not tolerate and can give our lives if anyone dares to talk against Bharat Mata. Along with this, if anyone speaks foul about our world leader Narendra Modi, we Indians would not tolerate that,” he said.

Addressing the opposition leaders, he said: “If you try to wag your dirty tongue, we will answer in the same pitch. Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has become a ‘Vishwa Guru’. He is a replica of our first Prime Minister Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and treading on the path of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri,” he said.
PM Modi, addressing the gathering, said the Congress is indulging in breaking of society, and that the party should never be pardoned.
“Jagajyothi Basaveshwar fought for equality. But, Congress leaders are indulging in divisive acts. Quoting Rastra Kavi Kuvempu (revered by the Vokkaliga community as their iconic figure, he maintained that Kuvempu described Karnataka as a garden of all sects of people and underlined that the communities in society must have mutual respect for each other.
“On May 10, you will vote to make Karnataka the number one state in the country. On May 10 you will vote to bring a double engine government to power,” PM Modi stated.
“I am a servant of Karnataka and want to do everything for the state. For me, Karnataka is an important state. I need your blessings. The new team has been made ready to play an important role in Amrit Kaal. It is a mixture of new spirit and old roots. The strong team is ready. This team also needs your support,” PM Modi said.

He further said that the coalition government would only be bothered about its survival.
“Political instability has cost the state a lot. Whoever works for the poor, Dalit, backwards and Adivasis, Congress will start hating them. They had used words like ‘desh drohi’, ‘kathputli’ and all the words in the dictionary against B.R. Ambedkar. The party was the same in the old days, and it remains the same even today,” PM Modi added.
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#BJP #MLA #defends #Visha #Kanye #jibe #Sonia #Modis #presence
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 29, 2023
Macron lays out ‘new era’ for France’s reduced presence in Africa

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French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday for his country to build “a new, balanced relationship” with Africa, as the former colonial power seeks to reduce its military presence on the continent.
“The objective of this new era is to deploy our security presence in a partnership-based approach,” Macron said in a speech in Paris, ahead of a tour that will take him to Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo later this week.
In the future, French military bases on the continent will be “co-administered” with local personnel, the French president said, while there will be a “visible decrease” in the number of French troops stationed in Africa over the next few months.
The news comes as France has faced increasing opposition from local governments over its continued military presence in several of its former colonies, and was forced to withdraw hundreds of troops from Mali, the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso over the past year. Around 5,000 French soldiers remain stationed on various bases throughout the continent.
But Paris’ waning influence — particularly in the Sahel region — has also allowed Russia to expand its reach in Africa, including in the digital sphere through the use of disinformation campaigns, as well as on the ground with mercenaries from the Wagner group, who in some cases have replaced French soldiers.
The French president said his country would steer away from “anachronistic” power struggles in Africa, saying African countries should be considered as “partners,” both militarily and economically.
“Africa isn’t [anyone’s] backyard, even less so a continent where Europeans and French should dictate its framework for development,” Macron said.

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#Macron #lays #era #Frances #reduced #presence #Africa
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 21, 2023
Rahul’s extended Karnataka presence during Yatra boosts party’s prospects

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Bengaluru: While the grand old party is facing a crisis like situation in all other states, the Congress is closer to the seat of power in Karnataka, according to political analysts.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi has boosted the party’s prospects in the assembly elections scheduled to be held in less than two months.
Rahul Gandhi covered 511 km by walking for 21 days during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka in three stages. The yatra evoked a huge response from the public when it entered the state. It passed through seven Lok Sabha and 20 assembly constituencies.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi came down to Karnataka during the yatra and walked along with her son Rahul in the Mandya district of the state. The yatra has reminded the people of the Congress party’s contributions to the state especially the implementation of the Land Reforms Act.
Karnataka is one among the few states where land reforms were implemented in the true spirit and lakhs of beneficiaries are loyal followers of the party. The act gave the land to the tiller, making them landowners.
More importantly, the Yatra successfully projected the candidatures of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president D.K. Shivakumar for the post of chief minister if the Congress is voted to power.
Rahul Gandhi clearly stated that the party MLAs will elect their leader and to a great extent put an end to the rivalry between the two leaders.
Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have been effectively questioning and launching attacks on the state as well as central BJP leaders. Siddaramaiah is vehemently opposing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindutva, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shivakumar has ridiculed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He had charged that the CBI and the ED are existent only for the opposition parties. He said that he would give a piece of his mind to the CBI to look after other important work rather than targeting him and his family.
The ruling BJP, which is trying to manage the anti-incumbency factor and return to power is making an all out effort in the state. The seriousness could be seen in Modi and Amit Shah’s repeated visits to the state.
The special mention of Karnataka during the presentation of the budget, budgetary allocation for the Upper Bhadra Project, approval for Detailed Project Report of the Kalasa-Banduri Project to utilize the waters of Mahadayi river, Modi and Amit Shah underlining the importance of the double engine government of the BJP for the development of the state are all part of the strategy to counter the Congress party.
The Congress has declared that an internal survey conducted by the party has given them a comfortable majority in the state in the upcoming elections. It maintains that competition between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah for the post of CM has helped the party to grow stronger in the state.
The BJP which is claiming that it would fight the elections under a collective leadership and seek votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not been able to project a CM candidate so far. The Congress is clearly projecting Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar as its probable CM candidates.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had ridiculed the Bharat Jodo Yatra as another attempt to relaunch a failed missile called Rahul Gandhi.
Lavanya Ballal, national social media coordinator from Karnataka, stated that the Yatra has been successful in waking up the nation to the hate narrative they are being fed. It was a timely reminder that our great nation was built on the foundation of peace. “We have a choice to treat fellow citizens with hate or build the nation with peace and love,” she said.
The Yatra was a very positive movement, it showed the citizens that the BJP government has been lying and cheating. “We didn’t design the yatra for election purposes so we have not looked into its impact on the state election,” she maintained.
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#Rahuls #extended #Karnataka #presence #Yatra #boosts #partys #prospects
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 11, 2023
U.S., Philippines agree to larger American military presence

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As part of the agreement, the U.S. has allocated $82 million toward infrastructure improvements at five current EDCA sites, and expand its military presence to four new sites in “strategic areas of the country,” according to the statement.
Austin arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday from South Korea, where he said the U.S. would increase its deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula to bolster joint training with South Korean forces in response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
In the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia and a key front in the U.S. battle against terrorism, Austin visited southern Zamboanga city and met Filipino generals and a small contingent of U.S. counterterrorism forces based in a local military camp, regional Philippine military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said. The more than 100 U.S. military personnel have provided intelligence and combat advice for years to Filipino troops battling a decades-long Muslim insurgency, which has considerably eased but remains a key threat.
More recently, U.S. forces have intensified and broadened joint training focusing on combat readiness and disaster response with Filipino troops on the nation’s western coast, which faces the South China Sea, and in its northern Luzon region across the sea from the Taiwan Strait.
American forces were granted access to five Philippine military camps, where they could rotate indefinitely under the 2014 EDCA defense pact.
In October, the U.S. sought access for a larger number of its forces and weapons in an additional five military camps, mostly in the north. That request would be high on the agenda in Austin’s meetings, according to Philippine officials.
“The visit of Secretary Austin definitely, obviously will have to do with many of the ongoing discussions on the EDCA sites,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said at a news briefing.
Austin was scheduled to hold talks Thursday with his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano, Romualdez said. Austin will separately call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June and has since taken steps to boost relations with Washington.

The U.S. defense chief is the latest senior official to visit the Philippines after Vice President Kamala Harris in November in a sign of warming ties after a strained period under Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte had nurtured cozy ties with China and Russia and at one point threatened to sever ties with Washington, kick visiting American forces out and abrogate a major defense pact.
Romualdez said the Philippines needed to cooperate with Washington to deter any escalation of tensions between China and self-ruled Taiwan — not only because of the treaty alliance but to help prevent a major conflict.
“We’re in a Catch-22 situation. If China makes a move on Taiwan militarily, we’ll be affected — and all ASEAN region, but mostly us, Japan and South Korea,” Romualdez told The Associated Press, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-nation regional bloc that includes the Philippines.
The Philippines and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, along with Taiwan, have been locked in increasingly tense territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. The U.S. has been regarded as a crucial counterweight to China in the region and has pledged to come to the defense of the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under attack in the contested waters.
The Philippines used to host two of the largest U.S. Navy and Air Force bases outside the American mainland. The bases were shut down in the early 1990s after the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops under a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement.
The Philippine Constitution prohibits the permanent basing of foreign troops and their involvement in local combat.
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#U.S #Philippines #agree #larger #American #military #presence
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 2, 2023