While acknowledging Shivaji's naval contributions, questions are being raised about the inadequate acknowledgement of Chola sea-power in southern Tamil Nadu, which dates back by a few centuries, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The US has deployed its naval carrier strike group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as a fleet of F-18 fighter jets and E-2C Hawkeye all-weather aircraft for the exercise, officials said. The Indian assets at the exercise included Jaguar and Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft, Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft and warships Kochi and Teg. The Indian Navy has also deployed a fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft and MiG 29K jets, apart from other platforms.
It is learnt that Russia is not sending any military platform to exercise and there is no clarity yet on whether it will depute any delegation for the event.
Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday took over the baton of the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee from outgoing IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha even as the government plans to create a new post to focus exclusively on inter-services issues and acquisitions.
Vice Admiral Lanba, 58, is a qualified specialist in navigation and direction course and will have a full three-year-term in office till May 31, 2019.
The Theatre-level Readiness and Operational Exercise was conducted to test combat readiness of the combined fleets of the Navy, the Air Force, the Army and the Coast Guard.
India's majestic aircraft carrier INS Viraat, which is slated to be decommissioned later this year, set sail for the last time from Mumbai for Kochi on Saturday.
This will be the first instance since Independence that two of the three service chiefs will be the government's chosen men.
Navy chief Adm. Sunil Lanba said that by 2050, India will have 200 ships, 500 aircraft.
The 1971 war reaffirmed the importance of inspirational senior leadership in battle and heralded the emergence of a new fighting class amongst officers and men of India's armed forces.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
With 40 officers and 260 men, INS Kochi sailed into the eye of a cyclonic storm and rescued 125 men who had jumped into the sea from a sinking barge. It was one of the Indian Navy's greatest rescue operations.
An Indian Navy submarine caught fire after an explosion and sank in Mumbai late on Tuesday night, with 18 personnel on board, including three officers, feared dead.
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
When a Chinese warship entered Japanese waters, the Indian commander called on China to maintain discipline at sea. Dr Rajaram Panda explains the significance of the Malabar exercises between India, Japan and the US.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Indian Navy's flagship carrier, the INS Viraat will be decommissioned on March 6 after serving the nation for 30 glorious years.
The triennial exercise will take place for two hours and fifteen minutes during the day, dusk and night, he said.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase on Monday in the United Arab Emirates after flying for over seven hours from the Merignac airbase. It was the only stopover by the jets while flying from France to India.
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
India's voting pattern in the United Nations with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict is lately marked by a calibrated distancing from Israel, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the lead up to this week Indo-US Strategic Dialogue, for which United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, will be coming to Delhi, the Indo-US defence engagement is even more intense than usual.
'Shivaji was among a handful of Indian rulers to realise the importance of sea power... Not much attention is paid to his remarkable achievement: Building a modern navy and the revival of Indian maritime power.'
'At 1.58% of GDP, the defence budget is one of the lowest since the Chinese aggression of 1962.' 'The government of the day has lost sight of the fact that defence of the country is as important as its growth,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
In a few years from now, India will be looking at an entirely different type of military adversary across the borders, in our waters, in the air, in space and in our communication networks, says Nitin Pai.
'... To ensure that the vast Indian Ocean Region remain peaceful.'
At any time, there is a need to operationally deploy two aircraft carriers in the vast Indian Ocean, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
It is a timely reminder that when faced with twin threats, India has succeeded by wisely choosing allies, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
India and Japan are natural partners at sea, and Narendra Modi's recent visit underlined the need to keep the association going
'From Doklam to Wuhan and the return of the India-China relationship to its previous equilibrium is indeed a major contribution of President Xi and PM Modi. Without any doubt they deserve the kudos for their sagacity and their wisdom,' says Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, India's envoy to China during the Wuhan summit.
We celebrate Dassera and regard it as an auspicious day as a day of victory of good over evil! So was 16 December! It is time we regard this day as auspicious as Dassera in future, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'India must close the missile technology gap with both China and Pakistan as early as possible, or else the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence will remain suspect,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
