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Q & A Series (Part 2): International Exercises
In various interactions questions are asked during the Q & A session. Starting a new series on compiling these valid and interesting questions with comments.
RECENT QUERRY AND MY TAKE ON IT
Question. What are various facets related to joint exercises with friendly foreign countries? What advantages accrue out of these exercises?
Comments. IAF conducts regular exercises with friendly foreign countries. These exercises involve lot of detailed planning and preparation. The preparations start almost six months prior or earlier.
These exercises are bilateral or multilateral, single service or multi service. The trend is changing from bilateral single service exercises earlier to multilateral multi service exercises now.
IAF has carried out exercises with Air Forces of many countries including USA, Russia, UK, France, Australia, South Africa, UAE, Singapore, Oman and Thailand etc.
The level of exercise (i.e. number of aerial assets, duration of exercise and type of air combat missions) depends from country to country. These vary from short duration exercises with few assets on themes like HADR to full fledged combat exercises with large number and variety of platforms carrying out complex LFE (large scale engagement) missions.
The frequency of carrying out exercises also varies from country to country. With some countries it is regular once every two or three years. With others it is less often, once in 3 to 5 years. Generally during transit for bigger exercises, some smaller exercises are carried out during the stop overs en route (Out bound or inbound leg). These are called hop exercises.
There are many advantages of these exercises. These exercises are part of defence diplomacy and political signaling in the larger scheme of international relations and engagements. At operating level, the participants learn about the best practices from each other and It broadens their horizon and prepares them for their future assignments. Further it improves interoperability between the participating forces. The advantages accrued out of these exercises far outweigh the effort and money spent on them.
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Book Review: 1962 Border Wars
Book review published by
The Book Review Literary Trust
BOOK NAME: 1962 Border Wars – Sino-Indian territorial disputes and beyond
AUTHOR NAME: Ismail Vengasseri
REVIEWER NAME: Anil Khosla
Abridged Review:
Fifty years ago, on October 20, 1962, China attacked India, apparently provoked by a territorial dispute and tensions over Tibet. The war was brief, however, it affected the psyche of both countries and still casts a long shadow over Sino-Indian relations. The historical imprint of the war still affects the attitude and decision-making process of the two countries. Like all wars, the 1962 war between China and India had multiple causes. These factors need to be examined dispassionately to learn lessons for the future. China has always been an enigma and is considered to be a mysterious riddle to be solved. Her aggressive and belligerent approach and attitude towards the world at large and India in particular during the time of the pandemic has left everyone wondering about her psyche. Scholars have attributed several reasons to it which include opportunism, power intoxication, diversion of attention and desperation seeing the dream of rejuvenation slipping away.
The relationship between the two countries was cordial till about 1950 in spite of existing disputed boundaries. Numerous factors led to the souring of relations between the two Asian giants finally leading to the armed conflict in 1962. The recent India-China stand-off has generated a renewed interest and debate about Sino-India relations. 1962 Border War: Sino-Indian Territorial Disputes and Beyond by Ismail Vengasseri is timely and useful in correlating the present situation with the past as it reveals the historical factors which shaped Sino-Indian relations and reasons for frequent skirmishes along the border. It helps in understanding how such a brief and limited conflict has had such immense and long-lasting political and other consequences. India still sees China as a nationalist, aggressive power which seeks to dominate Asia and one that might once again strike unexpectedly, just as it did in 1962.
The book brings out the historical timelines of relations between the two nations and the factors responsible for the souring of relations leading up to the war. The book is divided into nine chapters critically analysing each factor.
The work is interdisciplinary in nature and has good references for further research. The author has carried out an analytical study dealing with the subject comprehensively, bringing out the complexities in a lucid manner. In the end, he has summarized it very well listing out the conclusions and making valuable recommendations.
In the initial part, the book has analysed all the available literature and records in detail and explains the topography of the area. Primary sources of the study include the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report, the official history of conflict with China brought out by the Government of India, CIA report on the Sino-India border dispute, the documents of the Ministry of External Affairs on treaties and agreements, and digital documents included in the historical archives of USA.
Full review. Available at The book review Literary Trust publication Volume XLV Number 3 March 2021.
Reference: https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/historical-timelines-of-sino-indian-relations/