Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

Context:   France has expressed interest in joining the India-Australia bilateral naval exercise AUSINDEX-2020. AUSINDEX 2019: The bilateral exercise was aimed to strengthen and enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability between the Indian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. (Image: Twitter/@MIB_India) | Representative Image About AUSINDEX: AUSINDEX stands for Australia-India Exercise. It is a bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Australian Navy. Aim of the Exercise:  To strengthen and enhance mutual cooperation and interoperability between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Indian Navy (IN). Other developments:  A naval exercise between India, Australia and Indonesia is also under discussion. In the last few years, India has significantly expanded its military to military engagement with both Australia and France on bilateral level. https://t.co/QX1iczRgAt — The Hindu (@the_hindu) November 25, 2020 Suggested Reads:  Navy participates in a...

Satellite imagery analysts claimed the village was two kilometres inside Bhutanese territory. The Chinese journalist has since deleted his tweet about the village. Representational image of Chinese soldiers | Photo: D. Myles Cullen | Commons A Chinese journalist has sparked controversy after tweeting, and then deleting, the map of a new village of the country.  Satellite imagery analysts claimed the village was two kilometres inside Bhutanese territory and near the Doklam Plateau , but Bhutan has contested the analysis, asserting that there is no Chinese encroachment on its territory. “There is no Chinese village on Bhutanese territory,” Major General V. Namgyel, Bhutan’s envoy to India, told ThePrint. Asked if the village was on Chinese land, he repeated that all he can say is that there are no Chinese villages on Bhutanese land. To combat this Chinese engineers have constructed a small retaining wall, I assume designed to keep any flood water out of the village. I'm not sure I...

The Indian Navy is participating in the two-day trilateral maritime exercise SITMEX-20 in the Andaman sea along with the navies of Singapore and Thailand , senior military officials said on Sunday. 2nd edition of trilateral maritime exercise SITMEX-2020 commences in Andaman Sea Indian naval ships (INS) , including indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk , are participating in the 2nd edition of the trilateral exercise to be held on Sunday and Monday, they said. The two-day maritime drills will witness the three navies participate in a variety of exercises, including naval manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises and weapon firings, the officials said. The SITMEX series of exercises are conducted to enhance mutual interoperability and to imbibe best practices between the Indian Navy , Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) , they said. The RSN is being represented by the Formidable-class frigate Intrepid and Enduranc...

While it is unclear if the government is considering joining the China­ led Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership , Colombo seems open to the idea. Located along one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, Sri Lanka is keen on developing the Colombo and Hambantota ports. A view of the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port. | Photo Credit: Meera Srinivasan Sri Lanka’s growing emphasis on tapping the emerging Asian market would make the China-led Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement seem an ideal forum to build trade ties in the region. But given the island nation’s current economic challenges and India’s decision to opt out of the formidable grouping, the road is far from easy for Sri Lanka, according to economists. Few would dispute Sri Lanka’s distinct advantage, thanks to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, along one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. “We must develop the [southern] Hambantota and Colombo Ports together with the ...

While Donald Trump has sought to maximise pressure on Iran and isolate it globally, Biden has proposed to offer the Islamic republic a return to diplomacy. Iran said it would "automatically" return to its nuclear commitments if US President-elect Joe Biden lifts sanctions, as the outgoing administration doubled down with more pressure. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran  Context Iran has completely withdrawn from JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) nuclear deal. The announcement came after the US troops killed General Qassem Soleimani. What was the Iran Nuclear Deal? Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear programme in a 2015 deal struck with the US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)Tehran agreed to significantly cut its stores of centrifuges, enriched uranium and heavy-water, all key components for nuclear weapons. The JCPOA established the Joint Commission,with the negotiating parties all represented, t...

Results of public beta testing of SpaceX’s Starlink, which provides global internet coverage from space are out. SpaceX is developing a low latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe. Starlink is a satellite internet constellation being constructed by SpaceX providing satellite Internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), working in combination with ground transceivers. SpaceX plans to sell some of the satellites for military, scientific, or exploratory purposes. The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing, and orbit control. The cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in May 2018 to be about US$10 billion. Product development began in 2015. Two prototype test-flight satellites were launched in February 2018. Additional test satellit...

Ethiopia has been on the brink of a civil war. On November 4, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared war on the country’s Tigray region. The Tigray region is ruled by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) . The war was declared in response to the TPLF’s attack on a federal military base in Tigray. Members of the Oromya Regional Special Police with protesters in Bishoftu, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia (A picture from 2016) Ethiopia needs a political solution, restoring the balance among ethnicities and regions When Abiy Ahmed became Ethiopia’s Prime Minister in April 2018, hopes were high that the former Army intelligence office r would bring a new dawn to the country known for its ethnic fault-lines. Early on, he reached out to the political opposition, lifted curbs on the media and made peace with Eritrea — moves that won him the Peace Nobel in 2019. But things fell apart rather quickly. Last week, Mr. Abiy declared war on the country’s Tigray region, which is ruled by the pow...

One of the key principles guiding the BRICS since inception is that member countries do not cross each other’s “red lines” and follow the general “club” principle of not publicizing members’ disagreements. The BRICS leaders at the tenth summit held in South Africa in 2018 The main challenge ahead of the BRICS is not procedural nor bureaucratic, but to continue to lead with innovative thinking and practical responses to some of the most pressing development challenges of our time. The 12th BRICS Summit on November 17 will be a test for the grouping under Russia’s helm. Since the creation of the BRICS in 2009, the five countries have strengthened their participation in the world economy. Pushed by China and India, the total BRICS GDP amounted to 25% of global GDP (US$21 trillion) and BRICS share in international trade stood at almost 20% (US$6.7 trillion) in 2020. Over the past five years, intra-BRICS exports grew by 45% and the share of intra-BRICS exports in total BRICS internationa...

As per the new peace deal, both sides will now maintain positions in the areas that they currently hold, which will mean a significant gain for Azerbaijan. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have signed an agreement to end military conflict over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 10,  Russia brokered a new peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two countries that have been in a military conflict for over six weeks over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus . During the course of the conflict, considered one of the most serious in recent years, over 1200 have lost their lives as per the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, while thousands have been displaced. The deal, which is meant to end the conflict between the two nations, was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin , Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan . Since the conflict started in September, multiple ceasefire agreements have been signe...