South Korea says North Korea has test-launched multiple cruise missiles towards the North’s eastern waters.
The launches on Wednesday are the North’s fourth weapons tests since the US and South Korean militaries began large-scale military drills last week. North Korea views the drill as a preparation to attack it.
The US-South Korean military drills are to end on Thursday.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired “several” cruise missiles from its north-eastern coastal town of Hamhung.
Forces to unitedly tackle terrorism, internal security challenges: Army
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Tuesday said India would continue to face terrorism and internal security challenges in the future and the security forces of the country would “unitedly” tackle these.
Areas of concern
Terrorism and internal security situation is affecting our country in different ways. We are facing these challenges unitedly. — Manoj Pande, Army Chief
He was speaking after inaugurating the All-India Police Commando Competition organised by the National Security Guard (NSG) at its garrison in Manesar here.
General Pande said the new-age technology had enabled the enemy to perpetrate its activities using drones, Internet, cyberspace and social media.
“You all know that terrorism and internal security situation is affecting our country in different ways. We are facing these challenges unitedly. Due to this, the (security) situation is improving in various states.
“These challenges will continue in the future too. Some of these challenges will be there for a long time, some will be present indirectly while some will remain secretly,” he said.
General Pande said the “possibility” of terrorist attacks taking place in the country could not be ignored as he praised intelligence and security forces for foiling and thwarting a number of such designs and networks.
He praised the NSG, a federal counter-terrorist force, for developing special skills in bomb detection and disposal, sniping, countering drones as well as effectively coordinating with other security agencies.
US intel helped India repulse China’s PLA incursion in Tawang sector: Report
The White House has refused to comment on a media report which claimed that India was able to repel a Chinese military incursion in Tawang sector on December 9 last year due to “unprecedented intelligence-sharing” with the US military.
US provided Satellite imagery
US provided real-time details to India of Chinese positions ahead of the PLA incursion
Info included actionable satellite imagery & was given more quickly than ever before
The US government for the first time provided real-time details to India of the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion. The information included actionable satellite imagery and was more detailed and delivered more quickly than anything the US had previously shared with the Indian military, claimed the report.
The act caught the PLA off guard, enraged Beijing and appears to have forced the Chinese Communist Party to reconsider its approach to land grabs along its borders, said the report in US News.
The basis for the new intelligence-sharing arrangement stems from the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) signed between India and the US in 2020. It was the fourth military agreement that secured new levels of integration between the two powers in military, logistics, compatibility and security information exchanges.
The clash involving hundreds of troops wielding spiked clubs and Tasers was limited and, more important, a Chinese retreat.
“They (the Indians) were waiting. And that’s because the US had given India everything to be fully prepared for this. It demonstrates a test case of the success of how the two militaries are now cooperating and sharing intelligence,” the report quoted a source as stating.
Technology has changed the ways wars are fought: IAF chief Chaudhari
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said technology had changed the ways wars are fought.
He listed hypersonic weapons, very long range radars and artificial intelligence-backed decision as key factors.
He was addressing an industry body on the subject ‘India’s Aerospace Capabilities and Technology Requirements’, here.
He said path-breaking technologies like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems are knocking at the
doors. The application of these technologies in the aerospace industry has the potential to entirely transform the way wars would be fought.
Intelligent military ecosystems are the future of the battlefield, he added.
The Air Chief Marshal said these systems need to be highly mobile and interconnected, supported by communication and operating across domains.
AI-assisted military options will take the form of multi-domain integration, cross-domain attack and interfacing between manned and
unmanned systems.
In the future, artificial intelligence and quantum computing in tandem may prove to be a game-changer providing quick and accurate inputs and enabling time-critical decisions, he said.
Advanced technologies in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones have increasing applications and practical relevance today as well as
in the future. This will lead to a much higher demand of armed drones. Research is already progressing in drone-related technologies,
Development of UAV technology within the realm of quantum computing would enhance concepts like joint operations of ‘manned jets and
unmanned jets’, he said.
The IAF, he said, is looking forward to inducting the next version (Mark 1A) of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the HTT-40 trainers,
indigenous weapons and a wide array of radars.
The light combat helicopter had been inducted and it would add teeth to the IAF’s strike capability, he added.
The IAF, he said, is fully committed to the development of LCA Mark-2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, adding that there is a need to develop both offensive and defensive space capabilities to safeguard assets.
India-China border issue very complicated; but neither side want war, confrontation: Chinese envoy
China and India will have to face the “difficulties” arising out of the border situation but none of the two countries want war or confrontation, Charge D’affaires at the Chinese embassy Ma Jia said on Wednesday.
Addressing a media briefing here, Ma described the situation along the border areas as “very complicated” and said it was not easy to reach an agreement which was the reason the two countries were holding discussions through the established Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander-level meetings.
She said the situation with regard to the Ukraine issue had “intensified” since the consensus at the G20 Summit at Bali and it was now “more difficult to reach the accommodation”.
Her remarks come against the backdrop of a joint statement issued following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping indicating that the two sides will oppose the use of multilateral platforms to take up “irrelevant issues”.
China is yet to name its Ambassador to India after Sun Weidong completed his tenure in October last year. Senior diplomat Ma has been in-charge of the mission in New Delhi.
Earlier, in her suo moto remarks, Ma has said the current situation on the border was stable and China and India were in maintaining communication through the established channels – Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation and the senior commander level meetings.
“There are difficulties, I have just said that. But, we have to face it. We are also confident that China and India do not want war. Neither of us want a war. Neither of us want confrontation along the border areas,” the top Chinese diplomat in India said, giving her assessment of the border situation.
She said the border issue has lived through the history of many years and it was not easy to reach an agreement.
“That is why we keep on talking about it. We have to face the problems and we have to talk. I think the intention on both sides is to improve relations. Our two leaders already have consensus on that and I think we can find a way out,” Ma said.
Amid indications that Russia and China will oppose raising of the Ukraine issue on multilateral platforms, the Chinese diplomat said reaching a consensus at the G20 could be difficult if “prominent security issues” were raised at a forum established to deliberate on economic and financial matters.
“As long as you are out of the track and discussing prominent security issues on economic and financial platforms, it is very difficult to reach consensus. In G20, we have this consensus principle. Even if one country does not agree, it is not a consensus,” she said.
Procurement of fighter jets must not be delayed: Parliamentary committee
The procurement of additional fighter jets should not be delayed any further and a final decision needs to be taken on having a third aircraft carrier, said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence in its report tabled in the House today.
The committee said, “In no uncertain words, (we) recommend that Ministry of Defence may take a final decision, chalk out a trajectory and start the planning process for the third aircraft carrier which would eventually enhance India’s maritime capabilities.”
The committee said requests of the Navy in regard to manufacturing a third aircraft carrier have been brought up several times. Two aircraft carriers are consistently required for meeting threat perceptions and for preparedness and striking capabilities during war. The third is needed as carriers have long maintenance schedules.
The induction of an aircraft carrier is a long gestation exercise and the entire budget for a carrier is not required in a particular year but in a staggered manner which may be spread out over a decade
The committee said it found “considerable delay” in the supply of 40 LCA Tejas jets from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. “The government should consider buying state-of-the-art fifth generation fighter aircraft over the counter without losing time to keep the force in a comfortable position,” the committee said.
Russian drones swarm Kyiv in display of force as Xi leaves Moscow
Russia launched a swarm of drones into Ukraine overnight, killing at least four people near Kyiv in a display of force as China’s President Xi Jinping left Moscow with promises of friendship but little public mention of the war.
Sirens blared across the capital and swathes of northern Ukraine and the military said it had shot down 16 of 21 Iranian-made Shahed suicide drones. Two accommodation blocks and an educational facility in the riverside town of Rzhyshchiv south of the capital had been partially destroyed, the State Emergency Service said on the Telegram messaging app.
Four people were killed there and others buried under the rubble. More than 100 workers and 28 vehicles were deployed to the scene, and that the search for survivors was continuing.
“Over 20 Iranian murderous drones, plus missiles, numerous shelling incidents, and that’s just in one last night of Russian terror against Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter.
In an apparent reference to the Chinese leader’s visit, he added: “Every time someone tries to hear the word ‘peace’ in Moscow, another order is given there for such criminal strikes.” Hosting Xi this week was Putin’s grandest diplomatic gesture since he launched the war a year ago and became a pariah in the West. Xi and Putin referred to each other as dear friends, promised economic cooperation and described their countries’ relations as the best they have ever been.
The two leaders “shared the view that this relationship has gone far beyond the bilateral scope and acquired critical importance for the global landscape and the future of humanity,” said a statement released by China.
As Xi departed he told Putin: “Now there are changes that haven’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes.”
“I agree,” Putin said, to which Xi responded: “Take care of yourself dear friend, please.”
Xi did not specify the changes and had little to say in public about the Ukraine war beyond saying that China’s position was “impartial”.
The White House urged Beijing to pressure Russia to withdraw from Ukraine to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two. Washington also criticised the timing of the trip, just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges for deporting Ukrainian children. Moscow says it has taken in children for protection.
China proposed a peace plan for Ukraine last month, which the West has largely dismissed as vague at best, and at worst a ploy to buy time for Putin to regroup his forces.
“A ceasefire right now, freezing the lines where they are, basically gives him the time and space he needs to try to re-equip, to re-man, to make up for that resource expenditure,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
Putin praised Xi for the plan, and blamed Kyiv and the West for rejecting it. Kyiv, for its part, has cautiously welcomed the Chinese proposal while urging Beijing to consider Ukraine’s own peace plan. Zelenskiy has called on Xi to speak to him.
Ukraine says there can be no peace unless Russia withdraws from occupied land. Moscow says Kyiv must recognise territorial “realities”, referring to Russia’s claim to have annexed a fifth of Ukraine.
Major waves of Russian air strikes on targets far from the front like Wednesday’s took place roughly weekly in late 2022, but have become less frequent in recent weeks, with Western countries saying Moscow is running low on missiles and drones.
After Ukraine recaptured territory throughout the second half of 2022, Moscow has launched a massive winter offensive using hundreds of thousands of freshly called-up reservists and convicts recruited as mercenaries from jail.
Despite the bloodiest fighting of the war, which both sides describe as a meat grinder, the front line has barely moved for four months.
Russia’s only notable gains have been around the small city of Bakhmut in the east, but Kyiv has decided in recent weeks not to withdraw there, saying its defenders were inflicting enough losses on the Russian attackers to justify holding out.
In an intelligence update, Britain’s ministry of defence said Moscow’s Bakhmut assault could be running out of steam. A Ukrainian counterattack in recent days west of Bakhmut was likely to relieve pressure on the threatened supply route to the city, the Wednesday update said.
There was still a risk the Ukrainian garrison could be surrounded, but there was now “a realistic possibility that the Russian assault on the town is losing the limited momentum it had obtained”.
Britain also rejected accusations from Moscow that supplying Ukraine with ammunition made from depleted uranium created a risk of “nuclear collision”. Britain on Monday confirmed it was supplying Ukraine with such shells, used by many militaries to penetrate armour due to the metal’s high density.
“There is no threat to Russia, this is purely about helping Ukraine defend itself,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. Reuters
In the backdrop of a controversy being kicked up over the move to introduce ballistic helmets for Sikh troops, the Central Government on Friday stated that all pilots of fighter aircraft /combat helicopters and soldiers deployed in the areas where enemy attacks are anticipated or defending important installations are to wear the full protective gear for personal safety.
“Sikh troops battling terrorism have been wearing bullet proof patka over cloth patka while maintaining their religious identity. Tank crew of armoured regiments also wear padded communication head gear,” the Minister of State for Defence, Ajay Bhatt said in the Lok Sabha today.
He was responding to a question by Preneet Kaur, Member of Parliament from Patiala, on whether the government proposes to make wearing of tactical helmets by Sikh soldiers compulsory.
A modern-day soldier needs to have all-round protection from the newer and emerging threat of warfare. Indian soldiers are provided the requisite protection to include bullet proof jackets and bullet proof helmets to operate in challenging environments. Safety of soldiers who are deployed on security duties is considered paramount, Bhatt said.
Tactical helmets are an integral part of flying gear for combat aircraft operations and protective gear of soldiers against enemy gunfire. Fighter pilots and helicopter pilots of the Indian defence forces have always been wearing helmets over their religious headgear for heads up display and communication, he further added.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence had issued a request for proposal to procure ballistic helmets specially designed for Sikh troops. This had generated a debate amongst in religious as well as defence circles
A section of the Sikh religious and political leaders had opposed the move, contending that wearing a helmet instead of the traditional turban was against the tenets of Sikhism and would affect the identity of Sikhs. That had also appealed to the Prime Minister not to introduce such helmets.
Several defence and historical experts, on the other hand, had pointed out that Sikh soldiers had been wearing helmets in the bygone era. They had also cited the example of personal equipment used by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army.
