Comment & Briefs

NCNC trials in capital procurements have been found to restrain quality participation in the tender process and in turn defeat the purpose of quality acquisition of military hardware through competitive bidding. This calls for a review of the practice.

President Rahmon’s visit reconfirms the commitment of India and Tajikistan to impart greater dynamism to their relationship through a long-term strategic partnership for cooperation in the political, security, economic, energy and cultural areas.

It is hoped that regrettable as the murder of Ambassador Stevens is, those in authority in Washington might be persuaded to do their ‘sums’ once again and take a second look.

In the absence of a sustained and visible commitment to rapid indigenisation, India’s dependence on foreign suppliers for its defence needs will only increase and India will sadly remain a ‘knowledge colony’.

3PL support has not become integral to the defence forces’ administrative functions yet. Considering the funds that can be saved, manpower that can be freed to train for operational readiness, the adept, proficient and skilful resources that can be used to upgrade its standards and capabilities, the armed forces should not to drag their feet in this important issue.

India and Pakistan have signed a visa liberalization agreement and reactivated the joint commission during the last round of foreign minister level talks in Islamabad. These are significant steps forward but lot more can be done to make the process of bilateral engagement irreversible.

Xi Jinping’s sudden disappearance, close to the date of the 18th Party Congress when he is to take over as the as the next President, has activated the rumour mill in China and the world. The unfolding political drama in Beijing resembles the climax of an action packed thriller.

The Japanese cabinet’s decision to purchase three of the five Senkaku islands has led to heightened tension in East Asian region. With China adopting an assertive posture on the issue, American unwillingness or incapability to come to the rescue of Japan would impair its ‘pivot’ or ‘rebalancing’ strategy in the region.

India-Sri Lanka relations appear to be reaching a phase of stagnation. The Govt of India has to adopt, perforce, a multifaceted approach on the cultural, economic and security fronts for stability of the bilateral relations in the overall interest of India.

The much-talked about Tamil Nadu factor in India-Sri Lanka relations has come to the fore recently again in the wake of strong reactions of the provincial government to the training of two Sri Lankan defence personnel in the state in August 2012