Comment & Briefs

US calculation in backing Pakistani designs for controlling Afghanistan will bring even greater dangers to its own doorsteps.

Given that allocations for revenue expenditure are likely to become lesser in coming years, defence managers need to initiate immediate measures to control the rising revenue expenditure.

If the Finance Ministry’s emphasis on fiscal prudence and inclusive growth has resulted in a smaller increase in the latest defence budget, the Report of the Thirteenth Finance Commission does not paint a very optimistic scenario for India’s future defence spending.

With Hatoyama’s determination to wrest policymaking power from bureaucrats in full swing, Japan is likely to witness an intense battle between the political masters and the powerful bureaucrats for supremacy.

Since both India and EU face the same threat of religious radicalism at home and from across the border, focused cooperation on this issue must be given serious thought.

To prevent intelligence failures there is a need to incorporate the additional and fresh areas of intelligence interest brought on by the asymmetric and nuclear dimensions of future conflict.

China undertook a BMD test on January 11, 2010, which it claimed was an exoatmospheric interception. Though Beijing was known to be developing missile defence systems for long, there were very few indicators on how far it has gone in terms of technological prowess.

With APEC accounting for half the world’s global economic output and 44 per cent of its trade value, Japan’s role in creating a region wide free-trade zone and developing a strategy for economic growth of the Asia Pacific is expected to be decisive for the world economy.

The resumption of India-Pakistan dialogue is closely linked with US moves in Afghanistan in the context of Obama’s publicly declared intent to begin the process of US military withdrawal from Afghanistan from 2011.

The Dutch withdrawal from Afghanistan may have cascading effects, as smaller European countries notwithstanding their importance in contribution or numerical strength, may also announce their exit citing their own national caveats in the months to come.