Newindpress.com, 3 India, Maldives discuss defence cooperation (IANS) Tuesday August 3 2004: NEW DELHI: India and the Maldives on Monday discussed ongoing programmes for defence cooperation and training, a key area in bilateral cooperation. The matters were discussed when Maldivian Minister of State for Defence and National Security Lt. Gen. Abdul Sattar Anbaree called on Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee here, a defence ministry spokesman said. India and the Maldives stepped up defence cooperation after New Delhi prevented a coup in the island nation in 1988. India currently trains military and police personnel from the Maldives. Newindpress.com, 3 Pak spies target Indian defence forces (IANS) NEW DELHI: Pakistani s intelligence agencies are specially training spies to gather detailed information about India s military establishment and bases, security officials have said. A senior government official privy to intelligence operations said spies infiltrated into India by Pakistani agencies were being trained to gather even minute information like the ranks of military officers posted at bases across the country. A Pakistani national, Ghulam Mustafa Qureshi, arrested in Delhi by the Special Cell of Delhi Police last week, was one of those specially trained to spy on the Indian military, officials said. NewKerala.com, 3 Strait security will enhance India s regional power status (IANS) New Delhi, Aug 2: A collective request to India by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to provide maritime security to the pirateinfested Malacca Strait - through which a quarter of the world trade passes - is seen as a recognition of the country s growing stature as a regional power and its strategic strength. It is also a reflection of the perception in the Southeast Asian region of India as a friendly nation, because Malaysia -pg-1
IPCS News Archive and Indonesia had, just days before, rejected a US offer for joint patrolling of the Malacca Strait. New Delhi has positively responded to the request, with External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, who was in Jakarta to attend the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in early July, saying it was in India s interest to ensure that the Strait remained a crime-free sea-lane. The Tribune, 4 Indo-Pak defence talks from tomorrow New Delhi, August 3: After years of conflict for the world s highest battle field, India and Pakistan are due to begin talks on the issue from Thursday with a high-level defence delegation from across the border arriving here tomorrow for the two-day negotiations on Siachen. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) here said today that the main issue during the two-day talks between the two sides would be the de-escalation in the 20-yearold conflict at the Siachen Glacier. Its demilitarisation would be on top of the agenda besides other important defencerelated issues, such as Sir Creek, which incidentally, would be discussed by another Pakistani delegation. The Tribune, 6 India, Pak to discuss panel on conventional weapons (Girja Shankar Kaura) New Delhi, August 5: India and Pakistan are expected to discuss the establishment of a joint experts group on conventional weapons (EGCW) during the next round of talks between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries slated for early next month in New Delhi. Reports emanating from diplomatic circles point out that a proposal to this effect has been put forward by Pakistan, but India was still to react to it either officially or unofficially. The proposal for the EGCW has apparently been made to ward off any threat that may emanate from the existing level of armed forces and their disparity. As far as conventional weapons and the armed forces strength go, India is far ahead of Pakistan, which is also a reason of worry for Islamabad. As per the proposal, the EGCW will function on the same pattern as the experts group on nuclear capabilities. The proposal also has an outline for the functioning of the group and the parameters in which it will operate. The Tribune, 6 Siachen issue may re main buried at frozen heights (Girja Shankar Kaura) New Delhi, August 5: The long awaited talks between the Defence Secretaries of India and Pakistan got underway here today to discuss the demilitarisation of Siachen Glacier, but the indications available at the end of day one pointed to the matter remaining unresolved and buried at the frozen heights of the world s highest battlefield. There was no official word available either from the Indian or the Pakistani side. A joint statement is expected tomorrow, but sources said a breakthrough on the issue was unlikely in this round of talks or even at a later date. Newindpress.com, 7 Talks end; India, Pak Defence secys agree to meet again NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan concluded their eighth round of talks on the Siachen issue on Friday, with both sides agreeing to meet again and discuss the modalities for disengagement and redeployment of troops, including the authentication of maps which show the existing positions held by both sides. Considering that both sides agreed to disagree on the essential issue of map authentication, the fact that they agreed to meet again is said to be a significant development in India-Pakistan relations which otherwise moves at a snail s pace. Military experts from both sides, that is, the two Directors-Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs), who deal with the nitty-gritty of issues, also met to discuss the prickly issues at hand. JOINT STATEMENT ON SIACHEN TALKS -pg-2
Military-Defence Issues The following Joint Statement was issued at the conclusion of Defence Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan in New Delhi on 6 : The two-day Defence Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan on Siachen, in the framework of the Composite Dialogue, were held in New Delhi on 5-6 August, 2004. The Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary, Shri Ajai Vikram Singh. The Pakistan delegation was led by Defence Secretary Lt.Gen. (Retd.) Hamid Nawaz Khan. The Defence Secretary of Pakistan called on Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor Shri J.N. Dixit. Frank and candid discussions were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere aimed at taking the process forward. Both sides assessed positively the ceasefire that has been in effect since 25 November 2003. The military experts of the two sides also met to discuss modalities for disengagement and redeployment of troops and agreed to have further discussions. The two Defence Secretaries agreed to continue their discussions with a view to resolving the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner. Source: Ministry of Defence Press Release The Tribune, 7 Defence structure needs overhaul; Also a doctrine on national security (Col. PK Vasudeva) Indian defence planners are proposing to ministry officials a new deterrence-oriented doctrine that restructures the Army, takes into account Pakistan s nuclear arsenal, and attempts to avoid eye-to-eye confrontations with its troops. The new doctrine, in short, says that we do not hit our adversary so hard as to invite a nuclear response, said a senior Indian Defence Ministry planning official. He said the new doctrine would also shrink the Army, but declined to give details, citing its sensitivity. Ministry officials will decide within three months whether to approve the new doctrine. Newindpress.com, 7 Chances of India-Pakistan war remote (IANS) ISLAMABAD: The chances of a war between India and Pakistan "are less than one per cent now", Pakistan Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said.in an interview with India Today magazine, Hussain said he was very "hopeful" about the peace process between India and Pakistan and gave "full credit" to India for holding a dialogue on the dragging Kashmir issue. Hussain also ruled out the setting up of a commission to probe the 1999 Kargil border conflict with India, saying such a move could "sabotage" the dialogue with India. The Hindu, 13 Defence allocation will be used for buying equipment: Pranab NEW DELHI, AUG. 12. The Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, is confident of spending this year's record allocation for buying equipment for the armed forces, reversing the previous trend of earmarking huge amounts and then returning a large part of it unspent. The Congress had been critical of the BJP-led Government for returning almost Rs. 24,000 crores in the past three years. The Tribune, 15 India needs a comprehensive defence policy (Rakesh Datta) It was in 1963 that India had come out with its first five-year defence plan. It was more or less an expansion plan. But before the plan could complete its second term, it was converted into a roll-on- plan in 1971. Subsequently, any link on defence policy got missed. In the absence of a policy direction, successive governments looked at defence matters in a partisan way. Since nations behave no different from -pg-3
IPCS News Archive individuals, defence remained on a high and low key. The Indian army requires a complete re-orientation to face the emerging challenges like low intensity conflict and terrorism to hit back its adversaries. The problem is the lack of a policy. Our weapon procurement and defence research and development system are highly flawed. We buy a weapon and simultaneously spend huge funds on developing the same indigenously with no accountability. This has been going on for the last five decades with no one being held responsible. This is true in the case of all major weapons like tanks, planes, missiles, warships including small arms. Unlike the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) of the West, we have failed to generate an economic or technological spin in military areas. Even our nuclear weapon endeavour without strategic value was borne more out of domestic political compulsions. Consequently, instead of adding teeth to the defence capabilities, the no-first-use-strike is seen more gullible. Kargil was an example. Unfortunately, it is the defence budget that matters most for our policy makers today instead of a comprehensive and full-fledged defence policy. For, it is through this budget that we tend to assess our defence needs, short term and long term. No doubt, there is a clamour for higher allocation for defence every year. But a major portion of it remains unspent at the cost of modernisation and welfare the two basic postulates for a sound defence system. It is time Dr Manmohan Singh s government spelt out the country s defence policy to not only ensure military adequacy in a long way but also streamline the defence efforts, devoid of any policy direction. Rediff.com, 15 Show more honesty, Pranab tells Pakistan August 14, 2004: India will not tolerate obstruction in the erection of fencing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee asserted today in New Delhi. In his customary Independence Day eve broadcast to the armed forces, he asked Pakistan to show more 'honesty' in curbing cross-border movement of militants. Emphasising that extensive modernization was being undertaken of the three wings of the armed forces, Mukherjee warned that corruption would not be tolerated in the weapon acquisition programme. The Tribune, 19 Natwar denies plans to cede Ladakh area to China New Delhi, August 18: External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh today categorically denied in the Lok Sabha that India wanted to surrender a portion of Ladakh to China in lieu of the latter?s assurance of?no disturbance on its part? in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Minister, while replying to a query by a member from Ladakh during question hour, also reiterated that India considered Tibet as an autonomous region of China. 123Bharath.com, 20 Keltron unit likely to go into defence production (IANS) Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 19: Talks are under way with the centre to convert one unit of Kerala's state electronic development corporation Keltron into a defence production unit. Keltron Managing Director V. Ramkumar said he had met officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the defence production secretary and others during his recent trip to Delhi. "The biggest advantage we have is that we can supply defence equipment at costs that are almost 60 percent less than other defence suppliers," said J. Krishnakumar, general manager of Keltron. Besides Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala is the only state in India that does not have a defence production unit. The Hindu, 21 Defence needs Rs. 6,000 crores more for modernisation (Sandeep Dikshit) NEW DELHI, AUG. 20. The Defence Ministry requires an additional Rs. 6,000 crores this year to ensure that new projects -pg-4
Military-Defence Issues and schemes are not deferred for want of funds, according to the parliamentary standing committee on defence. Noting that the budget estimates for the defence services show an increase of 28 per cent over the revised estimates the previous fiscal with the increase mainly in capital expenditure, the committee's report tabled today in Parliament observed that notwithstanding the higher allocation, the Defence Ministry would have to seek additional funds and had projected a much higher requirement. The projections included about Rs. 7,000 crores for prioritised new schemes and projects. It was subsequently informed that the Finance Ministry had in principle agreed to the creation of the defence modernisation fund which would be available for use over the coming three years. The then Finance Minister while presenting the interim budget also announced the setting up of a nonlapsable modernisation fund with a corpus of Rs. 25,000 crores. The Ministry had, however, "surprisingly'' conveyed that no allocation for this fund was made in the general budget 2004-05 and that the Government was yet to take a decision to set up the fund. The committee was "extremely dismayed at this abrupt policy reversal'' by the Ministry and expressed its "deep anguish'' that a well-considered decision, which was taken after a lot of deliberations, had been reversed without any justifiable reason.it wanted the Ministry to immediately set up the defence modernisation fund with committed allocations for five years as lapsing funds year after year had "greatly hampered'' the procurement of defence equipment. The Statesman, 23 The price we pay to keep the guns blazing (Srinjoy Chowdhury) New Delhi, Aug. 22: The figures tell the story. For a dozen years, the armed forces have been paying higher and higher prices to firms of former Soviet countries to keep their major weapons systems in running order. A recent effort by the Navy shows how inflated the prices are and how the same equipment can be bought fairly cheaply. India s weapons systems are mostly of former Soviet origin. In recent years, prices have gone through the roof. For one component, the Navy paid just above $200 in 2001. Months later, the Russians hiked the price by three times. A year later, a Ukrainian firm charged nearly $3,000. One reason why the prices are shooting up is India cannot directly negotiate with original equipment manufacturers but have to go through state agencies, a defence official pointed out. Recently, when the same spares were necessary, the Navy floated a tender. The bids were opened in July and the quotations, another official said, were favourable compared with what state corporations of former Soviet nations were asking for. One such firm s quotation for the same product that was going at nearly $3,000 was less than $100. The firm was getting it from the same ex-soviet OEM with a certificate of origin, a warranty for one or two years and another certificate to say the spare is eminently usable. Delhi is aware of the price-hike. A silver lining is the willingness of many firms to set up joint ventures in India to manufacture these unglamorous but necessary items which could range from pumps and compressors to crank-shafts and bolts. There is also the exports market. Many countries like Vietnam, Egypt, Syria and Cuba have Russian-made equipment and they too are in need of the same kind of spares. The Tribune, 24 Fund crunch may hit defence projects (Girja Shankar Kaura) New Delhi, August 23: Shortage of funds in the budgetary allocation made this year for defence can lead to curtailment or deferment of some of the schemes and projects, which are at various stages of finalisation. This has been informed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence which presented its first report in both Houses of Parliament last week. The Times of India, 24 -pg-5
IPCS News Archive Military cooperation propelling India-US ties (IANS) INDORE: Military cooperation between India and the US is a "vibrant, visible and proactive" force behind the transformation of their bilateral relations, a top American diplomat said here on Monday. Robert O Blake, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in New Delhi, said military exercises by the two countries were bolstering the capability for joint operations to tackle terrorists and clandestine warfare, and the US was keen to sell India a wide array of defence hardware, ranging from radars to submarine rescue vessels. Addressing Indian military officials at the Army War College here on the theme "US-India Relations: The Making of a Comprehensive Relationship", Blake said: "There is a growing and, I think, mutual desire to expand defence cooperation," he said, noting this was clear from the increasing frequency of training exercises, personnel exchanges and unit and ship visits. Pointing out that the "political disconnect that hampered American defence sales to India" was a thing of the past, Blake said the US had sold 12 AN-TPQ/37 Firefinder weapon-locating radars worth $190 million to India. Two of these radars were supplied in July 2003 and two more would soon be deployed. "The second major deal under negotiation is for the P-3 Orion naval reconnaissance plane. US officials describe it as a '3C-plus', meaning the version that would be sold to India would be equipped with latest avionics, including sensors and computerised command and control and weapons systems," he said. India will also buy $29 million worth of special equipment to enhance the counter-terrorism capabilities of its special forces. It might also purchase chemical and biological protection equipment and submarine rescue vessels. Daily Times (Pakistan), 25 India getting $233m worth of military equipment from US (Iftikhar Gilani) NEW DELHI: The United States has approved the sale of state of the art military equipment to India. The US Charge d Affairs in India, Robert O Blake, Jr, disclosed that American military equipment worth $233 million is finding its way to New Delhi. According to Blake, it was necessary to have compatible equipment, communications and technologies, in the wake of both countries engaged in joint military exercises. Addressing the Army War College in the Central Indian city of Indore on Monday, Blake said that after sanctions were lifted in 2001, only major defence items valued at over $14 million require Congressional notice, while others could be sold to India directly. The Financial Express, 28 Defence Ministry To Seek More Funds NEW DELHI, AUG 27: The defence ministry will be seeking additional funds from the finance ministry for the current financial year. Top authorities of the defence ministry have asked their officials to hasten clearance of some major schemes for the procurement of new platforms for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy. IAF, which has a fleet strength of 45 squadrons, faces the danger of rapid depletion with more than 300 ageing MiG-21 fighters scheduled to be phased out in the next two years. Its replacement the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft will be ready for final induction only in 2011. Though the Navy has finalised a $1.2 billion deal with the French company DCN-International for building six Scorpene submarines under licence at Mazagaon Docks, the deal is yet to receive clearance from the cabinet committee on security. There was a 16 per cent hike in this year s defence budget. Officials said the capital outlay was only enough to take care of the already signed deals like the Advance Jet Trainers, Phalcon AWACS and aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, leaving a paltry Rs 4,000 crore for new purchases. The Times of India, 28 Revamp of armed forces a priority: Pranab NEW DELHI: Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee has directed his ministry officials -pg-6
Military-Defence Issues to "hasten" new schemes for modernisation of the armed forces, holding that if additional funds are required he would ask the finance minister to "sympathetically consider" the issue. Though the defence allocation was hiked to an unprecedented Rs 77,000 crore in the 2004-05 budget, only around Rs 1,000 crore will be left for procurement of new weapon systems. Almost the entire projected capital expenditure of Rs 33,483 crore will go towards already committed liabilities like the "Hawk" advanced jet trainer project, the "Phalcon" AWACS contract and the "Admiral Gorshkov" aircraft carrier package deal, among others. Ministry of Defence Press Releases, 27 Projects of DRDO delayed due to imposition of sanctions August 26, 2004, New Delhi: Tejas Light Combat Aircraft development programme, Kaveri engine development program, Electronic Warfare program for Army and Navy and Futuristic infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV- Abhay) were some important projects/programmes of Defence Research and Development Organisation suffered delay due to the imposition of sanctions. The set back was overcome through indigenous effort by pooling national talents, third country source development initiative and design adaptation. As part of the national effort thrust for research, indigenous development of components, materials and sub-systems, as national effort in on. The sanctions still remain in force partially. This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to Shri B Vinod Kumar in Lok Sabha today. Ministry of Defence Press Releases, 27 Review of Defence procurement policy August 26, 2004: New Delhi: The Defence Procurement Procedure is being reviewed to streamline and make it more effective in the light of the experiences gained in the implementation of the Procedure since December 2001. A system for the mandatory and time bound scrutiny of all major procurement cases is in place in the Ministry. All cases above Rs. 75 crores are sent to Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG), whose reports are further studied by the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Ministry from the vigilance angle and to recommend to the Government where further enquiries are necessary. In cases where the C&AG recommends further scrutiny from the vigilance / legal angle or the Ministry considers it necessary to do so, the CVO will make a formal reference to CVC, CBI or other agencies as deemed appropriate. This would enhance the level of transparency in the procurement process. This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to Shri Manjunath Kunnur and Shri D Vittal Rao in Lok Sabha today. The Times of India, 27 Fire damages RAW's aviation centre (IANS) BHUBANESWAR: A fire at a top-secret aviation facility run by India's external intelligence agency in Orissa on Thursday caused extensive damage to its equipment, officials here said. The fire at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)'s Aviation Research Centre at Charbatia village near Cuttack, about 26 km from here, broke out at about 8.15 pm. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. Senior civil and police officials rushed to the spot with fire service personnel to bring the fire under control. RAW operates aircraft that gather electronic and other intelligence from the centre at Charbatia. These aircraft are fitted with state-of-the-art electronic surveillance equipment and long-range cameras capable of taking detailed photographs from very high altitudes. The centre at Charbatia is one of RAW's four aviation bases. The others are located at Chakrata on the Uttar Pradesh- Himachal Pradesh border, Doom Dooma near Tinsukia in Assam, and the Palam airport in New Delhi. The sprawling Charbatia base is located at a secluded place. Though there is a cricket stadium nearby, -pg-7
IPCS News Archive the base is a high-security zone surrounded by 12-feet-high boundary walls. The Hindu, 31 M. Natarajan to head DRDO NEW DELHI, AUG. 30. M. Natarajan, who is credited with designing the main battle tank (MBT), has been appointed the new chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He replaces V.K. Aatre who retires tomorrow. As DRDO head, Mr. Natarajan will also hold the post of Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister. Mr. Natarajan, who was the DRDO's Chief Controller of Research and Development (CC R&D) for armaments, combat vehicles and engineering equipment, was selected ahead of two missile scientists, R.N. Agarwal and A.S. Pillai. He has been associated with the MBT-Arjun programme since its inception. -pg-8