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<ul class="summary-list"><li>India is trying to modernize its military of 1.5 million people with lessons from Ukraine.</li><li>Until recent years, Russia supplied India with many weapons such as tanks and jets.</li></ul>As India boosts defense spending amid tensions with China and Pakistan, it is closely studying the Ukraine conflict for clues to the future of warfare and how to thwart its neighbors.Some lessons that Indian experts have already drawn: India needs lots of artillery, drones and cyberwarfare capabilities.Comparing Ukraine to India is tricky. Ukraine faces one major enemy — Russia — while India must contend with its old enemy Pakistan to the west, and an increasingly powerful China on its northwest frontier. The Russo-Ukraine war is mostly being fought over an Eastern European landscape of plains and forest, with a moderately good road network suitable for mechanized warfare. India must prepare for combat in a variety of terrain and climate conditions, including desert, jungle and some of the tallest mountains on Earth.India is also trying to modernize and standardize equipment for its armed forces, which comprise about 1.5 million personnel armed with a potpourri of equipment from several nations, as well as indigenous Indian gear. Until recent years, Russia supplied many weapons such as tanks and jets, but India is increasingly acquiring arms from Western nations, including American howitzers, French jet fighters, and Israeli drones.The Indian Army's artillery, for example, includes more than 3,000 weapons and multiple rocket launchers, including Russian, American, Swedish and South Korean designs. Indian observers believe Ukraine shows the importance of having plentiful and modern artillery. Artillery has arguably become the decisive combat arm in that war, with Russian firing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrainian-army-suffers-from-artillery-shell-hunger/">10,000 shells per day</a> and advancing, while a munitions shortage has limited Ukraine to around 2,000 shells per day. This deluge of firepower has forced both armies to dig in, and turned the conflict into trench warfare."Looking at the demonstration of artillery fire in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, two lessons are available to the Indian Army," wrote Amrita Jash, an assistant professor at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.orfonline.org/public/uploads/upload/20240118114645.pdf">report</a> for the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank. "First, that firepower can be a 'battle-winning factor,' and second, that the time between acquiring the target to shooting has drastically reduced: where it once took five to 10 minutes, it now takes only a minute or two."Indeed, India already planning to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/army-draws-lessons-from-ukraine-war-revises-its-artillery-requirements/article67315823.ece">modernize</a> its artillery arsenal, including switching to 155-mm howitzers — the standard NATO caliber — and developing longer-range shells and rockets.<div type="image" title="Ukrainian servicemen fire an artillery in the direction of Siversk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 01, 2024." height="3000" width="4500" msid="109704222" hostid="261" sizebytes="757078"></div>The air war over Ukraine has proven to be a surprise, especially given Russian superiority in numbers of aircraft and technology. Anti-aircraft missiles have deterred the air forces of both sides from venturing into enemy airspace, with Russian aircraft limited to firing stand-off missiles at Ukrainian cities rather than providing air support for its ground troops. <a target="_blank">Drones</a> have become the stars and workhorses of the air war, with both sides deploying — and losing — drones in the hundreds of thousands.There are lessons here for Indian airpower, according to Arjun Subramaniam, a retired Indian Air Force air vice marshal who helped write the ORF report. India must prepare for "gaining control of the air in limited time and space conditions in a short, high-intensity limited conflict as well as in a longer, protracted conflict." The Air Force must also ensure that its plans are synchronized with ground and naval forces. India should also continue to focus on suppressing enemy air defenses, "particularly against an adversary that is more interested in denying rather than controlling the airspace."Not surprisingly, Subramaniam wants the Indian military to increase drone development and production. But he is also concerned about the possibility of a mass drone attack on India. "Of greater importance is the need to rapidly develop counter-drone capabilities that would be essential in responding to large-scale surprise attacks and retain effective second-strike capabilities," he wrote.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/03/20/the-cyberwar-in-ukraine-is-as-crucial-as-the-battle-in-the-trenches">Cyberwarfare</a> has also emerged in Ukraine as a crucial tool in everything from hacking into military computers and critical infrastructure to purveying propaganda and deepfakes in global media. ORF researcher Shimona Mohan noted "the increasing role of largely civilian organizations like big tech in conflict situations and the deepening interplay of civil-military partnerships around dual-use technologies like AI."Mohan recommends that India invest in cyberwarfare, as other nations are doing. "However, if this is not feasible for socio-political or economic reasons, it should be a priority for countries to ensure that their strategic geopolitical allies are formidable tech powers—for instance in this war, Ukraine received much support from its more tech-savvy partners like the US and private tech companies."Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

India is drawing lessons from Ukraine to counter China's military might 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Russia to visit its president Vladimir Putin. </li><li>It's a visit that risks annoying India's ally the US. </li></ul>When India's prime minister arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, he greeted Russia's famously chilly president, Vladimir Putin, with an exuberant bear hug.It was a move likely <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modi-putin-russia-india-relationship-not-worried-us-biden-mad-2024-7">to rile the US, </a>India's most important geopolitical ally, which has placed pressure on New Delhi to loosen its ties with Russia over Putin's invasion of Ukraine.But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fear of China — a key Russian ally — means that he's willing to risk American anger to keep Putin close."New Delhi sees Moscow as an important buffer in their relationship due to Moscow's strong ties with Beijing," Sarang Shidore, an analyst at the Quincy Institute, told Business Insider."It is not in Russia's interest to have China and India at loggerheads, so it could, to a degree, act as a restraining agent."<h2 id="0ad4840d-1eb0-4f3e-a27c-3953a5a682f0">India ignores US pressure to cut Russia ties</h2>During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was among India's most important allies, with the Kremlin providing military support during India's clashes with Pakistan.They've remained close ever since, but the relationship is being tested anew in the fallout from the Ukraine war.The US has attempted to persuade India to take part <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-general-assembly-biden-narendra-modi-india-82c9273cf3143cf16e9da23c3dd48170">in its campaign to isolate</a> Russia over the Ukraine invasion — but with little success."Russia is one of India's oldest strategic partners, and New Delhi wants to maintain this relationship regardless of Russia's diplomatic isolation following the war in Ukraine," Rahul Bhatia, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, told BI.India has increased its purchase of Russian goods, including oil and fertilizer, at reduced prices after the US imposed sanctions on Russia.It continues to buy Russian armaments, with around <a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/more-than-60-70-of-india-armed-forces-equipped-with-russian-origin-weapons-indian-envoy/articleshow/76903811.cms?from=mdr">70% of its weapons systems believed to be Russian</a>-made, and its military reliant on the Kremlin for spare parts and upgrades."Taking a hardline position against Russia could have both economic and security ramifications for India," said Richard Rossow, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<h2 id="a68bd311-605c-44db-97ac-44c2056c27c0">China's threat to India increases</h2>The threat from Chinese leader Xi Jinping is another key factor in Modi's determination to ignore US pressure and retain good ties with Putin.China's regional might is growing, and it's menacing India, Asia's other major economic power.In 2020, a long-simmering border dispute resulted in deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese troops. China ha<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-produces-vast-undersea-maps-submarine-warfare-report-says-2024-1">s bolstered its presence in the Indian Ocean</a>, and the two are jostling for influence in countries in the region.China has built stronger ties with Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion, hoping a Russian victory<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-china-putin-russia-frenemies-limits-power-sphere-influence-2024-7"> will damage US power and enhance its own global</a> might. And it's this friendship Modi's seeking to drive a wedge between."There is a real chance of future conflicts, and India would prefer to avoid Russia exporting advanced military hardware to China," said Rossow.Some Indian analysts believe that China poses a greater threat to Russia than NATO in the long term and that India can exploit those differences."The Russia-China 'alliance' may be short-term in nature, and that historical conflicts between the two, such as over their long border and under-developed natural resources in Russia's east, will resurface and trigger renewed tensions," said Morrow.But for the time being, Russia's new "no limits"<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-china-no-limits-partnership-yuan-bank-loans-sanctions-2024-2"> partnership has got Modi worried</a>, and he'll likely be hoping for a swift end to the Ukraine war. By maintaining good relations with Putin he's hoping he can contain the fallout."The war does not at all benefit its interests. The war also opens the door to legitimizing violations of territorial integrity, and endangers a principle that New Delhi has backed strongly," said Shidore.

Fear of China is behind India's exuberant display of friendship with Vladimir Putin 

India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023 with an expenditure of USD 83.6 billion, behind the US, China and Russia, according to a report by an independent international think-tank. The report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shared on its website in April also said the "rise" in global military spending last year can be attributed "primarily to the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating geopolitical tensions in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East". The military expenditure went up in all five geographical regions, with major spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East, it said. The report comes amid ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world such as the ones involving Israel-Hamas, Iran-Israel, Russian-Ukraine besides volatility in the Red Sea region. "World military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of USD 2443 billion. The 6.8 per cent increase in 2023 was the steepest year-on-year rise since 2009 and pushed global spending to the highest level SIPRI has ever recorded," according to the report. The <keyword id="21404979" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-military-burden" source="keywords">world military burden</keyword> -- defined as military spending as a percentage of global gross domestic product (GDP) -- increased to 2.3 per cent in 2023. Average military expenditure as a share of government expenditure rose by 0.4 percentage points to 6.9 per cent in 2023 and world military spending per person was the highest since 1990 at USD 306, it added. With military expenditure of USD 83.6 billion in 2023, India was the "fourth largest spender globally". Indian spending was up by 4.2 per cent from 2022 and by 44 per cent from 2014. The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 per cent of the total military budget in 2023, the <keyword id="20911352" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SIPRI-report" source="keywords">SIPRI report</keyword> claimed. "This aligns with the government's priority to strengthen the operational readiness of the armed forces amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan. In comparison, capital outlays to fund military procurement remained relatively stable at around 22 per cent of the budget in 2023," it said. A total of 75 per cent of these outlays went towards equipments produced domestically, which was the highest level ever and up from 68 per cent in the previous year. The continued shift towards domestic procurement reflects India's goal of becoming self-reliant in arms development and production, the think-tank said in its repot fact sheet shared on its website. The Indian Army has maintained that deployment of its troops and other elements along the LAC is "extremely robust" and "balanced". The eastern <keyword id="21271073" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ladakh-border-standoff" source="keywords">Ladakh border standoff</keyword> erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. The ties between India and China nose-dived significantly following the clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, it provides data, analysis and recommendations based on open sources to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. The Stockholm-based think-tank monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide and maintains the most comprehensive, consistent and extensive publicly available data source on military expenditure, according to its online portal. The US military spending was USD 916 billion in 2023, which was 2.3 per cent more than in 2022 and 9.9 per cent more than in 2014, the report said. The US remained by far the largest spender in the world, allocating 3.1 times more to the military than the second largest spender China. "The biggest percentage increase among all US military spending categories in 2023 was for 'research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&amp;E)". The Stockholm-based think-tank also said in its report that Ukraine was the "eighth largest spender" in 2023 after a spending surge of 51 per cent to reach USD 64.8 billion. This gave Ukraine "a military burden of 37 per cent and represented 58 per cent of total government spending". "Ukraine's military spending in 2023 was 59 per cent the size of Russia's. However, Ukraine also received at least USD 35 billion in military aid during the year, including USD 25.4 billion from the US. Combined, this aid and Ukraine's own military spending were equivalent to about 91 per cent of Russian spending," the report claimed. According to the report, Russia's military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated USD 109 billion in 2023. "China, the world's second largest military spender, allocated an estimated USD 296 billion to the military in 2023, an increase of 6 per cent from 2022. This was the 29th consecutive year-on-year rise in China's military expenditure. China accounted for half of total military spending across the Asia and Oceania region. Several of China's neighbours have linked their own spending increases to China's rising military expenditure," the Stockholm-based think-tank claimed in its report. In 2023, the 31 <keyword id="20763732" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NATO-members" source="keywords">NATO members</keyword> accounted for USD 1,341 billion, equal to 55 per cent of the world's military expenditure, the report said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-8a-may-be-more-expensive-than-its-predecessor-as-per-a-new-leak/articleshow/109499394.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-8a-may-be-more-expensive-than-its-predecessor-as-per-a-new-leak/articleshow/109499394.cms" target="_blank">Google Pixel 8a may be more expensive than its predecessor, as per a new leak</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/best-smartphones-under-25000-in-india/slidelist/109529634.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/best-smartphones-under-25000-in-india/slidelist/109529634.cms" target="_blank">Best smartphones under ₹25,000 in India</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/at-17-indian-chess-prodigy-d-gukesh-becomes-youngest-challenger-for-world-championship/slidelist/109492021.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/at-17-indian-chess-prodigy-d-gukesh-becomes-youngest-challenger-for-world-championship/slidelist/109492021.cms" target="_blank">At 17, Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh becomes youngest challenger for World Championship</a>

India fourth largest military spender globally in 2023: SIPRI report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's Navy Day saw participation from India and China, bolstering Putin's anti-Western ties.</li><li>There was a notable absence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet at the parade, after losses to Ukraine.</li></ul>Russia's Navy Day saw warships from India and China join the celebrations as President Vladimir Putin sought to project the strength of his anti-Western alliance.China sent the Jiaozuo, a Type 052D destroyer, and India sent the Tabar, a stealth frigate, to the naval parade in St Petersburg on Sunday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://t.me/MID_Russia/43624">according to Russia's foreign ministry</a>.Algeria also sent La Soummam, a training ship, the ministry said.<div type="image" title="Chinese navy destroyer Jiaozuo in St Petersburg, Russia to participate in the Navy parade in July 2024." height="667" width="1000" msid="112115940" hostid="261" sizebytes="68584"></div>According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-28-2024">the Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War</a>, the gathering was meant "to showcase Russia's relations with a number of non-Western states as part of efforts to create a supposed Russian-led group of states to rally against the West."In total, representatives of 31 countries — including Cuba, Vietnam, Egypt, and Brazil — attended, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://aif.ru/politics/russia/ne-odna-na-prostorah-okeana-v-parade-vmf-prinyali-uchastie-druzya-rossii">according to Russian state-owned outlet Argumenty i Fakty</a>.The parade came amid ongoing efforts by the Kremlin to deepen ties with countries like India and China, which have sent warships to the Navy Day celebrations in previous years.<div type="image" title="Four children wave flags saying 'welcome back' in front of India's Tabar stealth frigate in Bombay, on 31 July 2004" height="500" width="1000" msid="112115942" hostid="261" sizebytes="51970"></div>Despite claiming not to support Russia's war in Ukraine, China has emerged as a major supplier of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/04/12/china-sending-russia-missile-and-drone-parts-for-ukraine-war-us-reportedly-warns/">dual-use parts</a> crucial to its war effort — the sort of support that the US government has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-says-china-giving-russia-support-behind-scenes-ukraine-war-2024-5">repeatedly called it out for</a>.The two countries have also long participated in joint military exercises and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jul/22/2003507411/-1/-1/0/DOD-ARCTIC-STRATEGY-2024.PDF">the Pentagon recently said</a> they are showing increasing willingness to collaborate in the Arctic.Even so, China and Russia's ties appear to be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-and-russia-are-in-a-bad-marriage-that-the-west-shouldnt-try-to-break-up-2024-6">uneasy</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-china-putin-russia-frenemies-limits-power-sphere-influence-2024-7">opportunistic</a>, built more on a common desire to tamp down Western influence.Meanwhile, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/modi-putin-russia-india-relationship-not-worried-us-biden-mad-2024-7">recent trip</a> to Russia to meet with Putin also appeared to signal an indifference to US disapproval from India.President Joe Biden has attempted to persuade Modi to take a harder line on Russia, but this has <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-general-assembly-biden-narendra-modi-india-82c9273cf3143cf16e9da23c3dd48170">largely failed</a>.<h3 id="ce577fa9-a485-44dd-a9e2-a3d031d664c7">A conspicuous absence</h3>While Russia's Navy Day celebrations typically involve all its main military port cities, this year's didn't include Sevastopol, the naval base in occupied Crimea that hosts Russia's Black Sea Fleet.Prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Sevastopol regularly featured in the parade despite <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/5f1fce329a79479d6ddfc9ad">the objections</a> of Ukraine's government.But now it is an active hot-war zone under continual pressure from Ukrainian forces, and Russia has largely relocated the remains of the fleet to the safer port of Novorossiysk, on its own shores.Commentators were quick to point out Sevastopol's absence, with European Council on Foreign Relations chief Carl Bildt posting the following graphic to X, making plain the extent of the fleet's losses: Meanwhile, Putin devoted part of his speech on the day to warning the US that Russia would retaliate if it pressed ahead with recently announced plans to locate long-range missile systems in Germany by 2026.Putin said his forces will take "mirror measures" in response.

India and China joined Russia's Navy Day celebrations as Putin tries to project anti-Western group

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"We will not stop at that (three carriers)," India's defense minister recently said.</li><li>Five or six aircraft carriers would give India a force equal to that of China.</li></ul>India may build a fleet of five to six new aircraft carriers, according to a comment from the country's defense minister that's been widely debated about whether that's a good strategy or if the offhand remark was even serious.The Indian Navy operates two small aircraft carriers. Four more would give India a carrier force on par with China's growing one. And it would not be much smaller — at least in number of vessels — than the US Navy's 11 supercarriers.But whether this ambitious shipbuilding project will happen is another matter. Many Indian experts are convinced it's a bad idea.Exactly what the Indian government is thinking isn't clear. During an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/work-on-third-aircraft-carrier-to-start-soon-more-to-follow-says-rajnath-621319">interview</a> with an Indian newspaper regarding plans to construct a third aircraft carrier, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said India would build yet more. "We will not stop at that (three carriers)," he said. "We will make five, six more."Some Indian experts aren't sure the government is even serious about this. The defense minister "seemingly made an off-the-cuff remark that was picked up by the media," Abhijit Singh, a former Indian naval officer and now an analyst at the Observer Research Foundation think tank in New Delhi, told Business Insider. "He was only trying to dispel suggestions that the government is resistant to a proposal for a third aircraft carrier."Nonetheless, there are compelling reasons why India might want a large carrier fleet. India's rival China now has three carriers, including the newly launched 80,000-ton <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-newest-aircraft-carrier-seen-with-aircraft-mock-ups-images-2024-4">Fujian</a>, and may aim for a fleet of six carriers by 2035. China — which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-troops-beat-indian-soldiers-batons-wrapped-in-barbed-wire-2020-6">fought</a> border clashes with India in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/after-himalayan-clash-india-prepares-navy-to-take-on-china-2021-6">Himalayas</a> in 2020 — is beginning to project its power into the <a target="_blank" href="https://warontherocks.com/2024/05/its-still-the-indian-ocean-parsing-sino-indian-naval-competition-where-it-counts/">Indian Ocean</a>, which is India's maritime backyard."It is expected that the Chinese will permanently station one of its CBGs [carrier battle groups] in the Indian Ocean, supported by its various bases in Djibouti (on the western edge of the Indian Ocean), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rapid-construction-at-cambodia-base-amid-concern-about-china-presence-2021-6">Ream in Cambodia</a> (on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean), and Gwadar in Pakistan, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar," warned India's <a target="_blank" href="https://swarajyamag.com/defence/countering-chinas-expansion-india-to-build-five-to-six-more-aircraft-carriers-in-future-defence-minister-rajnath-singh">Swarajya</a> magazine.Interestingly, Swarajya magazine also suggested that carriers could project Indian power into the South China Sea, which is China's maritime backyard. Indian warships have periodically sailed in those waters.<div type="image" title="A view from the sloped bow of the INS Vikrant that carries MiG-29K fighter jets." height="1333" width="2000" msid="110619274" hostid="261" sizebytes="239670"></div>India has two carriers of around 45,000 tons each: the Vikramaditya (a refurbished former Soviet vessel) and the Vikrant, India's first home-built carrier. Both are <a target="_blank" href="https://interestingengineering.com/lists/ski-jumps-catapults-aircraft-carrier">ski-jump</a> designs that launch the troubled Soviet-era MiG-29K under its own power because it lacks catapults. Despite early speculation that the proposed third carrier would be a 65,000-ton ski-jump design similar to Britain's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uks-flagship-carrier-embarrassing-setback-pulls-out-big-nato-exercise-2024-2">Queen Elizabeth-class</a>, the Indian government appears to be opting for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/india-third-aircraft-carrier-china-indian-pacific-ocean-region-1847935">45,000-ton vessel</a> similar to the Vikrant, and carrying French-made <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/frances-rafale-fighter-jet-popular-dassault-cant-keep-up-2024-3">Rafale fighters</a>.This means that Indian carriers would continue to be less than half the size of the 100,000-ton, nuclear-powered US Nimitz- and Ford-class behemoths, which are equipped with steam or electromagnetic catapults that can launch heavier planes, especially airborne early warning aircraft; China's Fujian also uses an advanced electromagnetic catapult. They would also be less expensive, with the third Indian carrier estimated at around $5 billion, compared to $13 billion for a Ford-class carrier.In fact, some Indian naval experts would prefer a larger carrier equipped with catapults. "Small aircraft carriers, like those India possesses, are increasingly vulnerable and unlikely to play a significant role in future conflicts," Singh, the defense analyst, said. "Unfortunately, the country lacks the funding for a large carrier and can only afford another small flattop. This presents a predicament with no easy solutions."On the other hand, there is a reason why America builds enormously expensive aircraft carriers. Its global interests arguably require the ability to dispatch and maintain floating airfields around the world, often in distant places where airbases aren't available. For India and China, which have a more regional focus, smaller vessels may suffice.For India, carriers are more than floating airfields. They are symbols of national power. Thus regardless of their military utility against a powerful adversary like China, carriers would enable India support other operations, such as humanitarian, peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions."The consensus among India's maritime observers is that the aircraft carrier remains central to maritime strategy, not just for its ability to dominate the littoral but also for its crucial peacetime role," said Abhijit Singh. "In less-than-war situations, the flattop can shift the psychological balance in ways no other naval platform can. Despite its drawbacks, the aircraft carrier's aura and impact in peacetime operations are unmatched."Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

A bizarre comment stirred speculation India may try to match China's carrier fleet 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Xi Jinping is in a struggle with China's military, purging senior commanders to reshape it.</li><li>He wants generals ready and willing to go to war, analysts told Business Insider.</li></ul>Xi Jinping is fighting with China's own military, seeking to purge commanders he sees as unwilling or unable to go to war, military analysts told Business Insider.The Chinese leader is "trying to gain control of the military, and I think that he is thinking that he needs officers who are prepared to actually fight," said Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and author of "China Is Going to War.""There is a sense that many of China's general officers don't want to fight," according to Chang. "And so we really have a force led by an officer corps that is ambivalent about going to war."Since taking power in 2012, Xi has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-modernizing-military">overhauled China's military</a> by cutting deep into its personnel, seeking to improve military-civilian cooperation, and reshaping its structure, among other reforms.His efforts reached a crescendo on December 29, 2023, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/sweeping-chinese-military-purge-exposes-weakness-could-widen-2023-12-30/">when Xi dismissed nine senior officers in one stroke</a>.Since then, <a target="_blank" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/China-s-military-purge-highlights-persistence-of-corruption">reports</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-06/us-intelligence-shows-flawed-china-missiles-led-xi-jinping-to-purge-military?leadSource=uverify%20wall">US intelligence</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/05/china/china-xi-military-purge-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html">have</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/sweeping-chinese-military-purge-exposes-weakness-could-widen-2023-12-30/">suggested</a> the decisions were to root out corruption — a motive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41670162">often cited</a> when Chinese officials are abruptly dismissed.However, to Chang, this theory misses the point."Because if that were the case, all of them would be sacked," he said.For him, Xi is likely purging officers who are reluctant to go to war.He cited Chinese Air Force General Liu Yazhou, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/not-all-in-chinas-military-view-taiwan-the-west-as-primary-threat">cautioned against an invasion of Taiwan</a> and received a suspended death sentence in February 2022, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.asianews.it/news-en/General-Liu-Yazhou,-an-admirer-of-Christianity,-sentenced-to-death-58238.html">per the AsiaNews agency</a>.BI also spoke to Joel Wuthnow, a senior research fellow in the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.He argued that rooting out corruption and readying China for war were aligned goals."The removals indicate that Xi should be concerned about the quality of people and equipment he has invested in over the last decade," he said.The nine senior commanders were involved in China's Rocket Force, which would have a crucial role in any military campaign, said Wuthnow."If that equipment malfunctions or can't be relied on, how confident can Xi and his colleagues be that the PLA will prevail?" Wuthnow asked.<h2>Xi is talking himself and China into a conflict</h2>China has been engaged in low-level hostilities with many of its near neighbors.There is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-acknowledges-deaths-in-indian-border-clash-for-first-time-2021-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">India in the disputed Himalayas</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-has-shifted-tactics-in-senkaku-islands-2014-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">Japan in the East China Sea</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/decaying-ship-stands-as-philippines-defense-against-china-sea-claims-2023-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">the Philippines in the South China Sea</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-biden-china-going-take-over-taiwan-war-report-apec-2023-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory</a>.China's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-threatens-to-forcefully-drive-away-chinese-fighters-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">incursions</a> in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-38-chinese-planes-including-nuclear-capable-bombers-in-airspace-2021-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">Taiwan</a>'s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-flights-around-taiwan-effort-to-improve-asw-capability-2021-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">air</a>-<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-operating-cold-war-era-bombers-against-chinas-growing-might-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">defense</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-pressure-on-taiwan-by-increasing-drone-flights-near-islands-2022-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">zone</a> over the last five years have prompted some <a target="_blank" href="https://breakingdefense.com/2022/10/navy-leader-cant-rule-out-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan-even-earlier-than-2027/">US Navy</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967">Air Force</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Apr/24/2003205865/-1/-1/1/07-AMONSON%20&amp;%20EGLI_FEATURE%20IWD.PDF">officials</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2016/04/xis-purge-of-the-military-prepares-the-chinese-army.html">military</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/china-appoints-admiral-dong-jun-new-defence-minister-but-opacity-reigns/articleshow/106478692.cms?from=mdr">observers</a> to <a target="_blank" href="https://breakingdefense.com/2023/10/in-chinas-military-purge-final-outcomes-remain-to-be-seen/">predict</a> that China would invade Taiwan in the next few years.However, to Chang, it is impossible to determine where the big flare-up could come from."I don't think that we can say, 'Oh, it's Taiwan or whatever'," he said, despite the island occupying the most attention in Western deabtes about China's military intentions.He noted that Xi has been ramping up warlike rhetoric.In his New Year's address, Xi said China "will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202312/t20231231_11215608.html#:~:text=Going%20forward%2C%20we%20have%20full,sustained%20the%20momentum%20of%20recovery.">official translation</a> of his speech.Xi drove the message home in a recent face-to-face meeting with Biden, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/china/xi-warned-biden-summit-beijing-will-reunify-taiwan-china-rcna130087">NBC News reported.</a> The network said Xi told Biden at the APEC summit in San Francisco in November 2023 that China intended to take control of Taiwan.It continued previous interactions on those lines — in November 2021, Xi <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-warns-biden-us-is-playing-with-fire-taiwan-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">warned</a> Biden that his administration was "playing with fire" and urged Biden not to encourage Taiwanese independence, calling it "dangerous."This is significant, Chang said, because it creates "markers" for Xi's political enemies; with such statements, he could be "talking himself and China into a war," he said.Wuthnow, however, believes Xi is now more cautious following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, having seen it destabilize Vladimir Putin's domestic position and fearing the same could happen to him."Russia has paid an enormous price for its misadventure, and China would as well. Moreover, a failed invasion would be worse for Xi politically than not trying at all," he said.<h2>A Chinese invasion could drag the US into WWIII</h2>All the conditions are in place for a third world war, Chang said: There is widespread conflict — war in Ukraine, insurgencies in Africa, Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, and military activity in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean."Remember, in the 1930s, there were separate wars that merged into what we now call World War II," he said."The same dynamics exist today, and it's entirely possible, and some people can even argue that it's probable that these will merge into a global conflict," Chang said.A Chinese invasion in East Asia would drag Western countries into something larger, he predicted."I think that Xi Jinping is taking two pages out of Mao's Peasant Revolution playbook.""One of them was to encircle the cities from the countryside. And in this, I think that Xi Jinping views Ukraine, north Africa, Israel as the countryside, and the United States as the city," he said.

Xi Jinping is in a battle with China's own military, and the outcome could drag the US into WWIII

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lai Ching-te on Sunday said it's "impossible" that China would become Taiwan's "motherland."</li><li>He cited the ages of Beijing and Taipei's governments, saying that China's is far younger.</li></ul>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday challenged the idea that mainland China is Taiwan's "motherland," saying the island's government is older than Beijing's.The comment from Lai, who took office in May, is the latest in the leader's series of barbs toward China's claim that Taiwan is part of its sovereign territory.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZr7Jq9O-MQ">Speaking at a party</a> for Taiwan's upcoming National Day on October 10, Lai said the Republic of China's government, which governs Taiwan independently, would be celebrating its 113th birthday.Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China, which governs mainland China from Beijing under leader Xi Jinping, celebrated its 75th birthday on October 1."Therefore, in terms of age, it is definitely impossible for the People's Republic of China to become the motherland of the people of the Republic of China," Lai said.He then took that rhetoric up a notch."On the contrary, the Republic of China may actually be the motherland of the people over 75 years old in the People's Republic of China," Lai continued as his audience applauded and cheered.Lai called on Taiwanese people to be "precise" in congratulating China on its 75th birthday and to avoid using the word "motherland."The Republic of China was founded in 1912 after the overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty. After losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communist revolutionaries, its leaders, troops, and several million refugees fled to Taiwan in 1949 — the same year that Mao established the People's Republic of China.Beijing has spent decades trying to convince Taiwan's people and leaders that the island should be absorbed under the mainland's control, often threatening to do so by force.But the rise of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party, which has led Taiwan since 2016, indicates a growing attitude among voters that Taipei should resist Beijing and prepare to defend itself if necessary.Lai, who served as vice president under former President Tsai Ing-wen, has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-election-president-william-lai-ching-te-xi-china-hates-2024-1">leaned into that posture</a> as he campaigned for top office and then took power.Chinese media and officials have responded by calling Lai a "die-hard secessionist. The crime that comes with the label can now carry a sentence as harsh as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-taiwan-need-not-worry-death-penalty-independence-separatists-2024-7">the death penalty.</a>Lai's still keeping the pressure up. On Sunday, he once again described Taiwan as a "sovereign and independent country," a characterization that deeply angers Beijing. There's a movement in Taiwan for the island to officially declare independence — which China says is a red line that essentially means war — and Lai has repeatedly alluded to the idea while falling short of championing it.All of this has made cross-strait dynamics increasingly awkward, with Taiwan still depending heavily on China for trade. In the years that Tsai was president, the island sent up to <a target="_blank" href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/03/taiwans-surprising-drop-in-trade-dependence-on-mainland-china/">43.9% of its annual exports</a> to the mainland and Hong Kong. China even gave Taiwan tariff concessions for over a decade, though it's been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-suspends-tariff-concessions-134-items-under-taiwan-trade-deal-2024-05-31/">shutting them down.</a>Between 1991 and 2022, Taiwanese investors put at least $203 billion into China in more than 45,000 approved investment cases, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_6.php">government statistics.</a>Taiwan's government introduced the New Southbound Policy in 2016, an initiative to focus more on trade with India and Southeast Asia so Taipei can reduce its reliance on China.That's all happening against the backdrop of growing strain on relations between China and the US, which announced its largest-ever military aid package of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/09/29/memorandum-on-the-delegation-of-authority-under-section-506a3-of-the-foreign-assistance-act-of-1961-2/">$567 million to Taiwan</a> on September 29.A Chinese invasion of Taiwan has long been feared to be the breaking point for all-out war, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-nuclear-weapons-china-us-experts-war-2024-7">and even nuclear war</a>, between Beijing and Washington.

Taiwan's president is doubling down on sticking it to Beijing, saying China can't be the 'motherland' because its government is younger

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Japan says a Chinese surveillance plane violated its airspace on Monday.</li><li>It's the first recorded incursion by China into Japan's airspace.</li></ul>Japan on Monday said that a Chinese military plane violated its territorial airspace for the first time.The Japanese government<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15403036"> said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance</a> plane had flown over the Danjo islands, west of the island of Kyushu, for around two minutes.At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-militarys-airspace-violation-is-utterly-unacceptable-japan-says-2024-08-27/"> </a>described the intrusion as "utterly unacceptable" and said it was"not only a serious violation of Japan's sovereignty but also threatens our security.""In recent years, China's military activities in the vicinity of our country have tended to expand and become more and more active," he said.Japan scrambled its jets in response to the intrusion, the <a target="_blank" href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-scrambles-jets-chinese-aircraft-141556130.html">AFP news wire reported</a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-scrambles-jets-chinese-aircraft-141556130.html">, </a>though no clashes with Chinese planes were reported.The Japanese foreign ministry said it had summoned China's top diplomat in Tokyo to protest the incident.In recent years, China has become an increasingly assertive military presence in East Asia, and tensions are ratcheting up between Beijing and the US' regional allies, including Japan.Japan scrambled jets in response to Chinese military activity near its airspace 392 times last year,<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://news.usni.org/2024/01/23/japan-scrambled-fighters-555-times-in-the-last-3-months-of-2023-defense-ministry-says"> according to the US Naval Institute,</a> but Monday's incursion is believed to be unprecedented.Among the issues behind the increase in tensions is the dispute over the Senkaku Islands (referred to as Diaoyu Islands in China), which Japan administers but China claims sovereignty over.The Chinese Coast Guard has entered Japanese waters near the islands several times, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinese-armed-vessels-patrol-waters-around-disputed-islands-angering-japan-2024-06-07/">including an incident in June,</a> and Japan has increased its military presence in the region.China has also clashed with the Philippines over disputed territory in the South China Sea, India over disputed Himalayan territory, and claims to own the entire independently governed island of Taiwan.Analysts believe that seizing control of Taiwan is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-biden-china-going-take-over-taiwan-war-report-apec-2023-12">among Chinese leader Xi Jinping's core goals,</a> but such a move could spark open conflict with the US and its allies, which have offered ambiguous pledges over whether they'd help defend the islands from attack.

Japan says China's increasingly aggressive air force breached its airspace for the first time ever

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US X-37B and China's Shenlong are unmanned spacecraft that play secretive roles in space.</li><li>Space-based technology has long given the US military an edge.</li></ul>Just before the start of 2024, the United States and China <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/x-37-chinese-space-plane-launch/">launched</a> what may be their most secretive spacecraft into orbit to little fanfare.Commonly referred to as space planes, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/missions-experiments-for-space-force-mysterious-x-37b-space-plane-2020-5">American X-37B</a> and the Chinese Shenlong are unmanned spacecraft so secretive that their launches were marked with little more than vague general statements from their governments.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launched-a-top-secret-military-spaceplane-into-orbit-2023-12">launches</a> are the seventh and third missions for the respective spacecraft, and although they are highly classified, observers have had limited success in tracking some of their movements.The missions demonstrate exceptional leaps in the development of space planes, and come at a time when both the Chinese and US militaries have ramped up their <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-must-control-space-in-future-wars-top-marine-general-2023-12">space operations</a> — a new frontier that can determine the course of war.Space-based technology has long given the US military an edge. It can track the movements of enemy weapons with powerful <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/manned-orbiting-laboratory-crewed-us-spy-satellite-never-sent-to-space-2024-1">spy lenses</a> and provide the navigation and communications systems ships, aircraft, and troops in the field depend upon.Enter the space plane. From one vantage, they could be robot keepers who keep these large networks fueled and functional, but from another, they could be orbiting spies and saboteurs.What's clear is that their missions are getting more complex, as is their centrality to the strategies of the two countries that fly them.<div type="image" title="The uncrewed X-37B, seen here after its 2019 landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility, is believed to be about 30 feet long." height="1333" width="2000" msid="112761598" hostid="261" sizebytes="82008"></div><h2 id="3dc83e63-5cf2-42d5-8174-a6f3d2577c69">X-37B</h2>A space plane is a reusable spacefaring craft that can maneuver in space independently and also fly and glide within Earth's atmosphere. They are sent into space via a detachable <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-launch-secret-spy-satellites-space-force-government-2022-8">rocket booster</a>, and contain a cargo bay to deploy satellites and other objects for use and experimentation.After completing their mission, they independently return to Earth's atmosphere, land at a designated landing site on their own power, and prepare for their next mission. The most well-known space planes are the American <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/challenger-video-nasa-space-shuttle-program-2016-1">Space Shuttle</a> and the Soviet <a target="_blank" href="https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/soviet-buran-shuttle-one-flight-long-history">Buran</a>. But in contrast to the Space Shuttle, the X-37B is owned and operated by the military.The X-37B's origin begins in 1999, when the civilian space agency NASA awarded Boeing a contract to develop a small unmanned spacecraft capable of fitting inside the Space Shuttle. What they created was a small space plane measuring approximately 30 feet long and with a wingspan of 15 feet — roughly one-fourth the size of the now-retired Space Shuttle.It also contains a cargo bay measuring about 7 feet by 4 feet, which, in addition to housing satellites and other space cargo also holds a solar panel enabling the space plane to recharge. Boeing says the plane's avionics automate its descent from orbit and landing.In 2004, before a working prototype had even been built, the project was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.space.com/337-nasa-transfers-37-project-darpa.html">transferred</a> to the US Defense Department, specifically the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Glide tests on the first testing prototypes (known as the X-37A), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.space.com/1226-rutan-white-knight-carries-37-space-plane-aloft.html">began in 2005</a>, with the first fully successful free glide occurring in 2006.That same year, the project was transferred from DARPA to the United States Air Force Space Command, which then built another model, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/details-about-air-force-space-plane-that-spent-2-years-in-space-2017-5">the X-37B</a>. Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), two X-37Bs have been built.They have flown seven flights so far, with each being <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unmanned-craft-us-space-force-lands-2-5-years-orbit-2022-11">longer</a> than the previous one. Though most of the details of the flights and their results remain classified, some information has been released to the public.<div type="image" title="The X-37B launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 2017." height="1333" width="2000" msid="112761595" hostid="261" sizebytes="88120"></div>The first flight began on April 22, 2010, and saw the first X-37B remain in orbit for a total of 224 days. The second flight, which was the second X-37B's inaugural mission, began on March 5, 2011, and was extended well beyond its original 270-day limit to a total of 468 days. The third flight, beginning on December 11, 2012, marked the first time an X-37B had been reused, and lasted 674 days.The fourth flight began on May 20, 2015. Over the course of 717 days, the space plane tested new propulsion technology for satellites as well as the effects of radiation on certain objects.The X-37B's fifth flight on September 7, 2017 was launched atop Space X's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/">Falcon 9</a> rocket (all previous launches were with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ulalaunch.com/rockets/atlas-v">Atlas V</a> rocket). Over the course of 780 days — a little over two years — the space plane performed a number of activities and experiments, including the deployment of multiple <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/topics/cubesats">CubeSat</a> satellites, which NASA foresees as an orbiting sensory network that can solve complex tasks with a "powerful central spacecraft."The sixth flight began on May 17, 2020, and lasted <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unmanned-craft-us-space-force-lands-2-5-years-orbit-2022-11">908 days</a>. It was the first mission conducted under the command of the newly formed U.S. Space Force and may have been one of the busiest missions yet. It exposed select materials to space, tested the effects of space radiation on seeds, and deployed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usafa.edu/research/research-centers/space-systems-research-center/">FalconSat-8</a>, a satellite built by US. Air Force Academy cadets to conduct five experiments.The X-37B's most recent and current flight began on December 28, 2023. Its mission is classified, with the Space Force <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3583347/department-of-the-air-force-scheduled-to-launch-seventh-x-37b-mission/">stating</a> only that it will be "operating the reusable space plane in new orbital regimes, experimenting with future space domain awareness technologies, and investigating the radiation effects on materials provided by NASA."The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-force-guardian-nick-hague-spacex-rocket-iss-2024-2">Space Force</a> has not given the X-37B's flight path, but because it was launched atop SpaceX's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-spacex-falcon-heavy-launchpad-blasted-lightning-rocket-spaceflight-musk-2023-5">Falcon Heavy rocket</a>, there has been speculation that the space plane could be headed for a much higher orbit than previous missions, as the rocket is one of the most powerful in the world.<div type="image" title="A Long March-2F rocket blasted off in October carrying a manned spaceship from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenlong was launched on December 14 from the same center without images or fanfare." height="1333" width="2000" msid="112761594" hostid="261" sizebytes="201664"></div><h2 id="ef23e953-67f4-4399-8bc9-c452d0019685">Shenlong</h2>Named after the most important dragon god in Chinese mythology and first revealed in 2007, the Shenlong is thought to be a direct Chinese response to the X-37B.The program is surrounded in such extreme secrecy that there are no known images of the space plane in its current form. Images of what is believed to be a Shenlong test prototype <a target="_blank" href="https://www.space.com/18410-china-space-plane-project-mystery.html">mounted under the fuselage of an H-6 strategic bomber</a> in 2007 indicate that the craft is likely to be similar in appearance to the X-37B.Though its specific capabilities remain classified, it is known that, like the X-37B, the Shenlong is unmanned, that it is deployed via a rocket, that it is capable of adjusting its position and maneuvering in space, and that it can carry and deploy satellites and other space objects.Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Shenlong is the speed of its development. Though the exact start date is unknown, academic models of a Chinese space plane were reported as far back as 2000.Years of modelling, wind tunnel testing, and prototype test fights via deployment from H-6 bombers followed, and in 2011, the Shenlong reportedly made its first suborbital flight.On September 4, 2020, the Shenlong made its <a target="_blank" href="https://spacenews.com/chinese-reusable-experimental-spacecraft-releases-object-before-returning-to-earth/">first orbital flight</a>, which lasted two days and saw it release an object into orbit before returning to China on its own power. A second orbital flight began on August 4, 2022, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-lands-secretive-space-plane-after-months-in-orbit-2023-5">lasted</a> nine months.<div type="image" title="The X-37B launched on its sixth flight in May 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station." height="1280" width="2000" msid="112761596" hostid="261" sizebytes="165564"></div>In addition to being considerably longer, the Shenlong's second flight was far more eventful. About two months into its flight, the space plane <a target="_blank" href="https://spacenews.com/chinas-spaceplane-conducted-proximity-and-capture-maneuvers-with-subsatellite-data-suggests/">deployed a subsatellite and then practiced recovering it</a> at least two (and possibly even three) times, a capability for so-called proximity operations that may allow it to snatch an enemy's satellite.The Shenlong embarked on its third and current flight on December 14, 2023, just seven months after its second mission. In May, the Shenlong <a target="_blank" href="https://spacenews.com/chinas-secretive-spaceplane-conducts-proximity-operations-with-small-spacecraft/">released an object from its cargo hold, and began proximity operations</a>, possibly even recapturing it.How much longer the Shenlong will remain in orbit, as well as its future plans more broadly, remain secrets that the Chinese government has shown little appetite for divulging. The government has only <a target="_blank" href="https://app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=b9141bb29a221c45ac2ad0d44dc87fc6">said</a> that the space plane will eventually land in China, and that "reusable technology verification and space science experiments will be carried out as planned to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space."The vague wording resembles previous statements, like those of its builder, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which has previously said that the Shenlong "will provide a more convenient and inexpensive way to access space for the peaceful use of space in the future."<div type="image" title="The satellite networks of the US and its allies could be targeted by enemy spaceplanes." height="1280" width="1920" msid="112761592" hostid="261" sizebytes="362914"></div><h2 id="2f25d6b5-fe78-4384-a750-e76f8663eacb">Satellite threat</h2>Given the immense secrecy of the crafts and what is known about their capabilities, it's easy to understand speculation that the two space planes could be orbiting weapons platforms.The very fact that the US Department of Defense is in charge of the X-37B instead of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/nasa">NASA</a> confirms that the US government believes that there is a military application for the space plane. Similarly, the fact that the Chinese government has been so silent on the Shenlong's activities despite its penchant for boasting about its other space accomplishments may be a tacit indication that there is more to the Shenlong than the 'peaceful use of space.'One of the most impactful possible uses of the space planes is as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-condemns-irresponsible-russian-anti-satellite-test-threatening-space-station-2021-11">anti-satellite assets</a>. Both have deployed satellites from their cargo bays, and the Shenlong's proximity operations may be training runs for attacks on hostile satellites in orbit.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-inspector-satellite-chasing-secret-us-military-satellite-cat-mouse-2023-4">Proximity operations</a> are murky. They could be dress rehearsals for disrupting or eavesdropping on an enemy's satellite, just as they could be drills for missions to refuel and repair one of the country's own satellites.Satellites are among the most important assets for any first-rate military, as they are essential for secure communications, navigation, and intelligence gathering via orbital imaging and communication intercepts. They are even sometimes used to guide smart munitions to hostile targets as well.Neutralizing an enemy's satellites would be one of the most important objectives in any potential conflict between the world's foremost military powers. <a target="_blank" href="https://swfound.org/media/9550/chinese_asat_fact_sheet_updated_2012.pdf">China</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4198/1">US</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2019/04/indias-asat-test-an-incomplete-success?lang=en">India</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2021/11/the-dangerous-fallout-of-russias-anti-satellite-missile-test?lang=en">Russia</a> have each demonstrated a capability to destroy satellites in orbit with anti-satellite missiles, but each of those tests resulted in the creation of large debris fields in orbit that took sometimes took years to disappear. Such debris fields could also pose a very severe threat to friendly satellites as well. China's anti-satellite missile test in 2007 triggered a space debris cloud that was an <a target="_blank" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/hollywood-space-disaster-gravity-uses-kessler-syndrome-for-scares">inspiration</a> for the blockbuster film "Gravity."Having a way to neutralize or even capture satellites, then, could be a better alternative. Tapping into enemy satellites to eavesdrop or shut down their data streams and communications could also serve as a better alternative, and may also be possible with the assistance of space plane (similar to the tapping of underwater cables by submarines).With the militarization of space <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/there-path-counter-russias-space-weapons">seemingly fast becoming</a> reality and with China's space program demonstrating that it can <a target="_blank" href="https://spacenews.com/chinas-shijian-21-spacecraft-docked-with-and-towed-a-dead-satellite/">tow away satellites</a>, it is likely that space planes will only become more important in the years ahead.Benjamin Brimelow is a freelance journalist covering international military and defense issues. He holds a master's degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in international security from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His work has appeared in Business Insider and the Modern War Institute at West Point.

America's X-37B vs. China's Shenlong: Top space planes and their shadowy role in orbital war

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US military may be forced to confront a Chinese invasion of Taiwan without top allies.</li><li>Japan, Australia, the UK and Canada are likely to provide no military forces to counter China.</li></ul>If the US decides to defend Taiwan from Chinese invasion, it may have to do so alone.Several of America's biggest allies are unlikely to commit troops to save Taiwan, either because they lack the military capability or don't want to risk all-out war with an increasingly formidable China, according to a new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3108-1.html">report</a> by the RAND Corp..For Japan, Australia, the UK and Canada, aid "would be confined to diplomatic support for Taiwan and endorsement of likely US sanctions on China," concluded RAND, an American think tank, which surveyed experts in the four nations. If this proves right, it means that any military response to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-missing-how-china-could-seize-taiwan-without-invading-experts-2024-5">Chinese invasion</a> would be limited to American forces."Our respondents believe that the US will receive logistics and materiel support from other countries, but its forces will have to go it alone in responding to an invasion by China," Rafiq Dossani, a RAND senior economist who co-authored the study, told Business Insider. However, there was more support in Japan and Australia to commit their navies to assisting an American-led effort to break a Chinese blockade of Taiwan.That Canada, for example, might not be able or eager to rush to Taiwan's defense isn't a surprise. But for Japan, whose security would be gravely affected by a Chinese takeover of Taiwan, the issue is more complicated."Despite its military power, commitment to the region, and US backing, Japanese pacifism (both popular and constitutional) and the fear of a retaliatory attack by China are likely to limit Japan's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-arming-taiwan-against-china-invasion-but-it-could-backfire-2023-11">military support for Taiwan</a>, perhaps only to logistics and supplies," RAND said. "Any support that they would offer to a US-led military response would likely be limited to logistics and materiel support."The goal of the RAND study, which was sponsored by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was to examine how America's medium-sized allies may deter or mediate a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-taiwan-drills-looked-like-rehearsal-for-invasion-us-admiral-2024-5">conflict between China and Taiwan</a>, a democratic island that China's communist leaders consider a breakaway province. The US is highly dependent on its regional allies like South Korea and Japan for basing, but the prospect it would have to fight without their ships and troops against what's likely to be a larger Chinese force may tarnish its deterrent power.Researchers classified Japan, Australia, the UK and Canada as "middle powers," which RAND defined as nations "that are not small but lack the sheer size and influence to significantly disrupt the global order." The study excluded nations that already faced a risk of direct conflict with China, the US and their respective allies. India and South Korea were also excluded "because those countries have declared that they will not play a mediating role in a cross-Strait conflict."RAND sent questionnaires to 49 diplomats, defense officials, policy analysts, business executives, journalists and legislators in the four nations. The various responses shared "remarkably common" views about a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-doesnt-have-military-power-invade-taiwan-experts-csis-us-2024-1">China-Taiwan war</a>.What is especially striking is the pessimistic self-image. The British experts, for example, felt that "the UK's distant location and weak military assets, in addition to its trade dependence on China, lead to limited UK interest in defending Taiwan militarily."Nor do the four US allies believe that Beijing fears them enough to refrain from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-missing-how-china-could-seize-taiwan-without-invading-experts-2024-5">attacking Taiwan</a>. "Our respondents thought that China views these four middle-power countries as too weak militarily to take on China on their own and as marginal players in a US-led coalition," the report found.On the other hand, America's top allies don't <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-trying-boost-its-economy-is-china-preparing-war-taiwan-2024-5">share</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-flags-tell-us-when-chinas-ready-to-invade-taiwan-2024-4">American fears</a> that a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-china-missile-problem-getting-worse-2024-5">massive Chinese military buildup</a> and Chinese leader <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/xi-claim-us-trying-trick-china-invaded-taiwan-divide-allies-experts-2024-6">Xi Jinping's</a> avowed determination to "reunify" Taiwan with China are steps toward war, but rather may be nationalistic posturing. "According to our respondents, China's main goal is to legitimize its current domestic political system (i.e., the rule of the Chinese Communist Party)," the report said. "To accomplish this goal, China must be seen within as a great power, preeminent in Asia, and able to achieve high economic growth. An invasion of Taiwan would jeopardize such perceptions and thus be deemed an unacceptable risk relative to the status quo."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-taiwan-seals-would-fight-a-chinese-military-invasion-2021-12">Taiwan's military</a> is not inconsequential, with nearly 200,000 active-duty soldiers, anti-ship missiles and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-taiwan-could-use-sea-mines-to-stop-chinese-invasion-2024-3">mines</a>, and soon F-16 fighters and submarines. But this is a fraction of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-showed-how-easily-no-notice-it-can-surround-taiwan-2024-6">China's military</a> might, and Taiwan would probably need outside assistance to repel an invasion or <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-missing-how-china-could-seize-taiwan-without-invading-experts-2024-5">break a blockade</a>. While the US would provide the bulk of such a relief effort, allied contributions would be vital, as would unfettered use of bases in Japan and Australia.To American hardliners already resentful that some <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-didnt-scare-nato-defense-spending-putin-did-experts-2024-2">NATO nations </a>aren't spending enough to defend Europe, the reluctance of its allies may smack of cowardice, and stick the US with the burden of Pacific security. But this may also reflect military and geographic reality. Canada's small military could muster only a token force for Taiwan's defense. Britain's shrinking armed forces, which already have European commitments, would struggle just to dispatch a small carrier task force 6,000 miles to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-ax-attack-philippines-south-china-sea-grab-territory-experts-2024-6">South China Sea</a>.Though <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aukus-plans-for-new-submarine-base-amid-increased-undersea-competition-2023-5">Australia</a> is a Pacific nation, and has diesel-electric submarines and F-35 stealth fighters, it still lacks the ability to project and sustain military operations 5,000 miles away in Taiwan.But the biggest question mark is Japan: Okinawa is about 500 miles from Taiwan, Japan has territorial disputes with China over various islands in the East China Sea, and the Japanese military is rated among the 10 most powerful in the world. Furthermore, Japan's territory and the US military bases it hosts will be essential to any <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-plans-turn-taiwan-strait-into-drone-hellscape-against-china-2024-6">US effort</a> to counter China.Yet if Japan, Australia, Britain and Canada are reluctant to confront China, there are actions they can take to help Taiwan. RAND recommends that they create a joint plan for trade sanctions to deter China from attacking Taiwan. In addition, the four middle powers could play a role in mediators to prevent a Taiwan war from happening."Indeed, middle powers might be the only ones that can play a mediating role in such a conflict if tensions between the great powers were to escalate," the study noted. "However, as of this report's writing, no middle power has enough influence over both great powers to play such a role, even in coalition with other middle powers."Which means these middle-ranked nations need to build up their capabilities, military and otherwise. "To build credibility with both great powers, the four middle powers need to rebuild and bolster their strategic autonomy, material power, and commitment to the Asia-Pacific region."The study also implicitly raises questions about how much the US can count on its NATO allies for support outside Europe. While NATO nations did send small contingents during the Afghan war, confronting China is different."I think that NATO should take seriously the possibility of European middle powers preferring not to be involved in a conflict in which their adversary does not directly threaten their national security," Dossani said."Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

In a Taiwan war, the US could find itself fighting China without its top allies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US sought the help of non-allies to try to dissuade Russia from carrying out a nuclear strike in 2022.</li><li>The US feared a Ukrainian counteroffensive against Kherson could trigger Putin.</li></ul>The US asked non-allies for help in an attempt to dissuade Russia from carrying out a nuclear strike in 2022, a senior US administration official told CNN."One of the things we did was not only message them directly but strongly urge, press, encourage other countries, to whom they might be more attentive, to do the same thing," they said, per the report.The official said their assessment was that input from the likes of India, China, and others "may have had some effect" on Russia's thinking."The concern from key countries for Russia and the Global South, was also a helpful, persuasive factor and showed them what the cost of all this could be," another US official told the outlet.<div type="image" title="Xi/Putin" height="701" width="1024" msid="108355650" hostid="261" sizebytes="37592"></div>Worries that Putin might resort to using nuclear weapons spread in 2022 after Russian forces faced a series of defeats and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-troops-enter-kherson-humiliate-for-putin-as-russia-retreats-2022-11">Ukraine launched a counteroffensive against the prized city of Kherson</a> in southern Ukraine."If significant numbers of Russian forces were ­overrun —­ if their lives were shattered as such —­ that was a sort of precursor to a potential threat directly to Russian territory or the Russian state," one of the senior officials said.And the Biden administration feared that this might trigger Putin to use nuclear weapons as a deterrent to avoid further losses, as he viewed the captured town of Kherson as part of Russia itself, per the CNN report.<h2>Russia's 'dirty bomb' claim</h2>In October 2022, Russian propagandists also began circulating a story suggesting that Ukraine was planning to use a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-baseless-claim-ukraine-dirty-bomb-ploy-to-scare-west-2022-10">dirty bomb</a>," a device containing both radioactive material and regular explosives.Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defense minister, put the claim to the US and a number of its allies.<div type="image" title="sergei shoigu" height="1174" width="1500" msid="108355652" hostid="261" sizebytes="78780"></div>"Russian public messaging came way out of the left field on the potential for Ukraine to use a dirty bomb, which we saw not grounded in reality," one of the administration officials said.But they added that there were fears Russia was making the claims as "a pretext for them to do something crazy or as a cover for something they themselves were looking at doing."The Institute for the Study of War think tank <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1584304801495814144">said</a> at the time that the move "likely sought to slow or suspend Western military aid" and "possibly weaken the NATO alliance in scare-mongering calls."Nevertheless, one official said, "the risk level seemed to be going up, beyond where it had been at any other point in time."In June 2023, President Joe Biden said Russia's nuclear threat remained "real" following the news that Russia had moved nuclear weapons into neighboring Belarus.Last month, Putin made some of his most explicit nuclear threats so far after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested NATO could send troops to aid Ukraine — despite the idea being rejected by the US and other NATO allies."(Western nations) must realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory," he said, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-warns-west-risk-nuclear-war-says-moscow-can-strike-western-targets-2024-02-29/">Reuters</a>. "All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation. Don't they get that?"

US asked China and India for help to prevent Russia from carrying out a nuclear strike in 2022, report says

<keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> and Maldives have signed an agreement to introduce the <keyword id="19998949" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unified-Payments-Interface" source="keywords">Unified Payments Interface</keyword> in the archipelago nation, which will have a "very positive" impact on its <keyword id="20260982" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism-sector" source="keywords">tourism sector</keyword>, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Friday during Jaishankar's three-day official visit to the Maldives. "Witnessed signing of MoU between (the) National Payments Corporation of India and (the) Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Maldives on (the) introduction of (a) digital payment system in the Maldives," he said in a post on X. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (<keyword id="19998946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NPCI" source="keywords">NPCI</keyword>), Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. Addressing a press conference with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer after their "productive discussions", Jaishankar said that India, through its UPI, has "revolutionised digital transactions". Stressing that it has taken financial inclusion in India to new levels, he said "Today 40 per cent of the world's real-time digital payments take place in our country." "We see this revolution, every day in our lives. I am pleased to note that with the signing of the MoU today, we have taken the first step towards bringing this digital innovation to Maldives," he said. "I wish the very best to stakeholders on both sides and hope that we will soon see the first UPI transaction here. I should mention that it will have a very positive impact on tourism," he added. Tourism is the main source of economic activity for the Maldives, contributing nearly 30 per cent of the GDP and generating more than 60 per cent of foreign exchange. Jaishankar's visit aims to reset the bilateral relationship with the Maldives and is the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation's pro-China president, Mohamed Muizzu, assumed office last year. "India's partnership with the Maldives is based on our deep desire to work together for each other's welfare and interests. It is a partnership that has enabled us to always swiftly and effectively respond to challenges, as witnessed in the past," Jaishankar said. "It is a partnership that has enabled us to deliver results and bring tangible benefits to our people in accordance with their wishes, aspirations and priorities," he said. In a post on X, Jaishankar also said, "Jointly inaugurated six High Impact Projects in areas of street lighting, mental health, children speech therapy and special education." "Welcome renewal of MoU between National Centre for Good Governance and Civil Services Commission on (the) training of additional 1,000 civil services officers," he added. Addressing the joint press conference, Maldivian Foreign Minister Zameer said, "India has always been one of our closest friends and a vital development partner." He said the "enduring friendship" was built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect and has continued to flourish over the years. "High-level exchanges between our countries have deepened our dialogue and cooperation in areas of shared interest. We remain dedicated to strengthening and advancing this mutually beneficial partnership," he said. "Minister Dr Jaishankar and I agreed that much more needs to be done to promote trade and investment between the Maldives and India," he said, adding that both sides are committed to establishing "effective mechanisms to enhance economic cooperation, fostering a vibrant and prosperous partnership that will benefit both the nations." Zameer said he conveyed President Muizzu's proposal to begin negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the Maldives and India. "This agreement alongside other economic and trade-related agreements will facilitate trade liberalisation and ease the risks of doing business in both our countries," he said. Zameer said that India and Maldives have also mutually agreed to further strengthen their partnership by continuing joint exercises and expanding training opportunities for officers from both countries, asserting that this reflects "our commitment to working together to ensure the security of our nations as well as ensuring the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean region." India's relations with the Maldives suffered a major setback last year when President Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the Maldives. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians by May 10, the mutually agreed date. "On regional and multilateral issues of importance, our countries have a common understanding and are united in our efforts to resolve them. We agreed to continue our cooperation on issues ranging from combating terrorism, violent extremism, drugs, human trafficking and to the promotion and protection of human rights," Zameer said. In his press statement, Jaishankar said that India and the Maldives "are not just close neighbours, we are also natural partners." "Today, we are mutually invested in each other's development and progress. In a globalised and interconnected world, we see a lot of volatility and global tensions. Even as the world is recovering from the impact of the COVID pandemic, we have been confronted with new challenges arising from international conflicts," he said. In this tumultuous environment, India has been and will be, an anchor of stability for its friends, partners and neighbours. To the Maldives specifically, India has provided support to deal with economic challenges through financial assistance and budgetary support, and by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of critical items, he noted. India's actions have been and will continue to be guided by its firm commitment to the philosophy of 'Sabka Saath, Sabke Vikas - which is- Together, we prosper', Jaishankar said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank">Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry) IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank">India’s wearables market decline for the first time as smartwatch shipments fall</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank">Ola wants to re-enter the quick commerce business to take on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart</a>

You Searched For "india vs china military" and got 12 results

India is drawing lessons from Ukraine to counter China's military might

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