Capt KK Agnihotri Archives - National Maritime Foundation

THE PLA NAVY’s AIRCRAFT CARRIER, THE FUJIAN: A SYMBOL OF CHINA’S ‘FAR-SEA DOMINANCE’ ASPIRATIONS

Keywords: PLA Navy, Aircraft Carriers, Fujian, Liaoning, Shandong, EMALS, Power Projection, Far Seas, Maritime Security, Indian Ocean, J-15, J-35, Liu Huaqing, Gerard Ford, CATOBAR, Doraleh, Djibouti “The carrier has become an important…

2025 WHITE PAPER ON CHINA’S NATIONAL SECURITY: VIEWING ‘HOLISTIC SECURITY’ THROUGH THE CHINESE PRISM

The Chinese State Council issued a White Paper entitled “China’s National Security in the New Era” on 12 May 2025. Although the full text of the White Paper is available only in Mandarin, an abstract in English has been officially…

Photo Credits_Taiwan Commonwealth Magazine

RISING INSTABILITY QUOTIENT IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC: HOW SHOULD INDIA RESPOND?

Abstract The contemporary geopolitical environment in the Western Pacific is becoming increasingly unstable on account of intractable territorial disputes and overlapping maritime zone claims in the East and South China Seas. The tenuous…

SECURITY SITUATION IN TAIWAN STRAIT: POISED ON THE RAZOR’S EDGE?

President Lai Ching-Te made his first public National Day speech on 10 October 2024 as part of the Taiwan’s 113th anniversary celebrations. The event, widely attended by foreign delegates, opposition party members, government functionaries…

SETTING THE ‘DRAGON’ AMONGST THE PIGEONS: CHINA COAST GUARD REGULATION-3 TAKES EFFECT

Abstract China has been trying assiduously, through a variety of means to assert greater control over the area encompassed by its so called ‘Nine-dash Line’ in the South China Sea. While it seeks to enforce its supposed rights in the…

DEFENCE OF JAPAN- 2024 (DIGEST): A CRITICAL REVIEW

Japan’s 25th Defence Minister, Mr Kihara Minoru, released the latest edition of the nation’s Defence White Paper, “Defence of Japan 2024”, marking the 50th issue since the first edition was published, in 1970.[1] This milestone coincides…

Credit: Google Earth

THE MERCHANTMARINE IN THE CROSSHAIRS: LATEST TOOL OF STRATEGIC MESSAGING?

Abstract The economic wellbeing of a country is contingent upon free, open, and secure seas consistent with the prevalent ‘rules-based order’, through which global trade and energy can flow unhindered. The spillover of the Israel-Hamas…

INDIA’S OUTLOOK TOWARDS SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND BEYOND: ‘CHANGING TACK’ IN CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENT??

Abstract In recent years, growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea has been a source of increasing discomfiture, particularly, for those south-east Asian countries — as also Taiwan — which have a long-standing dispute over…

Credits: MEA

THE INDO-PACIFIC MILITARY CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES: COLLABORATION IS THE KEY

Abstract The Indo-Pacific Region is presently beset with many maritime security problems, both, traditional as well as non-traditional. While traditional problems can only be solved by the States directly concerned; the broad spectrum of…

Credits: Associated Press- Photo/Built Marquez

CHINA’S MANTRA FOR GREAT MARITIME POWERHOOD: PRESIDENT XI’S SPEECH AT 20TH NPC SETS THE AGENDA

Abstract The ‘work report’ speech of the Chinese President in the 20th National Party Congress (NPC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) had domestic orientation covering various themes related to the governance of the nation and the…

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 2022: AN ANALYSIS

On Sunday, 31 July 2022, by Presidential Decree 512, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin approved the 2022 Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation, which replaces the 2015 maritime doctrine. Released on the occasion of the Russia’s 326th…

UA Weapons

SINKING OF THE RUSSIAN CRUISER MOSKVA: A CAUSE-EFFECT ANALYSIS

One of the major casualties of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the loss of the Russian Navy cruiser, the Moskva, in the Black Sea, after an unexplained fire on board. While Ukraine understandably claimed credit —albeit not yet corroborated…