INDIA TO RAISE TRIBAL ARMY TO BATTLE MAOISTS
New Delhi is taking new steps to reinvigorate its decades-old battle with Maoist insurgents in the country’s underdeveloped eastern “tribal belt.” In March the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved a plan by the Defense Ministry to raise a “territorial army battalion consisting of local tribal youth in Maoist-affected areas.” The MHA’s proposal is actually more aggressive than the Defense Ministry’s, suggesting New Delhi raise three battalions of local tribal youth rather than one, describing it as an opportunity to “target the same youth who in the absence of opportunities usually goes to the Maoist fold.” The proposal will soon be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security, the government’s premier national security forum, for final approval. The MHA asked that the hardest hit districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkand, and Orissa receive top priority for the 3,000 – strong “Home and Hearth” battalions. (DNA March 18, 2012)
DRONE STRIKES DROP AMID US-PAK SPAT
There were far fewer CIA-operated drone strikes targeting Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas in 2011 than in 2010, according to an analysis by the Long War Journal. According to statistics largely consistent with other independent analysis, there were 64 drone strikes counted in 2011 compared to 117 in 2010, by far the most active year for drone operations (there were 53 in 2009, 35 in 2008, and five or less each year from 2004-2007). So far in 2012, there have been 10 drone strikes counted as of March 15. The decline in operational tempo in 2011 and 2012 owes to the deterioration in U.S.-Pakistan relations throughout the course of 2011, springing from disagreements over the U.S. Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Abottabad and an accidental U.S. strike on a Pakistani border post killing 24. A direct consequence of the deteriorating relationship was Pakistan’s eviction of the CIA from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan last year, from which many of the CIA drone operations were launched. The Long War Journal’s analysis also shows that the vast majority of drone strikes have been conducted in the tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan and have targeted elements of the Afghan Taliban and allied groups like the Haqqani network. (The Long War Journal March 15, 2012)
SIPRI: INDIA WORLD’S LARGEST ARMS IMPORTER
The 2012 report on global arms transfers published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has identified India as the largest arms importer for the five year period from 2007-2011, with New Delhi accounting for 10 percent of the total volume. India’s weapons imports jumped by 38 percent from the 2002-2006 period, with Russia emerging as New Delhi’s top supplier with an 80 percent share. Asia as a whole was responsible for 44 percent of the total volume of arms transfers from 2007-2011, placing it far above the next regional importer of arms, Europe, at 19 percent.
After India, the top five arms importers were rounded out by South Korea (six percent), Pakistan (five percent), China (five percent), and Singapore (four percent). China, the world’s top arms importer in 2006-7, has dropped to fourth place largely due to increased domestic production of arms. Meanwhile, the volume of China’s arms exports have soared, growing 95% from the 2002-2006 period to the 2007-2011 period, largely due to surging arms exports to Pakistan. However, America remains the world’s largest exporter of arms, accounting for 30 percent of the total, with Russia a close second at 24 percent. India’s recently-released budget calls for a defense budget increase of 13 percent next year to $38.4 billion while China is planning an 11 percent rise to around $106 billion. (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute March 19, 2012)
LEAKED LETTER EXPOSES SHORTFALLS IN INDIAN MILITARY
India is reeling from the leak of a sensitive and politically charged letter from Indian Army Chief VK Singh to the country’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, detailing grave deficiencies in India’s military. Dated March 12, 2012, the letter outlines various shortcomings in India’s capabilities, including a tank fleet “devoid of critical ammunition,” an air defense system that is “97% obsolete,” an infantry lacking in “night fighting” capabilities, “large-scale voids” in critical surveillance systems, and an Elite Special Forces “woefully short” of “essential weapons.”
[Editor’s Note: The leaked letter comes amidst an escalating row between the army chief and Defense Minister AK Antony. Last year Gen. Singh, who is slated to retire in two months, engaged in and eventually lost a battle with the defense minister to extend his term by one year. The unusual and very public disagreement stemmed from the army chief disputing his officially registered birth date. Singh argued he was born a year earlier, which would have made him eligible to serve another year as army chief.] (Hindustan Times March 28, 2012)