The 21st century is rapidly developing in various East and Southeast Asian parts. The developing states in the region are struggling to maintain a balance between their social obligations and economic reforms. They believe that technology could act as a catalyst for the successful implementation of their development strategies. During the last few years, the Vietnamese government has invested significant resources in developing its science and technology base, keeping in mind its long-term interests. Space technology is one such area identified by the Vietnamese government.
In 2012, India will host two significant events. First, in December, the India-ASEAN Summit will be held at New Delhi to mark the 10th anniversary of their summit-level dialogue; and second, India and Vietnam will be celebrating 40 years of establishing their diplomatic relations. Both events gain salience in the broader context of the beginning of the third decade of India’s Look East Policy which has witnessed phenomenal growth in bilateral and multilateral relations with the ASEAN countries.
The latest Sukhoi T-50 prototype, PAK-FA, a twin-engine fifth-generation stealth jet fighter, aborted a takeoff at the recently held MAKS Air Show outside Moscow on 21 August 2011 after four days of successful demo flights. While two prototypes of PAK-FA have cumulatively made 48 flights since 29 January 2010, it will be important to know the reasons for this mishap.
The Pentagon releasing annual reports on Chinese Military Power is not new. However, for all these years, the Pentagon’s basic mandate has been to contextualize the Chinese threat to US interests.
Union Home Minister, P.Chidambaram on 15 June 2011, revealed that the Maoist/Naxalite violence had dropped by over 40 per cent, and he credited this change to the success of the “two-pronged strategy”, a combination of the development programme and police actions being adopted by the Maoist affected provinces. He stressed that 80 policemen have been killed so far this year by Maoists as compared to 177 during this time last year. Civilian casualties, too, have come down to 190 from 296 in the previous year.