New world order
- There are two dominant narratives about the American withdrawal. One is that the U.S. exited the country on its own will as it is undertaking a larger realignment in its foreign policy.
- S. failed to win the war in Afghanistan and, like in the case of Vietnam, was forced to withdraw from the country.
- Superpowers suffering military setbacks at the hands of weaker forces would create a perception of great power fatigue, if not weakness, that would prompt both their allies and rivals to rethink their strategic assessments.
- There are ample examples in history.
- Take the post-War world. Britain, whose imperial glory came to an end with the Second World War, took time to come to terms with that reality.
- The gradual erosion of the U.S.’s ability in shaping geopolitical outcomes in faraway regions has already shaken up the structures of American unipolarity.
- The Afghan withdrawal was not an isolated incident.
- In Iraq and Libya, it failed to establish political stability and order after invasions. It could not stop Russia taking Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
- Russia has amassed about 175,000 troops on its border with Ukraine. Western intelligence agencies claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of Ukraine.
- From the migrant crisis in Belarus to the troop mobilization in Ukraine, Mr. Putin is unmistakably sending a message to the West that the region stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a Russian sphere of influence.
- Cut to West Asia. Iran, which has stepped up its nuclear programme after the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal, has refused to hold direct talks with the U.S.
- Enter the South China Sea. China is sending dozens of fighter jets into the so-called Taiwan Air Defence Identification Zone almost on a weekly basis, triggering speculation on whether Beijing was considering taking the self-ruled island by force.
- As the U.S. is trying to shift its focus to the Indo-Pacific region to tackle China’s rise (Mr. Biden announced the AUKUS partnership trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. within two weeks of America’s Afghan pull-out), China is becoming more and more assertive in its periphery, seeking strategic depth.
- Biden has understandably ruled out a military confrontation with Russia over Ukraine. What the U.S. and its European allies could possibly do is to impose harsher sanctions on Russia.
- But sanctions slapped on Russia after the Crimean annexation in 2014 did little to deter Mr. Putin from taking more military steps.
- Economic sanctions will also drive Russia further into the Chinese embrace, strengthening the Eurasian partnership, which the U.S., during the Cold War, saw as a critical challenge to American interests.
- With regard to Iran, if the U.S. blinks first and lifts the sanctions, it could be read as another sign of weakness.
- If it does not and if the Vienna talks collapse, Iran could continue to enrich uranium to a higher purity, attaining a de facto nuclear power status without a bomb (like Japan), which would be against America’s declared goals in West Asia.
- The Afghan withdrawal and the downsizing in West Asia suggest that America’s strategic focus has shifted towards China.
- The inconclusive wars the U.S. fought in recent years and the associated great power fatigue have opened up space for its regional rivals, who are trying to maximize their influence, even at the risk of triggering more conflicts.
- This transition, from American unipolarity into something that is still unknown, has put America in a strategic dilemma.
THE HINDU
EU Approach
- The European Union (EU) and India adopted the Connectivity Partnership, expanding our cooperation across the digital, energy, transport, and people-to-people sectors.
- Partnership is centered on transparency, sustainability, equity and inclusivity for the benefit of both regions, in order to create links, not dependencies.
- With India, EU already have a strong ongoing collaboration on sustainable infrastructure.
- For instance, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has financed over €4.31 billion in the country since 1993, including significant connectivity projects.
- Europe wants to reduce excessive dependencies and be more autonomous in areas such as the production of computer chips.
- EU exploring the possibility of establishing a European Export Credit Facility to complement the existing export credit arrangements at the Member State level.
- This would help ensure a more level-playing field for EU businesses in third country markets, where they increasingly have to compete with foreign competitors that receive large support from their governments.
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ERP for helicopter accidents
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation in October proposed an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) in all States to deal with helicopter accidents or emergencies, including making contingency documents available to all districts.
- It was reiterated that the focus of the ERP should be on managing a crisis by covering aspects of who to contact, how to act and what resources to use.
- While it would not be practicable to train personnel to respond to a full-fledged aircraft fire, “the response of the local fire department should be geared to contain fires within their capability of training and be able to rescue survivors”.
- The civil-registered helicopter fleet in India numbers nearly 250, of which Government and public sector undertakings operate 26.
- Reiterating the primary safety aspects, the advisory said prior to any flight, every aircraft movement should obtain a flight plan clearance, receive meteorological and Air Traffic Control briefing by the pilots and pre-flight breath-analyzer check for the crew at the first departure point of the day.
- The advisory noted that during hovering prior to landing and at take-off, a helicopter could generate a rotor downwash wind that could easily exceed 100 kmph for a medium-sized aircraft.
- “The wind force is sufficient to cause the topsoil to be whipped into a heavy dust cloud and debris to be blown away with force, uprooting even loosely secured objects in vicinity,” it said.
- “This has caused accidents due to loss of visual cues to the pilot, entanglement of objects in rotors, loss of engine power due to dust/debris ingestion and even injuries to bystanders who otherwise were well clear of the helipad,” it added
- The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a separate circular for State governments to follow in VIP flight operations.
- The safety guidelines noted that twin-engine aircraft with good operational capability, reliability and easy maintainability characteristics should be used and its operations be in accordance with the aircraft rules and instructions issued from time to time.
- The advisory said that pilotin-command, before commencement of such flights, should familiarise himself with necessary meteorological information required for the intended flight.
- The DGCA said the aircraft should be inspected and certified prior to flights by the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.
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Torpedo system tested
- A supersonic missile-assisted torpedo system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was successfully launched from Wheeler Island in Odisha
- “The system is a next-generation missile-based standoff torpedo delivery system.
- During the mission, full range capability of the missile was successfully demonstrated.
- The system has been designed to enhance antisubmarine warfare capability far beyond the conventional range of the torpedo
- It was a textbook launch, where the entire trajectory was monitored by the electro-optic telemetry system, various range radars, including the down-range instrumentation and down-range ships, the DRDO said.
- The missile carried a torpedo, parachute delivery system and release mechanisms
THE HINDU