Indian Ocean's 'Great Game'

The intensifying great power rivalry that has characterized the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean is providing unprecedented impetus for the economic development of the region. The weakening of Western, or more specifically, U.S. influence throughout the world has in part enabled an increasingly powerful China, and an emerging India, to expand their influence through shrewd soft-power diplomacy.
Due to the confluence of common strategic interests shared by the world's major powers, a new great game is emerging in the Indian Ocean region. Both China and India have fostered initiatives and forums to attract and project their power and influence.
For instance, China has two main multilateral forums, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Forum of China-Africa Cooperation. Similarly, India has three multilateral initiatives: the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, India-Africa Forum and the Pan-African e-network.
The advent of this changing geopolitical dynamic has provided developing countries with greater flexibility to resist Western pressure by courting China and India. A case in point was recently encapsulated by the president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, who wrote in the Financial Times, "The battle for influence in the world between the West and China is not Africa's problem. Our continent is in a hurry to build infrastructure, ensure affordable energy and educate our people.
"With direct aid, credit lines and reasonable contracts, China has helped African nations build infrastructure projects in record time - bridges, roads, schools, hospitals, dams, legislative buildings, stadiums and airports.
"Today I find myself at the heart of an economic struggle with the EU. If Europe does not want to provide funding for African infrastructure … the Chinese are ready to take up the task, more rapidly and at less cost," he added.
The hallmarks of power plays that continue between India and China are apparent in almost every country throughout the Indian Ocean region. China's drive to open new routes and markets that bypass its strategic overdependence on the Malacca Strait has led to trade and economic development in underdeveloped regions of Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia.
For instance, in South Asia, China has invested billions in major infrastructure development projects such as the construction of new ports like Hambantota in Sri Lanka, Gwadar in Pakistan and Sittwe in Myanmar. China is also engaged in the construction of highways, railways and oil and gas pipelines that directly link Gwadar and Sittwe to China's western and southern borders.
Similarly, India has sought to expand into new markets and is offering attractive aid and investment packages to countries in South Asia and throughout the Indian Ocean region.
There are numerous examples of China and India's regional engagement. For instance, India recently approved a credit facility worth $640 million for the development of Ethiopia's sugarcane and bio-fuel industry, while China provided a soft loan worth $700 million so the Ethiopian government can build an 80-kilometer, six-lane highway and a $1.5 billion loan to modernize telecommunications infrastructure.
Bilateral trade between India and Mozambique increased from $178 million in 2005-06 to $459 million in 2008-09. Similarly, India's bilateral trade with Kenya has surpassed $1.5 billion in 2009-10, making India Kenya's sixth-largest trading partner.
Bilateral trade between China and Mauritius has increased from $96 million in 2001 to an estimated $505 million in 2007. In 2008, China announced plans to invest $730 million to open a trade development zone for Chinese firms, which made the project the largest source of foreign direct investment in Mauritius. One year later, China agreed to lend $260 million to expand Mauritius' only international airport.
For the time being, the emerging competition and shifting balance of power in the Indian Ocean region is proving beneficial for developing countries that are intent on rapid economic and infrastructure development. Indeed, while Western countries over the last few years have generally increased their foreign aid budgets and investment in the developing world, this alone has not necessarily secured Western influence as aid and investment is often attached with political and human rights caveats.
In contrast, China and India have no such compulsions and continue to focus foreign investment and aid to enhance their strategic influence throughout the Indian Ocean region.
Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe is a senior analyst at Future Directions International, a strategic think tank based in Perth, Australia.

Colonel: Next Reaper Must Tackle Emerging Threats

The U.S. Air Force's next-generation replacement for its MQ-9 Reaper unmanned combat aircraft will be modular, easily upgradable, stealthy, feature jam-resistant communications and will be highly common with the Navy's forthcoming Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft, said a senior service official.

The next generation of the MQ-9 Reaper must be able to face emerging threats such as cyberwarfare, said Col. James Gear, director of the Air Force's Remotely Piloted Aircraft Task Force. (U.S. Air Force)

While the current fleet of Reaper drones serves the Air Force well over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan, the aircraft is not without its flaws.

The Reaper does not fare well in icing conditions, and thus, a next generation MQ-9 replacement must be "weather tolerant", said Col. James Gear, the service's director for its Remotely Piloted Aircraft Task Force during AUVSI's Unmanned Systems Program Review 2011 on Feb. 2. Nor will the Reaper be able survive inside contested airspace where there is a surface-to-air threat, he said.
"In tomorrow's conflict, or going even further to the right to an anti-access environment, the MQ-9 and MQ-1 [Predator unmanned aircraft] are not well suited for that. So there is certainly a requirement and need for an aircraft [that] operates in these three different threats," Gear said.
The threats the next-generation plane might face emanate not only from surface-to-air missiles and enemy aircraft, but also from the emerging realm of cyber-warfare.
The MQ-X must, therefore, have secure jam-proof data-links that are fully encrypted and must be able to verify who is trying to signal it, he said.
Additionally, the aircraft must be modular and upgradable, Gear said. Capabilities would be added incrementally and the design should be flexible enough to be upgraded to handle new "requirements [that are not] fully defined or funded," he said.
Additionally, the future MQ-X will be highly common with the Navy's UCLASS program. While the carrier-based Navy aircraft has different requirements, the Air Force and the sea service have been cooperating closely, Gear said.
"It's very similar to the MQ-X," he said.

Bulgaria Fishes For Fighter Jet Offers

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's defense ministry said Feb. 2 it had requested information from France, Germany, Sweden and the U.S. on the potential supply of new or used fighter jets for its air force.
The letters, sent in January, requested from the four countries "information on their capabilities for logistical support, equipment, training, financial schemes, exploitation period, etc," the ministry said in a statement.

"The request concerns the purchase of eight new or used multifunctional fighters," it added.
The ministry however noted that "at this stage there is no clarity on the financial parameters of the project."
No company names were mentioned in the statement but the newspaper Standart reported on Feb. 2 that Sofia was eyeing offers from major fighter jet producers like European defense giant EADS, Sweden's Gripen and U.S. Lockheed Martin.
Sofia will develop the parameters of its investment project based on the information it receives from the four countries, before officially calling a tender for the fighters, expected at the beginning of 2012 at the earliest, according to the defense ministry.
The acquisition of new multipurpose fighters for Bulgaria's air force had so far been delayed due to severe financial constraints.
A 2007 U.S. document leaked by WikiLeaks and cited by Bulgarian media on Feb. 2 revealed strong U.S. pressure on Bulgaria not to acquire new fighters, but to purchase second-hand U.S. F-16 or F-18 aircraft instead.
In case Bulgaria decided to acquire new combat aircraft, "U.S. manufacturers will, of course, be in this hunt," the cable added.

U.S. Army Wants To Redirect Funding for Humvees

The U.S. Army still plans to launch a competitive program to upgrade its Humvee fleet, according to the final draft of the service's Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Strategy, released Jan. 27. But the service has been unsuccessful so far at securing funding for the effort.

A U.S. Army Humvee is shown traveling through the mountains of Kapisa province, Afghanistan, in April 2008. The service still hopes to upgrade the existing fleet. (Army)

The Army would like to start the Humvee recap effort this fiscal year, Maj. Gen. Thomas Spoehr, who directs force development in the Army's G-8, told reporters Jan. 27.

Getting the effort started will require the Army to submit a second reprogramming request to Congress.
Last spring, the Army asked permission from Congress to shift money away from procuring new Humvees toward a Humvee recap program. That request was denied.
Since then, the Army has done a lot of talking to members of Congress and their staff, Spoehr said. The service also has continued to refine its acquisition strategy and explore what industry can offer.
The Army first released a request for information for the recap program in January 2010.
Most vehicle makers had an improved Humvee on display at their booths at the annual Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) conference in October. The improved Humvee designs featured everything from double-V hulls to advanced armor solutions to structural blast chimneys.
The service plans to release a second request for information before issuing a formal request for proposals, said Col. David Bassett, project manager for tactical vehicles.
In the near term, the Army plans to reset its Humvees used in Iraq and Afghanistan in its depots.
The Army does not plan to buy any new Humvees beyond 2012. However, the service is working with Humvee maker AM General to keep the production line running as long as it makes sense, Bassett said. There are other services' requirements to fill as well as requests from other countries, he said.
The Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Strategy represents a "paradigm shift" for the Army, Spoehr said. Rather than look out five to 10 years as previous documents have, this strategy lays out a plan for how to manage the service's fleet of trucks for the next 30 years, he said.
The Army plans to reduce its overall fleet of 260,000 trucks by 15 percent by fiscal 2017, Spoehr said. In doing so, the Army will reduce what it spends on procurement for tactical wheeled vehicles from $4.4 billion a year to $2.5 billion a year.
Part of this divestiture could include some of the Army's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
The Army would like to divest around 1,500 of the roughly 20,000 MRAPs in its inventory, Spoehr said. The two models the Army would prefer to divest are the earlier version of the RG-33, built by BAE Systems, and Force Protection's Cougar.
The Army owns later, more capable versions of the RG-33, and to upgrade the older models is not cost-effective, officials said. The Army does not own many Cougars, and therefore, resourcing the maintenance and training for them also is not cost-effective.
The Army does not intend to throw either vehicle out, but if there is an opportunity for "someone else to use them," the Army would prefer to divest them, Army officials said.
The Army released a draft of the strategy at the AUSA conference in October, but then pulled it back, saying it needed to circulate the document internally a bit longer.
According to Spoehr, the document released Jan. 27 is the same one the Army was ready to distribute in October.

Level-Field' Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate

Two U.S. senators are introducing legislation that would require the Pentagon to take into account illegal foreign subsidies in the U.S. Air Force's ongoing tanker procurement saga.
The two senators, Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said they are proposing the legislation because the World Trade Organization found that EADS, which is the prime contractor for one of the two competing tanker designs, received government subsidies to help fund the development of the Airbus A330. The A330 is the basis of the EADS bid.

"I am proud to introduce this legislation as my first bill in the Senate because I believe when American workers are given a fair chance, they will succeed and produce the best tanker for our men and women in uniform," Moran said in a news release.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed similar legislation in December, 325-23. Moran sponsored that bill before taking office as a senator.
In the Senate, the proposed legislation is co-sponsored by Patty Murray, D-Wash.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Roy Blunt, R- Mo.; Pat Roberts, R-Kan.; and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., - a bipartisan group who all represent states where tanker hopeful Boeing has manufacturing plants.
Those factories might help build Boeing's 767-based tanker aircraft should the company emerge as the winner.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., speaking at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, said that Boeing too has been found to accept illegal government subsidies by the World Trade Organization. Sessions' district in Alabama would benefit from jobs created by an EADS victory in the tanker contest.

Gates, Canadian Defense Minister Defend F-35

OTTAWA - U.S. and Canadian defense chiefs on Jan. 27 vigorously defended the F-35 fighter jet program, despite criticism over costs and technical delays.
Amid a partisan feud in Canada over the government's plans to buy the stealth warplanes, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the continued support of Ottawa and seven other international partners for the project was "very important."

"My hope is that for all of our sakes that all of the partners cooperate to move forward with us on this program," Gates told a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart, Defense Minister Peter MacKay.
The Pentagon sees foreign partners as crucial to keeping costs under control for the radar-evading fighter, which has been dogged by rising costs and technical glitches.
Gates cited steps taken last year to rectify problems with the F-35 and said he was now satisfied with the program's progress, saying there were no cost increases for the program this year.
MacKay accused critics of the plane of playing a political "game" and warned that scrapping the purchase of 65 F-35 fighter jets could mean grounding Canada's air force in 2020.
The F-35 fighter, billed as the backbone of the future U.S. combat air fleet, has become the most expensive weapons program ever and is now expected to cost the United States $382 billion, for 2,443 aircraft.
The two defense chiefs also discussed the war in Afghanistan, where Canada plans to withdraw combat forces from the south in July.
MacKay said Canada was scouting locations near Kabul to host 950 military trainers, as it continues talks with Washington and NATO about what sort of training is required.
Canada plans to send the military trainers to a base in Kabul until 2014 in a non-combat role to advise Afghan soldiers.
Canadian troops have spent nearly nine years fighting insurgents as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, a mission that has claimed the lives of more than 150 Canadian soldiers.
The two also said they discussed expanding Canada-U.S. military cooperation in the Arctic and offering joint maritime security assistance to Caribbean allies.
Gates was due to meet both his Canadian and Mexican counterparts but Mexico's secretary of national defense, Gen. Guillermo Galvan Galvan, could not attend due to illness.
An earlier attempt at a three-way meeting of the defense chiefs in July had to be called off because of violence in Mexico.

Italian Air Force Receives 1st Tanker From Boeing

ROME - The Italian Air Force took delivery on Jan. 27 of the first of four Boeing KC767-A tanker aircraft it has acquired.
The aircraft, MM 62229, flew from Boeing's Wichita, Kan., facility to the Italian Air Force's Pratica di Mare base south of Rome for a hand-over ceremony, the Air Force said in a statement.

The aircraft will now "undergo a series of tests and activities" before entering service, the statement said.
"The second aircraft, which should be delivered in the coming months, is now undergoing tests at Boeing," added the statement.
Boeing has previously said that the last two of the four aircraft would feature "enhanced capabilities," without giving details.
The KC767-A replaces the B-707T/T tanker previously flown by the Italian Air Force. It is configured for troop and cargo transport, as well as refueling from a rear boom and three hose and drogues - one under each wing and one under the main fuselage.
Three crew are required for transport flights and four for refueling missions.
After first promising delivery of the tanker in 2005, Boeing's schedule slipped as it sought to fix a vibration problem with a wing pylon, and then tackle a stability problem on the centerline hose and drogue.