EVENTS

Abstract:

History has been witness to the fact that major powers become super powers when maritime power ascendency becomes the centre-piece of their national endeavour. In the modern era, the rise of Europeans through the maritime route and their total domination of the world from the 17th to the 19th centuries, was followed by American ascendency as a super power in the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War. A rapidly rising China observed and understood this truism in its march towards great-power status. Beijing has accordingly prioritised development of all aspects related to the maritime domain. The Chinese Navy as the prime instrument of the State’s foreign policy in the maritime arena, has also been accorded the status of a strategic force and is modernising at break-neck speed. This presentation based on the recently released book, ‘Strategic Assessment of the Chinese Navy: Capability and Intent Assessment’, details the results of a researched study on all facets related to the Chinese Navy. Starting with a broad overview and organisation of the force, it disaggregates the findings in the form of individual chapters on the three arms of the Navy - the Surface Force, Submarine Arm and Naval Aviation. The presentation also delves into the force modernization and operational evaluation of the increasing PLA naval capabilities, and its local and regional implications, particularly those of relevance to the Indian Ocean region.

About the Speaker:

Commander Kamlesh K Agnihotri is a qualified Gunnery and Missile specialist, and is presently working at the Indian Navy’s Maritime Warfare Centre in the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam. He commanded a ship at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He has also qualified as a Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry expert. He has previously been appointed in the China Desk of the Army Headquarters, New Delhi; and worked as a Research Fellow at the China cell of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. He has authored several articles and commentaries on security issues related to China. He has co-edited two books titled ‘Security Challenges Along the Indian Ocean Littoral: Indian and US Perspectives’ (2011) and ‘Technological Developments in the Maritime Domain and their Strategic Implications in the Indian Ocean Region’ (2013).