How very apt a description of someone labelled by Time Magazine as the "Great Divider", hope they are ready to eat the proverbial humble pie . The scale of victory could not have been achieved without a large Muslim vote, women voting in large numbers, and backing of the massive rural vote. So where is the divide? People obviously voted for a strong leader that can be trusted to take the country forward to great heights. A person who is now well established as a heavy weight leader on the world stage, in addition to being trusted by the majority of his own people..

Congress had no answer to Modi except for abusive behaviour and building up false narratives. Modi is seen as an honest upright leader. So attacking him on this very strength was not accepted by the electorate. Indeed it is true that the PM should have ignored much of the provocation and handled the attack in a more dignified manner. But he is human and a politician. Curb on use of foul language needs to be addressed via a new model code of conduct for elections.

There have been some very unfortunate occurrences in UP. The gau-rakshak brigade, the love jihad brigade ran amok resulting in a blot on the democracy and had a negative impact on BJPs performance. The Cow policy simply does not make economic sense. These narratives, gave fodder to opposition, who played it up to create insecurity amongst some sections of the Muslim community. Totally abhorrible and must be checked going forward. Why should any community be made to uncomfortable or threatened in a democracy where the Constitution guarantees equality to all. BJP particularly in UP has to demonstrate by action not rhetoric alone, "sabka saath, sabka vikas". They have to win back the hearts and minds of all those whom have been alienated during Loksahha
16. Yogi is seen as an upright administrator, but he is a mahant and mixing religion and administration is a cardinal error. Minorities have yet again reposed faith in Modi.. He needs to introspect on to correct these aspects.

India is a very complex country to govern. The systemic mess left behind by UPA and its vote-bank and divisive politics will take time to correct. A remarkable number of corrective actions were started up during the short spate of last 5 years. Infra investment, finance sector corrections, health, education are fundamentals for a solid foundation which were tackled during LS 16. Agri sector infra is being addressed but this area needs a more holistic approach - small holdings the creation of socialist thinking are simply not sustainable and will carry on being the cause of farmer distress and cannot be tackled by throwing 'wavers' alone.

Hope decisions are not swayed by political thinking but have the benefit of expertise from luminaries from commerce and industry.Reliance on Niti Ayog alone will be risky.
Next 5 years have to see India building up on all fronts and building up the well being and spending power of 70% of the rural population will give a tremendous boost to Indian GDP, in addition to making us more self sufficient on food.

China now has more warships than the United States Navy. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), informally known as the Chinese Navy, recently hit a landmark number of 300 ships-thirteen more than the U.S. Navy.

Although admittedly imposing, the number doesn’t tell the whole story. America’s fleet is much larger on a ship-by- ship basis, including eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and an almost equal number of amphibious assault ships.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ ChinaPower project has uploaded an analysis of the PLAN versus the navies of several other regional countries and major powers. At 300 warship hulls, the PLAN is the largest navy in the world, counting aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, submarines, and amphibious assault ships. The U.S. Navy trails at 287 hulls, Russia has 83 hulls, the U.K. 75 hulls, and Australia at 48 hulls. According to CSIS, the Chinese Navy has more ships than “Germany, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom” combined.

The bulk of Beijing’s Navy includes 23 destroyers, 59 frigates, and 37 corvettes, or a total of 119 surface ships. Under the surface China has 76 submarines, including ballistic missile submarines armed with long range nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered attack submarines, and diesel electric attack submarines.

As in most cases, the numbers are quite what they seem. The bulk of China’s naval buildup has been in the area of surface ships, many of which are not suitable for long range, expeditionary warfare. Corvettes such as the Jingdao- class Type 056, for example, are small, lightly armed ships useful only for showing the flag and hunting submarines off China’s coastline and in nearby seas.

The next ship up, the Jiangkai-II-class Type 054A frigate, is slightly larger but lacks the ability to contribute to the defense of a carrier battle group or a long-range punch. Those two ship types alone make up a third of China’s fleet.

The major problem with China’s naval buildup? China lacks the major power projection platforms essential to any navy destined to conduct long-range operations. China has just one carrier, and no amphibious assault ships capable of carrying helicopters and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter-class aircraft. It has no cruisers, a surface ship larger than a destroyer and, in the U.S. Navy, the principle ship designed to protect carriers and amphibious ships from mass missile attack.

Although the U.S. Navy has thirteen fewer ships than the Chinese Navy, by total ship tonnage it actually outweighs the Chinese Navy by a considerable margin. America’s navy weighs roughly three million tons more than the
China’s-an enormous advantage. The average U.S. warship is much, much larger than its Chinese counterpart, making them more capable in their assigned missions and capable of sailing far from home.

One reason for the U.S. Navy’s advantage: eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, each of which weighs close to 100,000 tons fully loaded, giving the U.S. Navy a massive 1,000,000+ ton advantage. Then there are
the Wasp and America-class amphibious assault ships, each of which displaces 40,000 tons, of which the U.S. has ten. The U.S. Navy also has 22 guided missile cruisers to China’s none, and the service’s guided missile destroyers are larger and generally more powerfully armed than their Chinese counterparts.

China’s hull superiority is no accident: it’s the result of a supercharged economy that allowed Beijing to increase defense spending by double digits for more than two decades. It’s also not over: China commissioned 18 warships in 2016 and 14 in 2017. (the U.S. commissioned 5 ships in 2016 and 8 ships in 2017.)

China is also putting the finishing touches on a second carrier, Type 002, and is simultaneously building two more Type 003 improved carriers. At least one Type 075 amphibious assault shiproughly equivalent to
the Wasp and America-class ships is under construction. Finally, China is building at least four Renhai-class Type 055 warships, which the Pentagon classifies as guided missile cruisers. Not only is China poised to broaden its lead in hulls, it is also adding larger platform ships that gave the U.S. Navy its huge advantage.

Comparing the U.S. and Chinese navies is like comparing apples and oranges, but China is starting to build apples too, and at its current rate of naval construction, the country could have a fleet to match the U.S. Navy in a few decades.
China’s military is expected to peak somewhere around 2030, as the country’s population ages and its economy slows. Still, at 2017 levels the country will build another 154 warships. What kind of ships China builds and how large its fleet ultimately becomes could determine the balance of power in the Pacific.

India Defence and Security

Possible Exports of BrahMos To South East Asia. BrahMos Aerospace showcased the BrahMos Supersonic Missile at the International Maritime Defence Exhibition Asia 2019 (IMDEX Asia 2019) held in mid May. The missile was on display along with Akash SAM.
Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise SIMBEX-2019, Sea Phase commences in South China Sea. Read More on India Singapore Defence Cooperation.
Annual Conference and Training Programme at DIAV. Training Programme at Directorate of Indian Army Veterans (DIAV) for Single Window Redress Welfare mechanism for all Army Veterans, Next of Kin held
NSCN-IM expresses concern on Myanmar situation. NSCN-IM expressed concern over reports of military action by Myanmar Army allegedly in collaboration with Indian security forcesin Nagas areas in Myanmar.

Regional Brief

New Afghan Parliament Session Ends In Brawl Over Speaker. Fight broke during first session of Afghanistan's new parliament after disagreement on election of speaker.

China No. 1 Foreign Investor in Bangladesh, New Official Figures Show. China’s footprint in Bangladesh’s economy expanded, Beijing now the South Asian nation's biggest foreign investor.
Maldives Opposition MPs fail to back up corruption allegations. Anti-Corruption Commission said, Opposition lawmakers admitted to lying about President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih receiving stolen money.
Pakistan Arrests 10 Chinese Suspected Human Traffickers. The number of Chinese visiting Pakistan has dramatically increased since the launch of the bilateral multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) five years ago.

Global Brief

Rocket Lands Near U.S. Embassy In Baghdad Amid Tensions With Iran. Rocket landed in Baghdad's Green Zone near
U.S. Embassy compound amid heightened tensions in region with Iran. Escalation Alert.

Cambodia Dismisses Chinese Naval Base Editorial as Part of ‘Misinformation’ Campaign. Cambodia Dismisses Chinese Naval Base Editorial Part of Misinformation Campaign aimed to damage country’s international image.