The Evolving Strategic Partnership Between India and Kuwait

Alvite Ningthoujam

Source Link

The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kuwait from December 21-22 has been considered a major political breakthrough in bilateral relations. It was first visit to this oil-rich country by an Indian prime minster in 43 years. In a significant highlight of this visit, bilateral ties have been elevated to a “strategic partnership.”

India-Kuwait bilateral cooperation has for years been concentrated in three important domains: crude oil trade, remittances from Kuwait to India, and economic engagements. Bilateral trade touched $10.75 billion during 2023-24. Kuwait is the sixth largest crude oil importer and the fourth largest petroleum gas provider to India; it accounts for 3.5 percent of India’s total energy requirements. These statistics underscore the pivotal role Kuwait continues to play in India’s economic and energy security calculus.

Modi’s visit reflected the current Indian government’s politico-diplomatic focus on the Gulf region, particularly since mid-2014. This visit, indeed, marked a pivotal point in New Delhi’s regional outreach efforts. The strategic foreign policy overtures made by India are in alignment with the ongoing geopolitical recalibration that is taking place within most of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, which are increasingly shifting their focus toward establishing robust partnerships with Asian economies, including India.

Strategic consequences of Pakistan’s growing dependence on China - Opinion

Admiral Sunil Lanba

Source Link

Pakistan's sovereignty is increasingly at risk due to its deepening strategic and economic dependence on China. Initially perceived as a mutually beneficial partnership, the relationship between Pakistan and China has evolved into one marked by significant concessions from Pakistan. Islamabad’s mounting debt from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and granting fishing rights indicate this shift. These developments undermine Pakistan's autonomy and threaten regional stability in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This analysis explores the implications of these trends, drawing parallels between China's actions in Pakistan and its expansionist strategies in the South China Sea (SCS).

China's Strategic Influence

The CPEC and Territorial Encroachments

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was once hailed as a transformative initiative for Pakistan, promising infrastructure development, job creation, and economic growth. However, more contemporary developments suggest a more ominous reality. China's growing control in areas like the Gwadar SEZ and granting fishing rights to Chinese vessels signal a significant shift in the partnership. These transactions go beyond mere economic deals, reflecting China's growing strategic influence in Pakistan. By securing control over strategically important maritime zones, such as those near Gwadar, China has been able to extend its reach and capabilities into the Arabian Sea.

J-36: Assessing China’s New Generation Combat Aircraft

Rick Joe

Source Link

On December 26 in the city of Chengdu, China, a new generation, stealthy combat aircraft made by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) had its maiden flight. Images and videos emerged in near real time, showing the highly swept flying wing aircraft accompanied by a J-20S twin-seat chase plane. This aircraft generated significant furor on defense tracking internet and news sites, with questions surrounding its role, capability, maturity, and more.

For the community of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) watchers, this aircraft was not unexpected. I have published articles on Chinese next-generation fighter efforts over the last half decade. Indicators over the last year-and-a-half strongly suggested a new generation/sixth-generation air-to-air combat aircraft would emerge rather soon, and these hints accelerated over the past four months, with increasing details on the type of platform to expect.

The PLA watching community’s working designation of this new CAC aircraft is the “J-36,” in reference to its expected tasking as an air-to-air/air superiority platform, with “36” reflecting the visible serial number: 36011. I will refer to the aircraft as “J-36” as well, with the proviso that both its prefix and suffix are not yet definitive (I have previously used the term “J-XD” as a stand-in).

Unexpected Conscience

Cynthia Watson

Source Link

You do not either have to be a China scholar or an academic of any type to enjoy this easily accessible subject as Suettinger presents it. If you simply want to know one view on how we got to the tensions we currently have with the CCP and the people of China, this is a strong starting place.

Many China skeptics will deny that the Communist Party ever had a conscience. Suettinger indeed discusses in almost 400 page detail (replete with another sixty pages of citations) the cruelties, the lies, the self-justifications, and assorted other repugnant behaviors. It’s seductive to forget that the Party won the Civil War against the Kuomindang, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists, because they too engaged in pretty abominable behavior while the dominant rulers for twenty years. Suettinger (nor I) justify the horrors unleashed by leadership against the opposition during this struggle nor, more importantly, against the public caught scraping through horrible conditions.

Suettinger, hardly “soft” on China, delved into archives (before Xi Jinping closed them à la the behavior I discussed yesterday regarding closing virtually any form of transparency under CCP rule), to provide considerable clarity for why Chinese youth were so angry at the leadership’s treatment of this founding figure in the PRC as upon his passing from leadership. Indeed, too often forgotten in the west is that it was Hu’s April 1989 death and resulting Party elder fears of how his memory galvanized students that ultimately led to the 4 June massacre in Tian’anmen; the “goddess of democracy” and student protests followed demands that Hu receive appropriate respect for his role as a reformer and a CCP political denizen.

Inside China’s paramilitary force that could be key in an invasion of Taiwan

Thibault Spirlet

Source Link

China is preparing its militarized police for kinds of combat that would play a key role in any invasion of Taiwan.

A September report from China Central Television shows what appears to be the People's Armed Police Force, or PAP, simulating attacks from inflatable boats.

Footage and pictures from Chinese state-run outlets show the extent of the combat training and battlefield simulation — blockade breakthroughs, grenade throwing, battlefield rescue, and group tactics in cold, hot, and high-altitude conditions.

This training indicates PAP soldiers "are getting ready" for a takeover of Taiwan, said Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia Engagement at the Defense Priorities think tank in Washington, DC.

Clandestine movement by water would be an essential capability to quell resistance in Taiwan's populated areas near the coast and rivers.

"From my observation, they train hard; they are well equipped and disciplined, and they're given stringent ideological training for the reason that they are probably, in my view, the primary reserve force for section invasion," Goldstein said.

Anti-Submarine Warfare: Doctrine and Capabilities of the PLA Navy

Anushka Saxena

Source Link

Introduction: A Show of Force at Zhuhai

At the recently concluded Zhuhai Airshow in Guangdong, China, a new unmanned combat vessel of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the ORCA, made its debut as part of the Asian giant’s naval arsenal. As official sources highlighted, this 500-tonne displacement high-speed stealth unmanned surface combat vessel, equipped with a diesel-electric dual-mode propulsion system, is capable of performing a host of tasks including Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) fire strike, and air and missile defense. But perhaps what is most interesting, is its reported ability to perform anti-submarine search and strike autonomously. If true, the PLAN may just be ushering in a transformed era for China’s undersea warfare capabilities.

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) seemed to be at the center of a range of weapons systems displays at Zhuhai. With integrated reconnaissance and strike drones, for example, the display of the Wing Loong-X was noteworthy for its new ASW capabilities. When the WLX was first displayed at the 2022 Airshow, it was referred to as Wing Loong-3, but only its potential to perform reconnaissance, ground strikes, and even communication relay tasks was depicted. This time around, the WLX was displayed as an operational unit, potentially signaling that the technology is now mature and deployment-ready. The weapons pods and the sonar buoy it featured at this Zhuhai indicated that it has the capability to be deployed for ASW. The weapons pods included anti-submarine torpedos the WLX can deploy. Further, commentators suggested on QQ, a Chinese social media platform, that a stack of WLXs can be paired with anti-submarine systems like the KQ-200, the PLAN Air Force’s ASW aircraft, to cover a vast area in a “submarine hunting” scenario.

China's record dividends build pressure on the Yuan

Source Link

China’s ambitious campaign to revive its flagging stock market has made the yuan an unintended casualty, with record dividend payouts leading to outflows.

Interim dividends paid by Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms are set to reach $12.9 billion between January and March, a record level for the first quarter, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. That comes as fourth quarter levels have already topped $16.2 billion, the most ever for the period and up 47% compared with a year ago.

The dividend bonanza is adding pressure on the Chinese yuan already weighed by a resurgent dollar and the prospect of growing US-China tensions. The firms mostly pay dividends in Hong Kong dollars but earn the majority of their revenues in the yuan, which requires conversion.

The looming outflows will test Beijing’s ability to achieve short-term market stability without compromising longer term goals in the world’s No 2 economy. That’s especially important as policymakers also ramp up efforts to defend the currency currently hovering near one-year lows.

Chinese hackers used broad telco access to geolocate millions of Americans and record phone calls

Rosie Perper

Source Link

Chinese hackers that gained access to U.S. telecommunications networks in a sweeping cybersecurity breach were able to use their positioning to geolocate millions of individuals and record phone calls at will, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger told reporters on Friday.

A Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon infiltrated U.S. telecommunication providers and used their covert access to steal a trove of Americans’ cell phone records and listen in on the conversations of senior U.S. political figures. POLITICO previously reported that President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and senior Biden administration officials were among the known victims of the hacking campaign.

Investigators say they first detected Salt Typhoon’s activities earlier this year. The FBI announced the U.S. was investigating the hacking campaign in October, after The Wall Street Journal first reported on the breaches a month prior.

Winning the Race: The Case for Counterintelligence against Chinese Espionag

Source Link

Aesop’s fable, “the Tortoise and the Hare,” famously warns us about the dangers of arrogance and complacency in the face of a determined adversary. Unfortunately, in the modern race for supremacy between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), it appears that American policymakers and executives have failed to heed this warning, bearing disastrous consequences for industries vital to U.S. national security.

Like the hare, the United States had long enjoyed a substantial lead in developing defense-industrial sectors and innovating dual-use technologies. However, Washington has since rested on its laurels and exposed itself to theft through its lax counterintelligence posture. Meanwhile, the PRC — marrying the patience and long-term vision of the fabled tortoise with the remarkable leapfrogging ability enabled by its pervasive industrial espionage — has now caught up and even surpassed the United States across a plethora of key defense and technology sectors. Therefore, if spying and stealing are how the PRC plans to ‘win the race’ in modern strategic competition, the United States can only hope to prevail by investing far more robustly in counterintelligence.

Five possible reasons China's productivity slowed down

Noah Smith

Source Link

I’m traveling, so here’s a timely repost.

China’s economy is having major problems. Despite the country’s dominance of global manufacturing, its living standards are starting to stagnate at a level far below that of developed countries. China’s growth has slowed down dramatically, from around 6.5% before the pandemic to 4.6% now, and there are credible signs that even that number is seriously overstated.

The piece is very much worth reading in full, especially for its portrait of Xi Jinping’s strategy for responding to the slowdown — basically, doubling down on subsidies for investment in export manufacturing, rather than Keynesian remedies to boost aggregate demand.

As I wrote a week ago, this strategy might make China militarily stronger by forcibly deindustrializing China’s rivals, but it’s unlikely to solve the country’s macroeconomic problems — overcapacity will just worsen deflation, exacerbating the debt burden on China’s households, banks, and companies.

Iran’s Ring of Fire Strategy in Ruins

Joe Varner

Source Link

Iran’s ring of fire strategy is in tatters thanks to Hamas’ war, and Iran’s nuclear program is likely about to meet its Waterloo, and with it potentially, Iran’s theocratic dictatorship.

Long-standing Iranian grand strategy in the Middle East has been to use a network of proxy militias to do its bidding and to keep its hands clean hoping to avoid retaliation. The Iranian doctrine involved using its proxy militias to destroy Israel in a ‘ring of fire’ and push the U.S. out of the Middle East before it would settle accounts with its Sunni opponents. To that end, Iran armed, trained, and supported Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Syrian regime, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq all with the goal of finishing off Israel. Iran used its network of regional militias to become a regional military threat in the Middle East perhaps until it could become a nuclear power to dominate the area and threaten Europe.

October 7th, 2023 was a disaster for Israel with 1200 people killed and more than 251 Israelis taken as hostage to Gaza, but in real terms Hamas surprise assault on Israel and the war that followed has become a strategic disaster for Iran and everyone associated with it. The October 7th terrorist outrage was celebrated in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen Iraq, and most particularly Iran. But the celebration of murder, rape, torture, and animalistic fury was short-lived.

How the Houthis turned their weaknesses into strengths

Ari Heistein

Source Link

Yemen’s Houthis remain the last component of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance” that is willing and able to launch significant attacks on Israel’s heartland. How has this seemingly ragtag group of Yemeni rebels managed to rule 20 million people, intimidate Gulf neighbors, fire continuously on Israel, and disrupt international shipping in the Red Sea? The answer is that they have resourcefully and adaptably exploited ostensible disadvantages in order to promote their regime’s interests.

First, the Houthis’ extremist religious-political movement has managed to garner little public support. The Haqq Party, Husayn al-Houthi’s attempt at national politics in the 1990s, secured less than 1% of the national vote in all of the elections in which it participated. Rather than abandoning their radical vision, the Houthis then focused on building a supremely loyal network of relatives and radical ideologues. This core of the Houthi regime solidified during the Saada Wars (2006-2010), when the Houthis fought a guerrilla war against Yemen’s government; it is no coincidence that most of the regime’s leaders, now in their late 30s to 40s, were in their ideal fighting years during this insurgency, shaping a hardened leadership.

Despite their continued unpopularity, the Houthi regime is sustained by a relatively small collection of loyalists with familial ties and ideological commitment to the group. This “tyranny of the minority” has withstood immense military, economic, and political pressure without major internal fractures or defections. While disputes among leaders have been reported, they have ultimately been resolved in ways that promote regime cohesion and continuity.

2024: Year of the Drone

Patrick Drennan

Source Link

Drone boats, drone planes, trolly drones, drone traffic lights and more…

The 2024 word of the year was controversially proposed as either Brat (Collins dictionary), Polarization (Miriam Webster dictionary), or Brain-Rot (Oxford University Press) - however no word has more impact on the modern psych than the word Drone.

The weird and extravagant reactions to drones spotted in the night sky of New Jersey recently reflects that fascination. One member of Congress speculated that they came from outer space.

From drones that can soar through the stratosphere, to rotor drones that hover a few feet above the ground, and submersible drones that glide 50 feet underwater, drones have transformed our lives and modern warfare.

Their impact mainly comes from daily news and internet video images of war footage - particularly the fiery, innovative, and futuristic use of drones in Ukraine.

Cost effective FPV (First Person View), and kamikaze drones excel in reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and direct strikes, proving highly effective at targeting enemy positions…but they have been upgraded for much more than that -

South Africa chairs G20: Ambitious plans, geopolitical woes

David Ehl

Source Link

Finally, it's South Africa's turn. The country took the G20 chair in December, the last remaining member to hold the presidency.

The G20, formed in 1999, is a group of 19 of the world's largest economies, plus the European Union, that meets regularly to coordinate global policies on trade, health, climate and other issues. The informal forum does not have a permanent secretariat.

After granting the African Union membership in 2023, the G20 will now finally arrive on African soil. South Africa will host around 130 meetings and forums, leading up to the summit of the heads of state and governments in November 2025 in Johannesburg.

G20 premiere on African soil

Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, chief executive for the South African Institute of International Affairs, told DW that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will likely continue working on the goals that previous presidencies have outlined.

Germany 2025: What political challenges lie ahead?

Jens Thurau

Source Link

The Magdeburg Christmas market attack — and the heated political atmosphere that took hold in Germany as a result — have stressed how central the issues of domestic security and extremism will be for the next German government.

But other topics remain important as well. How does a government combat irregular immigration while boosting skilled immigration? And how does it safeguard against cyberattacks, uphold the rule of law and strengthen democracy against enemies within and without? These are some of the major challenges that the next German government will face in 2025, regardless of which party will be at the helm.

And yet, if you ask some Bundestag members, all of these challenges must first be pushed to the sidelines to address the crisis facing the country's economy. Flagship German companies like Volkswagen are in deep trouble, people are worried about their jobs and are struggling with rising prices and rents.

High energy prices and shortage of skilled workers

Marco Wanderwitz of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) was the federal commissioner for the eastern German states until 2021, and told DW: "The biggest problem we have in this country right now is that our economy is stuttering. And that is really affecting the foundations and the future. The big problem is that we have a loss of confidence in politics among economic leaders."

Europe’s emerging centers of power

Source Link

Europe is in for a turbulent time. The reelection of Donald Trump as U.S. president is yet another shock, after the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. His policies toward NATO and tariffs will cause more instability in a continent where the political and policy establishment is already staggering.

As the new power balance reasserts itself, expect new poles of influence to emerge. We asked a group of top thinkers — historians and political scientists with specialties ranging from the medieval period to the present day — to share their predictions for what those might be.

Desmond Dinan: The return of Warsaw

Poland’s emergence as an EU power center is partly due to the demise of the traditional Franco-German pillar and the increasing importance of frontline countries following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It also owes much to its change of government in 2023 and to Donald Tusk’s return as prime minister.

Trump Can’t Bully the Entire World

Stephen M. Walt

Source Link

In books and movies, it’s easy to predict what will happen to a bully. They will torment the hero for a while, but eventually someone will stand up to them, expose their weaknesses, and deliver their comeuppance. You’ve seen it repeatedly: Harry Potter humiliates Draco Malfoy and defeats Voldemort; Marty McFly bests Biff not once but thrice; Cinderella gets the handsome Prince Charming and her mean stepsisters get nothing; Tom Brown triumphs over Flashman, Elizabeth Bennet defies Lady Catherine de Bourgh and wins Mr. Darcy’s love. This familiar plotline is a comforting reminder that good eventually triumphs over evil.

The problem is, alas, that real life isn’t a book or a Hollywood movie. Indeed, 2024 has been a damn good year for bullies. Russian President Vladimir Putin is winning in Ukraine, albeit at a frightful cost. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s illiberal brand of populism is on a roll in Europe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still in power in Israel, despite exposing his country to Hamas’s attack in October 2023, presiding over a genocidal campaign that has taken tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian lives, and an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. And U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is returning to the White House, with the world’s richest bully—Elon Musk—at his side (for now).

Putin's Presidential Plane Visit to US Sparks Questions

Ellie Cook

Source Link

Moscow downplayed the visit of a special diplomatic flight from the Kremlin's presidential fleet to the U.S. in late December, as speculation swirls over how the new U.S. administration will handle the fraught dynamics with Russia.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova confirmed the aircraft had traveled from Russia to the U.S., but said it was carrying "another rotation of diplomats," in remarks reported by Russian media.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian foreign ministry for further comment via email and to the White House.

Why It Matters

Russia's relationship with the U.S. is at its worst point in decades, and took a dive after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Nearly three years into the war, nuclear rhetoric is seeping into the conflict as Washington consistently backs Kyiv.

President-elect Donald Trump, now less than a month from his inauguration, has vowed to end the war in Ukraine in just a day. NATO officials have predicted the incoming president may try to do a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has said he has a good relationship.

Israel built an ‘AI factory’ for war. It unleashed it in Gaza.

Elizabeth Dwoskin

Source Link

After the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces deluged Gaza with bombs, drawing on a database painstakingly compiled through the years that detailed home addresses, tunnels and other infrastructure critical to the militant group.

But then the target bank ran low. To maintain the war’s breakneck pace, the IDF turned to an elaborate artificial intelligence tool called Habsora — or “the Gospel” — which could quickly generate hundreds of additional targets.

The use of AI to rapidly refill IDF’s target bank allowed the military to continue its campaign uninterrupted, according to two people familiar with the operation. It is an example of how the decade-long program to place advanced AI tools at the center of IDF’s intelligence operations has contributed to the violence of Israel’s 14-month war in Gaza.

The IDF has broadcast the existence of these programs, which constitute what some experts consider the most advanced military AI initiative ever to be deployed. But a Washington Post investigation reveals previously unreported details of the inner workings of the machine-learning program, along with the secretive, decade-long history of its development.

Ukraine risks losing all the Russian land it seized within months, US officials say

NATALIA DROZDIAK

Source Link

After a surprise offensive earlier this year, Ukraine’s forces have lost about half the territory seized in Russia’s Kursk region and may lose the rest in a matter of months, according to U.S. officials, potentially depriving Kyiv of important leverage for ceasefire talks with Russia. 

Ukraine’s military is already grappling with a lack of manpower and uncertainty about the future flow of supplies from the U.S. and other allies, even as it struggles to fend off Russian advances in its east. In Kursk, the region in western Russia where Ukrainian forces seized a swath of land, Ukrainian troops are also facing off against about 12,000 North Korean troops reinforcing the Russians. 

With a more concerted effort by Moscow to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, possibly as soon as next month, Kyiv’s forces may only be able to hold the land until spring before they are forced to retreat — or risk being encircled — the U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss their confidential assessments. 

The timing is significant because Ukrainian officials have said they hoped to use territory seized in Kursk as a bargaining chip in any negotiations. While president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said he wants to bring the war to a rapid end, it may take months for the two sides to agree to a ceasefire, given the complexity of both Ukrainian and Russian demands. 

Want to Read More in 2025? Start With 25 Minutes a Day

Gretchen Rubin

Source Link

I research and write about happiness, so every year before Jan. 1, I ask people, “What resolutions will you make this year?” With reliable frequency, people tell me, “I want to read more.”

Perhaps that’s not surprising. Most of us have the sense that reading is good for us—like getting enough sleep or eating more vegetables. And it’s absolutely true. Research shows that reading benefits mental health, gives us more empathy for others, mitigates stress, sharpens memory, helps us learn, and increases our tolerance for uncertainty (particularly useful these days). One study even showed that reading books helps us live longer.

But, to be honest, while I’m gratified to know that my favorite activity is good for me, I don’t really care that it’s healthy. I read because it’s fun. To me, reading is more fun than practically anything else. It’s like listening to music or hiking—the benefits are great, but that’s not why I do it.

COVID’s Lessons Have All Been Forgotten

ANTARA HALDAR

Source Link

In December 2019, as the world was looking ahead to a new year, a novel virus was quietly spreading in China, having most likely made the leap from animals to humans in a Wuhan “wet market.” Soon, the COVID-19 pandemic would bring the world to a grinding halt, forcing billions of people into unprecedented lockdowns and shuttering economies worldwide. Five years on, we are still grappling with the effects of this “gray rhino”: a high-probability risk that was nonetheless neglected or ignored.

2024 Was Truly the End of the 'End of History' - Opinion

Dan Perry

Source Link

Thirty-five years ago, as communism was collapsing, U.S. scholar Francis Fukuyama famously proclaimed the "end of history." His argument, later expanded in an iconic 1992 book, was that the ideological battles of the 20th century had concluded with the triumph of liberal democracy (and free-market capitalism). With the Cold War over, humanity had supposedly reached its final form of governance—liberal democracy was the "endpoint of mankind's ideological evolution."

It didn't take very long, though, for history to reappear. The disintegration of Yugoslavia and its accompanying horrors, the rise of nationalist authoritarianism in post-Soviet Russia, 9/11 and the ensuing war on terror, and the increasing traction of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations thesis—all this dismantled the notion that the world was converging toward a harmonious democratic order. Fukuyama's grand vision was, by the mid-2000s, a cautionary tale about the dangers of pat certitudes in ivory towers.

I spoke to Fukuyama about a decade ago. By then, he was notably sheepish about his original thesis—while at the same time clear-eyed and intellectually engaging at a far higher altitude than most figures I've spoken to; his view appeared to be that sometimes you take risks and they might backfire—nothing ventured, nothing gained. He conceded his thesis had been overoptimistic but maintained it still held as a long-term vision.

Could AI robots replace human astronauts in space

Jonathan O’Callaghan

Source Link

This was a landmark moment for humanity – but one without any human directly involved, as the spacecraft carried out its pre-programmed tasks by itself as it flew past the sun, with no communication with Earth at all.

Robotic probes have been sent across the solar system for the last six decades, reaching destinations impossible for humans. During its 10-day flyby, the Parker Solar Probe experienced temperatures of 1000C.

But the success of these autonomous spacecraft – coupled with the rise of new advanced artificial intelligence – raises the question of what role humans might play in future space exploration.

Some scientists question whether human astronauts are going to be needed at all.

"Robots are developing fast, and the case for sending humans is getting weaker all the time," says Lord Martin Rees, the UK's Astronomer Royal. "I don't think any taxpayer's money should be used to send humans into space."

He also points to the risk to humans.

"The only case for sending humans [there] is as an adventure, an experience for wealthy people, and that should be funded privately," he argues.

Cognitive Centric Warfare: Modelling Indirect Approach in Future Warfar

Koichiro Takagi

Source Link

Introduction

Since ancient times, war has been a battle of wills between the two parties involved, and humans have fought in the domain of cognition. In the 6th century B.C., Sun Tzu insisted on the importance of surrendering to the enemy without resorting to force. In the 5th century B.C., Thucydides argued that three elements of war were fear, honor, and interest. In the early 19th century, Clausewitz (1989) stated that war is an act to force one’s will on the enemy. Thus, the cognitive aspects of human beings in war are central to war theories.

An enemy’s recognition that he or she has lost the war is an important requirement for the end of the war. Very rarely in the history of warfare has there been a case, such as Carthage’s defeat to Rome, where a city is removed without a trace, the entire population is enslaved, and the state physically annihilated. In many cases, the will of the involved parties has determined the continuation and end of a war.

Sun Tzu and Basil Liddell-Hart argued for the importance of an indirect approach strategy that avoids physical warfare and affects the enemy’s will. However, Sun Tzu and Liddell-Hart did not offer specific suggestions on how to do so. Furthermore, the rapid development of science and technology in recent years—particularly information and communication technology, social media, and artificial intelligence—has rapidly changed indirect approach methods.