The Ministry of Defence has started the process of bringing about amendments to The Works of Defence Act, 1903 to meet the requirements of the changed scenario.

About Work of Defence Act, 1903:

• Works of Defence act is a 109 year old Act that provides for imposing restrictions on use and enjoyment of land which are in proximity to Works of Defence in order to keep the land free from buildings and other obstructions.

Why have amendments been proposed to this Act?

• It has been observed that the Act of 1903 has proved problematic for those civilians living in vicinity to defence depots because of its stringent and restrictive provisions. Some of defence establishments especially the defence depots were set up over a century ago in deep jungles or vacant lands far away from human habitations. But due to increased human activity and expansion in habitations certain areas have come very close to the depots.

What has been decided by the govt?

• The Defence Ministry has decided to modernize all depots and develop them by taking cognizance of the best practices followed in some of the advanced countries in the world.

The Task Force, constituted by the government to review the working of the national security, presented its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Task Force headed by Naresh Chandra

Why this task force was constituted?

• To review existing processes, procedures and practices in the national security system
• To suggest measures to strengthen the national security apparatus.

Akash test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from Balasore in Odisha coast.

Akash

• Surface-to-surface air missile System
• Indigenously-developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
• An anti-aircraft defence system
• Strike range: 25 km
• Warhead capacity: 60 kg
• Similar to the American MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system, the Akash is capable of neutralizing aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter jets, cruise missiles
• More on Akash

What is Rajendra?

Rajendra is a radar developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment at DRDO. Akash can simultaneously engage several targets with the help of this Radar. Rajendra does the surveillance, tracks the target, acquires it and guides the missile towards it. It is “passive phased array radar” which is multifunction and it can track as many as 64 targets and control up to 12 missiles simultaneously.

As part of its efforts to augment the security of the strategically significant Lakshadweep archipelago, on Monday. The Navy commissioned a full-fledged naval base, INS Dweeprakshak, at Kavaratti.

Objective: To maintain effective coastal surveillance and defence capability. Indian warships on patrol would now extend their reach farther with base support from INS Dweeprakshak.

What is the strategic importance of full-fledged Naval base INS Dweeprakshak?

The navy had positioned detachments to the Lakshadweep Islands since independence. It also preserved permanent facilities on Kavaratti Island since the 1980s. With rising threat to Indian shipping lanes, such as attacks by Somali pirates, the island territory has grown in significance to Indian security considerations. INS Dweeprakshak was therefore established to facilitate the Indian Navy to offer surveillance potentialities and amenities to Indian naval vessels on patrol.

A blast from the past:

Under the British Raj the Lakshadweep islands were a part of the Madras Presidency and in conformity with the Indian Independence Act 1947, ordained by the British parliament, the islands were transferred to the fresh Union of India. Nevertheless, whilst the Madras Presidency had a Hindu majority, the islands had a Muslim majority. Therefore it appeared probable that the fresh dominion of Pakistan may attempt to claim to them. Thus, on the orders of the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel, a ship of the Royal Indian Navy was sent to the Laccadives (as they were then called) to hoist the Indian national flag and ascertain the islands' integration into the fresh Union of India. Hours after the coming of the Indian ship, vessels of the Royal Pakistan Navy were seen near the islands, but after discovering Indian naval existence they turned back to Karachi.

US and Japan have settled that about half the U.S. Marines on the Japanese island of Okinawa will in a short time depart. Almost 5,000 will go to Guam as part of a much bigger U.S. military build up in Asia, a repositioning that comes in the middle of China's rapid growth as a key economic and military power.

Of the Marines being shifted, about 2,700 will be sent to Hawaii and still others will rotate via a base in Darwin, Australia.

Darwin, Australia ! remember ???

Click here for Darwin Australia

About: Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture is one of Japan's southern prefectures. Okinawa prefecture is made up of dozens of islands that lie at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 km long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū (the south-western-most of Japan's main 4 islands) to Taiwan.

Background and Okinawa’s strategic importance for US:

• 1429: King Sho Hashi establishes Ryukyu kingdom
• 1609: Satsuma clan from southern Japan invade
• 1872: Japan makes Ryukyu kingdom a feudal domain; absorbs it in 1879
• 1945: Okinawa was the site of the last major campaign for U.S. forces in the Pacific during World War II. The Battle of Okinawa lasted from March through June 1945. An estimated 100,000 Okinawan civilians die in Battle of Okinawa; Japan surrenders; US takes control of Okinawa. After the United States defeated Japan in World War II, a U.S. occupation force remained in Okinawa and other parts of the country.
• The Communist take-over in China and eruption of conflicts in Korea and later Vietnam served to emphasize Okinawa's strategic importance to the US.
• 1972: Okinawa reverted to Japanese control, but the US bases remained.

During the Cold War, the US military presence on Okinawa served as a bulwark against communism in a strategic location during the Vietnam War.

B/w 1965-1972, Okinawa was a key staging point for the US, in its military operations directed towards North Vietnam. Anti-Vietnam War sentiment became linked politically to the movement for reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

Okinawa, along with Guam, also presented the United States military a geographically strategic launch pad for covert bombing missions over Cambodia and Laos.

US took over Japanese bases and began stationing troops in the region. The US then inked a security pact with Japan, guaranteeing to defend it in return for land for its military forces.

Planes based in Okinawa flew missions to both Korea and Vietnam. Naval forces were also based there, the region acting as a key hub for the conflicts.

Almost 40,000 U.S. personnel are based in Japan, and more than three-fourths of the military bases are on Okinawa. At its height, U.S. military operations on Okinawa accounted for about 20% of the land use on the island chain.

Why Okinawa still holds strategic importance for US?

Recently, the US has kept its forces in Okinawa and raised its military footprint throughout Asia as China rises as a key economic and military power. Both Japan and US consider the island chain as a crucial bridgehead in the speedily germinating Pacific theatre, where the rising military power of China raises eyebrows.

Much of the U.S. aid to Japan after 2011's earthquake was launched from Okinawa bases.

Why US-Japan deal to withdraw 9,000 US Marines from Okinawa?

The U.S. military presence on Okinawa has caused considerable controversy.

People in Okinawa are agitated because of:

• Noise from the base, in an urban area.
• Misconduct of U.S. troops stationed there
• Cultural misunderstandings and the isolated criminal acts
• 1995 rape of 12-year-old Japanese girl by three U.S. military personnel

The friction between locals and military personnel has been exacerbated in recent years. Locals have long complained of aircraft noise, the risk of accidents, and crime associated with a large contingent of young servicemen.

In 2006, the US and Japan reached an agreement that would have relocated thousands of Marines off the island once the Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma was closed and moved to Camp Schwab on Okinawa. That plan conked after extensive protests over the proposed location and costs for the new air base.

Resistance to the presence of U.S. troops in Okinawa runs so deep that it contributed to the resignation of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in 2010. He had promised to move the base but afterwards declared that the base would stay which he gave in to U.S. pressure, and his government coalition broke up.

It's desired the cut down of forces on the island chain will lessen the hostility.