Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: January 22, 2017 Edition

On Tuesday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) commissioned its fifth improved Dongdiao class (Type 815A) electronic reconnaissance, or auxiliary general intelligence (AGI), ship. The ship will join China’s North Sea Fleet.

The PLAN Kaiyangxing was commissioned at a ceremony at the northern Chinese port of Qingdao. The vessel was built at Shanghai’s Zhonghua Shipyard, according to IHS Jane’s 360.

The PLAN to date has commissioned six Dongdiao-class vessels, five of the improved Type 815A variety and an older Type 815 vessel, the PLAN Beijixing, which was commissioned in 1999. Between the one Type 815 and the four Type 815A, China’s AGI fleet currently stands at 5 commissioned vessels.

The PLAN Tianwangxing was commissioned in December 2010 and entered service with the PLAN’s East Sea Fleet. Three more vessels were commissioned in 2015, with two entering service with the South Sea Fleet and one with the North Sea Fleet. With the commissioning of the Kaiyangxing, the PLAN’s North Sea Fleet will possess two AGIs.

The vessels provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support to other PLAN vessels. The Type 815A variant is reported to be capable of tracking ballistic missiles as well.

India’s troubled nuclear-capable Nirbhay long-range cruise missile program has been given an 18-month grace period to address technical problems following a failed December 21 test launch of the missile, according to local media reports.

Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar recently agreed to let Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) engineers continue to work on the program until June 2018. Should other tests fail to deliver positive results, India’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) is expected to finally ax the Nirbhay project next year.

The Nirbhay is a subsonic land attack cruise missile armed with a 300-kilogram warhead capable of reaching speeds of 0.6-0.7 Mach and an estimated strike range of 1,000 kilometers. It is designed to be launched from air, sea, and land. Launched in 2004, the project’s completion date was originally set for December 2016.

India’s 68th Republic Day celebrations on January 26 will feature His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, UAE as the chief guest. The visit of the Crown Prince, also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will give a much needed boost to the cordial and stable relationship shared by India and UAE.

The India-UAE political relationship got a fresh start in August 2015, when India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Abu Dhabi, becoming the first Indian PM to do so in 34 years. The renewed friendship comes against the backdrop of Modi’s aggressive courting of foreign investments and Abu Dhabi’s new oil diplomacy, underlining economic diversification. In the fast changing global economic and political landscape, strategic bilateral cooperation is the answer to growth and security.

Japan is set to launch its first military communications satellite next week. The Japanese satellite, known as the Kirameki-2, will be launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The launch in question was announced in November 2016 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which will coordinate the launch with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the country’s civilian space agency. Japanese military satellite plans were announced in early 2013, when the Ministry of Defense announced (PDF) a scheme for the construction, launch, and operation of a satellite network through 2030.

On January 16, the Chinese government announced the appointment of Che Dalha (known as Qi Zhala in Chinese) as the new chair (equivalent to governor) of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). Che Dalha, the former party secretary of Lhasa municipality, was given his new post during the fifth session of the 10th regional congress, which was held from January 10-16. Rumors about such a promotion had been rife for a long time, particularly among the people of Lhasa; the announcement made it official. Che Dalha is the new governor of the TAR, replacing Lobsang Gyaltsen, who occupied the post from January 2013 and will now serve as chairman of the Standing Committee of the TAR People’s Congress.

Three months ago, the Indian Ocean welcomed its newest submarine force: Bangladesh took delivery of a pair of Chinese Ming-class Type 035B diesel electric submarines, joining a prestigious club of Asian maritime powers.

With India and China engaged in an intensifying Great Game along the Indian Ocean rim, key battleground states like Nepal and Sri Lanka have to date attracted the most attention. But the submarine sale serves as a reminder that their far bigger and more powerful neighbor to the east is embroiled in the Great Game too.

Bangladesh acquired the Chinese submarines in a 2013 deal valued at $203 million. Unable to afford more advanced Chinese Yuan– and Russian Kilo-class vessels, Dhaka opted for the Type 035Bs at a discount. The 1970s-era submarines were primarily used by China as training vessels in the 1990s and “were considered not to be successful,” though they’ve subsequently been outfitted with more advanced torpedoes and sonar.

In a surprise move back in June 2015, Thailand’s navy elected to buy three submarines from China in what would be one of the most expensive single acquisitions in the country’s history (See: “How Did China Just Win Thailand’s New Submarine Bid?”).

Since then, although the debate about the wider strategic significance of the billion-dollar deal has continued, the proposed purchase itself has been repeatedly delayed, thereby further postponing the country’s dream of acquiring a capability it has lacked for more than six decades (See: “Thailand Eyes Submarine Fleet”).

As we move into 2017, however, indications are we could finally see some progress on this front.

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The last time a suspension occurred was back in 2013 under then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono following revelations that Australia had been tapping the phones of Indonesian officials including Yudhoyono and his wife. At the time, Indonesia immediately recalled its ambassador to Australia. But relations have been on the uptick of late, however, especially since the emergence of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last September.

The suspension this time appears to be both less clear and more limited. Australian Defense Minister Marisa Payne eventually confirmed Indonesian media reports that the suspension had to do with concerns raised by a TNI official about some teaching materials at an Army language training facility in Australia. But she also indicated that the Australian military had already been investigating the incident and had made this clear to Indonesia privately. That raised the prospect that the incident was more about the lingering grievances of certain individuals, most notably TNI chief Gatot Nurmantyo, rather than a deep diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

The harvest festival of Pongal was celebrated recently over three to four days in the India state of Tamil Nadu. The raging debate over the sport of “Jallikattu” reopened in the months preceding the festival and took on new and ferocious colors this time, most prominently regarding the question of what it means to be a member of the Tamil community. Jallikattu is a sport where contestants attempt to tame a bull and sometimes retrieve gifts like money or gold tied to the sharpened horns of the animal. Typically associated with notions of masculinity, community pride, and honor, it is estimated to have a history dating back more than 2,000 years.

After negotiations at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the governments of Australia and Timor-Leste have come to an agreement to terminate the current treaty over their disputed maritime border. The treaty, known as the Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS), signed in 2006, established a temporary maritime border in the Timor Sea after Timor-Leste received its independence from Indonesia and became a sovereign state in 2002.