US military supplies to the region and india pakistan military balance.

After the Taliban Air Force, time to battle the Taliban Navy news
09 March 2009
For long, these funds have been allocated to Pakistan under the guise of helping it fight the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

Sometime in February this year, the Pakistan Navy was provided the clearance to acquire three types of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonobuoys - totaling 445 units - under the Foreign Military Sales programme. This piece of anti-submarine warfare equipment is of the same class as contracted for the US Navy.

Indeed, the contract signed with suppliers is a joint contract for the US and the Pakistan Navy.

The sale was cleared, presumably, even as the Obama administration was instructing General Electric not to operationalise two new LM 2500 gas turbines it has contracted to supply the Indian Navy for its state-of-the-art, indigenously designed, Project 17 stealth frigates.

The first of three frigates, INS Shivalik, is ready to commence sea trials but the programme will now have to go on hold – at least for a few months –with the Obama administration reviewing its military relations with a number of countries, including India.

Here is the complete article by domain-b

The article goes on to analyse why it is that USA is doing what it is doing.

USA is equipping Pakistani military forces for free, the purpose is to restore some confidence into them and keep them engaged in the war USA and its allies are fighting in the region.

The equipment is for free due to the well known fact that Pakistan can not afford to support its military forces any more.

We have to remember that for USA to keep its pride in Afghanistan, feeding biscuits to Pakistan is necessary, just like in the good old "soviet invasion of Afghanistan" days (i think this is a stupid approach, however that is what is happening).

The article focuses too much on the equipment side, these equipments are a part of the equation, if we ordered them, USA will not decline handing them over to us.

The Pakistani Navy is not capable of providing the basic number of ships and aircrafts required to even make their presence felt in any regional conflict with us, from the shipbuilding and acquisition plan for the next decade or two, they will not achieve this capability any time soon, while we will keep on adding to the numbers and types.

I bet Pakistan is busy lobbying in USA to get more military material and we are busy lobbying against it.

The GE LM 2500 turbine that the author is angry about is hold up due to differences in the current administrations view of including these components into foreign military sales (requiring deeper level of authorisation), its not a ploy to slow down Indian naval build-up.

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Non intrusive power projection.

As the LTTE retreats deeper into the jungles, hoping that a ceasefire would save them to fight another day or through other means, many of our fellow citizens want the government to do something about the situation, from forcing a ceasefire to the very few demanding to wipe out the LTTE.

Both options would be very difficult to implement given that the big bad dragon and its ever obedient green monster have their eyes set on the tear-drop island they have already made deep inroads into the island, the irony is that the LTTE is our bastard child.

A very interesting observation is that we have been involved in the conflict for a long time, even after the Military forces came back from the Island, Indian Navy has been at work cutting off the supply routes of LTTE and denying them opportunity to indulge in gun running and smuggling narcotics.

A direct involvement by our nation at this stage could have been counter productive, the recent activity in Tamil Nadu is a example of that. Providing the Sri Lankan military forces with what ever equipment we could and controlling the sea was&is a very effective way of helping to contain the LTTE, the naval efforts will go unnoticed in the media, as when operating that far away from land the only way media can get its hand on pictures and information of operations is if the Navy provides it to them.

A strong LTTE is about as useful for us as Mr. Bhindarnwale in golden temple, the reason behind saying that is that we know they will never become a peaceful organisation, and if we take action against them we will only help them to hurt us where it matters.

We should help push LTTE into a corner which should force them to behave in the desired manner, and the only safe way of doing this is by ensuring that they have a hard time at sea.

One of the difficulties the Navy faces and will continue to face in such operations is that the Navy is spread around several operations and duties in the region with too few ships for control, this is exactly the problem the Navy is trying to sort with its vision for 2022, they require more help and understanding from the governments that will be in power around the next decade (2010-2025)