From Benjamin Schwartz, The Diplomat: “Echoing legislation first introduced by Congressman George Holding (R-N.C.), the Obama White House adopted the “major defense partner” designation in June, but the NDAA goes further. It mandates actions to institutionalize the U.S. national security bureaucracy’s focus of India. They include sustaining the Pentagon’s one-of–a-kind “India Rapid Reaction Cell,” increasing military officer exchanges and requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) and State Department to assess India’s capabilities to perform military missions that are in the mutual interest of both India and the United States.”
From George Landrith, Washington Examiner: “In recent months, while most Americans were tuned into the presidential election, a new wave of disturbing global threats to the homeland went mostly unnoticed. In August, North Korea attempted to launch two new Musadan ballistic missiles toward our allies in Japan that luckily didn't make it far. And in October Russia unveiled its new RS-28 Sarmat thermonuclear-armed ballistic missile in a show of strength as it continues to reassert itself in Europe.”
How Trump Can Make America’s Military Great Again
From Daniel Gouré, The National Interest: “History provides a valuable lesson for the incoming administration on how to make a dollar of increased spending serve multiple purposes. Simply put, investing in defense infrastructure such as naval shipyards and ammunition production facilities will help rebuild both the nation’s infrastructure and its military.”
From Manu Balachandran, Quartz: “India is flexing its maritime muscles in the Indian Ocean. Since 2011, India's naval voyages across the world's third-largest ocean have grown in number by 300%, according to consultancy firm IHS Markit, bolstering the country's presence in a key region where China has been making inroads. China has increasingly deployed nuclear and conventional submarines in the Indian Ocean as it looks to assert its dominance as a regional superpower, and counter India's growing influence, in South Asia. . .”