Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd), is a former commander of a Mountain Brigade and former Force Commander of the National Security Guard the country’s elite Counter-terrorism Force. He is a highly regarded defence and strategic analyst and an author.

Contributions

Russia-China Harmony: One Sided Compromise under Compulsion?

November 19, 2020 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

Introduction “Russia may face wars on its borders in the near future over control of energy resources”, a Security Policy document released by Kremlin on May 13, 2009 stated. It went on to add “In a competition for resources, problems...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Russia, Article, SCO, Tajikistan, Vladivostok, EEU, Arctic, Power of Siberia, Pamir, Russia's Far East, Trans-Siberian, Northern Sea Route, Russian influence, Arctic Policy, Polar Silk Road, Khabarovsk, Primorye, Turkmenistan gas.

Should Europe Continue with a ‘Brain Dead NATO’

December 30, 2019 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO”, said the French President Emmanuel Macron in his interview to The Economist1. Explaining his remarks, he went on to say, “You have partners together in the same part of...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, Article, US-NATO equation, EU as distinct entity, EU-Russia’s prospects

VIF Papers

Does the World Need Chinese Hegemony?

October 23, 2020 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

In 2004, Premier Wen Jiabao said that China’s rise “will not come at the cost of any other country, will not stand in the way of any other country, nor pose a threat to any other country”. The broad Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace both ...

Tags: International Relations and Diplomacy, China, Mayhem of ‘peaceful rise’, China’s neighbourhood policy, China’s push to global power, China’s territorial usurpations, China’s domineering ambitions

What are the Chinese up to on the Other Side of the Indian Borders in Tibet and the Implications

August 20, 2019 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

… China considers areas such as the South China Sea, Taiwan and Tibet as its core interests .. for India Tibet is a core area .. Chinese intentions are unambiguous .. No amount of talks or confidence building measures will induce China into giving...

Tags: Neighbourhood Studies, Tibet, Chinese subjugation of Tibet, China’s steady expansionism, Chinese threat to Arunachal Pradesh

VIF Briefs

Rare Earth: Has US Lost the Technology Battle Against China?

February 10, 2021 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

“A Chinese company bought Magnequench,” “Not only did the jobs go to China, but so did the intellectual property and the technological know-how to make those magnets…. I’m not comfortable with the fact that we now have to buy magnets for ou...

Tags: Economic Studies, Technological and Scientific Studies, US, China, Rare Earth Elements, Mining, WTO Dispute

Restructuring the Armed Forces – Professionally Speaking

October 09, 2019 Brigadier V Mahalingam (Retd)

… It is time the Indian Armed Forces ceased preparing for the last war and concentrated on working towards undertaking military operations under modern conditions …operational priorities and actions cannot be left to the choice of individual Serv...

Tags: Governance and Political Studies, Modernisation of Indian military, Role of CDS, Need for tri-service integration