The revival of major world power rivalry is a striking feature of the current international affairs. In the year gone by, Europe, supported by the US, vied with Russia for influence in Ukraine-a race that led to the annexation of Crimea by Russia and a proRussian insurgency in that region. In Asia, while the US is gradually drawing down in Afghanistan, it is also seeking to counter the growing influence of China. The sole Super Power is garnering support from China's neighbours, India included, to balance the resurgent Dragon. Meanwhile, the rapid growth of ISIS has disturbed the world peace. The progress made in the negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme is likely to affect calculations and equations all over the world. No region is impervious to the happenings in another part of the world.
Competition (read rivalries) and geopolitical shifts pose myriad challenges to the peaceloving nations of the world-quite often, they are faced with the difficulty of evading armed conflicts. It requires conscious and sustained effort to do so. In order to work towards such goals, it is necessary to look at geopolitical, security and militaryrelated issues objectively. The Centre for Air Power Studies has been publishing the Asian Defence Review to fulfill this need.
This volume, a resource base for both the professional and the general readers, is the eighth in the series under this title. It aims to add to the pool of information and knowledge in the current strategic discourse dealing with military strategy, defence, politics and trends in military capabilities that impact Asia. In particular, it covers some of the important issues related to Air Power, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Cyber Security, NetworkCentric Warfare, Environmental Degradation, Iran, Pakistan and China.
