[familyop]

"Y I agree :-) but have you seen the speech by the India Foreign secretary...he says India cannot be a partner and a target at the same time...i guess what he says is very pertinent."

Yes. India has strong defensive capabilities (including new anti-ballistic missile systems). But strong offensive capabilities are also necessary, as you point out.

I have noticed some efforts by our governments to avoid drawing too much attention to some of India's contemporary military know-how, though. Our leaders are walking some fine lines in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts while preparing for potentially worse scenarios.

[Irreverent]

I feel India has two strategic disadvantages though... its lack of energy resources make it susceptible to petty nation states and at the same time its dependence of european and russian military hardware and limited technological innovations makes it very susceptible to its vendor states. Remember Argentina's dependence proved costly during the Falklands. It could not call upon military resources to fight a war a few .... miles offshore..but Britain could project its power right across the atlantic.