4 January 1943
The Rangoon Agreement has been enacted, leading to speculation within Bharat about possible changes to the Bharatiya Nau Sena's composition.
"There was certainly some ambiguity about the terms of the Karachi Agreement, when the military clauses ended and such. It generated some legal uncertainties," noted defence analyst T. J. Mukherjee.
Mukherljee added, "The main takeaway for Bharat is clarification that it has freedom to enlarge its ocean-going submarine arm if so inclined. Britain, meanwhile, has been freed from deployment limitations affecting capital ships. Not huge measures, but not wholly insignificant."
OOC: Mukherjee, like nearly everybody else on the planet, knows nothing about the secret ABUSE clauses, so he doesn't think this is such a big deal.
26 February 1943
Just a few scant years after a life-extension refit, the monitor Chandragupta is facing another significant overhaul - this time, in South Africa.
"When built in 1921, the Chandragupta was a test-bed for new naval weapons. We will be taking her in hand to renew this process through a comprehensive re-armament on the ship," a BNS spokesman confirmed. "This includes new-model 25 cm, 15 cm, and 57mm mountings."
The deployment to South Africa is unusual but the BNS noted, "Some of the weapons development has come out of South Africa, so the refit is effectively a shared enterprise enabling us to joint test new hardware on a single platform."
Also relevent is the absence of any available drydocks for the actual work. "They are quite busy at present," the spokesman said. "Six are involved in the Escort Refurbishment Program, and a seventh in a long-term cruiser refit. The large dock at Chennai is theoretically available, but in practice, we're trying to keep it open for potential emergency work. The South Africans have facilities available, and while the Chandragupta is not really intended for open-ocean activities, she can make the trip."
The ship is expected to be out of service for the remainder of the year.