Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit’s recent comments in Mumbai on the possibility of a resolution of the Siachen issue once talks resume makes one wonder why he is so optimistic about any outcome over the issue given Pakistan’s hard line about accepting the Actual Ground Position Line. The point at issue is why should the Indian Army withdraw from its own territory which is an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir even as Pakistan and… Read More »Siachen issue

Though the third NSA level meeting of India, Sri Lanka and Maldives has not attracted much media attention unlike the similar meetings between India, Japan and USA, but this has the potential of silently expanding India’s footprint in the Indian Ocean. The three countries have agreed to form a cooperative structure for maritime security cooperation. In its third year of infancy, the trilateral meeting has been able to generate interest in other island nations like… Read More »Naval diplomacy

Hopes galore after the new government in Nepal finally saw the light of day which had been delayed for long due to squabbling and in-fighting among the political parties. As the new coalition government faces the daunting task of providing the country (which has for long been engulfed in a political impasse and civil war) a constitution that will help Nepal gain the structure to move forward as an able democracy, chances are that it… Read More »Nepal situation

The ‘Indo-Pacific’ region has become a geopolitical reality as the risks, opportunities, disputes and strategies concerning relevant nations have infused the broad region into a single strategic unit. In this increasingly volatile region, countries are being forced to make complex strategic judgments of their geopolitical options both long-term as well as short-term. Defence capabilities and the strategic posturing of a country’s might is becoming the most defining factor in the power-play that is currently engaging… Read More »Desperate attempt

China is looking for new ways to impress India as it feels threatened by the growing proximity of India with Japan, South Korea and United States. China wants to handle the border issue with India at a separate level and trade relations at different level. China, which is keen to have a strong trade and cultural relation with India, wants a political solution on the border dispute along LAC. Due to China’s antagonist nature, Indian… Read More »Trust deficit

Both China and India are two of the fastest growing economies attracting a tremendous amount of global attention. Since the past decade pulsating economic links has been a vital part of their bilateral partnership. Both the countries have vouched to enhance their bilateral and multilateral co-operation and are constantly on the process of forming better policies to facilitate this. However, the biggest impediment that the two countries face on their path of improved bilateral ties… Read More »Importance of Tawang

The scenes on the streets of Bangladesh that the world has been witnessing in the previous months depict the mood of a pseudo-democratic nation that is hanging by a thread. Bangladesh seems to be heading towards a dead end as an anarchic like state of affairs spins the country into total disarray. The two political dynasties of Bangladesh have forever been fighting a political war to grip power over a country that has been plagued… Read More »Future of Bangladesh

That the new Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom chose to make his first official visit abroad to New Delhi in the very first week of the year 2014 was enough indication that he wants to mend fences with India and restore the decades old traditional relationship with its closest maritime neighbor, on whom the country depends for its security. Though the moves of the previous Maldivian administration threatened to weaken the political and security links… Read More »Maldives cooperation

At a time when Myanmar is experiencing an unprecedented transformation, the ASEAN countries have agreed to let it take on the leadership of the bloc as its Chairman for the year 2014. After decades of military rule, isolation and existence, Myanmar’s leadership has initiated a series of political, economic and administrative reforms that have elicited positive responses both regionally and globally, helping the country swiftly integrate into the regional and global communities. While the chairmanship… Read More »ASEAN chairmanship

Last year the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of National Defence announced the creation of the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) which faced lot of criticism and got reactions from all over the world. China also announced Aircraft Identification rules for the ADIZ. The zone overlaps the existing ADIZ of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It also covers the disputed Senkaku islands that are claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan and also… Read More »China’s ADIZ