India-Maldives relations under Gayoom’s leadership Though the newly elected President Abdulla Yameen Gayoom has assured Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of giving priority to relations with India, especially because of geographical proximity as suggested by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his congratulatory note, there are fears that Maldives will return to hardline Islam- both in political and social domain. This might not allow the recovery of lost ground in India-Maldives relations which deteriorated after… Read More »Incompetent handling

Indian Navy’s growing maritime capabilities The much awaited commissioning of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and its handing over to the Indian Navy as an Indian warship is all set to boost the Indian Navy’s endeavours to position itself as a robust blue water maritime force capable of taking care of Indian interests across the global oceanic waters while ensuring the maritime security of Indian mainland in all its manifestations. This 44,500 tonne Kiev class… Read More »Power projection

US-China competing interest in Asia Pacific At a time when the region of South-East Asia is engulfed in geopolitical instability and economic sluggishness, the recent APEC and ASEAN summits were crucial platform for the concerned countries to discuss opportunities for economic cooperation and resolve the ongoing territorial disputes which threaten the peace and security of the region. But what made headlines instead was the absence of President Obama, which shifted the focus to politically unstable… Read More »Power game

The Border Defence Cooperation agreement and its future The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) signed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China is expected to revive the bonhomie between Indian and Chinese armed forces to the level of previous decade but it does not guarantee the incidents of incursion at the Line of Actual Control will not be repeated. However, it provides for an institutional mechanism to deal with the incursion issues.… Read More »Another gimmick

Changing dimensions of India-Russia defence ties During the 21st October 14th annual summit in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the historical bonhomie in bilateral defence cooperation and talked about the significance of this in the privileged strategic partnership. India still depends a lot on Russia for critical technology support in many sensitive areas of weapons developments. The Russian diplomats and the leaders are right in pointing out that no… Read More »Traditional partners

Bangladesh liberation war trials and its impact The trials in Bangladesh for the war crimes committed during the country’s liberation war of 1971 have brought Bangladesh back to a crossroads, exposing the underlying tensions in the country. Deadly violence erupted on the streets as the controversial International Crimes Tribunal sentenced the country’s top Islamist leaders and wartime head of the Jamaat-e-Islami to life sentences and imprisonment. Although the current situation is a daunting reminder of… Read More »Delayed justice

Political future of Cambodia The recent developments in Cambodian politics signal a troubled future for the country’s already volatile political legacy. Although the recent national elections declared yet another victory for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian National Party (CNP), that has maintained its grip on power for two decades, there seems to be a break in the status-quo as the result has been challenged by the return of Cambodia’s veteran politician Sam Rainsy, head… Read More »Strong grip

Changing equations of India-Pak relations Efforts to normalize relations between India and Pakistan have once again been initiated with Track-2 and back channel diplomacy. With the return of Nawaz Sharif as the third time prime minister in mid May, the civil society in Pakistan, which realizes the cost of anti India atmosphere in the country, has pinned high hopes on his desire and political will to move forward on normalizing relations with India. The international… Read More »High expectations

Afghanistan in post 2014 and India’s options The year 2014 is going to be very crucial for the people of Afghanistan. The developments over next one year will have far reaching consequences not only for the country but for the entire South and Central Asia; also the rest of the world will not remain unaffected. The mandarins in the office of the National Security Advisor are weighing the pros and cons of various policy options… Read More »Striking a balance

India-China defence relations Seven years after the last Indian defence minister visited China, A K Antony landed in Beijing in the first week of July 2013 with a welcoming discordant voice from one of the retired Chinese Generals who warned India not to provoke problems at the LAC. Though the shrill voice was not stoutly rejected by the Chinese foreign or defence ministries, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman clarified with a mild denial that Major… Read More »Trust deficit