Pirates are increasingly getting assertive in Gulf of Guinea Since the global attention is turning towards Africa and its resource rich regions, the number of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean region and Gulf of Guinea could double next year if governments do not act to protect off-shore assets. There have been over 360 attacks on merchant shipping this year, and without action by West African governments this could rise to over 700 incidents in… Read More »Floating Enemies
Pakistan’s changing LoC strategy A review of the recent Pakistani feverish attempts at infiltration not just along the Line of Control but also the international border reveals a trend that is dangerous for Indian deployment against both Pakistan. In one case the Pakistani took advantage of a change of guard, a routine replacement operation when one battalion or unit replaces the one in situ for administrative reasons. At another, low morale and failure to observe… Read More »Dangerous shift
Growing need for anti submarine warfare capability With the arrival of three of the 12 Poseidon P-8I maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft, the Indian Navy would be closing gaps in its ability to trace and track both inimical surface threats as well the lurking danger of submarines in the vastness of the Indian Ocean-Arabian Sea-Bay of Bengal region. The very scale of the requirement of surveillance of such huge stretches of water is daunting and… Read More »Tactical surveillance
The trilateral maritime security agreement Maldives and Sri Lanka, eyed by China and other world military powers because of their significant geopolitical locations, have entered into a trilateral cooperation with India on Maritime Security of far reaching importance. China has adopted Sri Lanka as one of the gems in its String of Pearls strategy to mark its strong presence in the Indian Ocean and encircle and contain India. And recently China has deepened its strategic… Read More »Bolstering Foothold
Requirements of OPV and frigates To be able to gauge the number of offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and frigates, India will require in the second quarter of the 21st century -2025 to 2050- an appreciation of the relative roles of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. This will have to be made on the basis of a blue-water and brown-water categorization of their respective jurisdictions. At the moment the entire maritime defence is… Read More »Coastal Vigil
Strategic importance of Gulf of Aden and prospects of maritime trade Incidents of maritime piracy in the Gulf of Aden have posed a significant strategic challenge for the security of global trade. Despite a reduction in rampant pirate attacks in the ‘pirate-alley’ last year, the challenge is far from over. Piracy will remain a recurrent problem till the root cause of the problem is not tackled. When piracy became rampant in 2008, flag states and… Read More »Playground of Pirates
INTRODUCTION Youth is defined as a category as it is the basis of guiding policies to initiate investment decisions. In the developing countries and the so-called ‘East’, a set of economic opportunities that young people actually engage with is more or less limited by the education that they pursue given the finances and family background. In contrast to this, the beauty of empirical analysis is that it utilises using geospatial indicators of access to markets… Read More »Cross Study on Rural Economies of India and the African Continent: Clampdown on Fallacies
Realizing the importance of regional groupings and forums, which are increasingly evolving as strategic groupings of much influence, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has also decided to enhance cooperation in many areas, particularly through a Free Trade Agreement in a bid to increase intra-regional and inter-regional importance. India and Thailand, the two strongest economies of the grouping were the pioneers of BIMSTEC. As their economic interests grew… Read More »Relevance BIMSTEC
A series of events has jolted China’s economy and rattled markets around the world. Early this year the Chinese stock market shed nearly a fifth of its value. Now the fresh data from China has confirmed its economy is continuing to lose steam. China’s slowing growth has been dragging the global economy as Beijing hopes for a shift towards services and consumption in its domestic market. Against the backdrop of a faltering global economy, turmoil… Read More »China’s economic slowdown
China’s experiment with the creation of ‘millionaire clubs’ is coming to a full circle but it leaves behind a dirty culture that will take decades for new generation of Chinese to clean and establish rule of law which can bring China back to a civilized state. The Communist Party of China which has been ruling China since 1949 is not in a position to clean the mess as most of its senior leaders are involved… Read More »China’s Millionaires Leaving