Thailand is no stranger to political unrests and the current agitation against the Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is a political deadlock that is underminingThailand’s democracy, economy and tourism. While the present unrest could largely be a domestic fight between the ruling Pheu Thai party andthe opposition Democratic Party, the role of external elements influencing the ongoing unrest in Thailand cannot be ruled out. As always, the Royal Palace will have to intervene to calm… Read More »Thailand may face acute political uncertainty

After intense speculation, Premier Nawaz Sharif has finally appointed Lt Gen Raheel Sharif as the Chief of Army Staff. Although he is being portrayed as an apolitical anda thorough professional, only time will tell what the system makes him of. History is evident that in Pakistan there is always a lack of balance between the real functioning of military and civilian government. If Nawaz Sharif truly wants to bring a change in Pakistan, he must… Read More »New Pakistan CoAS can infuse new thinking

Maldives has been gripped bypolitical instability ever since it experienced a shift from a thirty year autocratic rule to democracy. After much political drama, the country escaped a constitutional crisis and finally elected a President.However, the mismanagement of transfer of power highlighted the teething problems faced by the Indian Ocean Archipelago to transform from an autocracy to a democracy. After such a bitter experience, the Maldivian government should strengthen its democratic institutions so that such… Read More »Maldives must strengthen democratic pillars

With elections due next year, the two political dynasties in Bangladesh have begun fighting a political war to consolidate grip over power in a country that has long been plagued by violence, corruption and poverty. The government has repeatedly rejected the opposition demands to quit and put in place a caretaker government instead, but this political crisis, accompanied by the controversial judgment on the 1971 war crimes is not helping the country emerge out of… Read More »Violence inserts uncertainty for Bangladesh

Publicly it is being discussed that the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) undertaken by India and China would prevent the ugly situation along theLAC from catapulting into a full blown crisis. The BDCA is a protocol that can de-escalate tensions along the LAC through new confidence building measures. However, preventing face-offs is still not within theambit of the BDCA. The ambiguity in certain clauses could further increase the differences of perception like the INTRODUCTION: Publicly… Read More »BDCA: A mere tactical understanding with no vision

While trade was high on the agenda at the APEC and East Asia Summit, the power struggle between China and US took center stage as both extensively lobbied for their geo-strategic interests. After US’ military and economic pivot towards Asia, China has also stepped up its engagement in the region. However, for US, the road to success in the region will be smoother than that of China, as Beijing will have to be much more… Read More »Outcome of APEC-EAS: Competing interests at play

The United States increasingly finds a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran a difficult proposition. With the change of regime in Iran, Washington finds an alternate means to engage Iran in a political dialogue and potentially trap it later. At the same time, Iran finds it convenient to end its isolation by resuming talks with P-6 and enhance its influence. Thus, the signals of peace talks sent to each other are part of… Read More »US-Iran talks: Exploring possibilities

Recently Japan flew fighter jets over the disputed Senkaku islands (as they are named by Japan) in the East China Sea, leading to raised concerns in China, which remains ‘highly vigilant’ of further Japanese move. Both the countries have been involved in such confrontations and flying fighter planes over the disputed territory as means of escalation of tensions, which makes the whole issue potentially explosive. Introduction Recently Japan flew fighter jets over the disputed Senkakuislands… Read More »Escalation or calculated risk

After much speculation, the stage has been set for Indian Prime Ministerto meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Indeed, keeping communication channels open is the only way to negotiate their crisis-ridden issues. It is very important that the talks have a roadmapwithout which, they may be futile. The key is to take small steps towards resolution of disputes, starting from less sensitive issues liketrade and water-sharing mechanisms and gradually proceeding to more serious issues like… Read More »Sharif-Manmohan meet: Need for a roadmap

Myanmar’s apparentrecovery from military rule to a flourishing democracy was accelerated by PresidentThein Sein when he declared that all political prisoners would be released bythe end of 2013 and that a ceasefire with ethnic groups could be possiblewithin weeks. Indeed, Myanmar has too much to lose if the domestic instability threatensits transitional efforts as it has taken the world a long time to trust its slowpace of reforms. Indeed, time has come to convert good… Read More »Myanmar needs to do more hard work