India has hosted Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the guest of honor at its prestigious Republic Day Parade, an honor bestowed on the leaders of those countries with which India attaches special importance. As the leaders of the two countries enhanced cooperation in strategic and economic spheres of bilateral relations, the idea became indispensable that an Indo-Japan partnership has the potentiality to radically alter the imbalance of power in the Asia-Pacific region. While it… Read More »Indo-Japan ties: Warming for a partnership

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s wish-list for India to have deeper involvement in Afghanistan’smilitary and security sector has indeed put India in a dilemma. If India gets involved militarily in Afghanistan, it may face the risk of increased regional tension and provide Pakistan the legitimacy to continue to support the Taliban. Conversely, if India denies military hardware help then the ANA will not emerge as a potent force to fight the Taliban. Either way, time is… Read More »Karzai’s military help from India may create tension

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