Pakistan’s new CoAS and civil-military relations After intense speculation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Lt General Raheel Sharif as the new Chief of Army Staff (CoAS). He indeed reached the decision after carefully considering crucial factors, keeping in mind the political history of Pakistan and his own personal experience. As the army is as good as a power center of the country, the appointment of its new Chief is significant. Whether or not General Raheel… Read More »Entrusting hope

Strengthening India-Japan relations The visit of the Japanese emperor Akihito to India in November end was a reaffirmation of evolving strategic partnership with India which has great relevance in the fast changing geo political environment in the Asia Pacific region. In a significant move India has decided to follow up the emperor’s visit to India with a Republic Day invite to the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which will reinforce the current momentum in high… Read More »Strategic bond

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