Antony’s three nations visit and its significance At a time when the US Defence Secretary Chuck Hegel was elaborating the Pivot to Asia policy renamed as Rebalancing Asia, during the Shangri- la dialogue in Singapore in the first week of June, the Indian defence minister A K Antony was visiting

South China Sea challenges pose risks to ASEAN unity The ASEAN meeting in Brunei has ended with a joint communiqué which promises that ASEAN and China will work more closely to find an amicable solution to South China Sea dispute after Beijing agreed that it is ready to look into

China’s strategic relations with Sri Lanka China has further strengthened its strategic grip over Sri Lanka, as the President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his May end visit to Beijing, his sixth after the elimination of LTTE leaders and hardcore cadres, sealed fresh agreements to deepen Chinese involvement not only in training

Unrest in Turkey may impact balance of equations The anti-government protests in Turkey have posed a grave challenge for Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan’s grip on power. Its ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is being accused of pushing conservative and Islamic influenced policies under the leadership of an

Bhutan and China’s diplomatic engagements Bhutan is finally awakening from its long, tranquil sleep and slowly facing the realities of geo-strategic politics and international relations. Squished in the middle of the two Asian giants- India and China, the tiny, peace-loving nation is slowly embracing democracy and diplomacy. The process can

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

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

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

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,

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