Even as Bangladesh completed thirty glorious years of independence on 26 March this year, the issue of the erstwhile East Pakistan’s relationship with its biggest neighbour remains complex. To that end, the single most pertinent question pertaining to Indo-Bangla relations that continues to be raised is as to how a country whose liberation was ably …
BIMSTEC: A Catalyst for India’s Blue Growth?
Advancing Blue Economy (BE) goals is a resonant theme among of the Bay of Bengal littoral states. The regional integration to enhance blue growth serves as a catalyst for regional growth and development. Despite multiple government efforts to promote blue growth, there is yet no comprehensive agenda for marine governance of the littoral states. The …
Blockades in Manipur: Symptoms of a Larger Malady
Attempting to provide an illustration about the non-homogenous character and artificiality of the North East construct, the author had written in the introduction to one of his edited collections [Frontier in Flames: North East India in Turmoil (Penguin, 2008)] that, “The (North East) region, is not a composite whole, and an Ao of Nagaland …
Impasse: Post-Disengagement at Pangong Tso
Please refer to my earlier article on the issue titled “Philosophy Alone Cannot Win Wars: Where is our National Security Strategy?” in which I had stated that the only thing that unnerved China was our occupation of Kailash Range. It is not merely the territory that China is worried about, but the tremendous observation potential, both visual …
Quad Leaders Led by Biden, Modi Overcome Hostile Lobbies to Script History
The purpose of the Quad is not to cause a war but to prevent a conflict by demonstrating even to the military-minded Xi Jinping that such a war will end badly for the PLA and its army of soldiers who have never seen battle except recently across the Himalayas. Despite a lobbying effort that …
Euro-Atlantic Quad takes shape under Macron
A ‘coalition of the willing and the able’ should be formed from within the European members of NATO that would, in effect, form a Euro-Atlantic version of the Quad. The Quadrilateral Alliance, a partnership that dare not speak its name in public, was formed in recognition of the need for select countries in the …
No, Minister
Even teams led by experienced and expert captains suffer from occasional self-goals. These are usually a consequence of the best of intentions, but end up as embarrassments. There was in the recent past a stray statement by a Union Minister that the gallant soldiers of the Indian Army had moved several more times in the …
China’s Military Reforms: Strategic Lessons for India
As India starts rearranging its military command matrix through Theatre Command and integration of the services through the Chief of Defence Staff, it will be worthwhile to analyse how China has worked on the same issue in the recent past as a part of its military reforms. China, as it started to challenge United States …
The United States Extends NEW START Treaty with Russia: Implications for China and Future Prospects for Arms Control
The United States has extended the NEW START treaty with Russia, which was due to expire on February 5, 2020. It is the last remaining arms control agreement between the former Cold War rivals. Many experts hailed it as consequential strategic decision by the Biden Administration. The Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a …
Ladakh Front: Is China in Bind when the Snow Melts?
China has got a new commander for the Western Theatre Command. Gen Zhang Xudong is new to the theatre and obviously is getting in to the picture of his area of operations. He has to prove himself to the Chairman of Central Military Commission, who was not happy with the previous incumbent for not being …