Opinion

China has been North Korea’s most important diplomatic ally as well as its largest trading partner. Beijing has also been the largest supplier of food, oil and other essentials to North Korea and has thus helped in the survival of the North Korean regime. Even though China has been supporting the regime as it has always feared the outcomes of a failed North Korea, Beijing has been unhappy with the North Korean nuclear ambitions; and thus under Xi Jinping China did agree to adhere to the United Nations sanctions, though reluctantly.

It was in 2008, for the first time, that the then Defence Minister acknowledged the possibility of a two-front war simultaneously with China and Pakistan. He issued a circular, stating that the Armed Forces be prepared for a two-front war. The Armed Forces also considered the terrorist organisations based in Pakistan and those supported by China in our Northeast, as they would exacerbate the situation and create another half front, by disrupting logistics in the rear of combat zone.

The geopolitical imperatives surrounding India’s maritime security have undergone substantial change over the last decade or so, in turn prompting unavoidable shifts in its engagements, strategies and maritime expanse through its areas of operation.

Delay will Increase Casualties

Perceptions of anti-state mechanism—as they address themselves to the myriad forms of armed conflict—have seldom been restricted to the cellular confines of fine distinction. Most anti-state actors attempt to base their characters on theoretical elegance. Therefore, when an anti-state organisation essays its birth, it will invariably take into account the sartorial nature of its exterior.

Kim will not disarm. Day by day he is increasing preparedness for a war that he will fight without mercy. 

If the notion of doctrine—in the discourse of state action—were to lend itself to holistic appraisal, then it would not emerge merely as a belief system that is established on the basis of authority. A state-sponsored doctrine comes to the fore when there is a correct understanding of the universe of discourse in which a state stations itself, its perception of threat to the discourse, which propels it to continued nationhood, and a clearly defined manner in which it seeks to both fortify itself and respond to threats.

The realms of satellite imagery always take you behind in the time machine to understand what happened yesterday. While surfing on Google Earth, the author chanced upon some Chinese ships in Colombo. There were two ships: one was Type 905 auxiliary oil replenishment ship and the other was Type 53H3 frigate. The missing pennant number on stern of the frigate and retractable hangar on the stern of the oiler were convincing giveaways.

Standard portrayal of the North East has been that it is India’s periphery. Indeed, geography and to an extent socio-cultural realities have consigned it to the fringe of not only India’s nation-building enterprise, but also to the backwaters of the country’s collective consciousness. But the reality is that the region is not India’s periphery.

Increasingly, funding is coming from individuals in Middle East, many of whom are connected to North Korean cash supply chains through individuals linked to GHQ Rawalpindi.