The re-election of Prime Minister Modi has created a new wave of hope and excitement among the Korean political, diplomatic and business elite. After Tagore and Gandhi, Modi is undoubtedly the most popular Indian statesman in South Korea today. Never before has an Indian political leader received as much appreciation for his work as Modi …
Defence diplomacy acts as a support mechanism to sustain cooperative structures in the strategic domain, to safeguard strategic spaces, and explore mutual cooperation in defence. This translates as a soft deterrent against any adversary. Defence relations between India and Vietnam have acquired importance against the backdrop of China’s island-building activities in the South China Sea, …
Military lessons, starting from Pulwama to the eventual release of Wing Commander Abhinandan, should be left to the military alone, while non-military lessons must be rationalized to suit national narratives. On the afternoon of 14 February 2019, a 22-year old home grown suicide bomber with 350 kilograms of military grade explosives in a minivan …
The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted its biggest war-game exercise ever – Gaganshakti 2018 – during 8-22 April. In the past the IAF has conducted many aerial exercises.
In its quest for strategic security and greater economic leverage, nation states are in a constant strife to coin new terminologies that legitimize their area of operation. 21st century world politics is highly impacted upon by globalization with greater emphasis on liberalizing markets, connectivity, joint development, and cooperation, all through the prism of soft power. International Relations is a complex game wherein nothing remains constant, not even power equations.
The ongoing diplomatic process in the Korean Peninsula is historic in many ways. Donald Trump is going to be the first sitting U.S. President to meet a North Korean leader this May. Also, if both the Koreas agree to hold a Moon- Kim summit it would be the first face to face meeting between leaders of the two countries after a decade.
India’s declaratory nuclear doctrine of 2003 has predominantly been read to suggest the threat of massive countervalue retaliation – use of strategic nuclear weapons to target countervalue assets like population and industrial centers of the adversary. Critics have questioned the credibility of massive countervalue retaliation as a deterrent to Pakistan’s first use of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs). In response, senior Indian government and military officials have recently suggested that India’s nuclear response can be proportionate as well.
Alarmist Climate Narratives
Pakistan has, in the past, been accused of offering critical nuclear weapons technology to countries like North Korea, Iran and Libya. The rationale behind these transfers varies from reciprocal missile technology sought by Pakistan from these countries to certain personal gains made by several high-ranking Pakistani government officials.
The Korean Peninsula was always strategically important for China as a geopolitical buffer. At certain phases during its imperial era, China had exercised varying levels of control over the territory – from suzerainty to occupation, under dynasties like the Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing. The territory helped China keep Japan’s expansionist ambitions away from the Chinese mainland. At the same time, it acted as a bridgehead to project China’s cultural influence on the island nation and integrate it with the Sinocentric East Asia.
