Young Voices

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 US President Donald Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has certainly given a setback to global action on climate change. After all, it is after years of arduous negotiations that the international policy community had reached this agreement.

As the world confronts the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons, a peak into the history of its nuclear weapons and missile programme displays evidence of funds and technology having flown out of an American ally in the region. Japan, a US ally since the end of World War II, fell victim to Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) intelligence and subversive attacks that led to the flow of financial and technical assistance to the latter’s nuclear and missiles programme.

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.

Since 12 May 2017, WannaCry has claimed over 300,000 victims across 150 countries. Dubbed as one of the biggest ransomware attacks, WannaCry has unveiled a new face of crime in the digital age. But, more than a criminal activity, the malware has been a nuisance as it has disrupted numerous businesses and organizations worldwide. The malware exploits vulnerability in the Server Message Block (SMB) service of Windows operating system, published by “The Shadow Brokers” in April.

As India aspires to become a power to reckon with, there exists an imminent need to bridge the foreign policy gap between its politico-strategic and economic priorities. From this standpoint, Iran is an important country in India’s radar screen that deserves far greater attention than it already receives. The takeaways from strengthening multi-level ties with Iran far outweigh the risks and downsides associated with its apparent pariah status in the international geopolitical paradigm.

For very long India’s Taiwan policy has been hyphenated with its ties with Beijing. Over the past few years, India however has strengthened economic ties with Taiwan, and a number of Taiwanese companies including Foxconn have invested in India. The Taiwanese electronics maker has promised to invest 5 Billion USD over the next 5 years in a manufacturing plant in Maharashtra. Bilateral trade between both countries, estimated at 5 Billion USD, is of course way below the actual potential, though it has steadily risen over the years.

Since the past couple of years, India is still discussing whether Daesh is a real time threat or is it waning. Interpretations, therefore, depend from person to person. Taking no chances, Indian security and intelligence establishments, under difficult circumstances, have done a commendable job in preventing departures of youth to Syria and Iraq, and most importantly, unearthed modules from a few Indian states.

East Asia is where the Cold War first turned hot, and remained frozen for more than seven decades. Donald Trump’s election in the United States (US) timed with China’s military and economic expansion puts an end to status-quoist policies, as much of the architecture of the region (its values and institutions) now stands challenged. This article thus traces four new shifts in East Asian geopolitics.

Farewell to Liberal Hegemony