There are multiple theories about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic began; but what no one seems to know exactly is how it will end. An earlier coronavirus, SARS-CoV, had most of the victims developing severe symptoms and virus transmission happening after the onset of symptoms; and this helped in its containment. Traditional infection control measures …
Long March-3B Launch Failure: Challenges to China’s Foreign Satellite Contracts
China's space ambitions are expanding, commensurate with its strategic and economic interests. One such ambition is to grasp significant shares of the international satellite manufacturing, launch and services markets, particularly communications. China has evolved a formula for this purpose by bundling indigenous satellite bus Dong Fang Hong 4 (DFH-4) and Long March 3B (LM-3B) rocket …
To Test or not to Test: COVID-19, India, and the Controversy about Testing (In)adequacy
Jim O’Neill, a British economist, made a controversial and callous remark about India’s potential to handle a pandemic, “Thank God this didn’t start in somewhere like India, because there’s absolutely no way that the quality of Indian governance could move to react in the way that the Chinese have done.” That was on 11 March …
Taiwan’s COVID-19 Fight: A Battle for Recognition
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought to the forefront debates surrounding Taiwan and its position in the international system. China regards Taiwan as an inalienable part of itself and has always been against Taipei asserting its individual identity. The China-Taiwan relations have become increasingly hostile after the election of Tsai Ing-wen as the President of Taiwan …
Managing Capabilities with Constraints: A Case for Defence Outsourcing
The profliferation of dual use platforms with military and civilian application has not only improved warfighting capabilities, but also brought the economies of scale approach to defence systems manufacturing and service support. It is evident, as we witness the speed with the technologies reach their obsolence, within the span of a decade. In such scenario, …
Prolonged War, Collapsing Healthcare and First COVID-19 Case: Burdening Challenges for Yemen
Yemen has been undergoing severe challenges ever since the Yemeni revolution (intifada) that erupted in 2011 at the backdrop of Arab Spring revolutions. The intifada consequentially became a power struggle between the Saudi-backed coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The war in Yemen has been categorized as the worst humanitarian crisis with at least 14 million …
Venezuela-United States Diplomatic Impasse: Indictment, Coronavirus, and Geopolitical Options
Big countries often achieve their geopolitical aspirations by troubling others, regardless of any global crisis and/or a national crisis that they themselves might be undergoing. While the entire United States (US) is on a war footing to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department and its affiliates are busy exerting their geopolitical interests to …
After China & WHO Failed to Take Proactive Measures, Response by Modi-led India is Sustained & Participatory
PM Modi has been able to motivate majority of the population to practice safe conduct. But the challenge facing him as he works round the clock to ensure that India recovers from Corona outbreak, is to jolt the governance system to provide a policy ecosystem needed for double digit growth. The world is facing …
Xi Jinping has a Plan. Does Donald Trump?
Xi will work to ensure that China emerges as the centrepoint of the global economy, the way the US has been since 1943. After US President Donald J. Trump, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping is the most discussed world leader these days. The two others who qualify in the top four …
China’s Pandemic Narrative and the Geopolitics of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be an unprecedented global challenge, as countries struggle to protect the lives of their citizens and keep their economies afloat. For the past one decade, the global economy has seen a gradual recovery from the disastrous impact of the global financial crisis (2007-08). The current pandemic has undermined this …