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India’s Look East Policy, which was initiated in the early 1990s, has led to key changes in its foreign policy strategies towards East and Southeast Asia. Similarly even with China, India’s relations have witnessed remarkable advancements, particularly in the economic arenas.

Within the canopy of a redefined “new great power relations”, primarily between the US and China, there appears to be a few obvious limitations to America’s strategic hedging against China in Asia. The limitations of America’s direct intervention in matters relating to China’s assertiveness in Asia came to the fore on two separate occasions in a matter of less than a month, towards the end of 2013.

Many intellectuals and scholars studying the Af-Pak region have talked about the multiple dimensions of this region. Numerous articles, books and monographs pertaining to this region are being published on a frequent basis across the globe. Also, a lot of aid in the form of money and weapons from many diplomatic missions has flooded Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. However, rather than arriving at a possible solution to the problem being faced by this region, the complexity of the issues has increased further.

The Syrian conflict which began two years ago has taken many dramatic turns in recent months. The chemical attacks that claimed over a thousand deaths in the city of Ghouta, Syria in August 2013 shocked the world by horrific footages. President Obama decided to strike Syria even unilaterally after what was defined by White House as the Syrian regime crossing the ‘redline’, but decided to go ahead with the approval of the US  Congress. Russia, then came forward with a plan to bring Syria’s chemical weapons under international supervision and later to dismantle them.

It is no secret that the Chinese government has been involved in cyber spying and cyber attacks over the past many years. China’s capabilities are only growing exponentially as it sees cyber warfare as a potent weapon in its armor. In 2012, after elaborate efforts by the US computer security firm Mandiant, it was established that the majority of cyber attacks on US corporations and government agencies are emanating out of a specific building on the outskirts of Shanghai.

The recent claims made through declassified documents that Margaret Thatcher government of Britain may have helped former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi in flushing out the Sikh separatist leaders from the Golden Temple shrine during Operation Blue Star in 1984 has brought back the ghosts of the insurgent movement that had haunted India during the 1980s.

The 'Stuxnet' attack of 2010 on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility was a watershed moment in the evolution of cyber warfare. For the first time in history, a cyber-attack had resulted in real-world physical damage to a nation’s critical infrastructure. The attack was planned at a time when the US was running out of options with regard to constraining the growth of Iran's nuclear program.

The US and NATO withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2014 and its likely outcome have garnered global attention in the past few months. Whether Afghanistan will strive towards maintaining internal and external security or relapse into another long-drawn conflict remains a lurking question.

The growing dependence on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in every sphere of life has gained attention of violent non-state actors to exploit the vulnerabilities lying within computer networks. The threats have become sophisticated asnation states have begun getting involvedeither by sponsoring or supporting cyber attacks. There has been growing concern over China’s cyber capability which poses significant political and strategic implications for the security of critical infrastructure of India and the US.

Imagine a situation in which, a battleship on a patrolling operation in a piracy affected region in the international waters suddenly experiences engine failure and becomes a sitting duck. The engine crew reports to the captain that a critical part of the engine broke down, for which they have no spare and it would take at least one day for the supply of the spare to reach the ship.