Courtesy: AFP
The Mecca Accord between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan has raised some red flags in the region, and in India. One element remains unchanged: India’s value to Riyadh as an energy importer. With demand security holding more weight than supply security in an uncertain future, a major and growing oil importer like India is more important than the cash-for-security arrangement the Kingdom has signed with Pakistan.
Courtesy: Japan Ministry of Defense
Japan’s recently-released defence white paper marks a significant turn in intent and policy. The country’s long focus on economic security is now blended with its defence capacity, bringing together foreign policy, intelligence, and economic, technological and industrial capacities into a “comprehensive architecture for national defence.” This is a new conception of national security in Japan.
Courtesy: ASEAN
The Manila meetings of ASEAN, held amid continuing crises in Ukraine and West Asia, have demonstrated that ASEAN centrality has not gone out of fashion. Neither the U.S. nor China, despite scepticism about ASEAN's effectiveness, wishes ASEAN institutions to disappear. India, Russia, Japan, Australia, the EU and the UK likewise continue to use these meetings as valuable platforms for Indo-Pacific engagement.
Courtesy: Council on Foreign Relations
The absence of panic in the energy markets despite the renewed U.S.-Iran fighting indicates a well-supplied oil market in the longer term. That means stability for energy short countries like India in the long term. In the short term, however, India will be impacted by other disruptions, such as the increased use of sanctions.
Courtesy: Outlook Business
The legacy of the Modi-Takaichi Summit will extend well beyond the bilateral. It demonstrates that middle powers, through responsible and sustained action, are capable of shaping the future of the Indo-Pacific through strategic intent and the resilient economic networks that back it up to promote regional stability. For India and Japan, economic security is the foundation upon which the next generation of the bilateral will be built.
Courtesy: Gateway House
The 2026 Persian Gulf conflict has pushed energy security to the forefront of the BRICS agenda. Divergent national interests prevent the grouping from acting as a unified geopolitical bloc, the growing energy crisis highlights the need for stronger economic cooperation. Proposals such as a BRICS energy reserve, an Energy Stability Fund, and cross-border investments could enhance resilience and be essential if BRICS wants to emerge as a serious economic grouping.
Courtesy: KNN
The UAE’s recent exit from OPEC, and the U.S. push to sell more oil to India are markers of a new order in the oil world with demand security at a premium. As a major oil importer, India must respond to it smartly. It must develop deeper partnerships with both the UAE and U.S., and a new financial ecosystem and benchmarks for the new order.
Courtesy: @DrJaishankar/X
South Korea and India have much in common – both are Indo-Pacific players, oil importers and business-oriented economies. Yet, despite the ubiquitious and successful presence of Korean companies in India’s markets, the political relationship has been weak, and underperformed. The recent state visit by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to India along with a slew of economic and strategic agreements signed, is an effort to recalibrate the relationship.
Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office
The West Asia conflict has disrupted global stability, impacting ASEAN economies and diplomacy. As chair, the Philippines balances its alliance with the U.S. and regional neutrality, while Indonesia and Malaysia reflect domestic support for Arab states. With energy shocks, remittance risks, and inflation rising, ASEAN’s limited influence is evident. Has ASEAN once again been drawn into a vortex of crises beyond its control?
Courtesy: AFR
The Persian Gulf conflict has already impacted India’s oil imports and financial security. However, India has not created meaningful options to protect itself from oil shocks over the last decade – and such shocks will continue. Now is the time for India to make equity investments in oil and gas companies in stable economies like the U.S., Canada and Australia, to protect itself from future energy crises.