Courtesy: United States Trade Representative
Amid the debate of a U.S.-centric TPP template or a China-led RCEP model, it is important to consider if such trade agreements are building blocks or stumbling blocks to global free trade. With the passage of the TPP still uncertain in the U.S. Congress, and the RCEP unlikely to be acceptable to the U.S., the more likely global trade scenario will be fragmentation
Courtesy: U.S. Navy / Wikipedia
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to sever ties with the United States, a declaration that has elicited much skepticism. The West Pacific is in for some realigning of relationships if he makes good on this threat.
Courtesy: MEA India / Flickr
Perhaps South Block did not gain as much as it had hoped to: there was a gulf in member states’ perceptions. One takeaway, therefore, for policy makers was that while noise has its uses, it is now time for some quiet diplomacy
Courtesy: Gateway House
The 8th BRICS summit in Goa comes in the midst of major geopolitical events; Brexit, the U.S. elections, the South China Sea dispute, and the terror attacks in Uri. There is much need for BRICS to demonstrate to the world, its capability to manage internal differences and showcase a collective sense of cooperation
Courtesy: AP
India’s new focus on Balochistan has more to do with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) than with Kashmir. China understands that CPEC may not be achievable. But there are real dangers in reviving Pakistani fears of secessionism and in broadening the field of Indo-Pakistani conflict beyond the confines of Kashmir.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
India's policy towards the Indian Ocean has begun to take a clear, coherent form with the signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement with the United States, an important bilateral visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Modi, and an ambitious future being laid out by Foreign Secretary Jaishankar
Courtesy: Xinhua News Agency
Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to China heralds the return of Myanmar into the geo-strategic fold. The visit has demonstrated the Chinese willingness to woo its neighbour, and is an indicator that India needs to step up its relations with Myanmar.
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India's North Eastern States are part of one of the largest fluvial regions, they share this region with five other nations. At a recent conference, held on the sidelines of the the Nadi Festival in Shillong, the message of 'Listen to the dignity of the river' struck a chord with all present, and is a message which should be carried across the region.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
India’s forthcoming membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will benefit the SCO, Central Asia, Russia, China, as well as India itself. While India will be able to promote its own security, strategic, trade, economic, and energy interests in Central Asia, the SCO will benefit from India's rapid growing economy and its experience in counter-terrorism.
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After decades of passivity, India is beginning to assert itself in the maritime arena. There is a whiff of salt in the usually 'sea-blind' corridors of Delhi, where the Modi government clearly sees the linkage between the possession of maritime wherewithal, both civilian and military, and the furthering of national prosperity, through ever-increasing trade.