Courtesy: Tasnim News Agency
The Quad is set to launch a satellite-based maritime security initiative to monitor illegal fishing by the Chinese maritime militia. This is long overdue. China’s ‘little blue men’ are recruited from its fishing communities but are in fact official members of a well networked and controlled defense force engaged in regional grey zone warfare.
Courtesy: Shutterstock/Gateway House
China’s escalating actions in the wake of the COVID-19 catastrophe is a calculated strategic diversion and risk. In the Indo-Pacific, tensions between China and the U.S., Australia, India and others are building momentum. As a geopolitical partnership, the relevance of the Quad is now proven. There are clear ways to empower it immediately, and make it a resilient grouping.
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
At the 4 June, India-Australia, virtual summit, one of the most critical, among several agreements signed, was the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA). India has logistics support agreements with many countries. How is the MLSA with Australia any different? Given the geo-strategic maritime competition with China, this agreement is uniquely significant and could be especially beneficial for the Indian Navy.
Manjeet Kriplani, Executive Director, Gateway House, in discussion with Prof. Rory Medcalf, Head, National Security College, Australian National University, and author of Indo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the Contest for the World's Pivotal Region; and Cleo Paskal, Associate Fellow, Energy, Environment and Resources, and Asia-Pacific, Chatham House; on the possibility of an Indo-Pacific Charter for the region.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
Under the cover of the COVID19 crisis, China has silently, once again, upped aggression in the disputed South China Sea, in March 2020. These incremental actions by China are part of its ongoing attempt to dictate the Code of Conduct in the region.
Courtesy: FICCI
This is a transcript of a speech delivered by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Chair, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Core Group of Experts and Taskforce, at the launch of a study on the Blue Economy
