milanspikecallusnavy Courtesy: Spike Call U.S Navy/Wikimedia Commons
21 February 2014

Shaping regional diplomacy

The Indian Navy, through multi-lateral exercises, is increasing its sphere of influence and becoming a regional force. Yet, it needs to be supported by policy decisions that enable it to achieve its potential as a state-of-the-art establishment and a powerful tool in India’s diplomatic repertoire

ind jap Courtesy: generalising/Flickr
6 November 2013

The new Indo-Pacific core

The India-Japan alliance needs to be viewed through a prism broader than that of "containing" China, and by treating the Indian and Pacific oceans as a single entity. Such an alliance has the potential to strengthen the geopolitical security of India and Japan, along with that of all their allies and associates

Ior arc meaindia Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
5 November 2013

India: Regional net security provider

In the coming years, India’s greatest strategic challenge in the Indian Ocean region may not be the development of power projection but the quality of the strategic relationships that it can build in the region. The extents to which India will be recognised as a regional leader depend on these relationships.

The Airavat Incident Much ado about nothing Courtesy: U.S. Navy/WikimediaCommons
11 October 2011

The Airavat Incident: Much ado about nothing

In the context of security and sovereignty, India is involuntarily Pakistan-centric and Sino-deferential. India must deal with China with deference without degradation, firmness without confrontation, and raise the threshold of its defense posture in physical and policy measures, without upping the ante.

100713-N-3446M-139 Courtesy: SurfaceForces/Flickr
2 September 2011

China’s aircraft carrier changes the balance

The turbulent waters of the South China Sea may soon see a major addition: an aircraft carrier, from China. The carrier - already seventy percent complete - is sure to change the equation and further Beijing's Four Modernisations programme.