BRICS_leaders_meet_on_the_sidelines_of_2016_G20_Summit_in_China (1) Courtesy: Narendra Modi/ Flickr
12 August 2017

BRICS Summit under Doklam shadow

BRICS, which has always been committed to enhancing solidarity, is now entering its second decade – even as tensions between its two most consequential members remain unresolved and member states and other emerging markets are set to serve as “the main engine” of global growth

malabar-2 Courtesy: PTI
3 August 2017

Malabar 2017’s geostrategic dimensions

The historical evolution of the Malabar Exercise and the currently fraught relations between the participating countries and China created a much sharper context for the event, with the Chinese evincing a heightened interest in it

india-china-pti-story_647_070317030105 Courtesy: India Today
21 July 2017

Doklam: India-China cold front to continue

The origin of current India-China hostilities in Bhutan harks back to a colonial era agreement framed in 1890 between the British and the Qing empire on issues related to Tibet and Sikkim. The present standoff is an occasion to revisit many aspects of a relationship that has shown perennial strain

16CHINATRUMP-facebookJumbo Courtesy: New York Times
13 July 2017

2016, the hinge year

Three epoch-making events in 2016 are continuing to have global repercussions. They were: Brexit, China’s rubbishing of the July verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration after it rejected its claims on disputed islands in the South China Sea, and Trump’s election. This article, the prologue to a book-in-progress, The Hinge Year – Geopolitical Dislocations and Dispersals, outlines how these events intersect with transformed geoeconomic realities

Deep Sea expedition China Courtesy: China Daily
6 July 2017

China’s underwater defence strategy

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been steadily building its underwater infrastructure since the 1980s to undertake energy-efficient, long-range and dual-purpose reconnaissance and exploration missions. While the Indian Navy’s superiority is unquestionable, New Delhi should provide it the crucial futuristic paraphernalia

120416-N-ZI635-259 
INDIAN OCEAN (April 16, 2012) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) participate in a passing exercise with Indian navy ships during Exercise Malabar 2012. Carl Vinson, Bunker Hill, and Halsey comprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 and are participating in the annual bi-lateral naval field training exercise with the Indian navy to advance multinational maritime relationships and mutual security issues. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman George M. Bell/Released) Courtesy: Wikimedia
24 April 2017

Military option in North Korea too risky

As the United States considers its policy options towards North Korea it must understand that Pyongyang has been thinking about military conflict for decades. It too will have military plans and they could pose major challenges for the U.S. This is why China and South Korea–and U.S. regional experts too–prefer the diplomatic route