Backlit keyboard Courtesy: Wikipedia
21 October 2015

U.S.-China: no more spy games?

The recent U.S. and China agreement to contain cyber espionage will not only impact their bilateral relationship, it will also create norms in international cyberspace. But implementation remains a challenge, and businesses, including in India, that have faced cyber threats must proactively plug their vulnerabilities

In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, a destroyer of the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy fire a missile during a traning in South China Sea on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. Dozen of warships of the South China Sea Fleet were deployed in the competitive training to improve combat capability of the fleet, Xinhua said.  (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zha Chunming) Courtesy: India Strategic
16 July 2015

Military strategies collide in the Asia-Pacific

The recent re-evaluation by the US, China, Japan, and Russia of their military strategies reflects new geopolitical equations in which the Asia Pacific is a major strategic intersection. Turmoil in this region can impact India’s trade and security interests, and to avoid this India must craft a balance between its relations with all the countries involved

P5+1 Talks With Iran in Geneva, Switzerland Courtesy: U.S. State department/Flickr
6 April 2015

The end of the Iran nuclear journey?

With the EU, Iran, and other entities taking decisive steps on April 2 to ensure a non-nuclear Iran, President Obama must now counter interests in the U.S. that want to stymie the final agreement. But having come this far, and considering the comprehensive benefits of an agreement, all sides are sure to deliver

IS_2 Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
19 December 2014

2014: brutality intensified

This year has seen a disturbing increase in brutal violence by terrorist groups across the world—the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan. With non-traditional terror targets like Belgium, Canada and Australia also being attacked this year, 2015 could see a more lethal spread of jihadist terror

Chinese-President-Xi-Jinping-with-chinese-soldiers-300x216 Courtesy: newshence.com
8 October 2014

Chumar incursion: a message to Xi?

The reason behind a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) contingent intruding into eastern Ladakh around the time of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India, still needs to be decoded. It is not unlikely that domestic rivals, including possible ‘rogue’ elements within the PLA, could have decided to embarrass Xi — angry with his historic crackdown on corruption among Chinese officials

asias cauldron Courtesy: Random House
18 July 2014

Book review: the rise of China

‘Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific’ is a pragmatic narrative by Robert D. Kaplan of the receding power of the U.S. and China’s growing dominance

Spratly Islands_google map Courtesy: Google Maps
2 May 2014

South China Sea: escalating tensions

Braving potential retaliation from China, the Philippines has now challenged Beijing’s sovereign claims over the South China Sea before a UN tribunal, and raised the stakes in a longstanding dispute

scs Courtesy: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency/Wikimedia Commons
4 April 2014

South China Sea: a new war brewing

China is reportedly taking advantage of the situation in Ukraine to further its claims in the South China Sea. Its aggressive stance has pushed the Philippines to approach The Hague for arbitration. There are concerns that the tensions could lead to a breakdown of trade routes in the Western Pacific

indchin Courtesy: dannyman/Flickr
27 March 2014

War report under wraps

Down the decades, every government has shown reluctance to declassify the contents of the Henderson Brooks Report, preventing a deeper analysis of what went wrong during the 1962 India-China war. In the absence of this, the key findings of this report remain shrouded in secrecy