Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
Myanmar, currently listed as one of the least developed nations by the UN, provides its neighbouring countries the opportunity to invest in one of the world’s last few business frontiers. Sushma Swaraj on her maiden visit to Nay Pyi Taw should continue to strengthen ties based on economic goals to develop largely underdeveloped areas along the common border as well use Myanmar’s increasing weight in the ASEAN grouping
Courtesy: Google Maps
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
Courtesy: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency/Wikimedia Commons
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
Courtesy: Prime Minister's Office
The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in services and trade will allow India to leverage its competitive offerings in IT, finance, among other fields. But the pact has proved elusive so far due to the open squabbling between ministries. The deal now looks set to come through only after the new government takes over
Courtesy: Gobierno de Chile/Wikimedia Commons
Can India integrate more fully into the global economy and energise its trade by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Or will negotiating an entry require significant concessions, not necessarily in India’s interests? These outcomes will depend on how TPP framework itself develops – inclusively or exclusively
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
There are many ideas about how Asia can be re-imagined as a whole even though it is still coming to terms with colonial era map-making and the intellectual domination of the West. Can India, situated at the heart of Asia, promote connectivities and draw the Asian economies together?
Courtesy: generalising/Flickr
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
Courtesy: Systemman, Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo/Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. government shutdown and President Obama’s absence gave China immense diplomatic and political space at the APEC and East Asia Summit meetings. China’s declaration of a “de-Americanised” world may be premature but the crumbling old order is doing little to dispel this notion
Courtesy: Asitimes/ Flickr
Indian and Chinese companies routinely bid against each other in their quest to secure oilfields and other resource pools resulting in rising prices. However, a preferable recourse would be for the nations, along with ASEAN, to collaborate as there is enough for all
Courtesy: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center/Flickr
An increase in the global demand for rare earth elements, used in high-technology industries, coupled with limited supplies on Earth, has accelerated extra-terrestrial exploration. International cooperation and competition for these space-based resources will determine the next human footprint and race in space.