Courtesy: Seaman James R. Evans/Wikimedia Commons
Australia is the second largest naval power among the Indian Ocean states and its submarine fleet represents its principal strategic force. Australia will be replacing its fleet with some of the largest and most capable conventional submarines in the world. Its decisions could hold important lessons for India
Courtesy: Jeremy Edmunds/Flickr
The issue of gas pricing is in the public discourse after the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the logic of linking domestic prices to global rates. In the absence of a single global marker price, it is time India, and other large importing countries in Asia, develop a pricing mechanism that reflects regional realities
Courtesy: Spike Call U.S Navy/Wikimedia Commons
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
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
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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: Ministry of External Affairs, India
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.
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: 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.
Courtesy: Australian Government Department of Defence
Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s visit to Australia this week was a significant step forward in the defence relationship. In coming years an India-Australia partnership will be important for managing maritime security in the Indian Ocean and will also have implications for security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
During his visit to Japan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the need to increase bilateral consultations on strategic issues. This, and other moves, indicate new developments in India’s Look East Policy, with alternative security and economic scenarios for regional actors in the context of the rise of China