Indo-Pacific: New Geostrategic Reality
On 30th June, 2020 Gateway House in association with Konrad-Adeneur-Stiftung (KAS) co-hosted a webinar on Indo-Pacific: New Geo strategic reality.
On 30th June, 2020 Gateway House in association with Konrad-Adeneur-Stiftung (KAS) co-hosted a webinar on Indo-Pacific: New Geo strategic reality.
China is the center of the universe and it's enjoying the attention - as also misusing it. Its rise changed geopolitics and trade starting two decades ago. And now in 2020, its rise is changing geopolitics and trade again. Dexter Roberts is the author of a new book The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, The Worker, the Factory, and the Future of the World. As the BusinessWeek and Bloomberg-BusinessWeek bureau chief in Beijing, Roberts has seen China first hand.
After the strategic digital pushback against Chinese investments and apps, India should turn its attention to the biggest Chinese domination tool – 5G. This is the mother lode that enables the efficient gathering of data, which when mined, results in product enhancement and pricing benefits to products listed in China 2025 and helps China set global standards. There is an urgency for alternate suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid relying on China.
Pakistan is suffering from a gravely mismanaged COVID-19 crisis and is under pressure from China to fulfil its commitments to the CPEC. Using COVID-19 as a cover, Pakistan is able to continue shirking its global responsibilities especially on containing terrorism. What does this mean for India, and for Pakistan’s own future?
The jubilation displayed by many ASEAN countries on account of the Vietnam’s statement as chair of the 36th ASEAN Summit, referencing events in the South China Sea is belied by a sense of realism and caution. But the fact that more nations are speaking up is a good sign.
The sister cities of Mumbai and Shanghai have a shared history, population size, and economic significance. On 29 May, a roundtable between the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and Gateway House encouraged discussion on strategies to battle COVID-19, and kick-start city economies after a lockdown. Here are some workable solutions.
The Quad is set to launch a satellite-based maritime security initiative to monitor illegal fishing by the Chinese maritime militia. This is long overdue. China’s ‘little blue men’ are recruited from its fishing communities but are in fact official members of a well networked and controlled defense force engaged in regional grey zone warfare.
China’s dramatic political and economic rise over the past three decades has been well recorded. Less known is the effort of China's rural labourers and migrants, which has largely enriched the coastal elites, instead of creating the egalitarian, capitalist, society China espouses. Dexter Roberts’ book takes us deep into the story of China’s rise, and exposes this reality. Roberts chronicles the lives of the many rural folk he has met during two decades of work and travels in China. It gives the book a personal and compassionate note, with the authenticity of a hands-on China expert.
China’s escalating actions in the wake of the COVID-19 catastrophe is a calculated strategic diversion and risk. In the Indo-Pacific, tensions between China and the U.S., Australia, India and others are building momentum. As a geopolitical partnership, the relevance of the Quad is now proven. There are clear ways to empower it immediately, and make it a resilient grouping.
At the 4 June, India-Australia, virtual summit, one of the most critical, among several agreements signed, was the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA). India has logistics support agreements with many countries. How is the MLSA with Australia any different? Given the geo-strategic maritime competition with China, this agreement is uniquely significant and could be especially beneficial for the Indian Navy.