Courtesy: Wikimedia
The June 12 summit was characterised by give-and-take as opposed to the one-way approach practised by earlier U.S. administrations. All countries welcomed the agreement and there is hope that this realism will enable the United States to address other contentious issues too
Courtesy: U.S. Department of State/ Flickr
Scrapping the JCPOA will badly bruise Iran’s economy, citizens and foreign relations; it will have an impact on the U.S.’ allies too
Courtesy: Government of South Africa/ Flickr
Internal political constraints dog it currently, but if overcome, South Africa can be a good chairman to BRICS and IORA in 2018. It also has a tough balancing act to perform between two great Asian powers, China and India
Courtesy: to put
A conference in Doha on ‘Enriching the Middle East’s Economic Future’ offered many insights into the nature of geopolitical relations in the region and India’s significant role in it
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Indian President Ram Nath Kovind leaves for Africa on his first foreign visit as president on October 3. His first port of call will be Djibouti, which occupies a strategic location in the Horn of Africa. The country has assumed significance for hosting multiple foreign military bases on its territory, the latest entrant being China. This infographic illustrates Djibouti’s ‘military base’ diplomacy.
Courtesy: Western Naval Command
China has expanded its presence in the Indian Ocean Region. President Xi Jinping has abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s conciliatory posture for an aggressive, money-fuelled search for super power status
Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr
The Indo-Pacific region is home to some of the largest and most rapidly growing economies as also powerful military forces. Nuclear threats, international terrorism and climate change are some of the issues that define the region. Uncertainty dogs relations among the four nations in the top league—U.S., China, India and Japan—but what is emerging is a hawkish, policy stance from the U.S. as opposed to an isolationist outlook apprehended earlier
Courtesy: Google Earth
The recent BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach highlighted some laudable maritime endeavours linking geographically distant, emerging economies within the grouping. The BIMSTEC platform is also crucial to India's efforts to create a peaceful Bay of Bengal community through economic and cultural linkages.
Courtesy: Narendramodi.in
Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in India's 2014 general elections, despite his hardline nationalist image, was viewed as a localised phenomenon. But two years later, voters across the world from Europe to Philippines seem to be tilting towards leaders with the same nationalist tag.
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This year, India's defence diplomacy has ramped up. In 2015 alone there have been 18 military exercises- naval, army and air force- with 13 countries, among the largest engagements the country has had. Most significant is Japan joining the Malabar exercises in the Bay of Bengal and the first-ever maritime exercise with Australia. This is increasing India's presence from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. As these exercises intensify India will be better positioned to handle regional security challenges.