South Asia and Beyond

PM Modi Sets New Goals For India-ASEAN Partnership

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set ambitious goals for India-ASEAN partnership, drawing the 10-nation grouping deeper into defining the global agenda. During his address at the India-ASEAN conclave in the Indonesian capital, PM Modi nailed five pillars that would anchor India’s comprehensive strategic partnership with the southeast Asian grouping. First, the Prime Minister pointed out […]Read More

Why Pakistan’s Post-Imran Transition May Take Longer Than Expected

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s post-Imran transition that began on May 9 when vandals, mostly supporters of the ex-prime minister, frontally took on the military by attacking key symbols of the army’s power and authority including the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and Jinnah House, the corps commander’s residence in Lahore. But Pakistan’s pivotal transition would be complete only […]Read More

Will Mohsin Beg Become Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister After Imran Khan’s Exit?

NEW DELHI: As the process to remove ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan from Pakistan’s future political configurations continues unabated, there is considerable brainstorming within the establishment about holding general elections and the transition in between. One of the areas of debate is who will be the interim Prime Minister, acceptable to all including the military, before […]Read More

How A Unified Pakistan Military Is Dismantling ‘Project Imran’

NEW DELHI: The arrest of Pakistan’s ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan by Rangers on May 9 triggered unprecedented and horrific attacks on the Army. Imran’s supporters attacked key symbols of the Army’s power and authority, including the General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi, Corps Commander’s House aka Jinnah House in Lahore, Peshawar Radio station, ISI office in Faisalabad, […]Read More

NSA Doval Calls Out China On CPEC, Border During SCO Meet

NEW DELHI: In a veiled reference to China, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has backed giant international connectivity projects, provided they do not subvert the sovereignty of a nation-state. “We stand ready to cooperate on investing in and building connectivity in the region. Expanding connectivity is also important to ensure that such initiatives are […]Read More

Kishida’s New Indo-Pacific Vision Includes Integrated Development Of Northeast India, Bangladesh & Bay Of Bengal

NEW DELHI: Japan on Monday unveiled its new vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) which includes integrated development of Northeast India and Bangladesh as part of a broader Bay of Bengal community. Calling India an “indispensable partner”, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida outlined his new Indo-Pacific strategy during a policy speech at the […]Read More

Why India Must Deter China On Its Own Steam After The Tawang Clash

NEW DELHI: How does India deter China from pursuing its aggressive wolf-warrior manoeuvres? A three-pronged approach may be useful, all intended to build military capability, expanding geopolitical influence and keeping the economy well-oiled. First, India has to demonstrate that it remains unfazed by the latest provocation and remains fixated to the big picture—of confidently pursuing its […]Read More

India, Indonesia Launch Campaign To Foster Moderate Islam

NEW DELHI: India and Indonesia have launched a major ideological campaign to counter terror, leveraging their common tradition of tolerance and diversity. Addressing a conference on the role of Ulema in India and Indonesia to foster peace, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval pointed out that with Indonesia, having the world’s largest Muslim population in the […]Read More

FIR Fiasco Gives Imran Khan An Edge In Fight With Army Generals

NEW DELHI:In the bitter power struggle in Pakistan between Imran Khan and the “establishment,” the former Prime Minister appears to have seized the initiative, pushing the Shehbaz Sharif government and the military into a reactive mode. By Monday evening, Khan managed to grab a larger global space to push home his narrative that the attempt […]Read More

India Must Ready For China’s Prolonged, Full Spectrum Animosity

NEW DELHI: In seeking an explanation for its military muscle flexing and in-your-face Wolf Warrior diplomacy, it may be best to return to China’s 19th Party Congress and what happened in those dramatic few days, which changed China from within. In that conference held between October 18 and 24, 2017, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of […]Read More

Xi Jinping: The ‘God’ Of All Things Communist

NEW DELHI: After the Covid-19 outcry against China, which has been accused, across continents of deliberately or inadvertently spreading the virus, Beijing is sending out a stern message—it is ready for a confrontation, united under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping’s status on par with Mao Zedong, the founding patriarch of the People’s Republic […]Read More