32063194508_79ef867901_o Courtesy: MEA Flickr
13 December 2018

Maldives’ new balance

Maldives president Mohamed Solih comes to India this week, fresh from his election win and with a host of good intentions. His aim is to recast the bilateral and restore balance in Maldives’ external relations after the previous president’s China-centric leanings. Such a reversal may not emerge instantly

https---s3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com-psh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4-images-2-2-2-1-13871222-5-eng-GB-20180510_former-PM-Mahathir-01 Courtesy: Nikkei Asia
6 December 2018

Malaysia in transition, and recalibrating

Six months after Malaysia’s parliamentary elections, its domestic affairs are still untidy. The government is combating corruption, but not bringing in constitutional reform. A successor’s name is not emerging clearly either. But Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad’s foreign relations priorities – principally, Japan and China – are in order

IndiaTimes Courtesy: India Times
6 December 2018

Kartarpur-Canada-India-China

The recent opening of the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab and the release of a Canadian parliamentary report on the security breach during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s India visit are important developments. They present a good opportunity for New Delhi to step up cooperation with Ottawa on countering terrorism and violent extremism

Rediffmail Courtesy: Rediffmail
6 December 2018

Modi a better CM than PM?

Academic and columnist M.D. Nalapat, in this interview with Manjeet Kripalani, speaks of how a tardy bureaucracy has brought about “a too-cautious” policy towards the U.S. and China as opposed to the former Gujarat chief minister’s greater openness in consulting people before handing over policy implementation to the bureaucracy. He also discusses the prime minister’s shrewd approach to South Asia, the dependable warmth of the Japanese and a range of other topics

nd18_cover_large Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
3 December 2018

Beijing’s Nuclear Option

Experts estimate the likelihood of a U.S.-Chinese nuclear crisis as “somewhere between nil and zero.” This assurance is misguided. The United States' signature approach to conventional warfare would be a potential recipe for nuclear escalation.

44462476151_09bdc8fc7f_o Courtesy: Flickr / Paul Kagame
15 November 2018

China, Africa and the art of mutual benefit

China’s footprint in the African continent is growing because it is a zealous summiteer. And now, in response to ‘debt-trap’ criticism, it also appears to be stressing private sector investment in Africa over loans and credit. Are there any takeaways for India in this?

chinese-poverty.1515419981 Courtesy: Fair Planet
13 November 2018

China’s poverty reduction vs others’

China recently celebrated 40 years since it began its successful poverty reduction effort, at a conference in Beijing. While lauding China's efforts, experts do recognise that different formulations work for different countries

President_Donald_Trump_and_Prime_Minister_Justin_Trudeau_Joint_Press_Conference_February_13_2017 Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
25 October 2018

Three pillars of Canada’s worldview

The United States, Europe and the Asia Pacific today form Canada’s tripartite foreign policy priorities. The ASEAN is its sixth largest partner, which was not so 20 years ago, but economic engagement with India – still small, compared to China and Japan – has scope to grow