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.

32015837878_7c9f57e917_o Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
29 November 2018

ASEAN-India Connectivity

The following remarks were given by Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House as a speaker at the ASEAN-India Business Summit on November 27, 2018.

W020161205495849938669 Courtesy: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China
22 November 2018

Laos: balancing Asian powers

Laos has come a long way from being an exotic kingdom and scene of violent conflict to relative political stability and pragmatic external relations. With External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj currently on a visit to Laos, this is the time for the two countries to focus on scaling up bilateral cooperation

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