PAKISTAN-CHINA-DIPLOMACY Courtesy: AFP
18 May 2017

Pakistan: riding high

The Indian government must be commended for staying away from the Belt & Road Forum in Beijing this week on the basis of principled objections. However, the forum has robust global participation – 30 heads of state attended the meeting, as did the chiefs of the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). India was the only country in the world that was invited, but refused to participate

haaretz Courtesy: Haaretz
5 May 2017

Family power politics in Riyadh

Dynasty has its own reasons and the 40 decrees that King Salman issued last month were designed to hand more power to the Salman branch of the House of Saud. Is a promotion in the offing for his son, the deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman? What does this bode for the country’s foreign policy? President Trump’s first foreign visit will be to Saudi Arabia later this month

Chinese_Fishing_Nets_Cochin Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
5 May 2017

Keeping maritime Asia on course

The Oceans Dialogue 2017, held last month in Thiruvananthapuram, devoted itself to aspects of ocean governance, such as security management, combating terrorism, depletion of marine resources and providing disaster relief, serving as a precursor to the UN General Assembly’s Ocean Conference in June

120416-N-ZI635-259 
INDIAN OCEAN (April 16, 2012) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) participate in a passing exercise with Indian navy ships during Exercise Malabar 2012. Carl Vinson, Bunker Hill, and Halsey comprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 and are participating in the annual bi-lateral naval field training exercise with the Indian navy to advance multinational maritime relationships and mutual security issues. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman George M. Bell/Released) Courtesy: Wikimedia
24 April 2017

Military option in North Korea too risky

As the United States considers its policy options towards North Korea it must understand that Pyongyang has been thinking about military conflict for decades. It too will have military plans and they could pose major challenges for the U.S. This is why China and South Korea–and U.S. regional experts too–prefer the diplomatic route