Courtesy: Wikipedia
Trump’s cabinet has a preponderance of China hardliners, which has wider implications for the Asia Pacific region while some of its members view Narendra Modi as Reaganesque and a man of the times
Courtesy: Flickr/ResoluteSupportMedia
The Russians have concluded that the Afghan Taliban offer a better shield against the Islamic State than the old Northern Alliance. A negotiated settlement in Afghanistan could be achieved if Washington and New Delhi join Moscow, Beijing, Islamabad and Tehran in a joint effort.
Courtesy: MEA/flickr
The year 2017 may change some equations in the East Asian region. Will the near parity that the U.S. and China currently share turn into a keener contest? Will strained relations between India and China persist? Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president casts the spotlight squarely on these inter-state relationships
Courtesy: Flickr/U.S. Army Africa
New Delhi now has the capacity to move beyond the basics of economic diplomacy by using the strengths of India's private sector in healthcare. Africa would welcome such an initiative, which will improve the health and development capabilities of African countries. This will also serve India’s geopolitical objectives and can precede a similar healthcare rollout to other regions
Courtesy: The Economist
India may be less dependent on the Chinese market than some other countries in the region, but it too wants Chinese investment—and this ambivalence has been evident in India’s varying approach to the AIIB and OBOR. To balance this dilemma in an increasingly complex Asia, India must work with others, in particular with European countries
Courtesy: United States Trade Representative
Amid the debate of a U.S.-centric TPP template or a China-led RCEP model, it is important to consider if such trade agreements are building blocks or stumbling blocks to global free trade. With the passage of the TPP still uncertain in the U.S. Congress, and the RCEP unlikely to be acceptable to the U.S., the more likely global trade scenario will be fragmentation
Courtesy: U.S. Navy / Wikipedia
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to sever ties with the United States, a declaration that has elicited much skepticism. The West Pacific is in for some realigning of relationships if he makes good on this threat.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Aung San Suu Kyi paid high-profile visits to both Japan and India recently; economic cooperation would have been high on her agenda. But what could also emerge from such overtures is a diplomatic threesome
Courtesy: Getty
The French city, bordering the English Channel, is a symbol of the tension between Paris and London and the crisis in Europe as a whole. The dismantling of one refugee outfit here just made an already thorny issue pricklier.
Courtesy: Forum 2000
The Forum 2000 conference in Prague last week was an occasion to reflect on the challenges facing democracy in an economically globalised, but socially fragmented, West.