Indian Trade Route Courtesy: Gateway House
4 April 2017

Diversifying India’s trade destinations

India’s global economic engagement, especially with the developing world, has increased in the last two decades, but trade with South Asia has remained low. It holds the potential for building greater productivity and more inclusive growth in India and the region

28912263963_0b75893744_h Courtesy: MEA/ Flickr
14 February 2017

Indo-Pacific: a scenario of possibilities

The Indo-Pacific region is home to some of the largest and most rapidly growing economies as also powerful military forces. Nuclear threats, international terrorism and climate change are some of the issues that define the region. Uncertainty dogs relations among the four nations in the top league—U.S., China, India and Japan—but what is emerging is a hawkish, policy stance from the U.S. as opposed to an isolationist outlook apprehended earlier

1200px-Malabar_07-2_exercise Courtesy: Wikipedia
14 February 2017

A democratic quadrilateral in Asia?

A strategic coming together of the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India was close to fruition some years ago, impelled initially by the tsunami of 2004. The spirit of the enterprise remains alive even now, and there are many merits in India joining the quad, but such an arrangement can skew existing Asian equations, jeopardising the Act East policy

28909667344_cad7ec10cc_k Courtesy: MEA/flickr
4 January 2017

Acting East: what does 2017 hold in store?

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

New Triangle2 Courtesy: Gateway House
10 November 2016

A new Asian triangle?

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

BIMSTEC Courtesy: Google Earth
20 October 2016

BRICS/BIMSTEC’s maritime portents

The recent BRICS summit and BIMSTEC outreach highlighted some laudable maritime endeavours linking geographically distant, emerging economies within the grouping. The BIMSTEC platform is also crucial to India's efforts to create a peaceful Bay of Bengal community through economic and cultural linkages.

Modi in Vietnam Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs/Flickr
12 September 2016

India-Vietnam: setting a new benchmark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to Vietnam had both heads of state announcing an upgrade of their ‘Strategic Partnership’ into a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. This added term captures the importance both sides have vested in the need to deepen the relationship and the prospect for future cooperation.

TPP Courtesy: ustr.gov
3 March 2016

A fine line: TPP and India

The Trans-Pacific Partnership has dropped strong Intellectual Property Rights regulations on India’s doorstep. The implications of these regulations could affect India’s own policies, as well as her global aspirations towards the potential Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Modi-AbeMEAFlickr Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
17 December 2015

India balances Asian security with Japan

During Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to India, both countries made important progress in strengthening their security engagement focused on maritime security, defence purchases and counter-terrorism. Nonetheless, Indian policymakers are conscious of regional concerns about Japan’s renewed nationalism and of balancing this relationship with that of China