Comment & Briefs

Unless an integrated view of Teesta basin management is adopted, the water and power needs of Sikkim and Bengal cannot be attended to in juxtaposition to the needs of Bangladesh.

Given an already upset population and the presence of anti-establishment factions, the unequal distribution of the benefits of CPEC is likely to ignite protests and cause a setback to the initiative as well to the Pakistan establishment.

Terrorism has grown exponentially in the African continent, not only in terms of the number of attacks but also the number of countries affected. There is an arc of instability spreading across Africa, from Nigeria in the west to Somalia in the east.

It has become usual pattern for any political interaction between Bangladesh and India at the highest political level to be preceded, and followed, by an endless stream of analysis and curiosity on both sides of the border, but more so in Bangladesh. The just concluded official visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India from 7 to 10 April has been no exception, nor was it expected to be.

There will be little legitimacy for a pre-emptive US strike on North Korea unless Pyongyang launches a pre-meditated strike on any nation.

With changing times and the growing profile of India in the international system, there is a need for a change in the structure and process of recruitment into this very important service.

The Syrian decision to use chemical weapons on civilian targets in Khan Sheikhoun in an effort to seek control of the last rebel held territory of Idlib and the US reaction have created a new dynamics in the Syrian crisis.

Post the decommissioning of the Sao Palo, to be completed by 2020, not a single South American navy will operate an aircraft carrier, perhaps reflecting the relative military decline of the region as well as a recognition that carriers can be expensive prestige projects that are quite ineffective in combat.

Sheikh Hasina’s visit should not be seen through the narrow prism of an agreement on defence cooperation or Teesta but through the broader perspective of the unexplored potential in India-Bangladesh relations.

Human rights, privacy and protection of confidentiality are important issues, but so are the requirements of intelligence agencies which have to contend with the inhumane activities of terrorist groups and individuals.