Comment & Briefs

While Brexit would provide a fillip for an India-UK FTA, Britain staying on in the EU is also likely to be of value given its role as a gateway to Europe.

A sound sensor array in the Indian Ocean could prove invaluable for India which has a major anti-submarine warfare handicap and a lack of operational submarines.

Has South Africa buckled under Chinese pressure to oppose India’s membership in the NSG? While this cannot yet be confirmed, there are strong indicators that it could be a possibility.

India cannot be taking other than a cooperative position if it wants to genuinely exploit opportunities that SCO processes may offer. Any policy on connectivity underpinned by a spirit of rivalry will make India an odd one out.

India’s objective lies not in offsetting the interests of either the US or China but to walk towards its own destiny of serving humanity and global peace.

While the intent exists to forge a strong partnership on cyberspace issues, there is much groundwork to be done to actually build trust and move forward together.

While the China-US Cyber agreement is an attempt at conflict management or risk mitigation, the India-US Cyber agreement is a joint quest for security driven by a common threat perception, democratic values and growing dependence.

The leadership transition in the Rocket Forces shows that the service is not only integrating with other services but that its officials are increasingly called upon to other services to facilitate joint training and exercises.

At present, the entire debate on ‘right to be forgotten’ is mainly focused on individual freedom and individual rights. However, it is important to look at this issue from a security angle too.

While it may be tempting for the Niti Aayog to make deep inroads into defence planning, it would be wise to focus only on those areas that do not disturb the core function of defence preparedness.