Comment & Briefs

President Obama’s visit to Indonesia is expected to excise the sense of drift in the relationship that had crept in the post-Suharto phase of transition.

Obama’s announcement of support for India’s prospective membership in multi-lateral export control regimes is a natural corollary of US efforts over the past five years to fully accommodate India in the global non-proliferation regime.

Though fuzzy, there are linkages between Indian and Nepalese Maoists and these have been either admitted or downplayed by all sides –– the Nepalese Maoists, the Indian Maoists and the Indian government.

The Kalam-NSS Indian-American Energy Initiative is being conceptualized by individuals with experience in the field of space technologies as well as policy planning.

Myanmar’s elections on November 7 may not promise to be a game-changer. But the path it lays down could be utilized to effect desirable change devoid of unnecessary turbulence.

The much awaited NATO Russian Summit meeting is taking place on November 19-20, 2010 in Lisbon. Will it signify a major thaw in East-West relations, or will existing differences thwart a major rapprochement between the United States, Europe and Russia which could herald a new era in international relations.

As India deepens its strategic engagement with the countries of South East Asia, ASEAN needs to make up its mind on the mechanisms required to tackle core security issues instead of outsourcing them to a multitude of organisations.

The outcome of the elections in Myanmar is awaited anxiously by the international community but not much change is expected.

President Obama should make his stance clear on the issues of nuclear cooperation between China and Pakistan and perhaps take up the issue with Hu Jintao when he visits Washington DC early next year.

The current predicament the Military finds itself in can be used constructively by the Services and the government for undertaking the necessary correctives with a sense of urgency and obligation.