Comment & Briefs

Crown Prince Salman has been using oil as a tool to further his political ambitions both domestically and internationally, and Saudi Aramco acts as a nucleus around which his ambitions revolve.

A long coastline, ports, and availability of airfields all make Odisha a strategic asset that provides considerable leverage for securing India’s national interests and enhancing influence in South East Asia.

Xi envisions China as a key player in shaping the new global order with Chinese characteristics. His grand strategy is in consonance with the Chinese strategic culture of ‘thinking deep and far’

The inclusion of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Charter of the Communist Party of China indicates that it is not merely an economic policy but rather a ‘political project’.

The IAF is not without options, all of which are currently at some stage of realization. What is lacking is a sense of urgency on the part of all the parties concerned.

On October 12, 2017, Fatah and Hamas, the two dominant factions in Palestinian politics, signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo to end their decade-long conflict.

China and to a lesser extent Pakistan have helped North Korea with its nuclear and missile development programmes.

Trump’s new policy statement on Iran has enveloped the UNSC-approved Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in a shroud of uncertainty that could lead to further instability in conflict-ridden West Asia.

The various connectivity projects put forward by India show its involvement as an investor in capacity-building efforts in the recipient countries across sectors of their particular needs and choices, not as an overarching and imposing economic power.

Besides military targets, a number of strategic civilian targets, like urban data and communication centres, stock exchanges, factories and other centres of gravity could also be attacked by e-bombs.