IDSA COMMENT

Finally, US action on Climate Change takes the first baby step

The United States House of Representatives passed a landmark legislation H.R. 2454, the "American Clean Energy and Security Act," by a narrow margin of 219-212 on 26 June 2009. This bill requires the reduction of nationwide greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent of the 2005 level by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a "cap-and-trade" program under which companies would buy and sell emissions credits. The bill has more hurdles to cross before it becomes a law.

July 01, 2009

The 9th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit: An Assessment

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held its ninth summit on June15 -16, 2009 in Yekaterinburg. The Heads of the SCO member states, observer states and guests of the host state - President of Afghanistan, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Secretary-General of the Eurasian Economic Community, and Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, participated in the meeting.

June 24, 2009

China’s Maritime Intent in South China Sea Vis a Vis ASEAN

South China Sea is a disputed maritime area. This is because of the multiple and often overlapping maritime claims on parts of the Sea by China, many ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam) and Taiwan. Two incidents in the past one month have brought the issue once again to the forefront. In May, the Chinese permanent mission at the United Nations (UN) presented a note to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon claiming sovereignty over 80 per cent of South China Sea including the disputed islands of Paracel and Spratly.

June 23, 2009

Japanese Vulnerabilities increases following North Korea’s actions

The delicately maintained fragile peace in Northeast Asia received a severe jolt when North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test on May 25, 2009, followed by the test launch of four short-range missiles. Earlier on April 5, North Korea had launched a long-range rocket, which drew condemnation from the UN Security Council (UNSC) in the form of a strong presidential statement.

June 23, 2009

Is Australia a Racist Country?

Australia is not a racist country. The state has some of the toughest laws against racial discrimination. Though there is a history of discrimination against its aboriginal population today the country is sensitive to matters concerning race and ethnicity.

June 22, 2009

China: Two Decades after Tiananmen

It is obvious today that realpolitik is shaping the relationship between the world powers and China. There was hardly any debate on the Tiananmen Square Incident barring a few newspaper articles. It appears is that the world order has accepted the way China behaves and is also ready to make concessions on the Human Rights issues as seen during the Tibetan Uprising last year. The question is why is the world ready to make so many compromises when it comes to China?

June 19, 2009

Is Pakistan a Failing State?

In recent months the international media has focused on the issue of Pakistan becoming a failed state soon. A top US counter terrorism expert David Kilcullen who advised David Petreaus in Iraq on counter terrorism strategy has opined that Pakistan may fail within six months. Concerns about stability in Pakistan became more acute when Taliban began their advance out of Swat towards Punjab earlier this year. The media highlighted the fragility of Pakistan by pointing out that the Taliban had come within 100 miles of Islamabad.

June 16, 2009

The First EU-Pakistan Summit

The European Union (EU) is going to have its first-ever summit with Pakistan on June 17 in Brussels. In Asia the EU has only three strategic partners, namely China, India and Japan, with whom it holds standard annual and occasionally half-yearly summits. Britain is the only country in Europe that holds annual summits with Pakistan. However, even these purportedly annual summits are irregular and have often been mired in controversy whenever a terrorist attack takes place in the UK or terrorist plots are unraveled and foiled by British agencies.

June 12, 2009

Lawlessness in the Hills of Assam

Following the arrest of one of the most wanted insurgent leaders of Assam, the state government must immediately act tough against other insurgent groups operating in the hill districts of the state.

June 12, 2009

Talking Heads: Why Manmohan Singh is in Yekaterinburg?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is attending a slew of Russian hosted high profile meetings including those of the SCO and BRIC in Yekaterinburg which would be viewed keenly by most international watchers. The SCO, keenly nurtured by Russia and China as an exclusive nucleus, had hitherto excluded those with observer status from its core deliberations. The forum became popular as an embryonic counterpoise to the United States after 2005 when it bluntly issued a quit notice to the US from Central Asia and decided to salvage an assortment of autocrats being ostracized by the West.

June 16, 2009

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