FATA’s Merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The idea of abolishing FATA as a distinct administrative entity and merging it with KP led to a country-wide debate, with some commentators pointing to the futility of the merger and others advocating its early implementation in the interest of peace and stability in the region. Zainab Akhter August 29, 2017 Backgrounder
US ups the ante in Cyberspace The US decision to elevate its Cyber Command to that of a Unified Combatant Command sends a strong signal to entities and countries inimical to its interests to recalibrate their security calculus. Munish Sharma August 25, 2017 IDSA Comments
A New Equilibrium with China: Near simultaneous rise of neighbours is not unprecedented in Asia Will the next meeting between PM Modi and President Xi at the Xiamen BRICS Summit lead to what Foreign Secretary Jaishankar has described as a new equilibrium? Mukul Sanwal August 25, 2017 IDSA Comments
Decoding Russia’s 2017 Naval Doctrine Russia’s new naval doctrine seeks to defend Russia’s core security interests in the neighbourhood and project power judiciously beyond its periphery. Rajorshi Roy August 24, 2017 IDSA Comments
Making the Right to Information (RTI) work in Defence Adhering to the RTI Act in letter and spirit will lead to more responsible decision-making, greater accountability, and more credibility to the actions of the MoD. Amit Cowshish August 21, 2017 IDSA Comments
Panchsheel Was Noble, But Did China Embrace it Ever? Before selectively invoking historical contexts and postulates such as Panchsheel, Chinese officials need to ask themselves “do we have the right to say this.” Rajeesh Kumar August 18, 2017 IDSA Comments
From Doklam Standoff to a Trade War? India initiates review of IT imports from China India’s decision to review the imports of IT products from China could turn out to be its Achilles Heel, given that they constitute a key constituent of Chinese exports to India. Munish Sharma August 18, 2017 IDSA Comments
India must step up diplomatic efforts on the Rohingya issue The success of India's diplomacy will lie in the extent to which it can induce Naypyitaw to take a long view in the interests of its own political stability, internal security and social harmony. Gautam Sen August 16, 2017 IDSA Comments
Has the Time Come to Replace Manned Combat Aircraft With Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles? A quantum jump in the operational role of UAVs can be expected only with a breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence. Until that happens, their will increase gradually to reach about 50 per cent of combat operations over the next three decades. Kishore Kumar Khera August 16, 2017 IDSA Comments
New Hambantota Port Deal: China Consolidates its Stakes in Sri Lanka While the agreement remains controversial, China is likely to consolidate its presence and Sri Lanka likely to get deeper into the Chinese debt trap even though it has gained temporary relief through the equity for debt swap. Smruti S. Pattanaik August 14, 2017 IDSA Comments
