Let’s Partition SAARC The time has perhaps come to restructure, even partition, SAARC to make it more effective. This is something that might also be required to be done in the likely event that Pakistan fosters the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sushant Sareen | November 28, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Artillery modernisation: needed for firepower Despite the lessons learnt during the Kargil conflict, where artillery firepower paved the way for victory, modernisation of the artillery continued to be neglected. The recent acquisition of 814 truck-mounted 155 mm/52-calibre guns is a step in the right direction. Gurmeet Kanwal | November 27, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Why Marine Police remains the weakest link in India’s coastal security system? Given that marine police has been exclusively created for coastal security, it is imperative that the force is adequately strengthened and for this to happen, it is incumbent upon the respective state governments to recognize the severity of sea-borne threats. Pushpita Das | November 26, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Avro-replacement programme hits air pocket Replacement of the Avro is an approved requirement. Scrapping the on-going process could delay acquisition of the transport aircraft by at least a year or two as it would inevitably involve revisiting the qualitative requirements (QRs) before restarting the tendering process. Amit Cowshish | November 25, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Macchil Verdict: Reading Between the Lines The incident raises important issues. First, the role of honours and awards in such crimes, second, the impact of punishment on the morale of troops who undertake a challenging responsibility and last, its impact on the population of the disturbed area at large. Vivek Chadha | November 25, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Xi-Abe handshake, not yet an embrace Escalation of tension has scarred relations between Japan and China. The fallout of this has been reflected in the trade and economic ties between the two. Stabilizing China-Japan bilateral relations is critical for peace in the East Asia and it has to be seen how this four-point agreement will translate into action. Titli Basu | November 24, 2014 | IDSA Comments
President Obama’s Policy on Syria This is the right time to raise a fundamental question about Obama’s policy towards Syria: Is there a coherent, consistent policy, based on a reasonably accurate assessment of the ground realities in Syria? The answer is a definite no. K. P. Fabian | November 18, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Modi’s Mission Downunder India-Australia relation is entering a new orbit and setting a path of strategic convergence. But there are equally other significant issues of cooperation that can bolster Modi’s vision for inclusive development and better governance including Australia’s successes at preserving its ecosystem, water resources distribution and renewable energy. Ashutosh Misra | November 14, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Modi’s Australia visit: Maritime Cooperation in Focus The government’s ‘Act East Policy’ needs to legitimise the ‘Indo-Pacific’ concept. Interestingly, only a few months after the release of the 2013 White Paper, Australia released a Country Strategy Document on India which identified the Indian Navy as possessing the most potential for a close maritime partnership Abhijit Singh | November 13, 2014 | IDSA Comments
ISIS on backfoot: Coalition gets al-Baghdadi Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death will be a serious setback to Daesh as it is different from Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that did not proclaim a ‘caliphate’. As the history of Islam shows, the proclamation of a new ‘caliph’ can be problematic. Sandhya Jain | November 11, 2014 | IDSA Comments
