Publication Filter

The Making of Bangladesh’s Border

Bhutan in Focus

The Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan is in sharp focus now. This is due to two critical factors: Bhutan's assertion of its identity and Beijing's tactics in the Himalayan region. Both factors have had an impact in the ordering of Indo-Bhutanese relations.

LTTE Woos Tamil Nadu

LTTE Political Head P. Nadesan’s recent call to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi to “turn into a supporter of LTTE struggle” in an interview to ‘Kumudam,’ a Tamil weekly, is an example of the outfit’s efforts to woo Tamil Nadu and Karunanidhi in particular. It also underscores the importance of Tamil Nadu for the LTTE at a time of its most pressing crisis. Of late, the Tigers seem to have increased their dependence on, and activities in, Tamil Nadu, which they consider to be a rear base.

M. Mayilvaganan
August 29, 2008
IDSA Comments

Shanghai Co-operation Organisation: Countering NATO’s Move

The August 28 SCO summit in Dushanbe will be viewed with keen concern by most international watchers. It comes on the heels of China’s successful conduct of the Olympics and Russia’s military assertion in Georgia. Both Russia and China have been keenly nurturing the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation as an exclusive nucleus to undercut the US strategic outreach.

P. Stobdan
August 26, 2008
IDSA Comments

Georgian Crisis will have adverse impact on Russia’s relations with the West

Russian military operations in Georgia and the finalisation of agreement between the US and Poland on the stationing of missile interceptors in Poland are two developments that are likely to have far-reaching but adverse impact on Russia’s relations with the West.

Arvind Gupta
August 25, 2008
IDSA Comments

Is Expansion on the SCO Agenda?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is no more a curiosity and has become an important element of contemporary international relations. Since 2005, it has emerged as an influential regional body in Eurasia impacting the political, security and economic developments in this region. The last SCO summit, held in Bishkek on August 16, 2007 focused on issues of countering terrorist threats, boosting security cooperation and developing energy resources within the SCO framework. The summit concluded by signing a treaty on “good-neighbourly relations, friendship and cooperation.”

Meena Singh Roy
August 22, 2008
IDSA Comments

What is wrong with India’s Defence Industrial Policy?

The above question arises in the context of publicly known government plans of arms procurement amounting to over $64 billion1 as part of the modernisation programme of the armed forces. The majority of these acquisitions will obviously be from abroad and will be concluded in the next five years or more.

N. Neihsial
August 22, 2008
IDSA Comments

India’s Defence Offset Policy 2008

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently issued a new set of rules for the procurement of arms, ammunition and other defence related products and services. The rule book, known as Defence Procurement Procedure 2008 (DPP 2008), has revised, among others, the offset policy that was first promulgated in 2005 and subsequently revised in 2006. The revised offset policy which retains the earlier minimum 30 per cent offset requirements in defence imports of Rs. 300 crore or more has added a provision of offset banking, besides enlisting a number of categories of defence products.

RMA: A Selective Monographic Overview

Two issues need to be addressed before getting on with the main discussion: the first is a necessary clarification on 'RMA' with regard to its difference from just any revolution in military affairs, old or new. The second is a disclaimer with regard to excerpted material.

The July 2008 Terrorist Attacks in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad

Two co-ordinated strikes on July 25 and 26, 2008 in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad killed 54 people and injured nearly 200. In the next few days, 28 bombs including two car bombs were found in Surat, which possibly did not explode due to faulty mechanism. This set of incidents seems to mark a new terrorist tactic – the targeting of important cities to cause significant casualties. Serial blasts of this kind began in India with the October 2005 co-ordinated strikes in New Delhi.