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East of India, South of China: Sino-India Encounters in Southeast Asia

With the rise of China and the rising tension between the China-South China Sea littoral states, the Southeast Asian region has emerged as a pivot of international politics. Changing US policy towards Southeast Asia in the wake of China’s rise and India’s initiatives to expand its footholds in the region have further mainstreamed the region. China has shown reluctance in accepting the involvement of an extra-regional power in South China Sea affairs. Therefore, it is likely that in the coming years, the region will witness extensive overt and covert competition between two rising powers.

Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Relations – the drivers and challenges

While Pakistan clearly seeks to maintain cordial relations with Iran, it is unlikely that it would be willing to incur the displeasure of Saudi Arabia with which it has greater economic and strategic links.

Nepal-China Transit Agreement: An Evaluation

Nepal’s quest for an alternate transit country with a view to reducing its dependence on India succeeded with the finalisation of the text for the Protocol of Transit Transport Agreement with China on September 7, 2018.

India’s Economic Opportunities in Central Asia

India needs to use economic leverages more efficiently to build closer ties with Central Asia.

Caspian Sea Agreement and the International Energy Market

The value of the Caspian energy reserve lies in its potential to add to global reserves of oil and gas, which, in turn, could bring down costs.

Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Chithra Purushothaman
2018 |
IDSA Comments

A Review of India-Japan Defence Technology Cooperation

While broad agreement at the top leadership level has been easy to achieve, negotiations relating to defence equipment and technology cooperation have proved to be difficult, shaped as these are by a complex interplay of variables like cost-competitiveness, technology transfer and domestic politics.

China’s vulnerability, India’s opportunity

India must jettison the attempt to maintain a balance between China and the US and instead take advantage of China’s internal and external vulnerabilities to gain an upper hand in the asymmetric power equation that has developed.

Modi’s Tour of Africa Revitalises Relations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent tour of Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa increased to 26 the number of African countries visited by very senior leaders, thus contributing to a significant reduction in India’s visibility deficit in the continent.

The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi, General Zia, and the Unending War, by Kallol Bhattacherjee

A journalist by profession, Kallol Bhattacherjee has written extensively on South Asian affairs and on conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. In writing The Great Game in Afghanistan, he has researched extensively into the personal records of John Gunther, who was the United States (US) Ambassador to India between 1985 and 1988. The author was also fortunate to be able to hold extensive interviews with Gunther post-2014 with Ambassador Ronen Sen, who was Rajiv Gandhi’s diplomatic aide in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during this crucial period.

China’s Hydro Ambitions and the Brahmaputra

The upper riparian China is uniquely positioned to influence the flow of Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra into lower riparian India. In the absence of a water sharing treaty, the Chinese decision to build more dams on Yarlung/Brahmaputra and continued evasiveness on its long-term plans would remain an issue of major concern for India.