South Asia has a common history and celebrates its great cultural and linguistic overlap. However, the South Asian experience in building cooperative security architecture has been mixed. India on its part remains committed to strengthening cooperative security in the region.
If Baghdadi has possibly moved toward the east, then the proclamation of an Indian branch flashes a note of caution for the security and intelligence agencies.
With China now willing to discuss issues of mutual interest with India, a well-structured bilateral dialogue on regional and global terrorism may go a long way in convincing Beijing of the need to put pressure on Islamabad to act against terror
The Sri Lanka Easter bombings has allowed ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi to launch a public relations offensive and enunciate a dangerous new strategy.
Pushpita Das replies: A combination of factors have made India a major conduit for human and drug trafficking in South Asia. As far as drug trafficking is concerned, being proximate to the ‘Golden Crescent’ (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran) and ‘Golden Triangle’ (Myanmar-Thailand-Laos) has made India vulnerable to the trafficking of narcotics and drugs such as heroin, hashish, including synthetic drugs produced in these areas.
Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: De-hyphenation is a policy adopted by countries to maximise their strategic returns from their diplomatic engagements/investments with two adversarial states, both of whom are of consequence to them. It insulates them in some way from the inadvertent turbulence that could result out of their possible hostile interaction and, thus, affect their relationship with both.
The article argues that the contours of a security architecture are becoming slowly visible in South Asia. This process is nurtured by two developments. First, since the 2000s, India has increased its security cooperation with nearly all its neighbours in South Asia. Second, since 2013 governments in New Delhi have promoted the concept of India as a security provider in the region and the Indian Ocean.
Cooperative Security in South Asia: A Mirage?
South Asia has a common history and celebrates its great cultural and linguistic overlap. However, the South Asian experience in building cooperative security architecture has been mixed. India on its part remains committed to strengthening cooperative security in the region.