Written by Niranjan Marjani. Delivering the keynote address at the 17th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined his vision for the Indo-Pacific region. He stressed the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific, both economically and geostrategically. He called for respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of all the stakeholders and at the … Continue reading In Modi’s Indo-Pacific vision, India needs to assume responsibility
The political energy of LGBTQ movements has often been attacked as a form of transnational ‘collusion’ between domestic political saboteurs and foreign anti-China forces.
A greater flow of information from China to Latin America could help address the issue by dispelling outdated ideas about China. A one-way stream of curated state narratives taken at face value, however, could leave LAC countries ill-prepared to deal with their newest partner.
Xi Jinping has a window of opportunity in Latin America to increase trade and investment in the near future, but it will not be easy.
Written by Tai Wei Lim. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “the Quad” (US, Japan, Australia, and India), is widely regarded as a counter to China’s rising wealth, power, and ambitions. ASEAN countries are seemingly caught in the middle of this great power tug-of-war. What are their options in this predicament? ASEAN may not be in … Continue reading China and the Quad: challenges for Southeast Asia
Written by Lionel Fatton. Freshly elected for a second term as Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe declared in early 2013, “Japan is back”. The obvious question is: which Japan was he talking about? Japan disappeared from the ‘chessboard’ of the great power game after its defeat in the Second World War. For more than six decades, … Continue reading ‘Japan is back’: but which Japan?
Written by C. Raja Mohan. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi enters the last year of his tenure and prepares for the 2019 elections, there are no signs of a slowdown on the external front. Whether it was the quick dash to Sochi in Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin this week or the lakeside pow-vow with China’s leader … Continue reading India’s diplomacy must adapt in the Trump era
The vacuum at the top of the order has left the door wide open for Beijing to claim the mantle. It has long entertained hegemonic ambitions, but American withdrawal has added urgency to this quest
A cursory survey of the stance over CPEC of the major political parties provides evidence for the fact that CPEC will be prioritised even under a different leadership in Islamabad.
Written by Tridivesh Singh Maini. US President Donald Trump’s lukewarm approach to Japan has compelled Tokyo to explore the possibility of improving ties with Beijing. In recent months there seems to be a desire on both sides to work jointly on several important issues, strategic and economic, like North Korea and the impact of Trump’s tariffs … Continue reading India, like Japan, should be more flexible on BRI
Written by C Uday Bhaskar. The techno-strategic characteristics of the nuclear weapon, whose apocalyptic destructive capability was first demonstrated at Hiroshima in August 1945, has ensured that there is an inextricable link between geopolitics and the nuke. This is evident in the manner in which the current geopolitical tension over Iran's nuclear programme and the Korean … Continue reading China, India & Pakistan: The need for a trilateral nuclear dialogue
Written by Nilova Roy Chaudhury. The trans-Himalayan summit, featuring the leaders of India and China in the picturesque central Chinese city of Wuhan on the banks of the Yangtze River on April 27 and 28, was not intended to deliver any major agreements. The “informal summit” between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President … Continue reading Modi, Xi seek to mend Sino-Indian fences, send message
Written by C. Raja Mohan. Amid concerns about Chinese assertiveness and the volatility of American policies, the quadrilateral dialogue of the United States, Japan, India and Australia can’t be the only effort at a new strategic arrangement for stability and balance. It’s time for India, France and Australia to join forces. This innovative security triangle is … Continue reading Paris, Delhi & Canberra: A new Indo-Pacific axis?
The inclusion of Latin America in the OBOR and particularly the proposed Be-Oceanic Railroad (TORR) could be a transformative factor in the continental geopolitics
Written by Anthony Bergin. Free marketeer and hard-headed international security realist, French President Emmanuel Macron is making his first visit to Australia this week. It comes hot on the heels of his trip to the US to meet with Trump where the Iran deal was the centrepiece of talks. As Britain’s Theresa May and Germany’s Angela … Continue reading Macron trip a chance for Australia and France to increase ties
The big numbers being floated for President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy effort, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), do not add up. Popular estimates for Chinese investment under the BRI range from $1 trillion to $8 trillion, hardly a rounding error.
Written by C Uday Bhaskar. The informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his host President Xi Jinping in the central Chinese city of Wuhan (April 27-28) was distinctive, in the context of the uneasy and often prickly bilateral relationship between India and China since October 1962. Wuhan unfolded in a leisurely and tranquil manner … Continue reading Wuhan summit: Restarting an old relationship?
Competing and countering China is apparent as an objective across all the platforms. However if indeed India is to shape the world order, it has to come out with its own clearly defined vision and think beyond containment of China.
No balancing actions against China’s increasing influence were taken. In November 2013, former Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the “era of the Monroe Doctrine was over”, in a symbolic but clear expression of Washington’s acknowledgement of the new regional reality.
Written by Reza Hasmath. In the past few years there has been an increase in inter-ethnic violence in Xinjiang. In mid-September 2015, a knife-wielding attack in Aksu, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), claimed the lives of nearly 50 individuals and injured 50. This followed numerous outbursts of ethnic violence between Uyghurs and Han (the national … Continue reading What are the reasons behind rising ethnic violence in Xinjiang?
Ethnic minority policy needs to be reformed if the government is to break the largely negative cycle of violent confrontation and financial payoffs.
The Chinese government should offer more incentives to the middle class and well educated Uyghurs to remain in Xinjiang. They should be recruited into the province’s bureaucracy and promoted to high administrative posts instead of reserving such posts for the Han migrants.
The situation with China’s other ethnic minorities overall is quite unlike Tibetans or Uyghurs. We should not overlook the improving life among most minorities in China.
Written by C. Raja Mohan. Whether or not the Commonwealth Summit this week in London makes major moves towards renewal and reform, the Indian debate on the future of the forum has certainly changed. After decades of ignoring it, Delhi now believes that a rejuvenated Commonwealth could lend greater depth to India’s global outreach. When Jawaharlal Nehru decided … Continue reading India’s Commonwealth
Written by Tridivesh Singh Maini. That the 5th Sino-Indian Strategic and Economic Dialogue was held in Beijing despite deep divergences between India and China on strategic and economic issues, and the strains caused after the Doklam standoff in 2017, clearly indicates that both are trying to put relations back on track by increasing engagement at … Continue reading India, China must find ways to cooperate economically
Written by Vivek Mishra. The end of the Cold War hitherto tacitly justified the neutrality of most nations on the global stage in the period that followed since. Any stark contrarian positions easily reminded nations of the hostile binaries of the Cold War: the USA and Soviet Union, Capitalism and Communism, NATO and the Warsaw … Continue reading Strategic hedging: The way forward for India’s foreign policy
Singapore through its visionary leadership, deft diplomacy, and commendable economic achievements has been successful in punching above its weight within the Indo-Pacific region.
Written by Jagannath Panda. How does India, the “strategic fulcrum” of the Indo-Pacific, perceive the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or the Quad, comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States? The idea of the Quad was born in 2007, but was shelved when former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd withdrew his country’s participation. The Quad made … Continue reading India, the Quad, and the China question
Written by Sylvia Mishra. China is shedding its traditional role as a continental power and pursuing a grand strategy of a maritime power with a blue-water navy. As China grows economically and militarily stronger, the Chinese government appears to be more ambitious in its efforts to control its surroundings. China’s naval nuclear modernization impinges on … Continue reading China’s navy is challenging the United States in the Indo-Pacific
Written by Sahar Khan. In the last week of March, Uzbekistan hosted a conference in its capital, Tashkent, on Afghanistan’s peace process. It was attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherni, as … Continue reading Was the Tashkent Conference a success?
IAPS Dialogue: The online magazine of the Institute of Asia & Pacific Studies 