Pakistan’s Dual Dilemma: Balancing Taliban Relations Amidst Internal Strife
As Pakistan struggles to prod the Taliban to act on militant groups, its dual policy of supporting extremist groups has come back to haunt it.
Harsh V Pant
Professor of International Relations at King’s College London and Director of Research at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi.
The Bilateral Balancing Act: Insights from the Biden-Xi Summit
Given the criticality of this partnership for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific region, India will be keenly watching the Biden-Xi meeting.
The much-anticipated meeting between United States (US) President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will happen this week in the San Francisco Bay Area on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Strategic Alliance: India and Japan Unite Forces in Southeast Asia
Upon dropping a series of Chinese-led infrastructure projects due to sustainability and geopolitical concerns, the Philippines is now redirecting its attention to Japan and India as alternative sources of development and security. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista reaffirmed this earlier this month when he noted that the Philippine government is willing to tap both countries for development assistance. This statement intersects with Manila’s desire to deepen and broaden its security and economic partnerships with like-minded partners amidst Beijing’s growing unwillingness to act and behave like a responsible neighbour. India
Decoding Rishi Sunak’s High-Stakes Move: Boldness or Desperation?
British politics has once again taken a turn with the cabinet reshuffle ushered in by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week. The sacking of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary and the return of former Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary can be viewed both as a desperate gambit by a flailing leader to restore his leadership within and outside the party as well as a dramatic step to redraw the contours of the emerging political contest ahead of elections next year. Whichever way you look at it, the spotlight is now back on Sunak as he comes to grip with the consequences of the decisions he has made.
Addressing the Israel-Hamas Conflict: The Limitations of Technology in Border Security
Technology is essential to border management. But, as the events of October 7 show, a delicate balance between its use and the presence of troops is needed.
Israel-Hamas Conflict
Even as the Israel-Hamas crisis shows no signs of de-escalating, the ease with which the much-touted Israeli border defence systems fell apart on October 7 continues to challenge observers and practitioners as they seek a better understanding of what really happened. In one swoop, Hamas took down the technology-driven, modern, expensive, and high-end fencing systems called the “Iron Wall”, which the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had set up along 65 km of their border with Gaza in 2021, to fend off infiltration.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A Decade of Challenges and Global Ambitions
Reaffirming his nation's commitment to continue pouring billions of dollars into the economies of developing countries as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - the "project of the century" - enters its second decade, Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined earlier this week at the BRI forum that "China can only do well when the world is doing well... When China does well, the world will get even better." More significantly, and perhaps expectedly, he took aim at the West when he suggested that "we stand against unilateral sanctions, economic coercion, decoupling, and supply chain disruption."