Geographical contiguity needs to be accompanied with complementarities in governance for regional development. In South Asia, this has been showcased by India and Bangladesh, with the heads of government of both countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina respectively, naming their partnership as “a model for bilateral relations for the entire region.”
A new phase in India's defence ties with the Philippines commenced last week when the Indian Air Force handed the first batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines.
From Iran's perspective, Israel breached a critical threshold by attacking its diplomatic mission, which Tehran deemed its sovereign territory.
The latest escalation between Israel and Iran marks a significant change in the adversarial relationship between the two antagonists. Not since the first Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, when the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein struck Israel with SCUD missiles, have the Israelis been subjected to a missile attack on the scale the Iranians executed. Tehran’s most recent salvo involved a combination of drones and missiles. The missile barrage consisted of a mixture of cruise and ballistic missiles. Israel’s missile defences intercepted an estimated 331 missiles launched by the Iranians.
The year 2023 upheld India’s credibility as a strong champion for Global South aspirations. India is advocating for a more inclusive global governance structure, embracing new technological forefronts like digital public infrastructure. The Global South plays an instrumental role in Indian diplomacy’s playbook. It prompts a series of issues that keep sustainable development at its core, like global health, food security, mitigating climate change, steering towards a green economy, supply chain resilience, countering cyberterrorism, early implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, and so on.
Srikanth Kondapalli China has been raising irredentist claims on territories and resources of its neighbors on one pretext or another in order to finally grab them. China’s leadership is following what its communist party founder Mao Zedong used to say…
What will the complex calculus of the new Middle East crisis resolve into, and what will be the impact on India?
ISRAEL has succeeded in diverting world attention from Gaza and Hamas to Iran. This is similar to how Hamas, in October 2023, successfully short-circuited US efforts at normalising relations between the Arab states and Israel under the Abrahams Accord.
These moves and countermoves are ratcheting up the intensity of conflict in West Asia with serious global implications, including for India. The Indian approach seems to be similar to that in the case of the conflict in Ukraine— to play both sides.
China continues to warn regional players of negative consequences of their actions. Yet, it is Beijing’s own behaviour that is reshaping the Indo-Pacific landscape.
Escalating Tensions: Philippines Confronts China's Aggression in the South China Sea
The waters of the South China Sea are roiling again; this time, it is the Philippines that is at the heart of the turbulence. Although Manila and Beijing have been at loggerheads over submerged shoals in the South China Sea for decades, China has upped the ante in recent months with Chinese ships firing water cannons and ramming into Philippine ships. Beijing’s grey zone tactics have been evident to the wider world, with Manila hoping that perhaps this negative publicity would force China to back off. But that has not been the case so far.