Category International Relations and Strategic Studies

98 e1785080739703

A Distracted Pakistan: Strategic Opportunity in the Afghanistan-Pakistan War

Policy UpdateAsmatwali Background Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan, simmering since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, escalated into open warfare in late February 2026. Following weeks of militant attacks inside Pakistan, the Pakistan Air…

96 e1785078667345

India-Japan and the Indo-Pacific Pivot Amid West Asian Turmoil

Policy UpdateAsmatwali Background India and Japan trace their contemporary partnership to the 1952 Peace Treaty, progressively upgraded into a “Global Partnership” (2000), a “Global and Strategic Partnership” (2006), and the “Special Strategic and Global Partnership” (SSGP) in 2014, anchored since…

ayan poster 1

India–Philippines Strategic Partnership (2025–2026): BrahMos, Maritime Cooperation, and the South China Sea

Diplomatic ties between India and the Philippines were established in 1949, and a Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1952, but the relationship was not very intense during these early decades for the next six decades, owing to a number of factors, including geographic separation, competing Cold War affiliations and limited economic integration. The Indian government's Look East policy, now known as Act East since 2014, began to shift India's foreign policy and economic focus to Southeast Asia, whereas increased tensions with China in the South China Sea over the last decade reoriented the Philippines' foreign policy focus toward Asia, which opened the door for greater convergence with India after 2016.

PUposting2 2

India–GCC Free Trade Agreement Negotiations (2026): Status, Stakes, and Stumbling Blocks

Asmatwali Background The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, is one of India’s largest trading partner blocs. In FY 2024-25, bilateral trade touched USD 178.56 billion (exports of USD 56.87 billion and…

PU posting 2.0 1

India–UK Technology Security Initiative (TSI): Advancing Strategic Technology Cooperation (2024)

In light of the India-UK Vision 2035 and the pivotal role of critical technologies in the evolving global order, the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) was launched on 24 July 2024 as a bilateral strategic initiative between India and the United Kingdom. The initiative was officially launched by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy during his visit to India on behalf of the UK Prime Minister.

Talk to Us