Category International Relations and Strategic Studies

Is India Squandering its Rotating G20 Presidency?

What should India get out of its G20 presidency, apart, of course, from countless dos all over the country to remind people, with their pomp, posters and streams of visitors from abroad, of India’s global leadership role?

In our current interconnected, interdependent world, coordination of national policies and actions is a must, to ensure mutual interaction results in productive coherence for the world at large rather than conflict. This calls for global platforms where leaders of the countries that matter can get together and agree on some things. G20 is the most important and most representative of such platforms.

Increased Diplomacy Challenges: India as SCO Host

On 28 April, New Delhi hosted a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries’ defence ministers conclave to discuss regional peace and security, counterterrorism efforts and effective multilateralism. The conclave, chaired by India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh, saw the in-person participation of his counterparts from Russia, China, Iran, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The special defence advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan joined virtually.

Sudan’s Political Crisis: Tensions Escalate as Power is Seized

Sudanese have suffered a week long violence that was not seen before except in the Darfur some 20 years ago. This time it is the battle of supremacy between the current ruler military chief General Burhan and his rival deputy Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo also notoriously called Hemedti heading the Rapid Support forces (RSF) drawn from the feared Janjaweed militias that held and continue to hold sway over the Darfur region.

India-China Disputes and India’s Growing Global Influence

China will be an ongoing challenge for the Indian foreign and security policy establishment. Its hegemonistic ambitions are clearly evident from the fact that its territorial ingress and disputes are with more countries than it shares a border with.

After the perfidious war of 1962, India became wiser and focussed on creating stronger defences against Chinese designs which have become far more robust during the past few years as greater focus on creating state of the art border infrastructure and quick response mechanisms have been created.

A Diplomat’s Stand on Pentagon Document Leak

Hackers seem to have acquired a new heft and respect even from the State actors. Hackathons are conducted to crack the codes. Friends spy not only on enemies and adversaries but also on friends, proving that there are no permanent friends or enemies but interests. Any leaks, therefore, cause international embarrassment and can make friendly leaders even more nervous as many understandings and assessments are made and shared even at the highest level in great confidence.

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