The Taliban are aware that if they shelter foreign militants with transnational agenda. It could turn neighboring powers like China, Russia, Iran, India, or Pakistan against them, writes Ainur Khan for South Asia Monitor
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement: What It Means for South Asia
New Delhi’s official response has been measured, almost pointedly so, a statement that India is “looking into the implications” rather than any dramatic condemnation. That restraint is wise, and should be read as strength rather than uncertainty. India’s ties with Saudi Arabia are too economically consequential, too carefully cultivated over the past decade, for Riyadh to jeopardize them by handing Pakistan a blank check.
The Mineral Geopolitics of the Bay of Bengal: To Win the Subterranean War, India's Maritime Strategy Needs a Paradigm Shift
The vulnerability for India lies in the asymmetry of technological readiness and the aggressive sub-surface mapping being conducted by external actors, most notably China. Beijing has been able to resource its scientific research vessels, oceanographic mapping devices, and supposed civilian ocean surveys to map the bathymetry and mineral content of the Indian Ocean Region systematically.
Growing US-China Rivalry in Indian Ocean: A Test of Sri Lanka's Foreign Policy
China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka is an immediate concern for India as the resident power in the region, but it is also a global concern for the United States.
Hasina's Return Proclamation Throws a Spanner in India-Bangladesh Ties
The Indian government is caught in a bind. Despite the BNP government’s outrage, for Delhi to hasten Hasina’s extradition is not an option.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
Monk and the prime minister: Did a Sri Lankan scholar help to ignite interest in Buddhist studies in Israel?
Today many Israeli universities have departments of Buddhist studies and South Asian philosophies as interest among Jewish scholars on Buddhist meditation continues to grow, writes Punsara Amarasinghe for South Asia Monitor
Afghanistan, its sectarian divisions, and international stakeholders
Pakistan has checkmated India to some extent, though the Taliban has recognized India’s role in the reconstruction projects and Salma Dam, writes Brig Dinesh Mathur (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Will Taliban 2.0 signal a radical policy change?
To the extent that the Taliban keeps its word both on not letting it soil be used as a terrorist launch pad and keeping off Kashmir, there is a possible window for the Modi government in India to engage with it, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor
A prudent India should consider Bangladesh as its most suitable investment destination
India's poor record of implementing infrastructure projects in neighboring countries has pushed them even more towards China, writes Anup Sinha for South Asia Monitor
With Taliban on verge of wresting power, the US has a lot of explaining to do
Can the US pose as the champion of human rights after abandoning the Afghan population to this horrendous human tragedy? writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Independence Days of India and Pakistan tinged with some unfulfilled aspirations
For India and Pakistan, therefore, which were once a single country, the anniversaries of their independence days are burdened with thoughts of what might have been, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
Ties soured by the China factor, Sri Lanka’s new policy document reaches out to India
The document seeks to achieve Sri Lanka’s foreign policy objective vis-à-vis India while coming closest to admitting that China has cast a long shadow over Colombo-New Delhi ties, writes M.R. Narayan Swamy for South Asia Monitor
75 years of Indo-Saudi diplomatic relations: Strong mutual interests reinforcing ties
Indo-Saudi economic ties have seen tremendous growth over time, writes Asif Rameez for South Asia Monitor
Tokyo Olympics showing: India should reach out to its South Asian neighbors to help them lift standards
India can offer to lend a helping hand in a new shared spirit of sporting togetherness that can bind South Asia, writes Sirshendu Panth for South Asia Monitor
Fears of a return to the dark days stalk Afghan women amid Taliban's advance
The forty years of protracted war has impacted Afghan society, especially women, in a way that has few parallels in human history, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor
A non-adversarial tax environment must for India to become an attractive investment destination
Although the Indian government believes that FDI is coming into the country in record amounts, most of it is through mergers and acquisitions and not greenfield investments which entail building factories, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
US bombs and appeals notwithstanding, Afghan reconciliation not on Taliban agenda
The US may continue to bomb the Taliban and keep asking them to reconcile but such a scenario is not going to unfold, especially when nothing has been done in 20 years to block the financial support and arms supplies to the Taliban, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
South Asia’s women athletes displayed grit and determination to overcome discrimination, bullying and neglect
If sportswomen are treated equally and provided with equitable opportunities, women athletes from South Asia are bound to participate in greater numbers in top international events like the Olympics, writes Sarita Bartaula for South Asia Monitor
US-China rivalry makes for complex Indo-Pacific power dynamics
India ought to tread cautiously in aligning with the US as a counterweight to China, writes Mayank Mishra for South Asia Monitor
