China has delivered to Pakistan this week its biggest stealth warship, a Type054 frigate, in a move that will strengthen the latter’s position in the Indian Ocean, the area traditionally dominated by India
South Asia's Balance of Payments Challenge: The Changing Dynamics of External Balances in South Asia
South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world despite geographical proximity and complementary economic structures. Greater regional trade, improved transport connectivity, cross-border electricity markets, digital payment systems and investment partnerships could substantially reduce external vulnerabilities.
India's Employment Debate: A Future With Plenty of Work, But Fewer Jobs
Between 2004 and 2023, India produced roughly five million graduates every year, but graduate employment increased by only around 2.8 million annually. Even fewer obtained salaried employment. Millions are either unemployed or working below their qualifications or in the waiting room for the elusive government job.
How Sri Lanka Missed the Opportunity to Become a 200-billion dollar economy
Policy instability during the 2015-2024 likely pushed back Sri Lanka’s path towards becoming South Asia’s first High-Income Country. The 2022 financial crisis would never have happened as stable growth during the first half of 2015–2024 would have built enough buffer to weather impact of the Covid pandemic
When Nations Employ the Expansionary Grammar of Corporate Acquisitions
China’s Belt and Road Initiative - which funded Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port through loans resulting in a 99-year lease to Chinese State-owned enterprise in 2017 due to Colombo’s struggle to service said loans - follows the same expansionary script.
More on Economy, Trade and Development
Fertilizer row escalates as Chinese firm seeks $8 million in compensation from Sri Lanka
The fertilizer row that erupted late month between the Sri Lankan government and a Chinese firm, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd, is showing no signs of ending anytime soon as the firm has now demanded $8 million in compensation, weeks after the former canceled the contract citing contamination
Fertiliser fiasco: Cargo ship carrying rejected Chinese fertiliser denied entry to Colombo Port
Sri Lanka’s Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena has said he has instructed officials at Colombo Port to deny any request by a ship carrying rejected Chinese fertilizer from unloading the cargo in Colombo
Chinese envoy in Kabul meets Taliban's Foreign Minister; trade ties discussed
China’s ambassador to Kabul Wang Yu met with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi and discussed bilateral relations, particularly matters related to trade, Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a tweet
China looking to build a military base in Sri Lanka, says Pentagon report
The United States fears China, whose influence has grown significantly in South Asia in the past decade, is now looking at Sri Lanka to build a military base or logistics facility--a scenario India has been wary of
Pentagon report mentions Chinese village in northeastern India
The annual United States Department of Defence report on military developments involving China details the US perception of the tension along the Line of Actual Control or LAC, and also refers to the creation of a 100-home Chinese village in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India
Indian Army conducting airborne exercises in eastern Ladakh along China border
The Indian Army is conducting aerial exercises close to the border in eastern Ladakh to induct troops in high-altitude zones and validate its rapid response capabilities, a media report said
China resumes air corridor with Afghanistan, imports 45 tonnes of pine nuts
China has resumed its air corridor with Afghanistan--for the first time since the Taliban takeover-- and imported around 45 tonnes of pine nuts, one of Afghanistan’s key exports, to support Afghan businesses which have been struggling amid severe economic and humanitarian crisis caused after the collapse of the erstwhile Afghan government on 15 August
With China in mind, Indian, US armies hold joint exercises, simulated assaults, test interoperability in Alaskan snow-bound mountain
Indian and United States armies have held a joint exercise in the snow-bound Chugach Mountains in Alaska, approximating the conditions Indian soldiers face in the Himalayas where they confront Chinese troops, though no one is saying it that way explicitly
India needs to reduce its growing economic dependence on China
Only when India is strong enough to promote a new paradigm based on internationally acceptable and verifiable norms can the boundary questions raised by China be settled
China blacklists Sri Lanka’s state-owned bank for refusing payments for canceled fertilizer deal
China has blacklisted a state-owned bank in Sri Lanka after it allegedly failed to honor letters of credit issued for a fertilizer deal that was later canceled by the Sri Lankan government over substandard quality issues
India successfully test-fires Agni-5 missile to boost China deterrence
India on Wednesday announced that it carried out the latest test of the 5,000 km range Agni-5 missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast, a significant step towards boosting the nuclear deterrence against China
Talks with China to go on, Indian Army to stand firm: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has expressed confidence that the ongoing talks between China and India for a peaceful resolution of the eastern Ladakh standoff will continue while Indian troops stand "firm" in the region
China’s decision to bring new land border law of concern, says India
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said that China’s unilateral decision to bring about a new land law can have implications on existing bilateral arrangements on border management and that the legislation can even have an impact on the unresolved ‘boundary question’
Pakistan PM dials China’s Xi Xinping, talks of strengthening economic ties; call for immediate aid to Afghanistan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday held telephonic talks with Chinese President Xi Xinping when both leaders agreed to “further strengthen bilateral economic and commercial ties”
