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A new, long and potentially ugly physical and mind games have begun, where conventional and tactical firepower alone would not guarantee long term success and acceptance
A new perspective on Indo-Pacific security: Need for QUAD to develop Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) framework
India will do well to initiate the SWAMs and build a nuanced acoustic capacity and capability-building initiative nationally and at the regional level. The Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision of India will be better served with an effective implementation of the UDA framework on the ground.
Is the G20 slipping from China’s grasp?
The debt phenomenon is so significant that nearly half the African Union member states are in debt – mostly to the state-owned banks of China. Countries in South America and Asia are also being caught up in this debt slide. While the New Delhi G20 summit only appealed to countries to address this serious debt issue, that China is now being seen as a part of the problem seems to be hanging over it like a Sword of Damocles.
Did Chinese president Xi skip G20 to belittle India?
Given the growing power differentials and China’s global hegemonic ambitions, it is observed that Xi attends mega events where his country has some clout and skips those that could put China in a tight spot and raise questions related to its accountability and responsibility.
China's cartographic brinkmanship amid its rising internal challenges will exacerbate Indo-Pacific tensions
India is increasingly being courted by the US-led West as a bulwark to Beijing, and China will want to send a two-pronged message to Delhi and Washington as well as regional neighbours that Beijing still holds the economic and security upper hand, although its economic credentials have taken a serious hit.
More on Indo Pacific - China Watch
Post Taiwan crisis, China gets edgy over Tibet and Himalayan security
With no diplomatic ties with Bhutan, prevailing border tensions with India and a changing geo-strategic sphere in Nepal, China's Himalayan neighbourhood security is critically tied to safeguarding Tibet
The Chinese ‘spy’ ship that raised Indian eyebrows; and this may not be the last
Ever since Sri Lanka leased Hambantota port to China, both India and the US have flagged their concerns that this may eventually lead to it becoming a hub for the PLA Navy in the Indian Ocean
India remains a strategic bulwark in checking China’s rising power
Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh remain crucial in the eyes of New Delhi and Washington in denying further incursions by Beijing, underscored by the scramble for reassertion of American influence and ties with both nations
A must-read book for scholars and others to understand India-China dynamics
One particular observation that gets highlighted, although not explicitly stated as such by the author, is the huge clout and influence wielded by some key diplomats and political advisers who seem to have literally hijacked the formulation of policy and response to this, complex relationship during the Nehru years
China's strategic missteps can have dangerous consequences for Indo Pacifc region
Beijing should be wise enough in realizing the dangerous impact of its using pugnacious responses to Pelosi’s visit that can risk greater backfiring from its strategic adversaries in the future
With eye on China, India's armed forces incorporate AI systems in three services
In view of China’s build-up all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) till Arunachal Pradesh, it is just as well that India is pursuing efforts to equip its armed forces with AI-backed systems
Pelosi’s Taiwan trip: upholding values of democracy over autocracy
A new spectrum of tactical competition has begun in the Indo Pacific, and it requires more than threats and deterrence to determine the path and pattern of the conflict; it needs wisdom and strategic foresight by all the players in playing both the short and long game with both conventional and new tools of war and diplomacy
Sharpening China Watch: Indian Army seeks to up language and knowledge expertise on China
The Indian Army’s notification in July 2022 inviting applications from persons fluent in Mandarin to properly communicate with the Chinese military along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a beginning in fulfilling a decades-long important requirement
Can the US help Taipei escape Beijing’s claws?
Regardless of future leadership transitions in Washington, the pivot to the Indo-Pacific will be here to stay in safeguarding America’s status quo and primacy, writes Collins Chong Yew Keat for South Asia Monitor
‘Opaque’ loans from China caused the crisis in Sri Lanka, says USAID chief
Interestingly, despite gaining significant influence and footprint in Sri Lanka, China’s failure to assist the crisis-hit country has left analysts baffled about Beijing’s thought process. The restructuring of loans, which Colombo sought repeatedly, was ignored by China
Indian policy towards China needs to change: offence is the best form of defence
During the military commanders' meeting, the Indian side asked for the PLA to move back from all the “friction points”, which is a euphemism for "intrusions" used by India to avoid acknowledging it has lost control of some 1,000 sq km of territory during the 2020 Chinese aggression. For the same reason, India keeps asking of more military-to-military talks, with each round continuing 12-13 hours without any progress, writes Lt Gen P.C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India, Israel, US, UAE launch Middle East Quad I2U2
The I2U2 is an attempt to replicate in a different environment the Indo-Pacific Quad of India, the US, Japan and Australia, the goal of which is developing a bulwark of democracies against China
Targeting China Inc: Challenges of reducing India’s dependence on China
The punitive mood against Chinese firms is not reflected in a diminishing dependence on Chinese goods on the trade front or telecom technology. The dragon remains one of our largest trade partners, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Involve Japan in enhancing India-Bangladesh connectivity, unlocking potential of India’s Northeast
Apart from engaging in projects for upgrading India highways that go all the way till the Bangladesh border, Japan could also collaborate with India in the constantly deferred Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link, something that provides scope for Indo-Japan collaboration under India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, writes Prarthana Sen for South Asia Monitor
