Bilateral Relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping on the evening of January 18 held a rare conversation with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stationed along the India-China border through video link, State media in Beijing reported on January 19. Xi, speaking from the PLA headquarters in the capital, addressed troops at a border …

At a time of both potential and peril, India has taken over the G20 presidency. The global food, energy, and financial crises have been exacerbated by the climatic crisis and India has a unique opportunity to lead from the front of one of the most influential global platforms. India has …

With the dissolution of Punjab and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial assemblies, Pakistan’s politics has entered tumultuous territory. Former Prime Minister and founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan believes that now the PTI has a better chance to return with more seats. On the contrary, the Pakistan Muslim …

It is an ill-wind that blows throughout the neighbourhood. A recent World Bank study on air pollution concludes that about two million people die prematurely in South Asia each year as particulate measure concentrations put nine South Asian cities among the world’s top 10 worst affected by air pollution. The …

While there are reports of infrastructure build-up on the Chinese side, what does not come to the fore is what infrastructure has been developed on our side, Army chief General Manoj Pande said on Thursday, stating that there has been “marked improvement” and there are plans for all-weather connectivity and …

The Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) on Tuesday organised an outreach programme to raise awareness among exporters from various sectors on Indo-Australia trade dynamics in light of the Australia-India Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). The bilateral trade agreement came into force on December 29, 2022, and now, …

On December 9, 2022, Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Yangtse area in the Tawang region along the India-China border. The confrontation in Tawang was the most serious skirmish between the two sides since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has found that …

As another round of refugee crisis brews on the Mizoram-Bangladesh border, several members of the Kuki-Chin community were “pushed back” by the Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday, according to K. Vanlalvena, a Rajya Sabha member from Mizoram. He said not allowing the “ethnic Mizo” from Bangladesh to enter India …

National Security Adviser (NSA) AjitDoval on Thursday held the 36th round of the Indo-French Strategic Dialogue with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Bonne. Mr. Bonne’s visit was the first major diplomatic visit of the New Year, and according to a statement from the Embassy of France in India, both participants agreed …

Close on the heels of similar mobility agreements with France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland, India will sign a “Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement” (MMPA) with Austria on Monday during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Vienna. While India has been keen to finalise these agreements with …

The clash between Indian troops and the Chinese PLA at Galwan in 2020 and the recentaltercationbetweentroops at Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh have served to highlight the lingering boundary dispute as well as the complex Line of Actual Control (LAC). It is tempting to examine the parallels in India-China relations in …

If 2022 was a momentous year for India and the rest of the world, 2023 is likely to further sharpen the geopolitical fault lines set in motion by the previous year. Amidst all the tectonic shifts around us, what appears to be a certainty is the emergence of an Asia-centric …

The conviction of former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen by a criminal court in the Maldives just a year ahead of general elections could affect his plans to lead the PPM-PNC opposition alliance. He faces 11 years in prison and a $5 million fine after being found guilty of corruption and …

India, along with Russia and China, abstained from a UN Security Council resolution criticising Myanmar’s military regime, and instead called for “quiet, patient” and “constructive” diplomacy with the junta. The vote, which marked the first Security Council resolution on the situation in Myanmar in decades, and in particular, since the …

The world has been witnessing a flurry of meetings and conferences on the issue of countering terrorism worldwide. The list resembles an alphabetic soup, viz., meetings of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee, the No Money for Terror Conference, and an Interpol Conference in which terrorism figured prominently. The recurring …

India and China held the 17th round of Corps Commander-level talks on December 20, at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side, during which they agreed to continue dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a “mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest,” …

Sri Lanka is waiting for financing assurances from its bilateral creditors, including India and China, to tap support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Central Bank Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe. In September, the IMF reached a staff level agreement with Sri Lanka for a $2.9 billion package to …

The Group of Seven (G7) countries, the European Union and Australia have imposed a price cap on Russian sea-borne oil to make it harder for Russia to fund its war against Ukraine. Under the plan, which took effect on December 5, western companies that dominate the global oil shipping and …

The Taliban authorities on Tuesday ordered a nationwide ban on university education for girls, as the hardline Islamists continue to crush Afghan women’s right to education and freedom. Despite promising a softer rule when they seized power last year, the Taliban have ratcheted up restrictions on all aspects of women’s …

S.-China relations have witnessed an unprecedented downturn in 2022. Nancy Pelosi’s historic visit to Taiwan in August has deeply upset bilateral ties. The imposition of heavy restrictions on China’s semiconductor industry by the U.S. in October has fanned the flames of rivalry further. Amid this escalation, the U.S. President Joe …