COMMENTARIES
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Looking East
Naga Peace Process: Gone Off Track
Wasbir Hussain · 07 May, 2015 · #4869 · Commentary · Column
That New Delhi’s Naga peace policy has flopped has become evident with the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) calling off the 14-year ceasefire on 27 March and immediately targeting security forces, kil...
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Spotlight West Asia
King Salman: The Boldest Ever Saudi Monarch?
Ranjit Gupta · 05 May, 2015 · #4868 · Commentary · Column
King Salman, at 79 years old, was widely believed to be in poorer health when he ascended the throne than any of his predecessors. He had been the Saudi minister of defence for six months and Crown Prince for two-and-a-half years – the sho...
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Pakistan
Has Peshawar Changed Pakistan’s Approach to Tackle Terrorism?
Rana Banerji · 01 May, 2015 · #4867 · Commentary
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) terrorist attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, on December 16, 2014, killing 132 children and several teachers, many from Army background, was traumatic; its intensity and cruelty shocking...
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India's Rafale Deal: Why the Outright Purchase Was a Balancing Step
Prashant Dikshit · 21 Apr, 2015 · #4866 · Commentary
The Indian government’s decision to purchase 36 Rafale MMRCA aircraft from France outright, as against the original 18, with a direct government to government deal with France could be the best option. This is because the issues were no lo...
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Voice from America
Why the Rafale Deal Must be Welcomed
Amit Gupta · 20 Apr, 2015 · #4865 · Commentary
While the naysayers and conspiracy theorists in India have already begun their spin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the correct decision to buy 36 off-the-shelf Rafales from France rather than wait for the interminable negotiation...
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Strategic Direction of the PLA Navy: Capability and Intent Assessment
Book Review: "A Grope for Strategic Direction"
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar · 20 Apr, 2015 · #4864 · Commentary
Title: Strategic Direction of the PLA Navy: Capability and Intent Assessment
Author: Kamlesh K Agnihotri
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt Ltd New Delhi (2015)
China has historically held that a state’s comprehensive ...
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What�s on Pakistan-based Militants� Minds?
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy · 16 Apr, 2015 · #4863 · Commentary
On 15 March, terrorists mounted suicide attacks on two churches in Lahore, Pakistan. While this was not the first attack on an institution or individuals related to minority communities in the country, this particular attack was indicative of an...
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China and the Indian Ocean Region
The Geopolitics of Chinese Investments in Sri Lanka
Teshu Singh · 13 Apr, 2015 · #4862 · Commentary
Chinese investments in Sri Lanka are can be primarily found in three sectors: trade, infrastructure and defence. Infrastructural investments such as the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway, the National Theatre of Performing Arts, and the Bandaranaike...
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The Strategist
Why ‘Global Zero’ is Less of an Illusion
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar · 13 Apr, 2015 · #4861 · Commentary · Column
Since August 1945 when two nuclear weapons destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and unimaginable horrors visited over 199,000 of its inhabitants, the world has lived with the implicit fear of widespread annihilation. During th...
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Spotlight West Asia
Yemen: Why the Current Strife will Continue
Ranjit Gupta · 06 Apr, 2015 · #4860 · Commentary · Column
Soon after its formal establishment in 1932, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen and absorbed the Yemeni provinces of Asir and Najran, in 1934. Since then, Saudi Arabia has tried to influence internal political dynamics by using a ‘carrots and stic...
