COMMENTARIES
  • Dateline Colombo
    Politics of Correctness: The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew
    Asanga Abeyagoonasekera    ·   06 Apr, 2015    ·    #4859    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    “I always tried to be correct, not politically correct." Lee Kuan Yew Drawing open the curtains to what is the festive month of April in many parts of Asia and the world, on 02 April, one hundred forty two students were slaught...
  • Iran Nuclear Deal: Lessons from North Korea
    Vyjayanti Raghavan    ·   06 Apr, 2015    ·    #4858    ·    Commentary    
    After over a decade-long and torturous negotiation, Iran and the US reached an agreement over the former’s nuclear program. There has been some light applause from the international community but that is all. Only US President Barack Obama...
  • East Asia Compass
    South Korea: US THAAD or Chinese AIIB?
    Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra    ·   06 Apr, 2015    ·    #4857    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    It is not an easy choice for South Korea to decide about participating in two initiatives, one spearheaded by the US and the other by China. The US insists on South Korea joining its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which is s...
  • Looking East
    Myanmar: Democracy in Brakes
    Wasbir Hussain    ·   06 Apr, 2015    ·    #4856    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    Signals emanating from Myanmar indicate the country’s semi-civilian government is pursuing democracy with the brakes on. The brutal crackdown of a student protest by the authorities in early March has once again brought the spotlight back ...
  • Pakistan: MQM Under Siege
    Rana Banerji    ·   04 Apr, 2015    ·    #4855    ·    Commentary    
    Not since Pakistan’s former Interior Minister, late Nasrullah Khan Babar’s, crackdown in mid-1995, has the Mohajir/ Muttahida Quami Movement – Altaf (MQM- A) been subjected to such a relentless siege by the Pakistan Rangers and...
  • India-Nepal Power Trade Agreement: Challenges before Opportunities
    Kalpana Jha    ·   24 Mar, 2015    ·    #4854    ·    Commentary    
    The Power Trade Agreement (PTA) signed between Nepal and India in September 2014 was much touted as the most significant achievement of the 18th SAARC summit. This agreement has been perceived as a major advance in not just addressing the increa...
  • Indian Ocean Region
    Australia-India-China: IOR Procurement Race for Submarines
    Stephen Westcott    ·   24 Mar, 2015    ·    #4853    ·    Commentary    
    As most of the international community focuses on maritime events taking place in East Asia, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has been witnessing its own naval arms race in recent years. Increasingly at the forefront of countries’ maritime pr...
  • The Role of Geopolitics in Myanmar’s Resource Curse
    Suparna Banerjee    ·   24 Mar, 2015    ·    #4852    ·    Commentary    
    Myanmar’s abundance in resources similar to the existence of the Roman god with two faces, Janus. In the country’s historical transition, natural resources could either prove to be key to Myanmar’s economically developed future...
  • Book Review: 'Indonesia’s Rise, Seeking Regional and Global Roles'
    Navrekha Sharma    ·   17 Mar, 2015    ·    #4851    ·    Commentary    
    Vibhanshu Shekhar’s book, ‘Indonesia’s Rise’, is an account of the country’s role and international standing, nearly two decades after Soeharto’s dictatorship and the advent of democracy. It is easy today to f...
  • Red Affairs
    Return of the Native: CPI-Maoist in Kerala
    Bibhu Prasad Routray    ·   16 Mar, 2015    ·    #4850    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    On 7 December 2014, in the first ever incident of its type, personnel of Thunderbolt, the elite paramilitary commando unit of the Kerala Police exchanged fire with a six-member team of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) at the Chap...
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