COMMENTARIES
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Big Picture
When Xi Met Modi: Juxtaposing China and India
Varun Sahni · 21 Oct, 2014 · #4707 · Commentary · Column
During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India in September, much was made of the personal rapport and chemistry between him and his host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chinese investment worth US$20 billion, although a fraction of t...
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West Asia
The US, Syria and Iraq: The Success of Airstrikes So Far
KP Fabian · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4706 · Commentary
The battle for Kobane, the Kurdish town on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, is still raging, though indications are that the US’ airstrikes have so far failed to make a decisive impact and reverse the advance of the Islamic State...
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Red Affairs
Naxalites and the Might of a Fragile Revolution
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4705 · Commentary · Column
On the morning of 18 October 2014, Shiv Kumar, a personnel belonging to the Chhattisgarh Armed Police was pulled out of a passenger bus in Sukma district by a group of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres and killed. Kumar was ill...
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Regional Economy
Regional Economic Architecture: Is India Ready?
Amita Batra · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4704 · Commentary · Column
Two mega regional trade agreements – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) – are currently under negotiation in Asia. The RCEP, launched at the East Asia Summit in November 201...
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China and Japan: Will the Twain Never Meet?
Srikanth Kondapalli · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4703 · Commentary
With prospects for a bilateral meeting between Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China’s President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit at Beijing in November brightening, the East Asian security situation m...
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Dhaka Discourse
Bangladesh: Diplomatic Manoeuvres at the UNGA
Delwar Hossain · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4702 · Commentary · Column
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina led a 184-member delegation to the 69th UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting. Significantly, this year has marked the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s membership at the UN. Bangladesh was admit...
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Strategic Space
Nasr: Dangers of Pakistan's Short Range Ballistic Missile
Manpreet Sethi · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4701 · Commentary · Column
In April 2011, Pakistan tested a 60 km very short-range ballistic missile called Nasr and claimed it to be nuclear capable. This has since been publicised as the tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) meant to deter India from mounting a conventional milit...
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Indo-Pacific
The ASEAN's Centrality in the Indo-Pacific Region
Shankari Sundararaman · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4700 · Commentary · Column
Over nearly a decade, the concept of the Indo-Pacific has been gaining ground as a term that gives credence to a strategic perspective rather than a well-defined geographic entity. When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spoke about the `conflue...
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South Asian Dialectic
Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan: Implications for Asian Security
PR Chari · 20 Oct, 2014 · #4699 · Commentary · Column
Months of deadlock followed a hard fought election in Afghanistan after which both principal contenders - Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah - claimed victory, and a uniquely Afghan solution was found. Ghani will be President with Abdullah being...
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Cooperating against the Islamic State: A Nuclear Bonus for Iran?
Majid Izadpanahi · 16 Oct, 2014 · #4698 · Commentary
Since the 1979 revolution, the Iran has accused the US interference in the West Asia as the root of regional instability. But there are cases when Tehran has cooperated with Washington when their interests coincided.
The Islamic State (IS...