COMMENTARIES
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North Korea’s Planned ‘Satellite’ Launch
Rajesh Kapoor · 30 Mar, 2009 · #2839 · Commentary
North Korea is planning to launch a long range missile under the guise of its satellite launch programme in the first week of April. Rejecting all objections and criticism, North Korea says it is a sovereign nation, and has the right to develop it...
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Indian Missile Defense: Questions Unanswered
Mayank S Bubna · 26 Mar, 2009 · #2838 · Commentary
India’s latest successful test of a missile interceptor system in Bay of Bengal on 6 March may not have generated the same national euphoria as its five nuclear tests in 1998 but in strategic circles, there were smaller celebrations. “...
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From Mumbai to Lahore: Where Do We Go From Here?
Rekha Chakravarthi · 26 Mar, 2009 · #2837 · Commentary
Report of the IPCS Seminar held on 23 March 2009
Chair:
Dhirendra Singh, former Home Secretary and President, IPCS Executive Committee
Speakers:
Mr PR Chari, Research Professor, IPCS
Dr D Suba Chandran, Deputy Director, IPCS
Dhirendra Si...
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Iran’s Nuclear Power Plant: Reactions from GCC
M Mahtab Alam Rizvi · 24 Mar, 2009 · #2836 · Commentary
Notwithstanding international sanctions, Iran began trials on its first nuclear power plant located in the Gulf port of Bushehr. In the last week of February, Reza Aqazadeh, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), declared that...
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Naga Peace Process: Which Way Forward?
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman · 24 Mar, 2009 · #2835 · Commentary
The Naga peace process which started in 1997 is about to complete twelve years, without any political breakthrough being achieved in the several decades-long insurgency movement. The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim, Isak-Muivah faction (N...
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The Changing Dynamics of the Tibetan Struggle
Gunjan Singh · 24 Mar, 2009 · #2834 · Commentary
The Dalai Lama said that this year there could not be the regular New Year celebrations owing to the memory of the Tibetans who lost their lives in demonstrations against the Chinese last year. He also said that one could not forget the Tibetans w...
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AQ Khan and Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Reshmi Kazi · 24 Mar, 2009 · #2833 · Commentary
Abdul Qadeer Khan was released from his five-year house arrest this February with assurances that he will not be involved in any future proliferation activities. The release orders passed by the Islamabad High Court were premised on a “mutua...
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India-China Relations: The Border Issue and Beyond
Kimberley Layton & Florin Veringa · 17 Mar, 2009 · #2832 · Commentary
Report of the Discussion of the book India-China Relations: The Border Issue and Beyond by Mohan Guruswamy and Zorawar Daulet Singh
Chair: Maj. Gen. Dipankar Banerjee, Director, IPCS
Speakers: Mr. Mohan Guruswamy, Director, Center for Policy A...
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China and the Politics of UN Peacekeeping
Bhartendu Kumar Singh · 13 Mar, 2009 · #2831 · Commentary
First, it was the White Paper on China’s national defence in 2008 published on 20 January 2009 that spoke very high of its peacekeeping operations under UN. Now, a SIPRI policy brief (by Bates Gill and Chin-Hao Huang, February 2009) has waxe...
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Playing at Hide-and-Seek: Submarines in Asian Navies
Tomoko Kiyota · 09 Mar, 2009 · #2830 · Commentary
On 11 February 2009, Indian Defense Minister AK Antony announced that India’s programme to construct nuclear submarines was in its final stage. At the same time, the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) first submarine was delivered from Franc...