COMMENTARIES
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The ‘Two-State Solution’ in Israel-Palestine: An Accelerated Demise?
Derek Verbakel · 28 Feb, 2017 · #5240 · Commentary
At a White House press conference on 15 February, US President Donald Trump said he was neither committed to a ‘two-state solution’ nor opposed to a ‘one-state solution’ to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This upended a po...
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J&K: Need for an Urgent Review
Ashok Bhan · 24 Feb, 2017 · #5239 · Commentary
Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat has rightly shown his serious concern regarding the developing situation in the Kashmir valley where interference of separatists’ supporters is jeopardising the implementation of collateral-damage-free cou...
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Inadequate Budgetary Allotment and India's Defence Preparedness
Gurmeet Kanwal · 20 Feb, 2017 · #5238 · Commentary
In the budget for the Financial Year (FY) 2017-18, presented in the Indian parliament on 1 February 2017, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been allotted INR 2,74,114 crore, excluding the provision for pensions.
The nominal increase...
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Forecast 2017: Sri Lanka
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera · 18 Feb, 2017 · #5237 · Commentary
It was less than half a million votes that restored democratic order in Sri Lanka and set the nation in the correct direction three years ago. 8 January 2015 saw the dawn of good governance locally and a recalibration of the island’s for...
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Spotlight West Asia
India-UAE: An Emerging Special Relationship
Ranjit Gupta · 15 Feb, 2017 · #5236 · Commentary · Column
In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft that had been diverted from Kathmandu to fly to Kandahar, which had deadly Pakistani terrorists on board, had been on the tarmac in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for over five hours. No I...
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The Strategist
Forecast 2017: Carnage Ahead?
Vijay Shankar · 15 Feb, 2017 · #5235 · Commentary · Column
Donald Trump in his inaugural speech, vowed “…this American carnage must stop here.” What preceded his vow suggested, with more intensity and less clarity, what the “carnage” was. Presumably he implied a host of cu...
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The Future of US-Taiwan Relations Under China's Shadow
Namrata Hasija · 13 Feb, 2017 · #5234 · Commentary
As soon as Donald Trump was elected as the president of the US, speculations from scholars came in quickly, especially on how global geopolitics would be reshaped. His phone conversation with Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, soon after his ...
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US Exit from the TPP: Opportunities and Alternatives for Japan
Chandrali Sarkar · 09 Feb, 2017 · #5233 · Commentary
US President Donald Trump sounded the death knell
for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by signing an executive order withdrawing
the country from the Partnership. This scenario is viewed as a setback not just
for the TPP but also as preven...
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East Asia Compass
Forecast 2017: East Asia
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 06 Feb, 2017 · #5232 · Commentary · Column
Among others, at present, the East Asian theatre could be characterised by two key distinctions. First, with Donald Trump as the US president, regional politics is led by a squad of ‘aggressive’ leaders. The leadership in each East A...
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Where is Egypt Headed?
KP Fabian · 03 Feb, 2017 · #5231 · Commentary
To understand where Egypt is going, we need to look at its recent history. The 1952 Revolution led by Col Nasser saw Egypt rid itself of the monarchy subservient to the UK that dominated Egypt even after granting independence in 1922. However, t...
