COMMENTARIES
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Maritime Matters
Forecast 2016: Indian Ocean Politics and Security
Vijay Sakhuja · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4959 · Commentary · Column
‘Continuity and change’, ‘continuity and no change’ and ‘new challenges and opportunities’ are important formulations for any geopolitical and geostrategic forecasting. These help analysts to understand events...
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Forecast 2016: On China-Pakistan Relations
Dr Ghulam Ali · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4958 · Commentary
It appears that the recently announced China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will remain at the centre of Sino-Pakistan ties during 2016, and even beyond. The CPEC, signed in 2013, got a boost in April 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping&...
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Eagle Eye
Forecast 2016: Difficult Days Ahead for Washington
Chintamani Mahapatra · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4957 · Commentary · Column
The Obama administration faced many thorny challenges in 2015, and none of those are likely to fade away in 2016. While foreign policy challenges encountered by the US are global, the most critical of those come from a region that is very much p...
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The Pathankot Terrorist Attack and India’s Afghanistan Policy
Monish Gulati · 13 Jan, 2016 · #4956 · Commentary
The first weekend of the 2016 witnessed two almost simultaneous terrorist strikes on Indian assets. The first was on the Pathankot air base, and the second, on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Both attacks were well-planned a...
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Nepal’s Constitutional Questions and Madhesi Aspirations
Pramod Jaiswal · 07 Jan, 2016 · #4955 · Commentary
For the past four months, the Madhesis, people from the southern plains of Nepal, have been conducting a ‘non-cooperation movement’ against Nepal’s ‘non-inclusive’ newly promulgated constitution. They have blocked t...
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Special Commentary
Pathankot Attack: Airfield Ground Defence in Perspective
PI Muralidharan · 06 Jan, 2016 · #4954 · Commentary
The terrorist attack on IAF’s Pathankot airbase makes one recapitulate on the important - but at times ignored - aspects of Passive Air Defence/Ground Defence (PAD/GD) as it used to be called back in the day. The non-flying staff of an air...
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What are the Prospects for a Pakistan-US Nuclear Deal?
Urmi Tat · 05 Jan, 2016 · #4953 · Commentary
The South Asian region has become the focus of global politics, with the proliferation of unaccountable non-state actors, corruption of civilian institutions and the prevailing atmosphere of mutual suspicion between India and Pakistan. The posse...
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Japan-South Korea: Resolving the Comfort Women Issue
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 04 Jan, 2016 · #4952 · Commentary
On 28 December 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe extended an apology on the comfort women issue to victims in South Korea via Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan also promised to officially provide US$ 8.3 million to South Korea to esta...
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West Asia
Has the Rise and Growth of the Islamic State Benefitted Iran?
Kimberley Anne Nazareth · 29 Dec, 2015 · #4951 · Commentary
The recent attacks in Paris, triggered by the ever growing Islamic State (IS) has caused a great deal of concern not only among the Western nations but in the Persian Gulf as well. The event has questioned the success of the US-led coalition as ...
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Madhesi Demands in Nepal: Is there an End in Sight?
Pramod Jaiswal · 22 Dec, 2015 · #4950 · Commentary
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Nepal Kamal Thapa has officially informed the Indian Minister of External Affairs that the Nepalese Cabinet has takensome important decisions to address and resolve demands regarding the Constitu...
