Strategic Analysis

A Road Through Pakistan, and What This Means for India

Pakistan’s largest donor has been the United States of America, granting around $ 70 bn in aid. In 2015, China, as part of its One Belt One Road global ambitions, promised Pakistan $ 46 bn (since revised to $ 60 bn), for a road running from its border to the port of Gwadar. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), is being seen as a ‘fate-changer’ for Pakistan. CPEC could change Pakistan’s fate in more ways than one; this article explores the domestic and regional consequences of China’s involvement in Pakistan, and what this will mean for South Asia and for India.

Sino-Indian Dynamics in Littoral Asia – The View from New Delhi

China’s growing stakes in the Indian Ocean, in particular the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) expanding profile in South Asia, has caused deep concern in India, where many believe Chinese naval deployments have shrunk New Delhi’s traditional sphere of influence. China’s inroads in India’s strategic backwaters— in particular, growing PLAN submarine forays—are viewed with suspicion in New Delhi, where many are convinced of the need for a counter-China strategy.

The BRI and India’s Neighbourhood

Chinese President Xi Jinping initially proposed to build an ‘economic belt’ and a ‘21st-century Maritime Silk Road’ in 2013 which were formalised as the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) in a document—‘Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road’—released by the National Reform and Development Commission in 2015.

A Life Plucked Out of the Archives

It is not easy to turn somebody’s personal archive, even if it is well kept, into a book ? that too a biography ? without falling in love with the person, his times, the ideological cross-currents he swam with or against, and the historical significance of the character. Such efforts are really commendable when the person of the archives leaves an indelible mark as an ‘ideological beacon and moral compass’ to a leader of consequence, who steered a nation through one of the most tumultuous periods of its history.

Future ‘Gateway’ to the India–China Economic Corridor: A Strategic Approach

In the beginning of the second week of February 2019, Ladakh became the third division within Jammu and Kashmir to be demarcated as a separate administrative and revenue division, with Jammu division and Kashmir being the other two.

The Challenge of Coordinating India’s Multiple Border Forces: An Analysis of Cross-Border Infiltration Across the India-Pakistan Boundary

India’s international borders and disputed boundaries with its neighbours are guarded by five different Central Armed Police Forces, two Paramilitary Forces and the Indian Army.

Know Thy Neighbour: Growth of India and China—Socio-Cultural Precepts and Propositions*

It is very important for large and populous neighbours such as India and China to have a better understanding of one another’s history, culture and value systems. Perhaps no two peoples in the world are as similar as Indians and Chinese in terms of the agrarian foundations of our societies and many of our traditions with roots in Hindu-Buddhist rituals and philosophy, and even the undue importance attached in the past to the male child.

The Rise of Kim Yo-Jong in the North Korean Regime

The state narrative of North Korea, the story that keeps the Kims in power and the population uncomplaining, is built as much around international politics as it is domestic. In the mid-1990s, soon after the first transition of power from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il, the country and the regime was in crisis. Always looking at themselves through the lens of South Korea and the need for reunification, official propaganda had been building an idea that their Southern brothers and sisters were impoverished in comparison and desperate to join with the North once again.

US-Taliban Talks for Afghan Peace: Complexities Galore

The ongoing dialogue between the US and the Taliban has generated lot of interest among strategic analysts in the region and beyond. There are indications that the Taliban are hardening their position as the US appears to be in a haste to pull off an agreement.

Ashok K. Behuria , Yaqoob-ul-Hassan , Sanya Saroha
March 2019 |
Strategic Analysis

The BRI and India’s Grand Strategy

India’s rejection of the BRI for strategic reasons does not mean it is resistant to Chinese investments, which are—to the contrary—both welcome and rapidly increasing. Indian strategy in this respect is in accord with the changing character of the international system, where strategic competition co-exists with economic cooperation as well as competition. In contemporary international politics, structurally driven conflictive behaviour is modified by high levels of strategic and economic interdependence.