Publication Filter

Measures for Improving Management of National Security

Foremost on the government’s defence and national security reforms agenda should be the formulation of a comprehensive National Security Strategy (NSS), including that for internal security. The NSS should be formulated after carrying out an inter-departmental, inter-agency, multi-disciplinary strategic defence review and must take the public into confidence.

Gurmeet Kanwal
January 16, 2014
IDSA Comments

Post-CHOGM Dilemmas of Rajapaksa

There is a view in Lanka that CHOGM did more harm than good and many, in fact, are questioning the wisdom of the government to host the meet. However, the pro-government media is defiant with editorials strongly denouncing the threat of international investigation as interference of Sri Lanka’s internal affairs and it is expected to galvanize popular support for Rajapaksa.

Gulbin Sultana
January 15, 2014
IDSA Comments

A Fractured Peace

Achieving a lasting and successful peace would involve addressing the root causes of the tension and a commitment to keeping peace. The world is looking to see how the youngest nation can prove that rebel movements can not only win freedom, but also sustain it.

George Thomas
January-March 2014
Africa Trends

African Countries and the UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka

The vote reflected a geopolitical contest wherein the West still has considerable influence and the Chinese influence is on the rise. The discussion and the voting pattern of the African countries also revealed their deep sense of resentment at the West for using the issue of human rights as an excuse against them.

Saurabh Mishra
January-March 2014
Africa Trends

Crisis in Central African Republic

The UN resolution comes not a moment too soon but the actual deployment of troops is still a few months away as modalities about the troop contributing nations and funding are yet to be figured out. The crisis is of a disturbing magnitude but a swift and effective response may still pull the country back from the verge of complete collapse

Divita Shandilya
January-March 2014
Africa Trends

India and Maldives: Ties Must Be Consolidated

President Yameen decision to visit India soon after his election in November 2013, is an indication that he wants to put India-Maldives relations on a positive track which had received a setback since President Nasheed was deposed in 2011. A notable feature of the visit was a joint declaration recognising India-Maldivian cooperation not only in the context of South Asia but also in the context of the Indian Ocean.

Arvind Gupta
January 13, 2014
Policy Brief

Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: An Indian Perspective

For a maritime nation like India, its conception of maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and, specifically, its approach to maritime security has a long historical legacy. The modern Indian Navy has its origins in the colonial period. But it is the post-colonial period spanning independence and then the imperatives of the Cold War, and later to the interim phase in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union to the present day strategic partnerships—all of which have contributed to moulding the Indian perspective of maritime security.

Border Defence Cooperation Agreement: The Icebreaker in Making?

The long expected Agreement on Border Defence Cooperation (BDCA) was signed between the governments of India and China on 23 October 2013 in Beijing, during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to the People’s Republic of China. The draft of the agreement had been through close-door negotiations by both the governments for about a year prior to its signing. Incidentally, it was also during these negotiations that a three week long face-to-face incident occurred—in April-May 2013—at Depsang located in the Aksai Chin region which is disputed between India and China.

Is the Submarine Arm Losing its Punch?

The explosions that gutted INS Sindhurakshak during the early hours of 14 August 2013 caught the imagination of an entire nation that watched the brief footage of the catastrophic event on their television sets. Barring some minor accidents which resulted in structural damage, this is the most tragic incident involving loss of lives in the 46 year history of the submarine arm.

Assessing Modernization of the Indian Armed Forces through Budgetary Allocations

India’s quest for modernization of the armed forces is propelled by the persistent threat to its territorial integrity and the aspiration of becoming a great power. However, there is no clearly defined comprehensive policy, much less a carefully crafted strategy, for time-bound modernization of the armed forces and there is no mechanism in place to steer the modernization programme in a holistic manner. In fact, there is considerable ambiguity about the core question as to what constitutes comprehensive ‘modernization’.