PM’s Visit to China: A Case of Flawed Timing Chinese would be very aware that India heads to general elections in seven months time. They would have taken cognizance of various ‘surveys’ as well as soundings of the political scene that would indicate that it is entirely possible that there would be a change of government following the elections. R. S. Kalha October 25, 2013 IDSA Comments
Neither Peace nor Process: India-Pakistan on Escalation Ladder The double-speak of Nawaz Sharif has led many in India to doubt his sincerity on improving relations. Questions are also being raised on whether Sharif is still living in the 1990s when he followed a twin track approach of talks and trade proceeding in parallel with terrorism, something which India finds unacceptable today. Sushant Sareen October 24, 2013 IDSA Comments
Pak Army Continuing Proxy War in Kashmir Though the Pakistan army denies its involvement in raising violence levels along the LoC, the international boundary and in the hinterland, it is understood well that without the active support of the army and the ISI, no serious attempt can be made by the terrorists to infiltrate. Gurmeet Kanwal October 23, 2013 IDSA Comments
Syria Crisis: How will it be resolved? A solution to the Syrian crisis is unlikely to emerge with either Assad in power or in the existing circumstances of the military stand-off. A political solution will have to be imposed from outside, possibly an understanding between the US and Russia with tacit consent of China. Gautam Sen October 22, 2013 IDSA Comments
Diamer Bhasha Dam: Pakistan’s new Achilles heel Delayed implementation of the DBD project has led to cynicism and angst amongst the people of Pakistan. In spite the government’s assurance, it is feared that the DBD could meet the same fate as the Kalabagh project which was shelved after getting embroiled in inter-provincial politics. Priyanka Singh October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
Prime Minister’s Visit to Moscow: Need to Revitalise the India-Russia Partnership India-Russia ties will continue to be mutually beneficial. While defence cooperation remains the mainstay, the two countries can explore common synergies in co-developing more weapons platforms with cutting edge technology and organise more joint military exercises. Rajorshi Roy October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
PM’s Visit to Russia and China: Need for Smart Diplomacy Clubbing the visits to Russia and China is a smart move. But the prime minister will also need to indulge in smart diplomacy to deal with a number of ticklish issues and will have to convince his counterparts that Indian foreign policy is independent and follows national interests. Arvind Gupta October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: A Changing Kaleidoscope The Indian Ocean Region (IOR), though considered an important maritime region, has not yet been accorded the due importance of a geo-strategic entity. One attributable reason is the ‘sandwiching’ of the IOR between two ‘hotspots’—the South China sea and the Persian Gulf that divert the attention of nations from this area. While there are commonalities like ‘Freedom of Navigation’, the divergences—caused by varying strategic interests even while addressing common security issues such as piracy—have resulted in a sectoral view of the maritime security paradigm in the IOR. Sarabjeet Singh Parmar October 2013 Journal of Defence Studies
Syria and the OPCW: Taking a Stock of the Situation The joint OPCW-UN team mandated to assist Syria with the elimination of its chemical weapon programme by mid-2014 may not be realistic. As in the case of Russia and the US, the deadline for the destruction of stockpile of chemical weapons has shifted considerably. Sudarshan Bhutani October 17, 2013 Issue Brief
US-India Defence Technologies for Transfer: Cultural Change India-US defence ties are shifting away from a ‘buyer-seller’ path to one of co- development and co-production. In Washington this is viewed as a change from a ‘culture of presumptive no to one of presumptive yes’. Vivek Kapur October 15, 2013 IDSA Comments