In today’s globalization process, the sources of risks have also diversified, necessitating a multi-faceted strategy to manage emerging difficulties. China thinks that a military approach to dealing with South Asian security concerns would further harm the interests of the region’s governments. As a result, the optimal strategy would be to emphasize the cultivation of economic, social, and cultural linkages, which […]

The Center for New American Security says the US has to defend India for the sake of Indo-Pacific security The US think tank, Center for New American Security (CNAS) in its report published in March, recommends that US policymakers must “closely monitor” the Sino-Indian border conflict and be prepared to respond “quickly” if the conflict escalates. The authors of the […]

That Hindus and Muslims have co-existed in India for centuries is an indisputable historical fact, but Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah didn’t think so. In 1940, while delivering the All India Muslim League’s presidential address in Lahore, he argued that Hindus and Muslims “belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions” [Emphasis added]. He […]

Chinese energy firms are increasingly cooperating with their Qatari and Saudi counterparts as the People’s Republic makes further inroads into the region. The Chinese oil giant Sinopec acquired a stake in a field owned by Qatar’s state-owned energy firm on Wednesday as Beijing increases its influence in the region. The official Qatar News Agency reported that QatarEnergy will transfer a […]

As the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in China to commence a thaw in relations, Beijing has positioned itself as an ‘alternate’ power, keeping a policy of cooperation, consultation, and non-interventionism at the forefront. With serious discussions over the conflict in Yemen now underway, can China deliver as a mediator and peacemaker in West Asia? Beijing clearly […]

Background We’re in a kind of cold war. “We’re witnessing a great strategic competition between the US and China, who are not only playing on their own board but on the global one.” Jorge Heine, Professor of International Relations at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, has rightly said, “There’s a growing consensus that we’re facing a Second Cold […]

Bangladesh is providing shelter and supporting the persecuted Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds for nearly six years. In addition, for the repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar, Bangladesh government has been trying its best to resolve the crisis along with China and the international community. The repatriation process is not yet successful because Myanmar has not come forward to resolve this […]

Pathfinder Foundation report identifies sectors for Lanka-India-Japan collaboration A panel of Sri Lankan experts constituted by the Pathfinder Foundation has identified Sri Lanka’s developmental sectors that could tie up with India and Japan in a trilateral effort to integrate the island nation with the South Asian and Indo-Pacific regions. The contributors to the report published in January this year, were: […]

Bangladesh, Japan, and India will hold a meeting in Tripura on 11-12 April to put in place connectivity initiatives to harness the commercial potential of the region. Asian Confluence, a think tank based out of North East India, in collaboration with India’s foreign ministry, is organising the event. It will be attended by deputy foreign ministers of Bangladesh and India […]

In the three decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and China have pursued divergent interests in post-Soviet Central Asia, as Moscow seeks to retain its influence even as Beijing’s “soft power” grows, underpinned by its dynamic economy. In a recent sign of the latter, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his congratulatory Nowruz message on March […]