Friends or Seoul-mates? Theme: India-South Korea Bilateral Relations( GS-II) With the U.S. and China playing power politics, South Korea looks to India as a viable alternative partner, Mr. Moon launched a foreign initiative called New Southern Policy last year that he had decided to step up Seoul’s engagement with India and the ASEAN countries. What lies behind Seoul’s reimagined diplomatic posture towards India? In recent times, South Korea has been heavily
02 July, 2019
Indo Pacific Region
China’s post-COVID aggression is reshaping Asia Context * China’s coronavirus “mask diplomacy” has given way to tense geopolitical confrontations with a growing array of its neighbours, from stand-offs with Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea to threatening Australia with boycotts of wine, beef, barley, and Chinese students. Catalyst for change - Beijing’s blatant aggressiveness is accelerating long-standing debates about the underlying
16 July, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Quad grouping Context: The article analyzes India’s dilemma with respect to closer co-ordination with the Quad. Origin of Quad: The Quad was born out of the crisis that followed the Tsunami in December 2004. India’s humanitarian and disaster relief effort in the Indian Ocean was coordinated with the three other naval powers engaged in similar efforts — U.S., Australia and Japan. Since then the idea of the Indo-Pacific as a larger maritime strategic communi
27 July, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
On the Quad, define the idea, chart a path Context: It is reported that the second Ministerial meeting of the four countries under the Quad will be held in Japan. Mr. Abe was a strategic thinker who thought beyond the limited timeframe of Japanese revolving-door politics. In 2007, the Quad (the United States, Japan, India, and Australia) was an idea whose time had not yet come. That was a different world. Quad: Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is the infor
05 October, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Time to shift focus to the maritime sphere Context: This article talks about the need for India to shift its focus from continental strategies to the maritime sphere as its continental grand strategy is facing an existential crisis today. India’s continental strategy India is a country that is traditionally obsessed with a continental approach to war and peace. However, India might have reached a dead-end in terms of its grand strategic plans in the continental space.
01 October, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Quadrilateral home truths Context: Recently, the foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. held a standalone meeting in Tokyo. This move has been viewed in geo-strategic circles as a move towards formal recognition of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD). At the meet, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo singled out China as a threat to the region, highlighting its increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea, the Mekong, the Himalayas
14 October, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Why has Japan mooted the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative? Introduction: Japan has mooted the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) with the COVID-19 and trade tensions between Chins and US threatening supply chains and causing bottlenecks. This SCRI is a trilateral approach to trade, with India and Australia as the other two partners. Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI): The initiative aims to reduce the dependency on a single nation (at present China). SCRI
01 September, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Reinventing Non-Alignment Introduction: The face-off between India and China in Ladakh and the plans for annexation of the West Bank by Israel have brought matters of global power dynamics to the fore. Historical Background: Unipolar world: In the 1990s, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, commentators such as Francis Fukuyama were quick in announcing the “end of history” and labelling ideology as unimportant and irrelevant in the conduct of global p
26 October, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Threat or treat: on RCEP trade deal Context The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed into existence on Sunday by 15 countries led by China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10-state ASEAN grouping, making it the world’s largest trading bloc. India and RCEP Noticeable by its absence was India, which after seven years of protracted negotiations decided last November to exit the grouping. India had justified its decision as pr
17 November, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
Shifting sands for Asian economies Context Discussions on the post-pandemic global economy have often predicted that China’s appeal as a business destination would fade, losing favour as the global manufacturing hub. Arguments have been made that production would be dispersed to other appealing locations mostly in Asia, and even to those outside. It was expected that this relocation of production would benefit emerging labour-abundant economies. Some labour-intensive indu
18 November, 2020
Indo Pacific Region
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