COMMENTARIES
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Dateline Colombo
India-Sri Lanka: Strengthening Regional Cooperation
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera · 04 Aug, 2014 · #4595 · Commentary · Column
August marks the death anniversary of the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, a remarkable Foreign Minister brutally assassinated by the LTTE. He once said, “India and Sri Lanka relationship is lost in the mist of time,” which signifies the de...
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Maritime Matters
BRICS: The Oceanic Connections
Vijay Sakhuja · 04 Aug, 2014 · #4594 · Commentary · Column
At the 6th summit at Fortaleza in Brazil, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries announced a seed capital of US$50 billion and US$100 billion Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) for the New Development Bank which wo...
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Voice from America
And Then There is the Middle East: The Lack of an End-Game
Amit Gupta · 04 Aug, 2014 · #4593 · Commentary
US’ policy towards the turmoil in the Middle East, or the lack of it, is shaped by three factors: traditional ties and alliances that continue in the post-Cold War era; the complex regional environment that has emerged after the so-called ...
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East Asia Compass
North Korea: Seeking New Friends?
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 04 Aug, 2014 · #4592 · Commentary · Column
North Korea appears to have become increasingly desperate in its behaviour. It executed its number two leader Jang Song-thaek in December 2013, called South Korean President Park Geun-hye a ‘prostitute’ and the US President a ‘...
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Spotlight West Asia
India and the Conflict in Gaza
Ranjit Gupta · 04 Aug, 2014 · #4591 · Commentary · Column
The creation of Israel in Palestine was a Western venture to expiate their guilt for their historical ill treatment of the Jews, and, at the time it was finally done, also to implant a permanent base for safeguarding their own interests for the ...
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Nepal, India and the Electricity Trade: Advantage Kathmandu
Subin Nepal · 31 Jul, 2014 · #4590 · Commentary
Sitting on a theoretical possibility of producing 84,000 megawatts of hydro-electricity, Nepal currently produces about 700 megawatts of hydro-electricity. The demand for electricity has risen upwards of 20% each year over the last decade; yet N...
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India-Bangladesh: Can the Maritime Boundary Resolution Rebuild Faith?
Sonia Hukil · 24 Jul, 2014 · #4589 · Commentary
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague recently rendered its judgment in the India-Bangladesh maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal on 7 July. The Arbitral tribunal unanimously ruled in favour of Bangladesh, awarding 19,4...
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The Islamic ‘Caliphate’ and Sectarian Violence: Ramifications for Pakistan
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy · 31 Jul, 2014 · #4588 · Commentary
Following the unilateral declaration of an Islamic ‘Caliphate’ in Iraq and Syria, the self-declared ‘Caliph’ Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, reviling the Shia Muslims as Rafada (rejectionists), announced their campaign against the ...
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BRICS: China’s End-Game
Teshu Singh · 31 Jul, 2014 · #4587 · Commentary
The recently held BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Summit (14-16 July 2014) is representative of developing countries and forty per cent of the world's population. It is also a successful non-Western international organ...
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Iran-P5+1 Nuclear Negotiations: What Is Holding It Up?
Ruhee Neog · 31 Jul, 2014 · #4586 · Commentary
The six-month interim Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) between the P5+1 and Iran expired on 20 July with the negotiating parties failing to reach an understanding on a longer-term comprehensive agreement. This was not a shock ending – there was...
