COMMENTARIES
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What Motivated Chinese Military Drills Near the Taiwan Strait?
Jack Kai Yui Wong · 11 Sep, 2020 · #5722 · Commentary
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan continues to reject Beijing’s sovereignty
claims as well as the offer of “one country, two
systems.” In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called
the possibility of Taiwanese independence a "dead-e...
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Hong Kong: Why New Delhi Must Do More
Kamal Madishetty · 09 Sep, 2020 · #5721 · Commentary
China—amidst
widespread international criticism and no letting up of protests on the streets
of Hong Kong—implemented the draconian National Security Law (NSL) on June 30.
This was done within weeks of the country’s rubber stamp legislatu...
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COVID-19 in Iran: The Impact of Sanctions
Sanaa Alvira · 04 Sep, 2020 · #5720 · Commentary
The US reinstated sanctions
against Iran in November 2018, after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.
The imposition of new sanctions under the Trump administration’s “maximum
pressure” campaign has left the Iranian economy reeling. Th...
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UAE-Israel Abraham Accord: The Iran Context
Majid Izadpanahi · 03 Sep, 2020 · #5719 · Commentary
On
13 August 2020, US President Donald Trump announced the signing of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE)-Israel deal, also known as the Abraham Accord. The UAE is
the third Arab state (after Egypt and Jordan), and the first Arab state in the
Persi...
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The Abraham Accord and UAE-Israel Relations: Winners and Losers
Muneer Ahmed · 03 Sep, 2020 · #5718 · Commentary
On 13 August 2020, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and Israel signed the watershed Abraham Accord—the peace agreement to formalise bilateral diplomatic
relations. It marks a major turn of events in West Asia. Washington announced
the deal with...
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More than a Bargaining Chip: Health Diplomacy and India-Taiwan Relations
Ashutosh Nagda · 31 Aug, 2020 · #5717 · Commentary
With
487 confirmed cases and seven deaths as of 24 August, Taiwan has been a global
success in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. This success has invited praise and attention
to the country’s robust healthcare system, and foregrounded health as...
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East Asia Compass
To Withdraw or Not to Withdraw: South Korea’s Strategic Calculus and the GSOMIA
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 26 Aug, 2020 · #5716 · Commentary · Column
On 24 August, the
General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), an intelligence-sharing
agreement between South Korea and Japan, was automatically extended for another
year.
Article 21(3) of the agreement
states: “This agr...
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The Strategist
China's Curious Wars
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar · 25 Aug, 2020 · #5715 · Commentary · Column
Never
to be undertaken thoughtlessly or recklessly wars are to be preceded by
measures that make it easy to win.
—Sun Tzu, Art of War (Griffith, p 39)
The Chinese tradition of warfare differs
from contemporary understanding. Instead of...
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Strategic Space
Never Again: 75 years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Manpreet Sethi · 24 Aug, 2020 · #5714 · Commentary · Column
This
August marks 75 years of the dropping of Little Boy and Fat Man
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These were the first two nuclear bombs built by the
US in the secret Manhattan Project; run at a frenzied pace to beat the
possibility of Germany g...
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In Context: Sri Lanka’s 2020 Parliamentary Election Results (Part-II)
Dr. Sripathi Narayanan · 17 Aug, 2020 · #5713 · Commentary
The Sri
Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)-led alliance secured 151 of 225 seats in Sri
Lanka’s August 2020 parliamentary polls. With this victory, former President, Mahinda
Rajapaksa (MR), has returned to power, and was sworn in as the prime min...