COMMENTARIES
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China and Japan: Abe’s New Military Drive
Rajaram Panda · 14 Jan, 2013 · #3789 · Commentary
After the assumption to office of Liberal Democratic Party leader Abe Shinzo as Prime Minister, following his massive electoral victory in December 2012, Japan’s foreign policy profile seems to be undergoing a perceptible overhaul. Apart f...
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Myanmar and India's Northeast: Border Cooperation, Better Connectivity and Economic Integration
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 10 Jan, 2013 · #3788 · Commentary
Nowhere in the media, apart from those circulating in India's Northeast, do the periodic military operations carried out by Myanmar against Indian insurgents receive frontline coverage. The fascination of the region with Myanmar's milita...
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Reading Pakistan: Why Target Health Workers Administering Vaccinations?
D Suba Chandran · 09 Jan, 2013 · #3787 · Commentary
Though the killing of health workers and members of NGOs engaged in social activities is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, what has been striking during the last two months, is the intensity and geographical spread of the phenomenon. Initially, ...
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Af-Pak Diary: Decoding Hakimullah Mehsud’s Talks Offer
D Suba Chandran · 08 Jan, 2013 · #3786 · Commentary
Following an earlier statement from the TTP on negotiating with the State under certain pre-conditions, Hakimullah Mehsud, leader of the TTP, sent a video message last week. What does the message convey? Given the fact that this message follows ...
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Maldives: GMR, Nexbis and the Tale of Two Ousters
N Manoharan · 08 Jan, 2013 · #3785 · Commentary
In successive months, two foreign companies have been asked to leave the Maldives by its government citing various reasons. First it was GMR, an Indian infrastructure company, that was awarded a project to upgrade and manage Ibrahim Nasir Intern...
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The Trident Debate: UK’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrent
Debak Das · 31 Dec, 2012 · #3784 · Commentary
Stuck in a world order where it represents the lower rung of the club of ‘Nuclear Weapons States’, the United Kingdom’s (UK) now delayed decision to upgrade its Trident submarine nuclear missile system raises some important que...
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Obama II and Iran: Diplomacy on the Cards?
Shubhra Chaturvedi · 31 Dec, 2012 · #3783 · Commentary
One of Barack Obama’s biggest foreign policy challenges during his second term in the office would be handling the Iranian nuclear programme and its current situation. With the gradual progress of the Iranian nuclear programme and existing...
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Second Sino- Indian Strategic Economic Dialogue: A SWOT Analysis
Teshu Singh · 31 Dec, 2012 · #3782 · Commentary
The second Sino- Indian Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) took place during 26-27 November 2012. The Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, Zhang Ping and Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, Mo...
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Philippines: An Update of the Mindanao Peace Process
Amruta Karambelkar · 31 Dec, 2012 · #3781 · Commentary
The Government of Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) recently concluded the 34th exploratory talks. This round of talks is perhaps the final one to frame the Basic Law of the Bangsamoro. As the name suggests, the Basic Law of t...
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Af-Pak Diary: Are Regional Differences over Afghanistan Irreconcilable?
D Suba Chandran · 19 Dec, 2012 · #3780 · Commentary
An earlier commentary on this issue asked the following: can there be a region-led and region-owned solution for stability in Afghanistan? Can the stakeholders be brought together?
For any regional initiative to achieve success in stabilising...
