COMMENTARIES
-
Religious Intolerance in Indonesia: Political Lassitude or Budgetary Constraint?
Baladas Ghoshal · 27 Jun, 2012 · #3657 · Commentary
The recent budgetary rollback aimed at accommodating the swelling fuel subsidies triggered by soaring global oil prices has particularly affected the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT). For the last two years, it has been on the frontline ...
-
An Eye on China: President Aquino Meets Obama
Anil Kumar · 26 Jun, 2012 · #3656 · Commentary
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III met President Barack Obama (6-9 June 2012) in the Oval Office for the first time. His visit is seen as an important step towards the revival of defence and security cooperation between the US and its forme...
-
ROK in the Asia-Pacific Century
Ruhee Neog · 26 Jun, 2012 · #3655 · Commentary
US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was recently on an extensive tour of Asia to drive home the message that the US is a Pacific power reorienting its focus towards Asia. In this period of uncertainty, Asian powers are likely to hedge their bets ...
-
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): The Indian Standpoint
Teshu Singh · 25 Jun, 2012 · #3654 · Commentary
The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organization formulated in 2001 in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India has an observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) a...
-
Withdrawal of Oil Companies from Nepal: Realistic interventions
Pradeepa Viswanathan · 23 Jun, 2012 · #3653 · Commentary
In June 2012, Nepal witnessed the withdrawal of two oil companies - the US-based Texana Resources Company and the UK-based Cairn Energy. These companies withdrew from their allocated blocks in the Terai region citing bureaucratic hurdles and lac...
-
The FRA and Land Ownership Titles: Proposed Amendments
Medha Chaturvedi · 23 Jun, 2012 · #3652 · Commentary
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India, following the Minister for Tribal Affairs, Mr. V. Kishore Chandra Deo’s letter to the chief ministers of 17 states asking for better implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Oth...
-
NATO Chicago Summit: Assessing US-Pakistan Relations
Priyakala Manoharan · 22 Jun, 2012 · #3651 · Commentary
The effective transition of control of security from western forces to the Afghan National Security Forces and the long-term stability of Afghanistan were the top priorities at the NATO summit held in Chicago on 20-21 May 2012. The strained US-P...
-
Radha Vinod Raju: A Tribute
D Suba Chandran · 22 Jun, 2012 · #3650 · Commentary
Early this morning (21 June 2012), I received a text message from someone we both know well that you are no more with us. We did find out a few days earlier that you were fighting a lung infection. To be honest, I did not take it too seriously. ...
-
China: Voices of Dissent
Namrata Hasija · 21 Jun, 2012 · #3649 · Commentary
Though Chen Guangcheng, the visually challenged Chinese activist would have felt relieved on reaching the US with his wife and daughter, the entire episode has raised many questions. How do the dissidents survive in China? And how are they treated...
-
Conflict Alert: Rohingyas, Rakhines and Regional Security
D Suba Chandran · 21 Jun, 2012 · #3648 · Commentary
Does the conflict brewing in the Rakhine State of Myanmar have implications for regional security, besides hurting the national reconciliation process? What explains the sudden spurt in sectarian violence between the Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim...
