INDIA-CHINA AND RUSSIAN FAR EAST (original) (raw)
In 2013, India became Africa’s fourth largest trading partner. At the beginning of the new millennium, that figure had only stood at $5 billion. In 2014, when the new Indian government took office, some observers predicted that India-Africa relations would expand at an even higher pace and argued that “Modi's Win Is Good News for Africa” (Hayes 2014). However, between 26 May 2014, the day that Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of India, and 26 October 2015, the day the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) started, India’s Africa policy was in some sort of hibernation. The fact that the summit was postponed twice further added to the feeling that the first 17 months had to be seen as the build-up for Modi’s “grand reach-out to the continent”. Now, with IAFS-III finally having taken place only some weeks ago, it seems especially timely to take a closer look at current India-Africa relations: Has the new government “Modi-fied” India’s Africa policy?
[In the history of bilateral relations between India and Vietnam, both these countries have time and again, proved trustworthy to each other and that was sustained over the years. Except a minor gap, their relations continued even in the post-cold war years and gathered more momentum on account of India's officially declared 'Look East' policy on the one hand, and Vietnam's adherence to a liberal, market-oriented economy, on the other. The cordiality, which has evolved since the late 1990s, reached its height due to the convergence of strategic interests against the backdrop of China's growing penetration in the South and Southeast Asian regions. The present strategic understanding was so deep-rooted, that even the recent Chinese threat to both India and Vietnam to stop oil drilling in the South China Sea has been simply ignored by them and this displayed that the 21 st Century is a century for all; not like the 20th Century, during which, New Delhi and Hanoi experienced common sufferings from the former.] In the chronicles of world history, Vietnam designates itself as a country of resilience, resistance, strength and spirit. Its valiant struggle for independence and courageous resistance has been splattered as a symbol of anti-colonialism, glorified with a tradition of nationalism and patriotism. It was the resistance history, which motivated the Vietnamese to be chirpier and increased the sense of endurance against all odds, making them more realistic and energetic in the face of a cascade of vicissitudes throughout its long drawn history-from the very existence to the present day, and it is a naturally gifted country with exceptionally feisty in character. During its long history of survival, India, except a few years has upheld long traditional, close and trustworthy
The Game For Regional Hegemony: China's OBOR and India's Strategic Response
AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations, 2018
The OBOR initiative of China often termed as ‘Modern-day Silk Road’ is based on President Xi Jinping’s epic vision to make ‘China Great Again’ by reviving the Silk Route of ancient times. This initiative aims to engage Eurasia economically by creating a network of infrastructure. In this regard, the article attempts to understand the geo-politics behind India’s refusal to join OBOR and strategic response to counter the most appealing economic engagement of the present era but considered to be a debt-trap by India.
Reflections on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s First Year in Office
According to Peter Roland Desouza, „from getting the UN to declare International Yoga Day on 21 June to having the US President as Chief Guest for Republicn Day to establishing a BRICS development bank to land swaps with Bangladesh (…) Modi has been the most effective” in the realm of foreign policy. While similar remarks have been made by many, such as Sanjaya Baru or Ravi Shankar Prasad, overall assessment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first year shows rather mixed results both in terms of India’s bilateral and multilateral relations.
Whether Constructivism is considered a solid paradigm or just an approach in International Relations (IR) Domain – a verdict which is quite too soon to be reached, I suppose, it is undoubtedly a well-promising school of thought in IR. And whether Constructivism has failed to shift the IR agenda from that which older dominant schools determined or not, it is more than evident that this constitutes a still open question in both research and academic areas. In the first part of this essay,I refer to the rise and evolution of Constructivism from the 1980s up to date highlighting its origins and its core principles, while in the second part, more attention is been given to its dynamic dialogue with other dominant schools of IR and Political Science. The scope of this essay is to illuminate a great number of arguments already made both against and in favor of Constructivism, as presented in a certain variety of papers and works in the wider field of IR. Furthermore, this illumination is being held under the light of a dual source, provided by the prominent IR Theory and the International Security sub-field. A third part of this essay is devoted to the latter. I conclude that Constructivism‘s power lies in its weaknesses‘, namely its interpretation of world politics through culture and identity, especially in the currently world instability caused by the global identity crisis and spreading ISIS radical fanaticism.
Evaluation of the EU-India Strategic Partnership and the Potential for its Revitalisation
2015
The EU-India Strategic Partnership has lost momentum. Bilateral ties are not receiving sufficient priority from both sides. Economics remains at the core of this relationship. Since negotiations on the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) may take time to be concluded, EU-India ties should not be held hostage to developments at BTIA level. On defence and security matters, India deals with EU Member States directly and has a good framework for cooperation with major European powers. The recent Indian decision to buy Rafale jets from France will also have long-term implications for EU-India links. Unlike its partnerships with the US and Russia, India has yet to discover the relevance of EU-India relations within evolving Asian security and economic architecture. Growing Indo-American relations and the close transatlantic partnership could provide new opportunities to work together. Collaboration in research and innovation has expanded significantly and dialogues on global governance, energy, counter-terrorism, migration and mobility as well as human rights all show great potential. New dialogues could be initiated on Afghanistan, maritime security, development cooperation and the Middle-East. Indian engagement in resolving the Ukraine crisis could be explored.
70th Anniversary of Russia-India Relations: New Horizons of Privileged Partnership
In 2017, Russia and India celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Over the years, the two states have steadily developed mutually beneficial ties. Their cooperation has achieved the level of special and privileged strategic partnership. Regular contacts between the two leaders have become an established practice. However, in order to make full use of the collaboration potential, ties between Russia and India should be taken to a qualitatively new level. Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) have drafted a joint report in order to open up a new discussion on the prospects of Russia-India relations and the steps required to develop them further. The authors express hope that ideas and recommendations expressed in the paper will provide the necessary expert support for state level contacts and will be helpful in foreign policy decision-making by the two governments. FOR CITATION: 70th Anniversary of Russia-India Relations: New Horizons of Privileged Partnership: Report No. 34/2017 / [A.V. Kortunov et al.; K. Sibal et al.]; [I.S. Ivanov (Editor-in-Chief)]; Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). – Moscow: NPMP RIAC, 2017. – 48 p.
100 Postulates on Russia–India Relations
The Working Paper was prepared by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) as part of the “Russia–India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda” project. The purpose of the Paper is to identify the prospects and offer recommendations for developing Russia–India relations. The publication takes the form of postulates that deal with the full spectrum of relations between the two countries and their overlapping interests in regional and global politics.
Geopolitics of ports: Factoring Iran in India’s counterbalancing strategy for “Sino-Pak Axis”, 2019
The article offers an assessment of Iran’s role in India’s foreign policy calculations vis-à-vis Sino-Pak axis. The changing geopolitical and geostrategic dynamics in the post-Cold War era have brought about new possibilities and opportunities in the Eurasian space. Given the geographical conditions and re-emergence of geopolitical competition, regional connectivity through ports has taken a pivotal position in bilateral and multilateral engagements. Therefore, the port geopolitics has become a buzzword in the regional connectivity. India has many geopolitical, geostrategic and geo-economic interests in the Eurasian region. However, the potential has not been realized yet due to the lack of geographical connectivity. In the backdrop of emerging Sino-Pak axis, their moves and countermoves have been limiting India’s multilateral interests including the connectivity across the Eurasian region. In these matrices, Iran’s Chabahar Port due to its strategic location has become a crucial enabler for India. However, Iran has offered investment opportunities even to China and Pakistan in the same project. The existing enmities/competition between India and China-Pakistan has made it difficult for New Delhi to convert the proposed project of Chabahar Port into reality. Against this background, the article would try to give answers to these questions; what are the regional dynamics regarding the Sino-Pak axis to block India’s connectivity with the Eurasian region? And how Iran’s Chabahar Port can be a helping factor in India’s counterbalancing strategy for Sino-Pak axis?
Maritime Perspectives 2016 (Maritime Developments in Indo-Pacific Region in 2016)
Preface by Admiral RK Dhowan, Chairman NMF: The seas around us are gaining newfound importance as each day goes by, and I have no doubt that the current century is the ‘Century of the Seas’. It is, therefore, the endeavour of the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) to generate greater awareness on ‘matters maritime’ among the wider section of maritime thinkers, bothin India and abroad.The expanding readership of NMF’s scholarship on current strategic, maritime and related geopolitical issues has been encouraging. This is disseminated in the form of View Points and Issue Briefs through the Foundation website, as also through its annual publication ‘Maritime Perspectives’, which puts together analyses of eventsand developments in the Indian Ocean, the Asia Pacific and beyond. It is amply clear that the year 2016 has been as dynamic as the preceding ones in terms of geo-strategic trends and developments. I am confident that Maritime Perspective 2016 would immensely help the strategic and academic communities in India and overseas to better understand these developments and the ramifications.
Asian Strategic Review 2015: India as a Security Provider
India’s role as a security provider has increasingly been discussed and debated over a period of time. This has received a fillip as a result of India’s growing capabilities, both economic and military. The 2015 edition of the Asian Strategic Review, is possibly the first book which analyses this facet in the Asian context. The book assesses India’s capabilities as well as existing limitations. It contextualises India’s role in relation to important regions, multinational fora and specific countries in Asia. The publication aims to provide greater clarity on the past, present and future contours of India’s role as a security provider, in light of evolving strategic contours and its security implications.