Articles | Vivekananda International Foundation

Amb Anil Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

The fact that the much talked about Summit meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim happened on June 12 in Singapore is an achievement by itself. The world would have been on edge without it. The short document signed, even though shorn of c....

June 20, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , US-North Korea Summit , Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula

Paraktan Harapan Wins in Malaysia after Six Decades: The View from India

Asha Sundaramurthy Commentary

The victory of the centre of left wing Paraktan Harapan alliance in Malaysia has been of great interest in Southeast Asia and even beyond, into the Indo-Pacific. Not only because the 57 years reign of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)-le....

June 07, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , Malaysia election , Mahathir Mohammed

Korean Rapprochement - Hope for Resolution of Maritime Disputes?

Commodore Somen Banerjee Commentary

On April 26 Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean Leader to step foot on South Korean soil since the Korean War in the 1950’s. The leaders agreed to actively pursue talks for declaring an official end to the Korean War. This declaration could d....

June 04, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , Korean maritime disputes , Korean maritime delimitation

Demilitarising the South China Sea: Concerted Efforts Needed

Brig Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow, VIF Article

Two of the most important topics during last year’s Shangri La Dialogue were ‘Upholding the rules-based regional order’ and demilitarisation of the South China Sea in the shape of a discussion on practical ‘measures to avoid conflict at sea�....

May 30, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Article , South China Sea , Shangri La Dialogue

India and North Korea: Future Directions

Amb Anil Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

India has always maintained a good working relationship with North Korea. Our bilateral trade, in recent years at best has been in the range of US$ 200-250 million but North Korea has always valued Indian food aid which was made available at regular ....

May 29, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , India-North Korea relations , Denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula

Commentary: Minister of State for External Affairs Visits North Korea

Amb Skand Ranjan Tayal

Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) Gen V.K. Singh’s official visit to the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 15-16 May 2018 has attracted wide attention. A ministerial visit to North Korea was after a long gap of almost twe....

May 22, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Ministerial visit to North Korea , India-North Korea relations

Commentary: India Should Be Innovative in the Challenging Times Ahead

Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF Commentary

Prime Minister Modi has shown remarkable innovativeness in foreign policy arena recently. This shows that he is cognisant of the challenges for India that are looming ahead. The ‘informal summit’ with Xi Jinping in April 2018 was an attempt to....

May 21, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , Indian foreign policy , India’s foreign policy challenges

Commentary: Will Japan Carry the Bastion of Constitution Amendment After Abe?

Prerna Gandhi, Associate Fellow, VIF Commentary

“角を矯めて牛を殺す” (Kill a bull by straightening its horns, meaning: Action taken to put something right is often more unpleasant or damaging than the original problem) The above quote succinctly ....

May 16, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , Japanese Constitution , Japan’s Defence Policy

Emerging Structure of Maritime Security in the Bay of Bengal

.... Traditionally, security at sea has been theorised and interpreted rooted in traditional realist or liberalist theories. In the realist interpretation, the seas are the plains on which superpower, or regional power rivalry, takes place, whereas r....

May 11, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Bay of Bengal , BIMSTEC , Maritime Security , Indian Ocean , SAARC

ASEAN Summit at Singapore: Urgent Need for a Legally Binding Code of Conduct in South China Sea

Brig Vinod Anand, Senior Fellow, VIF Commentary

The 32^nd edition of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit took place in Singapore in from 25-28 April where the central theme of the meeting was envisioned as ‘Resilient and Innovative ASEAN’. While the South East Asia....

May 11, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , South China Sea Code of Conduct , China’s militarisation of SCS