International Relations and Diplomacy
Strategic Trends in Asia-Pacific and its Implications for India

Introduction Events that are taking place in Asia-Pacific are a sub set of what is happening in Asia in particular and at the global level in general. While there has been an on-going shift of economic power to Asia, it is also quite apparent that most of the conflict spots of the world are in Asia. Rapid rise of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its fast tracked militarisation has created not only its own geostrategic dynamics in the Asia-Pacific but also has caused reverberations at the global level.

Durand Line: History, Legality & Future

1. Introduction It was in the late 1880s, that the Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman, started demanding a clear defined border with India. The British too wanted to make a clear buffer state, free from its sphere of influence Click here to read full Paper

China’s Defence White Paper, 2013: Assertions of A ‘Super Power’ in Making?

Promulgations of A Super-Power In April 2013, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) released her eighth Defence White Paper, titled as ‘The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces’. This exercise has been undertaken bi-annually since the early 2000’s, and is in consonance with China’s inexorable claim to super-power status that brings with it an expectation among the international community that the contender would want to enunciate her visions and goals for them to take note of the coming dispensation. Click here to read full Paper

Chinese Quest for Space Supremacy: Implications for India and the World

In a stunning demonstration of its growing prowess in the cutting edge space research and technology, on June 11, a Chinese Long March-2F rocket successfully launched the longest ever manned Chinese mission with its second woman astronaut among the crew.

Chinese Intelligence : From a Party Outfit to Cyber Warriors

Whatever yardstick we choose to apply – size of the economy and its rate of growth, military hardware and pace of modernisation, stability of the polity and the government; size, population and geo-political setting – China qualifies for a major power status. Click here to read full Paper

Unblocking of NATO Supply Routes By Pakistan: Logistics or Plain Politics?

The flow of oil through NATO's Pakistani supply lines is due to resume soon, one year after the attack by NATO troops on the Pakistani outpost at Salala. The decision comes after the first two test-run tankers passed safely through the Torkham crossing in the beginning of November, 2012. Earlier the logistical supply lines, but not the oil supply lines, were opened in July, 2012.

Sino-Indian War: Fifty Years On

Fifty years ago this month China and India went to war. Historically, the conflict that began on October 20 was a blip, lasting only a month with hostilities confined to their disputed border and even limited to the use of both countries’ armies with a minimal role for their air force and navies. On the world stage the conflict was overshadowed by a superpower stand-off between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Full Paper in pdf format is available here

India - China Relations: Problems and Prospects

Rise of China: Challenge or Opportunity? China’s extraordinarily rapid rise in the hierarchy of global power is raising concerns about its future policies. Opinion is divided whether China will increasingly assert its power in disruptive ways or will act more responsibly as its own stakes in the international system grow. Arguments can be made for both views, though emerging signs suggest that China’s self-assertion is becoming an unpleasant reality, whereas the expectation that it will work for and within a global consensus remains more a matter of hope.

Towards A Stable Afghanistan: The Way Forward

(A report of Joint Working Group of Vivekananda International Foundation and RUSI, the UK) The experts from the two think tanks met in New Delhi and London during October and November 2011 to deliberate on peace and stability in Afghanistan. Both the countries have stakes in the emerging situation in Afghanistan and have contributed to peace and stability in Afghanistan in many ways. The report also took into account the opinions of a wide array of strategic analysts, many government officials, and academics.

Contact Us