Contrary to Pakistan’s expectations, Indian government’s decision to revoke special status of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, accorded under Art 370 and 35A of the constitution, did not elicit ‘angry’ reactions from the international community. While Russia and France came out openly in support of India’s stand, the Trump administration that had offered to mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue washed off its hands calling the decision ‘strictly internal matter’ of India.
How can China-India relations be defined: as enemies, rivals, or partners? The answer is neither yes nor no. According to the “pan-familism” of Eastern society and “inclusive universalism” of Cultural tradition, the relationship between India and China is a “brother-like” relationship which transcends the modern concept of state and sovereignty.
The changed status of Kashmir has been opposed by Pakistan’s government, whereas it is purely India’s internal matter. India has clarified that it can resume talks with Pakistan only if it abandons cross border terrorism in Kashmir. Most importantly, India has said that any talk with Pakistan on Kashmir will be about PoK.
A peep into Vietnam through Kautilya’s theory seems to provide an answer to its recent troubled past. Chanakya enunciated Rajmandala Theory in 3rd Century BCE. Why are Vietnam and China adversaries and why Vietnam is a close ally of India has an answer in theory known as Circle of States or Rajmandala Theory.
When India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh recently hinted that India could opt for “first use” nuclear doctrine depending upon circumstances in future, there was hardly any strong reaction against it either within India or abroad. The reason is not hard to discover. Many champions of nuclear proliferation and even other nuclear weapon powers are not in a position to moralize and advise India against it.
The new world order with multipolar tendencies truly counters the idea of a single dominant power. Israel’s pivot to Asia is one of the notable examples of this argument, and India can play a crucial role in this context.
the message of China’s new defense White Paper is amply clear and New Delhi should read the new White Paper through the prism of safeguarding its own national interests, both regionally and globally to avoid being the new “yam between the two boulders”, i.e., the US and China.
Time has not been favorable to the American coal industry. Despite efforts to save the industry by the current Trump administration, the coal industry is phasing out.
One would not be surprised if Japan in-not-so-distant future changes its age-old stance on nuclear disarmament and opts for the nuclear option due to changing strategic landscape in the emerging global nuclear order. China’s assertiveness, unresolved Russia-Japan territorial disputes, growing rift in Japan-South Korea strategic understanding, increasing threats from a nuclear North Korea and new questions about the reliability of the US nuclear umbrella may induce Japan to exercise its nuclear option.
In international relations, the memories of historical animosity seldom fade away, and they keep coming up in the garb of political, military, or economic disputes between the states. Such is the case of Japan-South Korea relations. The atrocities by Japan on South Korea during the Second World War still determine the relations between these two countries in the Indo-Pacific region.