Aides briefing United States Secretary of State John Kerry on his visit to India must show him a news report in this paper on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's extempore remarks to probationers of the Indian Foreign Service ('China is a 'phenomenon', must study its rise, PM tells young IFS officers', IE, June 13). Not only do the reported remarks offer a glimpse of the PM's worldview today, they also reveal that he is once again thinking deeply about the world and may well want to focus on some unfinished international business in the months ahead. Singh's recent meetings with China's new leaders, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and the outcome of the elections in Pakistan may have all played a role in shaping his thinking.

Last week, the newly-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif revealed, even before he had taken oath of office, he had met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and given Beijing the green light to build a $10-billion, 2,000 km railway link between China’s troubled Xinxiang region the Balochistan port of Gwadar, a city that sits at the mouth of the Straits of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf.

Every time there is a prime ministerial visit to East or Southeast Asia, we dust up the two-decade-old placards and begin to wave them. The fading lettering on them proclaims that India is 'Looking East.' But as a nation, our attention span is limited. Therefore, the moment the visit is over we climb up tiredly into the attic to deposit the placards and to keep them there till the next visit.

The greatest challenge that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will face will be on the national security front. Fissiparous tendencies in Balochistan and the restive Gilgit-Baltistan Northern Areas are a perpetual security nightmare.

Three of the world’s nuclear powers — China, India and Pakistan — have increased their arsenals over the past year, while the other five have cut their strength or kept it stable, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI) said Monday. China now has 250 nuclear warheads against 240 in 2012, while Pakistan has increased its warheads by about 10 to between 100 and 120 and India has also added roughly 10 from a total of 90 to 110, SIPRI said in its annual report.

During his visit to Japan last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underscored two golden rules of diplomacy. One is to seize the moment when there is an opportunity to advance. The other is to stand by friends through thick and thin. In the coming weeks, Singh will have to demonstrate a vigorous commitment to these principles in India's engagement with two of its most important neighbours, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The new Chinese leadership wants to reach out to India and New Delhi should make the most of the opportunity to move forward on the strategic and economic fronts

President Obama’s speech at the American National Defence University last Thursday attracted a great deal of attention and analysis. It is particularly important for us in Pakistan to understand exactly what was said and what it means for the continuation of drone attacks in the Af-Pak region and for the possible release of Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo. (The latter will be analysed in a subsequent article.) We must do so bearing in mind what US officials had said earlier and the new classified policy guidelines that Obama approved the day before his speech.

As Nawaz Sharif takes over as Prime Minister for an unprecedented third time-after his Pakistan Muslim League-N party won a near-majority in this month's parliamentary elections-it's time for America to rethink its relationship with Pakistan.

Li Keqiang, China's shiny new premier, has come and gone, and the commentariat is already looking toward Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing later this year. Yet, troubling questions about China's intrusion into Ladakh last month linger. India can look to the Cold War for examples of creative diplomacy