Gwadar, a southwestern port city in Pakistan, has been witnessing prolonged protest as locals staged sit-in on a key highway demanding the removal of security checkpoints, end to electricity shortage, and illegal fishing
Myanmar Election: Lack of Consolidated Initiative Leads to Return of Military Rule
The external support by China and Russia lent support to the Tatmadaw, especially during the elections, and while ASEAN and western powers have refused to accept the legitimacy of the election, many of the immediate neighbours like India, Bangladesh, and Thailand prefer what they see as stability under the military, given their cross-border concerns.
Edible Geopolitics: How Asian Cuisine is Leveraging Soft Power to Wield Cultural Influence
At a time when global consumers are increasingly drawn to wellness-oriented and sustainable diets, South Asian culinary traditions, particularly those rooted in India’s Ayurveda, offer significant potential. However, without institutional backing, this remains diffused cultural capital rather than strategic influence.
The Rise of the E-Dragon: China’s Dominance in an Electrified World and Lessons for India
The China tale offers important lessons. China’s rise in the renewable sector is not just fuelled by demand for clean energy, but by a broader strategy, linking energy policy with manufacturing, technology development and global trade. India now seems to have begun taking steps in this direction. Policy measures such as the production-linked incentives scheme for solar manufacturing and efforts to expand domestic battery production are intended to strengthen the country’s clean energy ecosystem.
China Tightens a Strategic Arc Around India's Northeast - With Expanding Leverage in Myanmar and Bangladesh
China’s expanding influence in Myanmar and Bangladesh does not operate in isolation. It is reinforced by Beijing’s long-standing strategic partnership with Pakistan, frequently described by both sides as an “all-weather” alliance. In recent years, Islamabad has sought to revive and expand diplomatic engagement with both Dhaka and Naypyidaw, reflecting a broader effort to re-establish its presence along the eastern arc of the Bay of Bengal. While Pakistan lacks China’s financial scale or infrastructure capacity, its diplomatic signalling complements Beijing’s presence
More on Indo Pacific - China Watch
India-China ties going through 'bad patch; India's interests will be served by 'much closer' ties with the US: Foreign Minister
India and China are going through “a particularly bad patch” in their relationship because Beijing has taken actions “for which they still don’t have a credible explanation”, and the Chinese leadership has to take a call on where they want to take the bilateral ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday
Fertiliser dispute: Colombo court extends ban on payment to Chinese company
Tensions between Sri Lanka and China over a shipment of rejected fertiliser continued to simmer as the Commercial High Court on Friday extended an interim order preventing the payment to China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd
India, China agree to hold next round of military talks on their border dispute
India and China on Thursday agreed on the need to find an early resolution to the remaining issues along their Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and to hold the next round of the senior commanders meeting at an early date
Tensions rise between China, Sri Lanka over rejected fertiliser shipment
Tensions ratcheted up between Sri Lanka and China over a shipment of rejected fertiliser, with Sri Lankan Director General of Agriculture Dr. Ajantha Silva stressing on Monday that Colombo has not agreed to re-test the rejected Chinese organic fertiliser by a third party, a day after Beijing’s envoy announced that a re-test was being done
Sri Lanka declines to conduct re-test on rejected Chinese fertiliser, to order more nano fertiliser from India
Tensions between Sri Lanka and China over a rejected shipment of contaminated Chinese fertilizer continued, with Colombo on Saturday hardening its stand and refusing to conduct a re-test of the fertilizer, even as the Sri Lankan cabinet has okayed the purchase of more nano nitrogen fertilizer from India
China is 'enemy No. 1', border 'villages' not new, says India's CDS
China has only upgraded infrastructure along the border in India's northeast, and new villages have not come up, India's Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday, saying pointedly that the country's main adversary was China, and not Pakistan
China delivers biggest stealth warship to 'iron brother' Pakistan; aim to offset India's ocean dominance
China has delivered to Pakistan this week its biggest stealth warship, a Type054 frigate, in a move that will strengthen the latter’s position in the Indian Ocean, the area traditionally dominated by India
Fertilizer row escalates as Chinese firm seeks $8 million in compensation from Sri Lanka
The fertilizer row that erupted late month between the Sri Lankan government and a Chinese firm, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd, is showing no signs of ending anytime soon as the firm has now demanded $8 million in compensation, weeks after the former canceled the contract citing contamination
Fertiliser fiasco: Cargo ship carrying rejected Chinese fertiliser denied entry to Colombo Port
Sri Lanka’s Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena has said he has instructed officials at Colombo Port to deny any request by a ship carrying rejected Chinese fertilizer from unloading the cargo in Colombo
Chinese envoy in Kabul meets Taliban's Foreign Minister; trade ties discussed
China’s ambassador to Kabul Wang Yu met with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Motaqi and discussed bilateral relations, particularly matters related to trade, Afghan foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a tweet
China looking to build a military base in Sri Lanka, says Pentagon report
The United States fears China, whose influence has grown significantly in South Asia in the past decade, is now looking at Sri Lanka to build a military base or logistics facility--a scenario India has been wary of
Pentagon report mentions Chinese village in northeastern India
The annual United States Department of Defence report on military developments involving China details the US perception of the tension along the Line of Actual Control or LAC, and also refers to the creation of a 100-home Chinese village in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India
Indian Army conducting airborne exercises in eastern Ladakh along China border
The Indian Army is conducting aerial exercises close to the border in eastern Ladakh to induct troops in high-altitude zones and validate its rapid response capabilities, a media report said
China resumes air corridor with Afghanistan, imports 45 tonnes of pine nuts
China has resumed its air corridor with Afghanistan--for the first time since the Taliban takeover-- and imported around 45 tonnes of pine nuts, one of Afghanistan’s key exports, to support Afghan businesses which have been struggling amid severe economic and humanitarian crisis caused after the collapse of the erstwhile Afghan government on 15 August
