Abe was among the first to envision with then-Prime Minister Manmohan the group of democracies as a potential counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific taking forward the cooperation of the four countries in providing relief during 2004 tsunami
Galwan’s Lesson For India: When Restraint Fails, Deterrence Must Be Restored
Officially, India maintained that no territory was lost. Strategically, however, many analysts described the situation as a shift in the status quo—an altered operational environment in which access, patrolling patterns and tactical depth were recalibrated.
India’s Rise As A Global Power: Why It Matters To Malaysia
India’s rise coincides with China’s structural slowdown, reshaping Asia’s strategic landscape. For Malaysia, the choice is not between India and others—but between preparing early for India’s ascent or adjusting late. Prime Minister Modi’s visit represents a strategic inflection point. Deepening ties in defence, technology, semiconductors, energy, food security, education, and culture is not merely prudent—it is foundational to Malaysia’s long-term prosperity, security, and strategic autonomy.
Quad And The Changing US Security Doctrine In A Transactional Era
But in NSS 2025 the specific reference to the “Quad” appears less central as compared to its 2022 prominence. The document emphasized the allies assuming primary responsibility for their own region even as it identified the Indo-Pacific as a key economic and geopolitical battleground. It reiterates that alliances and strengthening partnerships “will be the bedrock of security and prosperity long into the future”
The Duet of Elephant and Dragon Can Bring Hope To Rest Of The World
It’s heartening to see that China has resumed the pilgrimage of Indian pilgrims to the sacred Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region this year after a five-year break, and India has restarted the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese citizens suspended since 2020. Recently, several direct flights between the two countries have been restored. This development is expected to strengthen exchanges in people-to-people fields, as well as in trade, culture, and other areas.
More on Indo Pacific - China Watch
India should be pro-active in supporting the Dalai Lama
China has harmed Tibet, massacred innocent Tibetans and is occupying Tibet for the last several decades with a vice-like grip and suppressing freedom of the Tibetans
Can US-led IPEF reduce India’s China dependency, outbid China-led RCEP?
There are several ways whereby the IPEF will outbid China in the Indo-Pacific region and outweigh India’s China dependency, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
Despite the Chinese challenge, American primacy in the Indo Pacific remains unquestioned for now
The short game might be Beijing’s to lose for now, but the long game is certainly Washington’s to squander away, writes Collins Chong Yew Keat for South Asia Monitor
India, Vietnam ink pact to broad-base ties with China in mind
Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region. India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. India and Vietnam have been boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.
IPEF: A challenge and opportunity in the Indo-Pacific region
Since the US is not a member of RCEP, the collaborative approach of the US and India will pose a big challenge to RCEP, which falls under Chinese influence, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor
Fearing US influence, China asks Bangladesh to reject ‘bloc politics’
Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Centre, noted in a Foreign Policy Brief that the Biden administration’s growing engagement with countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives, “marks a shift for Washington, which in recent decades has expended most of its diplomatic capital in the region on India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.”
Trade, FDI, and fast-tracking projects: A subdued China belatedly proposes five-point assistance program for Sri Lanka
Beijing also seems nervous as its earlier run, largely on the back of support of the now-discredited Rajapaksa brothers, appears to have come to an end. Unlike earlier, a crisis-hit Sri Lanka in need of assistance is more eager than any time before in recent years to embrace India, the West, and the United States.
Kim's nuclear brinkmanship: Can Quad rise up to the Indo Pacific challenge?
Kim Jong-un's new strategy shifts the region's counter-reaction to a new level of risk that will invite changes in the dynamics of the military spectrum, writes Collins Chong Yew Keat for South Asia Monitor
Quad a significant presence on world stage, says Modi as India joins IPEF economic grouping to check China's stranglehold on supply chains
The summit is taking place under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It is also taking place at a time when relations between China and the Quad member countries have become fraught, with Beijing increasingly challenging democratic values and resorting to coercive trade practices.
Modi in Tokyo for Quad Summit, to meet Biden and new Australian PM
A review of Quad initiatives is one of the key agendas for the four world leaders, an Indian government statement quoted the prime minister as saying before his departure. The grouping includes the world’s oldest and largest democracies — Japan, India, Australia and US — and represents a combined GDP of $34 trillion, or 40 per cent of the global total.
UN Rights chief to visit China’s restive Xinjiang province; HRW says need to underscore justice for victims
Bachelet, during her China visit between 23-28 May, will “meet with a number of high-level officials at the national and local levels, civil society organizations, business representatives, academics, and deliver a lecture to students at Guangzhou University,” the statement released by her office said on Friday
Chinese media defends India over wheat exports
But what came as surprise amid this report was the Chinese state media's defence of India after criticism from Group of Seven (G7) nations, ANI news agency said. Global Times, a Chinese government outlet said, "Blaming India won't solve the food problem."
Chinese power companies threaten to quit Pakistan over dues payment of $1.5 billion
Chinese firms also raised objections to Pakistan’s new draft renewable energy policy, which, interestingly, calls for international competitive bidding—something the Chinese have been advocating in the Sri Lankan power sector, mainly to counter Indian influence
China intends to keep boundary issue alive, says Indian Army Chief Gen Pande; efforts to alter status quo will be thwarted
In his book "India-China Boundary Issues", late Indian diplomat R S Kalha observed that, "China will continue its policy of keeping India strategically confined to South Asia with the active assistance of Pakistan, and strategically imbalanced by continuing incursions across the LAC.In such an event, there is little change that there will be any meaningful forward movement in the settlement of the boundary dispute between India and China."
