The real change, then, is not merely that Chinese media sounded friendlier towards India. It is that they assigned India a different place in the story. New Delhi appeared as a complex but consequential partner, whose strategic autonomy and cooperation matter to China's imagining of a changing world order.
Pakistan, for its part, will have to recognise that the old assumption of an immutable treaty operating independently of the broader India-Pakistan relationship has become untenable. Islamabad cannot expect the water relationship to remain insulated indefinitely from terrorism
Hopes for Sino-Indian relations centre on a cautious diplomatic thaw, institutionalised border stability and renewed high-level engagement. Indian negotiators and defence planners are well aware that “trust must be verified”. While the activation of these eight points provides valuable channels to prevent an accidental kinetic clash on the ground, the real test of China’s sincerity will not be the joint statements signed in Beijing, but whether it ceases infrastructure build-ups and respects the historical patrolling rights of Indian troops along the LAC.
By removing the ‘Indo’ prefix from Indo-Pacific the US implicitly acknowledges that it no longer unilaterally defines the eastern strategic landscape. Regional organisations like BRICS continue to redefine the lexicon of ‘rules-based order’ to insulate themselves from western domination.
It’s high time for the people and the government to come together in devising a robust mechanism for the implementation of the constitutional provisions, for the republic, deserves to realize the cherished goals envisioned under the preamble, write Jivesh Jha and Dr Alok Kumar Yadav for South Asia Monitor
While carbon neutrality will be the pitch during the summit, PM Modi should use climate diplomacy not only to remind the developed countries about common but differentiated responsibilities and their past commitments, but also to institutionalize the mechanism and alliance jointly with USA, for tracking the climate finances to developing countries and mainstream climate justice, writes Rajendra Shende for South Asia Monitor
Amid the divergent claims by the US and the Indian governments, it is important to delineate the correct position of international law on the military activities in the EEZ, writes Aftab Alam for South Asia Monitor
Since there is little chance of the BJP desisting from its pursuit of religion-based politics which places the surmises, predilections and objectives of the party’s Hindu followers above those of the minorities, the country will have to brace itself for a prolonged period of Hindu-Muslim confrontation, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
India is one of the few powers that sit at crossroads of Continental Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific --- the two regions that will define this century and to which India's development and security are inextricably linked, writes Lt. Gen. (Dr) Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
For Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, the opportunities for growth include trading more with one another – with India as the pivot – with better water, road and rail connectivity, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
The leadership on both sides has ushered a new chapter in India-Bangladesh relations. India is well-positioned geographically and industrially to play the role of a near-shore partner for its allies like Bangladesh, writes Dr Indu Saxena for South Asia Monitor
Biden, who is trying to draw India closer on the strategic front in the Indo-Pacific also wants to increase its involvement in Afghanistan, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Walking out from the US-proposed intra-Afghan talks in Turkey, Taliban has cocked a snook at Capitol Hill indicating it will commence attacking foreign troops next month, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (Retd) for South Asia Monitor
The digital economy gives a strong option for all countries of South Asia to connect not only within themselves but also globally, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
The upshot is that there is only one direction that bilateral trade between India and Pakistan can now go due to politics. This entails a huge loss in potential opportunities, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
Hasina, now basking in the glory of having led Bangladesh to phenomenal economic and human development progress in the golden decade of development, has her task cut out, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor
Over the last year, both UK and Germany have also indicated that they propose to send their naval units to the IOR periodically for joint exercises, given the salience now accorded to the Indo-Pacific as a region, writes Cmde C Uday Bhaskar (retd) for South Asia Monitor
This is another aspect of the ‘Idea of India' on which the ruling party differs from the views of its opponents who swear by India’s multicultural society against the “one nation, one people, one culture” concept of the Hindu right, writes Amulya Ganguli for South Asia Monitor
It is simplistically assumed that no matter what, the overseas Indian considers himself/herself to be, first and foremost, Indian. When the person does not conform to such expectation, there is a sense of betrayal and of feeling let down, writes Amb Amit Dasgupta (retd) for South Asia Monitor
