Category Archives: Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East

Height of naivete

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

There’s apparently no end to the Indian government’s naivete even with a supposedly hardheaded Narendra Modi running the show. New Delhi discovered anew — surprise! surprise! — that the Big Three — the US, China and Russia far from helping … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, disarmament, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian Politics, Missiles, nonproliferation, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Vietnam, Weapons | 12 Comments

Assessing India’s foreign & military policy, and Modi’s initiatives

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Bharat Karnad interviewed on India’s Foreign and military policy especially vis a vis China and Pakistan, and Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives in the external realm, by the London-based Oval Observer Foundation involved by its own account in “strategic engagement” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, domestic politics, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Japan, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Tibet, United States, US., Vietnam | Leave a comment

Contested Waters: China and India Adrift on a Sea of Animus

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The World Oceans Day celebrates the seas as a boon for mankind. It may soon turn out to be a bane for Sino-Indian relations. The problems are many and centre around the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) defined by the United … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Technology transfer, Vietnam | Tagged | 4 Comments

India’s Defence Sector is Looking for a Visionary Modi

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

A Chinese commentator scornfully, or in praise (it is not clear which), called Narendra Modi “a pragmatist, not a visionary”. Pragmatism in the context of the over-bureaucratized Indian state translates into the Prime Minister being led by his nose by … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 5 Comments

Electric Modi decision & short circuit in China

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

At the end of the formal meeting between PM Modi and Premier Li Keqiang, the FS K. Jaishankar held a press conference and informed reporters that there was no decision on e-visas for Chinese nationals. Less than two hours later, … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Cyber & Space, Defence Industry, disarmament, DRDO, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Internal Security, Iran and West Asia, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Tibet, United States, US., Weapons | 1 Comment

Flinching on Japan in Malabar

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Some of us were hoping against hope that Prime Minister would gird up his courage and formally invite Japan to participate in the annual Malabar naval exercise involving the Indian and the US Navies to be conducted later this year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Japan, Northeast Asia, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Western militaries | 3 Comments

Bad Policy, Geostrategics Will Go against India

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Prime minister Narendra Modi goes to China weighed down by traditionally bad geostrategics and even worse policy. Consider the underway Chinese initiatives in India’s neighbourhood—the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to access the warm water port at Gwadar, submarines and combat aircraft … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Central Asia, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Ocean, Japan, Maldives, Missiles, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, Russia, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Tibet, United States, US., Weapons | 5 Comments

‘India Conference’ at Harvard University — Panel discussion on Sino-Indian relations

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

On the first day of the 2015 ‘India Conference’ at Harvard University, Boston, May 7, was scheduled the keynote panel discussion on Sino-Indian relations featuring the former NSA, Shivshankar Menon, and myself and moderated by Gary Samore, Executive Director, Belfer … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, Australia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Cyber & Space, Defence Industry, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, guerilla warfare, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian para-military forces, Indian Politics, Internal Security, Japan, Military Acquisitions, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Tibet, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 4 Comments

Holdover Foreign Policy

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Earlier in the year, the Pakistani columnist Ayaz Amir voiced the futility, apropos prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to get imaginative policies out of the advisers around him, of churning butter from water. A similar problem may be affecting prime … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, China, China military, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Japan, nonproliferation, Northeast Asia, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian military, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, United States, US., Western militaries | Leave a comment

The Correct Geostrategics

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Now that the media hoopla and hyperbole attending on US president Barack Obama’s visit is mercifully over, we can exhale, begin dispassionately to evaluate it. One was bemused and appalled by what was projected in the media as the things … Continue reading →

Posted in Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, Defence Industry, DRDO, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Japan, Northeast Asia, nuclear industry, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, South East Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons | 3 Comments