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Logistics is meaningless if it cannot do what is central to war—fighting. In order to bolster the logistical capabilities of all the major service branches of the Chinese military—including the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF), and the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF)—the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under President Xi Jinping established a Joint Logistic Support Force (JLSF) in 2016. To what extent does the JLSF

The India-Japan strategic partnership has been growing stronger, and this also extends to their cooperation on matters of outer space.

China is showing Nepal that the Himalayas may not be a trade barrier for rail-based trade with Asia or Europe or even maritime trade through the South China Sea. The landlocked country is now actively considering the use of alternative routes from India’s sea ports to China’s, once its roads and rails log into the BRI. This brief examines three learnings from Nepal’s growing engagement with China through the Belt and Road International Trad

The fact that drones made from scrap and duct-tape carrying improvised explosive devices are able to damage conventional aircraft on ground, worth millions of dollars, brought forward a new set of challenges for defence policymakers

This brief examines the role of West Bengal as a leverage for India to enhance its relations with its eastern and southeastern neighbours. It identifies the domestic and geo-economic aspirations of the state, and outlines the impact of certain misplaced policies and the state’s conflictual relationship with the union government on West Bengal’s development goals. The brief calls on India to nurture a pragmatic, cooperative brand of federalism

Now that BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi is approaching what could possibly be the pinnacle of his career, the last thing he wants is to box himself in by his own rhetoric. It is for this reason that in his Haryana speech, he also invoked Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy, which used the Kargil crisis to get the world community to pin down Pakistan on avoiding the use of violence in relation to Kashmir.

Despite being on the backfoot as the country’s civil war intensifies, the military regime is showing no interest in a democratic transition that may be the country’s only hope. India must explore various options for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and provide humanitarian assistance to displaced people

This report explores strategies to strengthen the relationships among Global South countries, with a focus on enhancing regional synergy between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation BIMSTEC. The report provides an overview of BIMSTEC’s rising significance as a link between South Asia and Southeast Asia, provides insights into the growing need fo

With no guarantee that the security environment in the Indo-Pacific will settle down any time soon, the expectation is that military spending will continue to increase.

Asia has been the fountain of the greatest and some of the most ancient civilizations and religions of the world and possesses enormous human and natural resources. However, in modern history, the continent has seldom been at the centre-stage of world politics. Indeed, unlike Africans, for example, Asian citizens have never really had a feeling of oneness.

Observer Research Foundation and Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung recently organised the Asian-European Policy Dialogue 2013. The theme of the dialogue was local level politics, related policy areas and the role of the state.

The 'old boys' network has given Asim Umar an extensive reach among the jihadi groups active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He can tap into the Taliban network with as much ease as he could work with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

As extreme events are becoming the ‘new normal’ in an increasingly climate-constrained world, India’s critical infrastructure must be built to withstand, respond to, and recover rapidly from the disruptions they cause

In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the picture remains unclear, with no party or no combination of parties being assured of forming the next government in March.

The Biden administration’s climate agenda is a crucial plank to restore American commitments to climate actions and reinstate US leadership globally. However, the agenda has been slow on results. Although the climate fight has been linked to most other federal goals, such as economy, jobs, infrastructure, and procurements, the Biden administration faces both domestic and external challenges that continue to limit how much it can achieve

The report examines India's urbanization, highlighting rapid population growth, metro rail expansion, sustainable transport policies, and financing challenges, while assessing efforts in localization and revenue enhancement for metro systems.

The European Union’s (EU) and India’s paths towards becoming “cyber powers” could hardly be more different. The EU has a long tradition of protecting personal privacy rights and patents, while urging to enhance multilateral norms on cyberspace. India’s thinking on cybersecurity has continuously been boosted by the cyber threats emerging from China and Pakistan. It has further been shaped by India’s domestic Information Technology indu

Cyber-sanctions have emerged as a preferred tool for Western governments to deter cyberattacks emanating from their adversaries’ territories. As they implement such sanctions, however, these states face various challenges one of which is the difficulty in attribution. Moreover, the sanctions have only partially curbed the malicious cyber activities. Yet, the regime continues to expand, and many allies of the United States are emulating its prac

Climate change poses a significant risk to global food security. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting precipitation patterns impact food production, disrupting food supply chains, increasing food prices, and diminishing food safety. These effects are particularly apparent in developing countries, where vulnerable populations struggle to access nutritious foods and small farmers face financial challenges. Tackling the impacts

In April, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, merged the North, South, and East Delhi municipal corporations into a single urban local body (ULB) called the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The unification is expected to lead to better service delivery, greater financial strength, economies of scale, and eliminate administrative duplication. However, the Act does not outline the functional and financial domains of ULBs and aspects

China is building nuclear submarines at an estimated rate of 4.5 to six per year. These are in addition to the two or three conventional submarines it has been commissioning each year. Submarines in general and nuclear boats in particular, apart from being expensive to construct and maintain, require highly trained crews to operate. It is therefore imperative for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to invest in such capabilities to be able

Where it may have been useful for Beijing to encourage strategic trust, it has instead only invoked a sense of unease and even fear.

For Tokyo, the G-7 Summit was driven by the need to define and devise the means of navigating the complex geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific

India's Navy has for too long been neglected when money has been allocated. The latest defence budget suggests that may be starting to change, though much of the new allocation will be used to pay off previously acquired expensive naval platforms.

It is the responsibility of people like film producers, club owners and other entertainment organisers to ensure that the shows or films do not carry vulgar contents which tend to excite the base instincts of men and encourage them to resort to violence for sex.

Stakeholder groups have produced various guidelines on ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years. However, translating principles into practice continues to be a massive challenge, as AI markets expand and AI risks are heightened. AI audits—or the process of investigating an algorithm against existing regulations and known harms—are emerging as a way of bridging the gap between principle and practice. This paper scans the landscape

The formation of AUKUS (a security alliance between Australia, the UK, and the US) and its likely forward momentum in the near- and medium-term is certain to redefine the security architecture in the eastern Indo-Pacific region. Given the twin objectives of maintaining the balance of power and ensuring deterrence against China, several new initiatives and defence agreements between the member countries are on the anvil. The interface of A

His Excellency's address to the ORF Faculty delivered on May 3, 2012.

Australia would be holding a skills Expo in India next year which would inform prospective migrants about the employment and lifestyle opportunities available in Australia

Rediscovers relations after falling out with China

After the first trilateral dialogue between Australia, India and Japan in June 2015, another trilateral process immediately got underway. is paper makes an assessment of the prospects of this new formation in the light of history, contemporary coalescing interests, and the inadequacies of the existing trilaterals. While the conventional view is that this trilateral is merely an offshoot of US foreign policy and ranged against China, this paper ar

Over the last three decades, Australia and China have established mutually beneficial economic ties. However, Australia’s decision to ask for an independent enquiry into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has led to a backlash from China. This brief examines the more important developments since 2015 that persuaded Australia to take measures aimed at protecting both its open economy and its democratic polity against China’s sys

New Delhi and Canberra have had to bear the brunt of increasingly belligerent Chinese behavior in the Indo-Pacific, pushing their bilateral relationship to new heights.

With India's annual inflation rate rising to a near four-year high on a point-to-point basis on the back of rising food prices, the search for policies to combat the price rise poses unusual challenges. The nature and causes of the current spiraling inflation in India has become a subject of intense debate, primarily because of the ostensible role of `imported inflation' in driving the domestic prices north. Issues like poor performance of the Pu

Approximately 73 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world finds itself in similar straightened circumstances as the US once again puts into motion steps to curb the rise of another Asian power — China.

It is time to pause to remind Prime Minister Modi of his campaign promise "minimum government, maximum governance". It is sad this is one promise being heard less and less of each passing day.

No other State seems to have treated its women as brutally as Uttar Pradesh routinely does. While UP comes after Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, let us not forget that that these two States are badly riddled with Naxalism which gives another turn to the discussion.

Sri Lanka's IMF rescue plan has geopolitical repercussions. The Island nation has entered a difficult terrain with China's expansionist interests and India and Japan's security concerns

India has become the largest and fastest-growing producer of audio-visual (AV) content in the world, with the highest number of hours of content every day. This brief discusses issues of intellectual property (IP) and competition in the AV content sector. Under India’s Copyright Act 1957, the owner of AV content is accorded exclusive copyright over their work, which includes the right to monetise. Effective copyright protection incentiv

While existing literature provides solid documentation of conservation policy and legislation, coverage of civil society's perceptions and role within conservation schemes is relatively sparse. This paper presents the under-represented perspective of modern Delhi on the policies and realities of heritage conservation.

The so-called crack-down on religious extremist elements ordered by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh has been selective.

Media in Bangladesh recently reported that China is all set to win the contract of the coveted deep-sea port in Sonadia, a small town of 9 sqkm offshore of Cox's Bazaar in Chittagong division.

The settlement of the maritime dispute between India and Bangladesh has ended the energy politics in the Bay of Bengal region. The verdict from The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) has removed obstacle for Bangladesh to exploit the rich hydro-carbon reserves in the Bay of Bengal.

With six months left for parliamentary election in Bangladesh, politics is likely to warm up, charting a new course in the process. Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) landslide victory in five city corporation elections suggest that the party has gained strength after facing a humiliating defeat in the 2008 parliamentary election.

The intensity with which India is trying to focus on the aspect of subregional affinity — in the geopolitical and geostrategic realms — finds expression in the BBIN interaction.

The current Indian government has given clear indicators that it is likely to place regional integration high on its economic diplomacy agenda, be it SAARC, ASEAN or BCIM. The last two are especially important to India's Act East Policy.

Fifteen nations in 11 months and important visits to China and RoK in May is a tremendous track record. Considering the pace and scale of Modi's engagements and what each visit is expected to produce, one must congratulate the MEA for measuring up to this scorching pace.

China sees itself as a power that has risen to become a peer of the US and wants its place under the sun, in the process unmasking its aggressive intent. The US is trying to push to retain its pre-eminent global status