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The Taliban today undoubtedly has a stronger hold over how the US militarily plans to withdraw from the conflict in Afghanistan. This raises questions about the continuing challenges to security in South Asia—in particular, the influence of IS Khorasan (IS-K), the group’s Afghanistan avatar, and its rise both as an ISIS-aligned entity and a big-tent brand for various jihadist groups in the country. As the ‘Khorasan’ project of ISIS gets m

In the last year, ISKP, through its violent attacks, has attempted to create instability in Afghanistan and beyond to trigger propaganda for its jihadi goals.

Israeli president Reuven Rivlin has offered his country's expertise to India to make the world safe.

India abstains from talking space technology in the context of national security.

Southeast Asia has been one of the key components of Japan's foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. It is one region where Japan's diplomacy has accomplished considerable success in coming to terms with the challenges posed by the legacies of the Second World War. Successive Japanese governments since 1952 have always maintained that the stability and security of ASEAN countries are closely tied to Japan's security and prosperity.

Japan is beginning to get nervous about the direction of US policies and is beginning to question the stability of the US-Japan Security Treaty, according to a scholar based in Australia.

The passing of the security legislation recently has fulfilled at least partly PM Abe's long-drawn quest towards making Japan a normal country. He has always believed that Article 9 of the US authored Japanese constitution, which put severe restrictions on Japan's right to collective self-defence, should be amended.

Japan is facing extremely dangerous situation in North East Asia where North Korea is developing nuclear weapons. It is also witnessing China's excessive assertiveness in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. So, situations like these will influence the way Japan will shape its security policy, says eminent Japanese scholar Prof. Shinichi Kitaoka.

Despite domestic political changes, the alliance with the US continues to be the cornerstone of Japan's security policy in the Asia-Pacific region. Although Japan has taken some siginificant steps in the direction of normal statehood, the domestic constituency in favour of full strategic autonomy is still very weak. Japan's dilemma between its growing security concerns and the limitations laid by its Constitution will continue to be a major chall

The move shows no knowledge of ground realities in J&K — it will simply escalate militant violence.

The proposed Food Security Act will cost the government around Rs 100,000 crore a year. Though it is big money, especially when the economy is on downslide, when lots of money were spent on events like the Commonwealth Games and industry given huge tax sops.

The ongoing security transition is critical to the success of the peace process in Afghanistan. As part of the US 2014 plan, the NATO forces are to hand over the responsibility of security of the country to the Afghan security forces, district by district.

Within a month of its announcement, India is poised to launch its MAHASAGAR initiative in collaboration with the littoral countries of the Western Indian Ocean Region.

A few incidents in four weeks, and the Maldivian Government is not taking any chances. The illegal import of five double-edged swords and some 'toy guns', shipped from China, and that of a stun-gun and face-mask as

Former Prime Minister Vajpayee¿s government may not have left India shining, but to its credit, it notched up several major achievements on the national security font. Foremost among these was declaring India a nuclear weapons state, a move that unquestionably enhanced India¿s quest for strategic autonomy.

Post-9/11, counter-terrorism experts all over the world have been focussing attention on three new aspects of counter-terrorism: counter-terrorism relating to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), maritime counter-terrorism and counter-terrorism relating to energy security. Each of these requires a new approach and a new thinking.

In recent years, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) region have emerged as vital security and developmental partners in the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—thereby gaining prominence in India’s foreign policy priorities. This paper examines India’s bilateral and multilateral engagement with the SIDS of the SWIO region, and argues that India should consider the concerns of the

This paper examines security collaboration in the Bay of Bengal. It argues that despite increased cooperation in the maritime domain, the security perceptions of Bay states differ significantly, arising primarily from disagreements associated with China’s presence in the region. Crucially, the Bay states are wary of being seen as siding with India to counterbalance China. Even in nontraditional security areas where cooperation is readily possib

During a lecture on 'Japan's foreign policy: Strategy and practice', Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Akitaka Saiki reiterated the Japanese position that the security issues in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and East China Sea cannot be treated separately.

As part of the Maritime Security Programme which was launched by then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash on 19th May 2006 at ORF Chennai, Observer Research Foundation, the National Maritime Foundation and the College of Naval Warfare, ORF Mumbai joined hands to conduct an International seminar at ORF Mumbai on 11th and 12th January 2007.

Enabling a stable Asian strategic framework to the mutual benefit of both New Delhi and Tokyo should be a compelling factor for both prime ministers, Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Shinzo Abe.

As India reconfigures its China policy with the Indo-Pacific at its core, India-Russia ties won’t be able to escape this strategic reality

New security challenges confront India today. Newer areas of conflict and contestation are emerging on the horizon. These challenges call for dynamic and autonomous response mechanisms.

National security has always been a part of national politics. What has changed is only the way this issue is now playing out in the public domain.

Many strategic analysts in India have suggested that the country evolve a national security doctrine to guide its armed forces and governmental system in dealing with matters relating to national security. The Observer Research Foundation took the initiative to examine the issue in its entirety. This report details the outcome of a discussion amongst the country's noted security experts.

When comparing the current geopolitical landscape of Europe to the circumstances in the years following NATO’s establishment, it becomes apparent that very little has changed.

Far from the Gulf, Norway anchors its role in Middle East security—leveraging maritime might to safeguard vital trade routes and stability.

India faces a medium-term challenge from the Chinese PLA Navy, which has been active in terms of sending vessels on regular patrols in the Indian Ocean.

Travelling by horse back is the fastest mode of communication in the tribal-inhabited remote and interior forest areas of this (East Godavari) district,¿ said my guide during a visit to the Naxalite-Maoist-affected parts of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Guerrilla Zone (AOBSZ).

There is a need for a new regional security architecture that reflects the changed geopolitical realities of the region. This suggestion was made during an interaction between senior Japanese and South Korean journalists and Indian scholars at ORF.

Prof.K.R.Singh, formerly visiting professor, Chair of Maritime Studies, University of Calicut, initiated an interaction on 'Maritime Dimensions of Internal Security' at an Interaction organised by the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research foundation on 23 February 2008.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Delhi, NSA A.K. Doval said there is a need for collective response by countries to tackle terrorism as it will be very difficult for countries individually to fight terror effectively. He called for a Comprehensive United Nations Convention against Terrorism.

Senator Douglas Roche has urged the India to lead the movement for disarmament of nuclear weapons, saying India under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh was serious about nuclear disarmament.

This Issue Brief analyses the possible nuclear and radiological threats that India could face. It also examines the various ways in which these threats could occur and the likely actors inclined to carry them out.

In light of the 2014 NTI Index which ranks India 23rd out of 25 countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials, this issue brief highlights problem areas in the Index and proposes suggestions for improving the Indian nuclear security regime.

India may be the world’s second largest producer of food, but it has its second largest undernourished population. Further, more than half of women in India suffer from anaemia, which is one of the reasons for the high rate of low-birth weight babies. An unbalanced diet and lack of food is directly linked to high rates of stunting, excessive weight, and death in children under five years of age. The Government of India has implemented programme