This two-part article aims to provide Indian policy-makers and lay readers alike with an overview of submarine communications cable systems in India, highlighting their criticality, their vulnerabilities, and the inadequate protection they receive under national and international law. This piece also speaks directly to authorities within the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, as […]
Given the temptation of South Asian governmental bureaucracies to view the shipbuilding industry solely in economic terms and as a generator of employment, this article seeks to draw the attention of lay readers and government officials alike to the strengths and infirmities of the legal framework that regulates (or should regulate) the shipbreaking industry, with […]
The history of human civilisation is a complex tapestry of individual and collective human development in the humanities and sciences interwoven with an apparently insatiable quest for power. This article concerns itself with some contemporary facets of the latter. Violence — and the ability to exert it more efficiently, more effectively, and, to a greater […]
The dislodging of the stranded MV Ever Given from the banks of the Suez Canal did not end the legal troubles of the Japanese owners of the ill-fated ship. Facing insurance claims by the cargo owners of ships stuck in the logjam and damage claims from the Suez Canal Authority, the detained ship and its crew of […]
The emergence of the instability in Mozambique as a new security threat on Africa’s east coast has attracted military assistance from Russia, the US, Portugal, France, Australia and South Africa. An expansion of an Islamist insurgency to the country’s onshore and offshore gas assets – including Indian investments – could lead to militarisation of the […]
Introduction The second edition of Exercise SEA VIGIL, a two day pan-India biennial coastal defence exercise, was conducted on 12 and 13 January 2021.[1] The exercise, which is India’s largest such exercise, was facilitated by central ministries and state governments, and is conducted in the build-up to the Indian Navy’s theatre-level war-fighting exercise TROPEX [Theatre-level […]
A suspected Israeli angle to an explosion on board an Iranian container ship off Syria’s coast threatens to flare into another round of sea-based tit-for-tat strikes by these adversaries. An outbreak of hostilities, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, could derail efforts to forge peace among the nations of West Asia.
A surge of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea has led to calls for a major naval mission to police the maritime route off West Africa’s two largest oil producers, Nigeria and Angola. Meanwhile, Singapore’s commitment to combatting the rise in attacks along the Singapore Strait was demonstrated through the launch of its new […]
Introduction The last three decades have transformed global geopolitics. While the 1990s saw the dissolution of the USSR and the decline of Russia thereafter, the first two decades of the new millennium have led to the rise of China. The rapid economic transition during this period has provided Beijing the capacity to become a genuine […]
The evolving geopolitical contours of India’s relationship with China over the past year has now set its sights on reducing the trade imbalance between the two competitors. Reduction of the average turnaround time for ships at major ports in India to the tune of 35 per cent over the last six years has stimulated India’s […]
Introduction ‘Armed robbery against ships’ [hereinafter referred to as ‘armed robbery’] has been defined by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as “any illegal act of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, or threat thereof, other than an act of “piracy”, committed for private ends and directed against a ship, or against persons or […]
The signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Mauritius is India’s first such engagement with an African partner. The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation & Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with Mauritius is a culmination of India’s External Affairs Minister, Shri S Jaishankar’s, successful four-day tour to two key Indian Ocean countries and is expected to encourage other African […]