Entries by admin
THE FOCUS IS ON INDO-PACIFIC
In the taxonomy of ‘Geopolitics’ and ‘Geo-strategy’, the prefix ‘geo’ refers to a country’s strategic geography, which is the core underpinning of its national-strategy. Geopolitics involves the satiation of the country’s geo-economic and other objectives, which are sought to be met through coherent geo-strategies in various domains. The military domain merely represents an ‘assurance’ and […]
INDIA AND INDONESIA- STRENGTHENING MARITIME RELATIONS
India and Indonesia are maritime neighbours with a symbiotic relationship which can be utilised towards developing maritime cooperation in the region. The distance between India’s Andaman Islands and Indonesia’s Aceh is not more than 80 nautical miles. Additionally, the fact that the Indian naval ships have been making visits to Indonesia ports and coordinated patrolling […]
COMCASA – WIND-VANE OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY?!
The United States has been prodding India to sign the communications, compatibility and security agreement, better known as COMCASA, for more than a decade. COMCASA is a version of CISMOA (Communication interoperability and Security memorandum Agreement) tailored specifically for India. CISMOA is considered to be one of the three foundational agreements that the United States […]
COMMUNITY-ENGAGED MARITIME SECURITY: BEYOND ‘EYES AND EARS’
In March 2018, as per media reports, Neil Basu, the Scotland Yard’s newly appointed Indian-origin Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for counter-terrorism, launched a new campaign to urge the public to fight terrorism. According the report, of the nearly 31,000 reports made by the public in 2017, more than 6,600 (21.3 percent) resulted in ‘useful’ […]
MARITIME COOPERATION AS A THRUST AREA BETWEEN INDIA AND INDONESIA
The upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, to Indonesia (later this month),is reflective of the strong desire of both the countries to work more closely together, in the face of the ‘rapidly evolving strategic realities’ in the Indo-Pacific region, after years of mutual neglect. During this visit, the Prime Minister is expected […]
CHINA’S APPROACH TO FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: NO SAIL ZONES
Introduction Torturous negotiations, involving much bargaining and several compromises, characterised the multiple sessions of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. Although the Conference eventually succeeded in formulating what is now known as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), the consequences of these compromises continue to […]
LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS: FROM FRAGILITY TO STABILITY
With a total land area of just 32 km2, the Lakshadweep Islands, which lie off the west coast of India, are the smallest of the Union Territories (UT) under the Government of the India (GoI). And yet, they contribute something like 20,000 sq.km to the area of India’s Territorial Sea, and 400,000 km2 to the […]
INDIAN NAVY’S ‘CAMPING’ EXPEDITIONS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION
The year that has gone by is significant in many aspects for the Indian Navy’s operational deployment which has been demonstrated far and wide in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The time-tested formula of the navies of the world, namely, “Forward presence and posturing” can only be effective when it is applied continuously in […]