Entries by admin
SHOULD INDIA BAIL OUT A DEBT-RIDDEN MALDIVES?
Maldives has borrowed heavily from China in the last five years putting it at serious risk of debt distress. Now Male has sought support from India to tide over its financial problems. The Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid along with the Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer and the Minister for Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail visited […]
TEN YEARS AFTER ’26/11′: A PARADIGM SHIFT IN MARITIME SECURITY GOVERNANCE IN INDIA?
On 26 November 2008 (‘26/11’), a group of terrorists from Pakistan undertook attacks at several locations in Mumbai.[1] The siege ended three days later. By then, the terrorists had killed or injured more than 400 people.[2] The terrorists had sailed from Pakistan and landed at Mumbai using the sea route. En route they had also […]
BIMSTEC AND MARITIME SECURITY: ISSUES, IMPERATIVES AND WAY AHEAD
Oddly, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a sub-regional grouping named after a sea body, but the graphics in its logo are devoid of blue colour. Of course, the etymology of BIMSTEC originated from the names of its members in 1997, but the fact remains all its members […]
AN OPENING FOR INDIA IN THE MALDIVES
The results of the Maldivian elections, held on 23rd September, have surprised many, particularly in India. The authoritarian tendencies of President Yameen and news emanating from Male thus far had suggested that the Maldivian strongman may not be willing to step down, the results of the elections notwithstanding. It was the general perception that Yameen […]
GUNS MISSILES AND FIREPOWER: A RESEARCH INTERN’S QUEST AT THE NMF
The transformation of anxiety into joy upon receiving intimation, confirming that one has been selected for an internship at a prestigious think-tank, is always a memorable event. Sometimes, however, the lessons you gain from such attachments are not transient but provide lasting value that persists over an entire lifetime. For me, interning at the ‘National […]
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS- GLUG GLUG GLUG…. REALLY? SIGNIFICANCE OF CARRIER BORNE AIRPOWER FOR INDIA
In his recent article published by the Lowy Institute, titled “Glug, Glug, Glug: India’s interest in unsinkable Aircraft Carriers”, David Brewster[1], probes India’s medium term plan to develop into a three carrier fleet. Brewster cites huge costs (acquisition, maintenance and operational) and vulnerability issues attached with the Carrier Task Force (CTFs) in support of his […]
RELEVANCE OF AIRCRAFT CARRIERS FOR INDIA: AN ASSESSMENT
Introduction The epic sea battles between aircraft carriers never recurred after the Second World War. In the post-war period, most carriers began to retire without even having participated in battle. Many countries that possessed carriers or were aspiring to do so thus began to re-assess the military-strategic utility of such platforms in the radically altered […]
TRUMP’S TRADE WAR: A NEW THREAT TO THE ‘QUAD’
The spillover of India’s determination to counter US trade threats could endanger nascent security dialogues in the Indo-Pacific. The idea of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, as it is often called, was mooted by Japanese premier Shinzo Abe in 2007. The officials of the four countries in Abe’s proposal – India, US, Australia and […]