Image Credits: QuartzTHE MARITIME DIMENSION IN SAARC: REDEFINING RELATIONS
Introduction
On 8 December 2016, the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the SAARC Secretariat, SAARC regional institutions and the academia observed the 32nd SAARC Charter Day. 1 It was on this…
Image Credits: WikipediaMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN CHAGOS ARCHIPELAGO: CONCERNS, IMPACTS AND WAY FORWARD
Introduction
Diego Garcia is a highly guarded military base of the United States and strategically situated between East Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, making it a vital outpost for basing US naval forces and projecting air and…
Image Credits: Dhaka TribuneCHINA DELIVERS SUBMARINES TO BANGLADESH: IMPERATIVES, INTENTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
On 14 November 2016, Bangladesh Navy (BN) took delivery of two old refurbished Chinese Type 035G Ming-class diesel-electric submarines. As part of the US$ 203 million contract signed in 2013, the submarines were handed over to the BN crew during…

STRENGTHENING COASTAL SECURITY THROUGH COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM
Tomorrow, 26 November 2016, the nation will observe the eight anniversary of the ‘26/11’ Mumbai terrorist attacks. Precisely two months back on 26 September 2016, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)…
Image Credits: LSE BlogsCHINA PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (CPEC): THE MARITIME-STRATEGIC DIMENSION
The much-awaited China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been officially flagged off with the first consignment from China setting sail from Gwadar to the African and West Asian markets on 13 November 2016. The Corridor’s newly built western…

UN SECURITY COUNCIL RENEWS MANDATE TO COMBAT PIRACY OFF SOMALIA: CALL FOR SUSTAINED INTERNATIONAL ACTION
On 09 November 2016, the United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2316 (2016), renewing authorisation for international naval forces to combat piracy off the Somali coast. The United Nations Security…
Image Credits: ForbesSOUTH CHINA SEA: FROM TURBIDITY, TO SEMBLANCE OF TRANQUILITY
The unfolding events in the South China Sea (SCS) in the last one decade plus has been tumultuous to say the least. The year Code of Conduct (CoC) 1was signed in Cambodia (2002) can be taken as the bench mark year when the members of the ASEAN…
Image Credits: Engineering News-RecordREVIVAL OF COLOMBO PORT CITY PROJECT: IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA
The Colombo Port City Project is a significant and arguably among Sri Lanka’s most controversial infrastructure projects. Initiated by the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa with a vision to rejuvenate Sri Lanka’s stagnant economy, the project…
Image Credits: Dhaka TribuneJAPAN AND THE BIG-B PLAN FOR BANGLADESH: AN ASSESSMENT
The Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt (BIG-B) plan for shared economic cooperation was announced in September 2014 when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Dhaka. This marked a new era in Japan-Bangladesh relations as both countries moved towards…
Image Credits: Sino Defence ForumCHINA’S UNDERSEA GLIDER HAIYI - 7000: AN ASSESSMENT
China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and the verdict of the Hague based Permanent Court of Arbitration tribunal have made international headlines. In the wake of these developments, China has recently testes its new undersea…
Image Credits: IIPLASRI LANKA’S PROPOSAL FOR AN ‘INDIAN OCEAN ORDER’: AN ASSESSMENT
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, while delivering the inaugural address at the Indian Ocean Conference on 1st September 20161, called on the Indian Ocean countries to take the lead in determining ‘their own future’. He…
Image Credits: DNA IndiaINDO-US LOGISTICS AGREEMENT LEMOA: AN ASSESSMENT
On 29 August 2016, during the visit of the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to Washington DC, India and the United States (US) signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). Essentially, LEMOA is only a ‘functional’…
