
INDIA'S EVOLVING COASTAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE: A CASE FOR A NEW CENTRAL FORCE
It has now been over a decade since the Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 2008 (26/11) undertaken by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tohiba (LeT) group. Since then, considerable efforts have been made to streamline India’s coastal security,…

THE AMERICAN SANCTIONS ON IRAN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA: PART 3
Iran has threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz. This is in response to the US decision to end waivers for eight major oil importing countries for buying oil from Iran, starting from 01 May 2019. Similar threats have emanated…

THE AMERICAN SANCTIONS ON IRAN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA:PART 2
The decision of the US government to end waivers to eight countries for import of Iranian oil will come into effect on 01 May, 2019. Although some of these countries may well defy the unilateral American sanctions, most, including India are…

CHINA IN THE MIDDLE EAST: EXPANDING POLITICAL CLOUT AND MARITIME SPACE
Despite being a relatively new entrant in the Middle East, China, with its ambitious leadership and ever-expanding range of interests, (not least amongst which remains the security of its energy supplies from the region), has now begun to pay…

THE AMERICAN SANCTIONS ON IRAN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA:PART 1
The decision of the Trump administration to end waivers for the import of Iranian oil to India has ended the almost 12 year-long diplomatic tightrope that India has been walking since sanctions were first imposed on Iran through…

INDIA AS A CHALLENGE TO CHINA'S BRI
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013, comprising both the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (launched in August 2013) and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (introduced…

NAVAL AIR STATIONS AS CATALYSTS FOR STATE ECONOMIES
In recent days, some newspapers in Goa have reported on issues of No Objection Certificates (NOC) that the Indian Navy provides for certain buildings, development and infrastructure at a specified radius around the Naval Air Station (NAS), Dabolim.…

POLITICAL CRISIS IN SRI LANKA: CHINA AND THE MARITIME DIMENSION
In late October 2018, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena set off a constitutional crisis by sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him by Sirisena’s predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa. i With Sirisena later dissolving…

KENYA, ANOTHER CHINESE TAKEOVER IN THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION?
The spectre of the takeover of another strategically located port by China in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is looming large these days. In Kenya, a leaked report from the Auditor-General's office states that the terms of a loan taken by Nairobi…

CYBER- WARRIORS FOR CYBER SPACE: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE US NAVY?
On 04 Jun this year, the US Navy (USN) took a rather unusual step in reintroducing the Warrant Officer-I (W-I) rank and inviting applicants in this rank for cyber warfare. The USN has had a complex history of warrant ranks as opposed to…

EMPLOYMENT OF UNMANNED MARITIME SYSTEMS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: LEGAL IMPLICATIONS AND THE WAY AHEAD
On December 16 2016, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) seized an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) in the EEZ of the Philippines, approximately 50 nautical miles North-West of the Subic Bay. The UUV belonged to the United States (US)…

INDIA AGAIN FAILS TO CONDEMN TERRORISM IN UN:A RELAPSE INTO AN OLD DISEASE
In an imprudent move, India abstained from a United Nations resolution brought to the General Assembly by United States of America on 6th December. The harmless resolution condemned Hamas for firing rockets into Israel which endangered the lives…
