Voice of americaA NEW BEGINNING FOR ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ IN SOUTH CHINA SEA: IS ONE REQUIRED FOR THE INDIAN OCEAN?
On 06 August 2017, the foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China met in Manila, The Philippines, and adopted the "Framework of the code of conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea (SCS)”. The framework…
Image Credits: Quartz‘BEYOND HARDWARE AND TECHNOLOGY’: THE INTANGIBLES OF CHINA’S NAVAL POWER (PART 2)
This is part two of a three-part series on China's naval power
(PART 2: OPERATIONAL LEVEL)
As introduced in Part 1, so far, most analyses of China’s naval power worldwide have examined the PLA Navy’s existing and projected…
The dollar businessINDIA AND MAURITIUS: COOPERATING TO ENSURE COLLECTIVE MARITIME SECURITY
On 16 August 2017, the Indian built Water Jet Fast Patrol Vessel ‘CGS Valiant’ was commissioned by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth at Port Louis Mauritius. This was the third ship supplied by an Indian Defence…

INDIA AND MAURITIUS: COOPERATING TO ENSURE COLLECTIVE MARITIME SECURITY
On 16 August 2017, the Indian built Water Jet Fast Patrol Vessel ‘CGS Valiant’ was commissioned by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth at Port Louis Mauritius. This was the third ship supplied by an Indian Defence shipyard to…

PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN: ISN’T IT TIME ALREADY FOR THE WARSHIPS TO HEAD HOME?
On 13 March pirates hijacked an oil tanker, named Aris 13, off the Somali coast, when the tanker was carrying fuel from Djibouti to Mogadishu. It is interesting, however, to note that this was the first successful hijacking of a commercial…
CIMSECCHINA’S AIRCRAFT CARRIER: ‘DREADNOUGHT’ OR ‘DOCTRINAL DILEMMA’?
Within five years after the China commissioned its first Soviet-origin aircraft carrier Liaoning in September 2012, it launched its first-ever domestic carrier – the Type 001A – on 26 April 2017. The new carrier is likely to be commissioned…
ORF onlineSHEIKH HASINA’S VISIT TO INDIA: CONSOLIDATING MARITIME COOPERATION
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina was on a State visit to India from 7-10 April 2017. India and Bangladesh not only share a land border, but also a common maritime boundary with both being littoral countries of Bay of Bengal and…
Image Credits: QuartzSIGNIFICANCE OF CIVILIZATIONAL NAUTICAL NARRATIVES IN INDIA’S MARITIME DIPLOMACY
Examples of India’s cultural and civilizational nautical linkages with the rest of the world built over centuries, have presently come to occupy a prominent place in India’s maritime diplomacy. This issue brief tries to understand the reasons…
Image Credits: QuartzTHE ‘INDO-PACIFIC’ CONCEPT: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT
Since 2010, the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’ has gained increasing prevalence in the geopolitical/ strategic discourse, and is now being used increasingly by policy-makers, analysts and academics in Asia and beyond.[1] It is now precisely a…
The economic timesWILL DONALD TRUMP REBALANCE THE ‘REBALANCE’?
On 20 January 2017, Mr Donald Trump assumes office as the 45th President of the United States (U.S.). Six years ago in 2011, his predecessor, President Barak Obama launched the ‘Rebalance to Asia’. Among the key objectives of the…
Image Credits: Bulk EnergyIMOS VIEWS ON SHIPPING AND INDIA’S SAGARMALA: EXAMINING THE CONVERGENCES
Introduction
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has selected - ‘Connecting Ships, Ports and People’- as the World Maritime Day theme for 2017.[1] The theme for 2016 was - ‘Shipping: indispensable to the world’.[2] The purpose…
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…
