South Asia


China  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / Papua New Guinea  / United States
India’s Modi Makes the Most of the Moment in Papua New Guinea
Posted On May 25, 2023
In a rare display of affection and respect, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape touched the feet of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he stepped on to the island’s soil ahead of the Third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) on May 22. Marape literally rolled out the red carpet for Modi, making an exception to a local rule of not welcoming visitors after sunset. India’s engagement with the 14 Pacific Island countries (PICs) is critical. FIPIC members include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as this year’s host, Papua New Guinea
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China  / East Asia  / Europe  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia  / United States
G7 Provides Common Statement on China, but Challenges Remain
May 24, 2023

At the gathering of G7 countries in Hiroshima over the weekend, the assembled leaders of the world’s richest countries managed to put together a collective, yet veiled response to Chinese “economic coercion” and aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific. While not forgetting the ever-present war in Ukraine, evidenced by the presence of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, regional concerns dominated the weekend. It was a clear message to Chinese President Xi Jinping that changes in the geopolitical status quo would not be tolerated, or worse that the G7 would act with the same determination in Taiwan as it has in Ukraine.


India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia
What to Expect From India’s G20 Presidency
November 20, 2022

As the clock winds down on Indonesia’s 2022 G20 Presidency, the seventeenth overall, a transition is taking place as India assumes the role for 2023. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has already unveiled the theme for its presidency, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One Future,” indicative of an environmentally-conscious approach. India’s approach will revolve around several key thematic areas, including sustainable growth, digital infrastructure, climate finance, food security, green energy, and combating transnational crime. Some of these thematic areas will prove consequential in New Delhi’s ability to make a mark at the world stage, but they will also pose unique challenges.


Australia  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia
Revisiting India’s Inclusion in APEC
October 17, 2022

This November, members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will converge on Thailand for its 2022 annual gathering. The 21-member bloc is home to more than 2.9 billion people and represents more than half of global GDP, as the United States, China, and Australia are among its members. Thailand’s theme for this year as chair is “Open. Connect. Balance”, dividing optimistic outcomes into three categories: opening the Asia-Pacific to new opportunities, connecting across all dimensions of trade, and achieving balance in all aspects of APEC partnerships. However, if at least two of these three indicators of progress hope to be achievable, APEC should look once again toward expansion. The last time the bloc added new members was 1998, when Russia, Peru, and Vietnam joined. A moratorium on membership soon after was put into place, which lasted until 2010, but since then, no new members have been accepted.


India  / South Asia  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Thailand’s relations with India are critical to its interests in the Indo-Pacific
September 28, 2022

When S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister visited Thailand in August, he met with then-Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to sign two low-key agreements on healthcare and medical research. It was an important moment marking 75 years of bilateral ties between the two countries. While on the periphery compared to Thailand’s relations with China and the United States, its relationship with India is growing and is becoming essential as the Kingdom extends itself beyond Southeast Asia.The growing ties between India and Thailand are based on pragmatism and mutually-beneficial goals. The relationship focuses especially on security cooperation and trade, as well as a long history of cultural exchanges.


China  / India  / Taiwan
Is It Time for India to Deepen Taiwan Ties?
September 8, 2022

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have reached a fever pitch. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August sparked China’s anger, with the PLA engaging in a number of muscle-flexing drills in the South China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Bohain Hills. During that frenzied period, little was heard from India. The exception was from Indian External Affairs Spokesman Shri Arindam Bagchi, who urged “the exercise of restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions to change the status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.” Further, India vaguely defended the status quo in the region, a mild victory for Beijing. However, with tensions rising and fellow Quad members Japan and the United States asserting their steadfast support for Taiwan, is it now time for India to deepen its ties with Taiwan?


China  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia  / Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Has Become a China-India Great Power Battleground
August 31, 2022

Since last month, the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese satellite-tracking vessel, has been slowly sailing from Chinese waters to the Hambantota Port on the southern tip of Sri Lanka. Just months ago, when Sri Lanka was still under the leadership of the Rajapaksas, a political family that had ruled the Sri Lankan ethnocracy for almost two decades, allowing the 730-foot-long Chinese naval ship into port would not have generated as much attention. However, with the small island state suffering its worst economic crisis on record, its indebtedness to Beijing an economic albatross around its neck, and geopolitical tensions between India and China increasing, the ship’s arrival generated plenty of alarm.


Africa  / China  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / Russia
BRICS: China Remains the Primary Challenge for India
July 4, 2022

With the world’s attention focused squarely on Ukraine, the leaders of the five BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – met virtually at the 14th Summit, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. While some of the focus of the meeting was centered on the possibility of expanding the group into Iran, Argentina, and/or Pakistan, India was able to steer clear of the rancor raised by their Chinese and Russian counterparts at Western countries, instead focusing mainly on the humanitarian situation unfolding in Ukraine. Modi, who met with G7 leaders in southern Germany, managed to avoid the diplomatic pitfalls that would have been injurious to India’s relationship with the United States. Likewise, refraining from joining the Western chorus on Russia while knowing Moscow would be the principal target of criticism at the G7 allowed India to balance two delicate bilateral relationships.


India  / Russia  / Ukraine
Challenges for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023
April 18, 2022

After the United States and Australia called for Russia to be excluded from the upcoming G20 Summit in Bali this November, there was some concern that the political pressure and the fallout from Russian aggression in Ukraine would derail Indonesia’s G20 Presidency. With Indonesian President Joko Widodo calling for caution and suggesting the venue was a gathering for economic cooperation rather than political discussion, it is clear that the status quo for Russian President Vladimir Putin⁠—for the moment⁠—will prevail. However, as the war in Ukraine drags on and calls for international condemnation, isolation, and increased punishment directed at Moscow, it is not too early to suggest that India could face questions about its continued political, economic, and military connection to Russia.


India  / South Asia  / Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis: An Opportunity for India to Reclaim Influence
April 5, 2022

Sri Lanka is in crisis. In the capital, Colombo, last week, authorities fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters who had gathered outside the home of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa demanding his resignation. The country of 22 million people is in the throes of a major economic crisis, one not seen since its independence in 1948.  The crisis has stretched the ability of policymakers to pay for essential public services as the treasuries have been drained. Coupled with a severe shortage of foreign currency, vital to the payment of tremendous amounts of Chinese-funded debt, the government had little choice but to ban critical imports, leaving many with a shortage of everyday essential items.