India and the World | India Writes

Listening in to what China has to say: Asian Bank, MSR, strategy and blue skies

July 15, 2015July 15, 2015 - by India Writes Network

India and China are walking together in a spirit of ‘competitive cooperation’ that can bring about prosperity not only to Asia, but can give a sense of hope to most of the developing and under-developed world.
Recently, when a delegation of Indian journalists was landing in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang had left for Brussels to push the idea of setting up of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in which India will be the second largest shareholder after China.
It is evident that China is opening up, as our delegation was given a rare opportunity to visit the Academy of Armored Force Engineering Institute of PLA to interact with Deputy Commandant Sr. Col. Mr. Liu Degang and get a closer look at the Chinese main battle tanks and other army vehicles.
A visit to China’s show case city ‘Pudong ‘, a walk on the famous Nanjing Gu avenue in Shanghai, glimpses of ever glittering skyscrapers on the banks of river Hangpu and a travel by bullet train running at the speed of 304 km per hour from Shanghai to Beijing, were proof enough of China’s robust achievements that India has much to learn from. The bullet train covered a distance of 1207 km in exactly 5 hours and 5 minutes. According to the latest reports in Fortune magazine, ”China has built 6900 miles of tracks for bullet trains. The ridership has gone up from 237,000 (2007) to 2.5 million last year. China is investing more than $128 billion dollars in domestic railway construction in 2015. Food for thought indeed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu!

Obama seals place in history with Iran deal: Welcome to ‘a more hopeful world’

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 - by Manish Chand

History has been made, ensuring a cherished place for US President Barack Obama for taking the biggest diplomatic gamble of his presidency by defying sceptics and going ahead with the Iran nuclear deal. The deal signals an end to Tehran’s international isolation, with Mr Obama underscoring that it wasn’t just trust that drove him into a path-breaking rapprochement with Tehran, but the operative mantra of verification that underpins this historic moment that could remap the geopolitical landscape of the volatile Middle East.
In his address on the Iran-P5+1 Deal, President Obama said the deal has paved a New Way Forward and hailed in a messianic tone that the step represented the journey towards a “more hopeful world.” In a similar vein, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani struck an optimistic note, saying that the deal proved that “constructive engagement works”.
“This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction,” Obama said, adding: “We should seize it.”

The deal envisages the lifting of sanctions imposed on Tehran by the United States, European Union and United Nations in return for Iran delivering on long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that has been suspected by the West of creating a nuclear arsenal in a volatile region.
While Iran would take steps to implement the agreement and the sanctions would be lifted by the UN, but Obama warned Iran that any violation of the deal and the sanctions would be snapped back again. The deal is seen as Obama’s biggest Foreign Policy legacy till date and if it passes through the Congress, history would judge Obama for changing the course in Middle East and a victory for diplomacy over war.

Sanity prevails in Eurozone, with Greece-EU bailout deal

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 - by India Writes Network

The last few days have been very difficult for Greece with uncertainty looming over its future. But that changed on July 13 with some respite for Greece, as the leaders of Eurozone and Greece came to an agreement on the three-year 86 billion euros ($129 billion) bailout required to salvage the tottering Greek economy. Most of the terms and conditions require the Greece government’s near total surrender to the creditors. However, it also provides Greece a chance to hold on to the euro as its currency and stay in the Eurozone, preventing a “Grexit.”
Speaking to India Writes Network, K.P Fabian, a former Indian ambassador who has served in many capitals in Europe, said: “Sanity has prevailed.” He added that if Greece were shown the door, the consequences would have been devastating for the euro.
While the bailout has given temporary relief, there is a long way to go away before Greece, the cradle of Western civilization, can recover from the festering crisis and take charge of its destiny.

Joe Biden heralds ‘sea change decade’ in India-US relations

July 14, 2015September 19, 2015 - by India Writes Network

Alluding to exponential progress India and the US have made in bolstering their bilateral relationship in the last one decade since the signing of the civil nuclear deal, US Vice …

Iran, P5+1 clinch historic deal

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 - by India Writes Network

A defining moment in contemporary geopolitics was made on July 14, with the P5+1 countries and Iran reaching the much-awaited deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear programme, in return for lifting sanctions on Tehran. Hailing the deal, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif described the deal as a ‘win-win’ solution but not perfect. “I believe this is a historic moment. We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody but is what we could accomplish. Today could have been the end of hope, but now we are starting a new chapter of hope,” he underlined.
The deal is expected to finally end Iran’s isolation in the world and could mark the return of a normal Tehran in the global arena. This would not only improve Iran’s relations with the West, but would also set the stage for acceleration of Iran’s relations with BRICS countries, including Brazil, Russia, India and China.
The watershed moment would also ensure a place in history for both President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for making this historic deal. The deal is expected to remap contours of the Middle East geopolitics and remove an ever-present danger to world security.

India-US defence ties flying high: Maritime patrol aircraft on way

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 - by India Writes Network

In an increasingly fragile and volatile neighbourhood, India is all set to upgrade its arsenal with a host of new high-tech acquisitions. This also comes at a time when the United States is all set to overtake Russia, Israel and France as India’s largest arms supplier with deals worth $10 billion inked since 2007. With Pakistan and China inking some major deals in the recent past, this acceleration in defence relationship with the US is set to boost the modernization of India’s armed forces. It would also help India strengthen its position with volatility increasing in the neighbourhood.
China Factor
One of the major acquisitions is going to be the deal of $1 billion for four P 8I planes that would be used for maritime patrol. This comes in the backdrop of China strengthening its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as a part of its Maritime Silk Road strategy. With recent reports of Chinese submarines docking in Karachi lurking past Indian waters, it has raised alarm bells in the security establishment at New Delhi.
Pentagon and South Block are also set to begin negotiations in the next few days over the proposed $770 million deal for M-777 ultra-light howitzers under which the bulk of 145 artillery guns to be acquired in a government to government deal, will be made in India. This is also in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, which is expected to spur indigenization of the country’s defence sector.

India’s ties with its ‘far off’ neighbour, Myanmar

July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 - by India Writes Network

Last month, reports on cross-border operation against Northeast insurgents by Indian armed forces flooded TV screens and newspaper headlines. This again reminded of the presence of a neighbour that is often missing in our public discourse. The debate that followed in media on whether the government’s ‘political messaging’ was right or wrong kept the issue alive and provided more coverage on Myanmar’s importance to India.

Whatever that means in terms of sustaining our interest on Myanmar, there is no denying that Myanmar’s presence in our public imagination has been sporadic. The country emerges as a neighbour only when a big event related to the country takes place –– a high-level visit, a natural calamity, a major uprising, and the latest to be added to such rarities is cross-border operation.

As before, this time too, Myanmar soon dissipated into the air after a couple of weeks of intense focus. We are back to the reality of having a ‘far off’ neighbour. Be that as it may, the India-Myanmar bilateral relations at the governmental level have expanded over the years and there has been deepening of mutual trust between political and defence establishments of the two countries.

India, Turkmenistan decide to fast-track TAPI, sign defence pact

July 11, 2015July 11, 2015 - by India Writes Network

India and Turkmenistan, the energy-rich Central Asian nation, have decided to fast-track the implementation of the long discussed TAPI pipeline, which is poised to have a transformational impact on economic relations between the two countries as well as the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian leader to visit Turkmenistan after a gap of two decades as he touched down in the capital Ashgabat on July 10. P.V Narasimha Rao was the last Indian prime minister to visit Turkmenistan.

Energising Ties

Prime Minister Modi and President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held wide-ranging talks, which have energised bilateral ties across the spectrum. The showpiece outcome held at Ashgabat on July 11 was clearly the decision by the two sides to move ahead with the TAPI project, along with plans to finalize the consortium leader. “The Leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment towards timely implementation of this strategic project for the common benefit of peoples of the four countries and noted that the selection of the Consortium Leader for the project, to be finalized by 1 September 2015, would mark a crucial step in the early implementation of the project,” said the joint statement.

10 years later, India gets inside SCO tent as member

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 - by India Writes Network

Ending years of vacillation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation took a major step forward by agreeing to include India, the world’s largest democracy and Asia’s third largest economy, into the Eurasian grouping. The SCO’s 14thsummit in the Russian city of Ufa also decided to elevate Pakistan, India’s nuclear-armed neighbor, from observer to full membership.

The membership in the SCO is set to bolster India’s efforts to expand and consolidate strategic and economic ties with the energy-rich region. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was a defining moment in his ongoing eight-day trip to Russia and Central Asian states.

Speaking at the plenary of the SCO, Mr Modi expressed thanks to SCO members and outlined the importance of the grouping to New Delhi. “I convey our deep sense of gratitude to the members of SCO for accepting India as a full member,” he said. He also spoke about the natural linkages of history and said this move would help promote peace and prosperity in the region, often referred to as the pivot of human history.

India, Pakistan unveil 5-point agenda to improve ties, focus on terror

July 10, 2015July 10, 2015 - by India Writes Network

Terrorism and fast-tracking the trial of the 26/11 Mumbai mayhem accused predictably dominated the talks between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, the first positive meeting between them after more than a year.
Belying the undercurrents of tensions that permeate India-Pakistan relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart shook hands, smiled and posed before hordes of paparazzi in the Russian city of Ufa. The official spin coming out of the much-hyped meeting was that it was held in a cordial atmosphere.
For a change, the meeting was more than just a photo-op meant for the international community which is always concerned about the relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals. The statement read out by foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan conjured up a positive picture of the way forward in a conflicted relationship. “They agreed that India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development. To do so, they are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues,” they said. “Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate this menace from South Asia,” they added.
The meeting seemed to have paved for accelerated engagement between the two countries, with Mr Modi accepting the invitation of Mr Sharif to visit Islamabad for the SAARC summit in 2016.