India and the World

Trump-Abe bonding and bonhomie: US-Japan alliance to grow stronger

- by India Writes Network

Talks at the White House, dinner at a private club and a round of golf — US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed how serious diplomacy and weekend fun could blend to strike a personal chemistry between them and herald a new chapter in ties between the world’s sole super power and its major ally in Asia.
Appearing at a joint media conference with Mr Abe after the talks, Mr Trump underlined the US’ commitment to defend Japan in the face of China’s massive maritime build-up and North Korea nuclear missile programme. This categorical assistance appears to have put behind Mr Trump’s strident election campaign rhetoric last year that suggested Tokyo pay more for enjoying the American security umbrella.
“We are committed to the security of Japan and all areas under its administrative control and to further strengthening our very crucial alliance,” the US president said. “The bond between our two nations and the friendship between our two peoples runs very, very deep. This administration is committed to bringing those ties even closer,” he added.
Mr Abe’s Washington mission proved to be successful as he got Mr Trump’s assurance in clear terms that the US would continue to back Japan in its dispute with China over territorial claims in some islands in the East China Sea that China also claims. The joint statement said the two leaders affirmed that Article 5 of the US-Japan security treaty covered the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, as is evident from Mr Trump’s reference to the areas under Japan’s administrative control.
The Trump-Abe meeting was closely scanned in Beijing, which sees the US-Japan alliance as posing a formidable obstacle to its regional ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region.

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ASEAN-India at 25: A narrative of optimism

- by Manish Chand

It’s an unfolding narrative of opportunity and optimism as India and the 10–nation ASEAN prepare to celebrate 25 years of dialogue partnership in 2017. A historic milestone for New Delhi’s reinvigorated Act East policy, the commemorative summit will mark 15 years of the summit-level interaction and five years of strategic partnership between India and ASEAN, home to over 1.8 billion people and dynamic growth hubs in the evolving geo-economic landscape of the region. “Shared Values, Common Destiny” – the summit’s theme encapsulates the essence of India’s blossoming relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is animated by a soaring vision of an Asian century and a commitment to shaping an inclusive regional order.

Announcing the silver jubilee celebrations at the 14th ASEAN-India summit in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, on September 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke eloquently about the promise and potential of this crucial partnership. “The planned commemorative activities are ambitious, just as the promise and potential of our strategic engagement is immense. In India, you would find a ready and reliable partner, willing to march with you in step to fulfil this promise and realise its potential,” PM Modi told the ASEAN leaders.

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Mattis-Parrikar talk: US assures India of sustaining momentum in defence ties

- by India Writes Network

Amid anxiety in India over the Trump administration’s H1B visa policy, there is a reassuring note from Washington about sustaining the momentum in burgeoning defence relations between India and the US. Days after US President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Secretary James Mattis spoke to his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar and underscored the new administration’s commitment to build upon the transformation in India-US defence relations accomplished in the last few years.
In the first conversation between the two defence ministers since the change of guard in Washington, Secretary Mattis committed to build upon the tremendous progress in bilateral defense cooperation made in recent years, underscoring the strategic importance of the US—India relationship and India’s role in advancing global peace and security,” Pentagon Press Secretary Capt Jeff Davis said in Washington DC on February 8.
On the strategic and security side, the signalling from the Trump administration has been largely positive. In his telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump had assured that the US “considers India a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world.” The two leaders also decided to bolster the partnership between the United States and India in broad areas such as the economy and defense.

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Goa Brics India 2016

Goa summit and beyond: Charting the future of BRICS

- by India Writes Network

India’s presidency of the BRICS grouping of emerging powers has come to an end after a packed year of more than a hundred events, meetings, and conventions. The highlight was the meeting of the Heads of States organised in Goa on 15-16 October where all the leaders of BRICS countries were in attendance.
International developments in the past couple of years have squarely put the spotlight on the constituent countries of the BRICS forum. Russia’s expanding role in Syria, China’s One belt One Road initiative, which will have massive economic and political implications for Eurasia, South and South East Asia and Africa, and the centrality of India’s and China’s emission pathways to the success of the international climate agreement have accorded these countries a central role in some of the major global challenges of our times.
But the BRICS forum itself has faced questions of continuity for some time now, and the considerable slowing down of their economies, increasing antagonism and strategic clashes between China and India, as well as the pre-eminence of the growing Russia-China partnership have further reinforced these doubts.
Seen in this context, the BRICS governments’ push to further institutionalise and consolidate their progress is an indication of the importance they still attach to the forum, and a decade since coming together, they seem poised to expand beyond being an economic grouping demanding a seat at the high table to substantial cooperation in other sectors.Within last year, BRICS countries greatly diversified their cooperation through working groups on counter terrorism, employment, environment, agriculture, health, economy and trade, education and vocational training, anti-corruption, infrastructure, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and energy.

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Budget Session: President focuses on financial inclusion, empowerment of poor

- by India Writes Network

India’s President Pranab Mukherjee kicked off the Budget session with his speech to a joint session of both houses of the parliament, in which he underscored the BJP-led NDA government’s vision of inclusive economy and governance by highlighting a slew of schemes directed at empowering the poor, the underprivileged and women. Mr Mukherjee described the move to merge the Railway and Union Budgets this year as “historic.”

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Dr Kalam proved President can be agent of change: S.M. Khan

- by India Writes Network

Think of Dr A.P. J. Abdul Kalam, and many laudatory adjectives come readily to mind. Scientist extraordinaire, the father of India’s space and missile programme, nation-builder, dreamer, an inspirational speaker who loved igniting young minds, with his own life serving as a model of self-fashioning and achieving despite formidable odds.
A new book by S.M. Khan, who served as press secretary to President Kalam, makes his portrait more vivid and compelling. nterspersed with anecdotes and personal conversations the author had with the president, “The People’s President” unpacks Dr Kalam’s pioneering role in raising the bar for the presidency under India’s parliament system of government and providing it the much-needed people’s touch.
In this wide-ranging conversation with Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network, Khan, currently Director-General of the Registrar of Newspapers for India and a former spokesperson for Central Bureau of Investigation, speaks insightfully about the making of the people’s president and how Dr Kalam remapped the contours of the presidency by positioning people at the centre of his outreach and dispensing with most of ceremonial aspects associated with this exalted institution. Most important, as the author says, Dr Kalam tried to prove in those five years that the President, while remaining within the framework of the Constitution of India, can be an agent of change and transformation and contribute to the nation’s development in a tangible way.
Excerpts from the interview….

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India-UAE ties turn strategic-plus, poised for take-off

- by Manish Chand

The relations between India and the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf’s economic powerhouse and home to 2.6 million Indians, are poised for a take-off with the two countries signing a transformative comprehensive strategic partnership agreement and a clutch of pacts straddling diverse areas, ranging from defence, maritime transport and energy to trade, logistics and cyber security.
Underlining the increasing salience of the Gulf region in India’s diplomatic calculus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the chief guest for the country’s 68th Republic Day celebrations. Sheikh Al Nahyan is only the third leader from the energy-rich region India has hosted for the Republic Day, and signals a marked acceleration in ongoing efforts by New Delhi to shape a greater West Asia policy.
The talks in New Delhi on January 25 were all-encompassing and promises to pack more strategic heft and economic ballast in the burgeoning relationship between India and UAE.
The showpiece outcome was the elevation of India-UAE ties to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), which firmly positions the Gulf’s second largest economy as India’s preeminent partner in the region in both strategic and economic arenas.
On the strategic side, the agreement on defence industry cooperation is significant as it envisages joint manufacturing of high-end weapons systems and transfer of technology.
Taking a long-range view, another key outcome emanating from the talks in New Delhi was to impart a fresh push to the ongoing economic transformation of the India-UAE relationship, with PM Modi identifying the UAE as “an important partner in India’s growth story.”
In a move that will be closely watched in Pakistan, India and the UAE have also renewed their strategic resolve to intensify their cooperation in counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation. Read more…

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Trump sings America First anthem

- by India Writes Network

With the stirring anthem of “Making America Great Again” and the mantra of America First to empower the country’s “forgotten men and women,” Donald J. Trump was sworn in as 45th president of the US at Capitol in Washington D.C on Friday noon (January 20). It was vintage Trump in many ways as he enunciated his core message of focusing on America’s economic resurgence and staying away from distractions of internationalism. “From this day forward, a new vision will vision will govern our land. It’s going to be only, America,” said Mr Trump in his typical straight talk. The message coming out from the inauguration speech was unambiguous: under Trump’s watch, the US will be more focused on the domestic agenda, with the overarching objective of restoring prosperity to millions of Americans who, as he has consistently argued, have ended as losers of globalisation. There was hardly any utterance on the America’s leadership in the world, except a terse statement about reinforcing old alliances and forming new ones. Mr Trump’s clarion call for uniting the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism and his promise that the US under his watch “will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth,” will be closely dissected in capitals of the world, and signal a muscular national security posture, which could entangle the US in a new global war on terror.

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The Trump Anxiety Index: Why India needn’t worry

- by Manish Chand

The spectacular headline-hogging victory of billionaire tycoon and reality TV star Donald Trump, who took charge as the 45th president of the US on January 20, has unsettled the global consensus about America’s leadership and position in a conflicted and mutating world order.
Nearly all parts of the world, impacted by the US’ policies directly or indirectly, are speculating feverishly about the ramifications of the Trump presidency. The dominant sentiments are that of anxiety, befuddlement, uncertainty and unpredictability. These disparate worries and apprehensions can be coalesced and crystallised in the Trump Anxiety Index (TIA), which will rise and decrease in proportion to the policy and postures his presidency will adopt towards major cross-cutting issues.
The questions are proliferating by the day, but the Trump anxiety is more pronounced in some countries and regions of the world. On a scale of 1 to 10 on Trump Anxiety Index, China, Mexico and Pakistan will score high, maybe 7-8. By contrast, India scores low, maybe 3-4.
Why India is not so much worried about the Trump presidency? The answer to this all-important question is not all that esoteric. While there is some speculation about a possible reset in India-US relations in some areas, the picture is largely positive and optimistic, and it won’t be an exaggeration to say that there will be more continuity than disruption and potential subversion.
Looking ahead, the picture for India-US relations is largely optimistic, albeit the road ahead is fraught with some challenges and imponderables. Both George Bush Junior and President Obama had raised the bar for what the latter has called “the defining partnership of the 21st century,” and it is now up to President Trump to seize the initiative and leave his indelible imprimatur on this important relationship. Trump’s dream of Making America Again should blend with continued support for India’s rise, the ongoing project of making India great again. The hesitations of history, as PM Modi famously said, are well behind us, and it’s time for the world’s largest democracies to compose a new symphony amid challenges, uncertainty and free-floating anxiety. Read more…

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