EU envoy trips up in Pakistan The Statesman 09 Jun 2026 Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated during Operation Sindoor, ‘Rising tensions between India and Pakistan are alarming. I urge both sides to show restraint and pursue dialogue.’ This came after the EU chief, Ursula Von der Leyen, condemned the terrorist strike in […]
A simmering SE Asia – lessons for India The Excelsior 07 Jun 2026 Tensions in SE Asia were visible at the Shangri La dialogue in Singapore last month. SE Asia has witnessed increased defence spending solely due to challenges from a resurgent China. India is not the only country facing threats from China but all its neighbours. SE Asia’s […]
India counters Turkey The Statesman 02 Jun 2026 In Feb 2023, when Turkey and Syria faced a devastating earthquake, which killed almost 52,000 people, India was amongst the first countries to respond. India launched ‘Operation Dost’ where it deployed a field hospital as also sent tons of relief material, hoping to change Indo-Turkey relationship. Indian rescue teams worked around […]
Trump-Xi summit and its impact The Excelsior 22 May 2026 The much-awaited summit between the leaders of the world’s two most powerful nations has concluded. Trump’s team arrived in China under conditions of a strict digital lockdown, with cell phones and lap tops left behind due to fears of state-level surveillance, hacking and data interception. Members of the team […]
Trump-Xi summit The Excelsior 14 May 2026 This week President Trump will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for a supposed historic summit. The last time the two met was in Busan, South Korea, in Oct last year. The meeting comes while the Iran war continues, where the US is seeking to subdue China’s closest Middle East […]
Operations Sindoor and Epic Fury The Statesman 12 May 2026 The anniversary of Operation Sindoor was marked last week with social media comments as also press conferences by members of the government. The armed forces organized a special press interaction, chaired by those who coordinated the operation. Interestingly, there was no comment, even on social media, by members of […]
US intends to control oil trade The Excelsior 09 May 2026 The global economy runs on oil and gas. The US has exploited this by insisting that all trade in oil and gas be based on dollars. Thus emerged ‘petro-dollars.’ This implied that all countries must hold dollars to pay for oil procurement, subsidizing US debt and enhancing their […]
War and Peace: Iran and the US at crossroads Raksha Anirveda 28 Apr 2026 The war in the Middle East is a greater matter of concern than any other conflict in recent history, including Ukraine. US expenditure in continuing the war is high while its reserves of missiles are precariously low. It is seeking additional funds from Congress to […]
Why Trump failed to overwhelm Iran The Statesman 28 Apr 2026 The US-Israel conflict with Iran has shifted to a US-Iran confrontation. Israel, the initiator, which pulled the US in, has been sidelined, focussing on Lebanon. Once the US joined, Netanyahu stepped away, knowing that Trump has little choice but to enforce an end state which maintains the US’s […]
From unconditional surrender to ceasefire The Excelsior 24 Apr 2026 Entering a conflict without a defined end state, away from the homeland, consuming reserves of munitions beyond levels of production, while facing falling popularity at home can be difficult for any head of state. Trump is going through this phase since initiating the Iran conflict with Netanyahu, against the […]