The PLA is not China’s armed force but CCP’s ETv Bharat 25 Mar 2025Every nation has an armed force to defend itself from perceived threats, both external and internal. The expenditure to raise, sustain and maintain these forces flows from the national exchequer, paid for by the tax payer. Hence, the armed forces are subservient to elected authority, pay allegiance […]
Many complications in Ukraine peace talks The Statesman 25 Mar 2025Ignoring Europe and Ukraine, Trump spoke to Putin to determine a way forward for ending the three-year old conflict. The US handout read ‘the leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire.’ Talks on a ‘maritime ceasefire, full ceasefire and permanent peace’ will […]
Neutralizing Iran The Excelsior 22 Mar 2025Iran has been at the forefront of most global conflicts in either directly or indirectly in recent years. It is a member of the Russia-China-Iran-North Korea alliance in Eurasia, supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine by providing drones. It is Iranian proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, battling its arch enemy Israel, resulting in upheaval […]
Army as first responder The Statesman 18 Mar 2025Photographs of residents of Wayanad in Jul-Aug 2024 lining up to cheer members of the army’s rescue team as it withdrew after successfully completing its daunting rescue task, post the landslides, dominated social media as also news networks. It was an emotional send-off from a community which lost many family members but […]
How Trump is erasing the idea of globalization ETv Bharat 17 Mar 2025We believed that we live in an era of globalization, where there is an interdependence of economies and an integration of cultures. As technology developed it made the world more interconnected than ever before. Economically strong nations funded programs in weaker ones seeking to support humanity as also […]
India China relations remain opaque The Excelsior 16 Mar 2025Addressing his annual press conference in Beijing last Friday, the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, on being questioned on Indo-China ties, mentioned, ‘We should never allow bilateral relations to be defined by the boundary question or specific differences to affect the overall picture of our bilateral ties.’ He added, ‘China always […]
Zelensky flip leaves Europe in cold The Statesman 11 Mar 2025Post the disaster at the White House, Zelensky arrived in London to a warm welcome and support from European nations. Added was the presence of Canada’s Justin Trudeau. The welcome was largely because Europe and Canada have also faced a hostile Trump administration. A clear case of birds of a […]
The spectacle in Washington was expected The Excelsior 07 Mar 2025Differences in US-Ukraine as also US-Europe relations was evident since Trump entered the White House. The first signal was in the UN General Assembly where resolutions marking the Ukraine war were passed. The US voted, alongside Russia, against the Ukrainian resolution accusing Moscow of initiating the attack in 2022. Washington […]
As tempers flared in Washington The Statesman 04 Mar 2025Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance together targeting Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in full media glare is a spectacle not witnessed in years. Terming him as being disrespectful, demanding he accept terms of any ceasefire determined by Trump, and finally asking him to leave the White House displays neither […]
The US, India and national security The Excelsior 01 Feb 2025PM Modi’s recent visit to the US, apart from fending off major irritants, including tariffs due to trade imbalances, was a major boost for national security, amongst other aspects. Trump’s team largely comprises of China hawks and a pro-Indian lobby, thus inputs provided to Trump in advance of his bilateral […]