Contemporary Geopolitics

After the face-off between India and China in Galwan valley, tensions between these countries near Line of Actual Control are still not resolved.The standoff near Line of Actual Control is still continuing which started on 5 May 2020. Even after 12 rounds of corps commander talks, both the countries have not reached to a consensus. Meanwhile, China has deployed 100 advanced and long-range rocket launchers at its high-altitude borders. The move has come after the Indian Army enhanced its deployment of M777 ultra-light howitzers and K9 Vajra at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). India had recently added Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Heron I and ALH Dhruv choppers to its aviation brigade to counter China.  It is a twin-engine, multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5 ton weight class and is being used for quick mobilisation of troops. As the Chinese People`s Liberation Army aggression at the Line of Actual Control, the force has increased frequency...

China's President Xi Jinping has said that "reunification" with Taiwan "must be fulfilled", as heightened tensions over the island continue. Mr Xi said unification should be achieved peacefully, but warned that the Chinese people had a "glorious tradition" of opposing separatism. In response, Tsai Ing-wen president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said "we will not bow to Beijing pressure and our future lay in the hands of our people". Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, while China views it as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve unification. Mr Xi's intervention comes after China sent a record number of military jets into Taiwan's air defence zone in recent days. Some analysts say the flights could be seen as a warning to Taiwan's president ahead of the island's national day which is on 10th of October. Taiwan's defence minister has said that "tension...

With the changing world demographic's the significance of Indo-Pacific is increasing significantly. On 3rd October Britain's new new Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, "The UK wants to get into agreements covering trade and security with India and other freedom-loving democratic countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific', to challenge the authoritarian states. Liz Truss was also in charge of talks with India on a future Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as the International Trade Secretary until her recent promotion within the UK Cabinet, She said that she is keen to strike more deals along the lines of AUKUS - the trilateral security alliance between Australia, the UK and the US, which is widely seen as a counter-balance to China. In her first major interview after she took charge as New Foreign Secretary she mentioned "We want to work with our friends and allies to create more economic agreements and security agreements. AUKUS is about protecting trade routes and shippi...

India and Australia on Wednesday inked the ‘Terms of Reference’ (ToR) for the conduct of the navy to navy talks under the framework of the ‘Joint Guidance for the India - Australia Navy to Navy Relationship’ document. In June last year, India and Australia elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support during an online summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian Counterpart, Scott Morrison. The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. "The document would be pivotal in consolidating the shared commitment to promote peace, security, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," The ToR set out the broad objective of achieving deeper mutual understanding, trust and transparency, imp...

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session. Last year also, Mr. Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. India at that time termed it as “completely unacceptable”, saying Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply. Mr. Erdogan in his address to the General Debate on Tuesday said: “We maintain our stance in favour of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions.” The Turkish President, a close ally of Pakistan, had repeatedly raised the issue of Kashmir in his address to the high-level General Debate. Last year also, Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General debate had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. India at ...

The United States, Britain and Australia said on 15/Sept/2021 they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as Chinese influence over the region grows. The US, the UK and Australia have announced they are setting up a trilateral security partnership aimed at confronting China, which will include helping Australia to build nuclear-powered submarines. US President Joe Biden, UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison announced the deal together virtually. Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared together virtually to detail the new alliance, which will be called AUKUS (pronounced AWK-us). The three announced they would quickly turn their attention to developing nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. The agreement is reported to cover key areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber ...