Growing Asian Ties to the Gulf and Potential for Strategic Cooperation

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida, Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Indian Prime Minister Modi each made a trip recently to Arab countries of the Gulf. In July, Kishida visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar while Modi was in the UAE. Yoon visited the UAE in January. These three trips received far […]
India’s Security Policy: Balancing Its Russia Dilemma with New Partnerships

Introduction: Recurring Pakistani And Growing Chinese Challenges India faces disputed boundaries and territorial claims with both Pakistan and China. Though the direct threat from Pakistan has become less salient, the boundary dispute with China remains a massive problem. Furthermore at a time when the US and China are locked in a global competition, China’s assertiveness […]
Southeast Asia between Major Powers: Lessons for the Middle East

I once asked a Vietnamese friend what an impending leadership change in Hanoi meant for his country’s relations with China. “Every Vietnamese leader,” he replied, “must get along with China; every Vietnamese leader must stand up to China; and if you cannot do both at the same time, you don’t deserve to be the leader.” […]
US – India Relations: <br>Growing Military Cooperation, Lagging Economic Ties – and Managing the Russia Problem

India and the United States have overcome the distance and suspicions that arose out of India’s refusal to align itself with the US soon after its independence in 1947. Over the last three decades, the world’s oldest and largest democracies have built a multi-layered and likely enduring partnership. Public opinion in both countries favors close […]
The Quad Is for Real, Thanks to Abe

“Japan is not now and will never be a tier-two power,” declared Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington in February 2013. He was there to champion the idea of a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between Japan, the United States, India, and Australia. He succeeded in […]
India’s Military Diplomacy

India, the world’s second most populous nation and sixth largest economy, is a nuclear weapons state with conventional forces among the largest in the world and a current defense budget of $72 billion. In 1971, India’s military prevailed over Pakistan to midwife the birth of Bangladesh. In 1999, it again chastised Pakistan for clandestine territorial […]
The Significance of the I2U2 Summit–The New Quad

President Joe Biden’s July 2022 Middle East trip received mixed reviews. The White House apparently had hoped that the president’s visit would prompt the Saudi Kingdom to take some steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, given the tremendous success of the Abraham Accords. Riyadh would go no further than to open its airspace to all […]