Borders are fascinating places. The subtle changes in scenery and atmosphere as you near the limits of one territory and enter the orbit of the other; the way fencing gets higher and fiercer. Then there’s the shuffling of papers and passports, the opening of suitcases, car boots and, sometimes, wallets. Read Here – The Spectator
For years the Indian security establishment has been excessively obsessed with Pakistan and the proxy war it has waged against India. Over the past half a dozen years, the focus has gradually shifted to meeting the rising challenge posed by China’s rising military capabilities in Tibet. Read Here – The Diplomat
China’s leaders going back to Deng Xiaoping have made the case that the country could—and should—pursue economic reform before political reform. Now, they are pursuing neither. Why? Economic reforms, initiated at the end of 1978 by Deng, have enriched state institutions, and these institutions have been able to translate economic success into political power. They […]
The Indian Navy has had a big week. The reactor in its first indigenous nuclear submarine, the Arihant, went critical on Saturday, and its first indigenous aircraft carrier, theVikrant, was formally unveiled today. It’s long been assumed that one of the primary tasks of the rapidly-modernizing service and its expanding fleet is to apply pressure to China’s Sea […]
A dozen Chinese rare earth companies have formed an industrial alliance to sue Japan’s Hitachi Metals for holding invalid patents and infringing patent rights of Chinese companies. The legal process could start in early September in the United States and China. At the center of the dispute is something called a neodymium iron boron magnet, a major product that accounts for half of rare earth consumption. Read Here – China Daily
No matter how many promises the US has made to India, it is hard to change India’s strategy of being independent and remaining non-aligned. On the base of shared democratic values, the “natural alliance” between the US and India needs time to reach its full potential. Read Here – Global Times
Unlike many countries that have passed laws to protect citizens’ privacy, the Indian state is collecting more and more information about private individuals under various pretexts and restricting their right to access their own information. Read Here – The Hindu
From curbing urban crime to calculating the effectiveness of a tennis player‘s backhand, people are now gathering and analyzing vast amounts of data to predict human behaviors, solve problems, identify shopping habits, thwart terrorists – everything but foretell which Hollywood scripts might make blockbusters. Actually, there’s a company poring through numbers to do that, too. […]
…American diplomacy has already undergone vast changes in the past few decades and is now so heavily encumbered by fortresslike embassies, body armor and motorcades that it is almost unrecognizable. In 1985 there were about 150 security officers in U.S. embassies abroad, and now there are about 900. That does not include the military officers […]
Following a brief border skirmish in 1962, India held 3,000 ethnic Chinese people in prison camps. A half-century later, survivors are still seeking justice. Read Here – The Atlantic
