India and the World

Why China is wary of India-US statement on South China Sea

- by Manish Chand

The first-ever reference to South China Sea in an India-US joint statement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Washington has riled Beijing, and revived the latter’s fears about the world’s two largest democracies acting in concert on a larger China containment strategy.
Predictably, China, which, according to the IMF, has taken over the US to become the world’s largest economy on purchasing power parity terms, has asserted that the South China Sea sovereignty issue should be resolved directly by parties concerned and without meddling from any third party.
Much to the discomfort of Beijing, India’s Act East policy and the US rebalance to Asia are converging in some respects to promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific theatre.

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India-Pakistan border tensions: PM Modi gives ‘full hand’, says everything will be fine

- by India Writes Network

Amid the most intense cross-border firing between India and Pakistan in a decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported to have given security forces a “free hand” in dealing with Pakistani troops, and assured that “everything will be fine soon.”
Nine Pakistani and eight Indian civilians have been slaughtered since fighting erupted more than week ago in the worst case of ceasefire violations since 2003. The two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours have accused each other of targeting civilians and unprovoked violations of the 11-year-old ceasefire agreement.
The mood has turned sour and belligerent on both sides. India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh has asked the Border Security Force to return Pakistan’s firing with full force.
Mr Modi, who surprised many by inviting Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, along with other leaders of the South Asian countries at his swearing-in ceremony in May, said in Kashmir cryptically: “Everything will be fine.” His statement seemed to indicate that India will retaliate with full vigour even as Pakistan raised the issue at the UN.

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UN reform process has acquired a critical mass: India’s UN envoy

- by India Writes Network

The United Nations will turn 70 in 2015. But the world body is increasingly looking like a relic of the past and is badly in need of reform to stay relevant amid the ceaseless flux in geopolitics in the 21st century. Amid the defining shift of power from the west to the rest and the emergence of India on the global stage, the case for the reform and expansion of the UN Security Council has become all the more urgent. In his maiden address at the UNGA, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a robust pitch for reform of the UNSC to “make it more democratic and participative.” “Institutions that reflect the imperatives of 20th century won’t be effective in the 21st century. The world in the 21st century has changed and will be changing at a faster pace. It becomes imperative that we formulate according to the changing times and new ideas of 21st century to sustain our relevance,” Mr Modi told delegates at the 69th session of the UNGA.
In this free-wheeling interview with Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) in New York, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asoke Kumar Mukherji speaks about India’s strategy for accelerating the reform of the UNSC, the enthusiastic support for India’s candidature for a permanent seat in the powerful council and the way ahead on Prime Minister Modi’s initiative to get the UN to designate an International Yoga Day.

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India, US open a new bright chapter: Focus on knowledge partnership, security cooperation

- by Manish Chand

India and the US, the world’s oldest and most populous democracies, have put the recent past of drift and plateauing behind to open a new bright chapter in their relationship by launching a new investment initiative to multiply their trade five-fold, enhancing security cooperation and expanding the global compass of their strategic partnership from Afghanistan to Africa.
Piercing through the thicket of diplomatic clichés, the US pitched itself as a lead partner in India’s quest for smart cities and world class infrastructure.
India’s Prime Minister Narandra Modi and US President Barack Obama held all-encompassing talks for more than an hour and a half in Washington DC September 30, with the US shedding its ambivalence and pledging unstinting support for “India’s rise as a responsible, influential world power.”
The big takeaway from the first summit meeting between the leaders of the world’s largest democracies was the forceful assertion on the part of the two leaders to leave the recent past of drifting firmly behind and forge a more vibrant and enduring partnership pivoted around a transformative knowledge partnership and deploying cutting-edge technologies to address all-too-real problems facing millions of people cutting across the rural-urban divide.

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