Author: Manish Chand

Obama declares war on IS militants: India, US to step up counter-terror cooperation

- by Manish Chand

US President Barack Obama’s declaration of war on The Islamic State, the terrorist machine’s network of death that has unleashed mayhem in the Middle East, should be noted positively by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be looking to step up counter-terror cooperation during his summit meeting with the American president.

Amid the roiling ferment in the Middle East, the region that is pivotal to India’s energy security and is home to over 7 million Indians, intensifying counter-terror cooperation with the US will be high on the agenda when Mr Modi meets Mr Obama for full-spectrum talks in Washington on September 30.

The volatile situation in the AfPak region against the backdrop of the conflicted transition process in Afghanistan will add a trenchant element to counter-terror discussions that the two leaders are expected to have in Washington.

Read More

Modi at Madison Square Garden: It will be a coming-out party for Indian-Americans

- by Manish Chand

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US will put the spotlight on the growing profile of the about 3-million strong Indian-American community. Cutting across castes, provinces and religions, around 20,000-odd Indian-Americans will be travelling from all over America for the largest-ever civic reception in honour of the Indian leader at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

In this interview with Mr Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network, Ronen Sen, India’s former ambassador to the US, speaks glowingly about the multifarious success stories of Indian-Americans in their adopted homeland and their role as bridge-builders in bringing the two vibrant democracies together in an arc of intersecting national interests.

Read More

Cautious optimism, Modi’s US visit to rejuvenate India-US relations: Ronen Sen

- by Manish Chand

It promises to be a diplomatic blockbuster. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to the US is bristling with new possibilities for rejuvenating and revitalising what US President Barack Obama has famously called “the defining partnership of the 21st century.” Prime Minister Modi’s visit is being closely tracked by hundreds of adrenalin-charged journalists and will be monitored the world over, with speculation swirling about possible outcomes which could impact not just bilateral ties, but the shifting international order. Amid all this feverish chatter and inspired guesswork, Ronen Sen, India’s former ambassador to the US, clears a lot of clutter and provides insights into the significance of the forthcoming prime ministerial trip to New York and Washington.

Read More

The Long View: ABCD of India-China relations

- by Manish Chand

A for Asia. B for Business. C for Culture. And D for Diplomacy and Development. This is the emerging alphabet of multi-faceted engagement between the two Asian powers which are forging a new vocabulary and semantics to script new pathways of cooperation and to reconfigure the evolving world order. The ABCD of India-China relations will find fuller articulation in the September 17-19 visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India, a potentially defining trip which could transform ties between the two Asian neighbours and create new opportunities for their 2.5 billion people, one third of the world’s humanity.

Why Modi-Xi summit matters

When the leaders of India and China hold talks, the world will be watching closely, and not without reason. They are, after all, Asia’s leading economies with a combined GDP of over $11 trillion and proactive stakeholders in crafting an inclusive international world order.

Read More

Modi’s Inch’ & Miles mantra for India-China relations

- by Manish Chand

INCH (India and China) and MILES (Millennium of Exceptional Synergy). This is the new Modi mantra for energising relations between India and China, the two Asian giants which are often portrayed as rivals, but have chosen to be fellow-travellers in the unfolding journey of an Asian century.

A day before China’s President Xi Jinping touches down in India to begin a three-day transformational trip, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled his long-distance vision of India-China relations.

“India and China are bound by history, connected by culture, and inspired by rich traditions. Together they can create a bright future for the entire mankind,” Mr Modi said in a wide-ranging interaction with Chinese journalists a day before he meets the Chinese president in Ahamedabad, the capital of his home state Gujarat which has forged robust economic relations with China.

Read More

President Mukherjee’s visit to Vietnam: Buddha, energy and strategy on agenda

- by Manish Chand

Buddha, energy and strategy. They may sound like a fusion menu of sorts, but India’s President Pranab Mukherjee’s first state visit to Vietnam will deftly coalesce diverse strands that make the texture of the vibrant India-Vietnam relationship.

Mukherjee travels to Vietnam on a state visit from September 14 to September 17, which will telescope the trend of multi-alignment in India’s foreign policy. This essentially means aligning with different countries which may be at odds with each other to promote India’s national interests. Significantly, Mukherjee’s visit to Hanoi will be followed by the big-ticket visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.

While China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner, the two countries are not exactly on the best of terms as Vietnam resents what it sees as China’s assertive posturing in South China Sea. India, on the other hand, has shown a talent for juggling its relations with both China and Vietnam.

Read More

India & Australia: On a strong wicket

- by Manish Chand

C for Cricket, C for Commerce, C for Coking Coal, and C for Community, the 450,000-strong Indian community which is thriving in Australia. Think of India-Australia relations, and these four Cs spring readily to mind. And yes, uranium, the yellow cake, which may just end up being the show-stealer during the September 4-5 visit of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The India-Australia relations are on a strong wicket, and they are scoring high in every field. In a sign of close and warm relations, India has rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Abbott, who has become the first head of government to be hosted by the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi on a standalone bilateral visit.

Read More

Kyoto-Varanasi Connect: High noon for cultural diplomacy

- by Manish Chand

Feeding the fish to attract good fortune. Praying in a Buddhist temple. Twinning Kyoto and Varanasi in smart city bonding. Sharing notes on stem cell research. Blending the ancient and the modern, the spiritual and the scientific, cultural diplomacy has acquired a new resonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to Kyoto, a modern-day pilgrimage that kindles anew possibilities of diplomacy and the two nations coming together in pursuit of national resurgence.
Thinking Smart – this is the game of the new diplomacy that’s going to renew old friendships and forge new coalitions to uplift India and help carve a friction-free Asian century in days to come.
In Tokyo, there will be weightier subjects on the table – nuclear deal, investments, maritime security, Chinese assertiveness, the elusive Asian balance of power – but spirited cultural diplomacy in Kyoto has already softened the hearts, rekindled civilizational bonds and set the stage for transformational outcomes that will pitch India-Japan relations into a higher stratosphere.

Read More

India and Japan: The Power of Two

- by Manish Chand

Metro, Bullet Trains, Buddhism, Business, Technology and Innovation. It’s a potent brew, which is made all the more heady by the common strategic intent to co-create an Asian renaissance. It takes two to tango. And India and Japan, Asia’s two vibrant democracies and leading economies, are matching their steps perfectly, and are set to take their bilateral ties to new heights during the August 30-September 3 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan.

The maiden voyage of Narendra Modi to Japan as the leader of the world’s largest democracy and Asia’s third largest economy, is set to usher in a 3.0 phase in India-Japan relations. The launch of Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st Century in 2000, the elevation of the ties to the level of Global and Strategic Partnership are some recent milestones in the variegated India-Japan relations. It’s time for a phase of enhancement and acceleration, and the leaders of India and Japan make a perfect pair to shepherd the multi-faceted India-Japan ties to a higher stratosphere.

Read More