In 2012, India will host two significant events. First, in December, the India-ASEAN Summit will be held at New Delhi to mark the 10th anniversary of their summit-level dialogue; and second, India and Vietnam will be celebrating 40 years of establishing their diplomatic relations. Both events gain salience in the broader context of the beginning of the third decade of India’s Look East Policy which has witnessed phenomenal growth in bilateral and multilateral relations with the ASEAN countries.
The Pentagon releasing annual reports on Chinese Military Power is not new. However, for all these years, the Pentagon’s basic mandate has been to contextualize the Chinese threat to US interests.
Among the several congratulatory letters received by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his reelection, the message from French President Nicolas Sarkozy merits attention. While inviting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be the Chief Guest at the forthcoming ceremonies marking the National Day of France on July 14, Sarkozy has praised the Indian democratic system and alluded ‘ to the values of liberty, people's sovereignty and respect of diversity in secularism'. He has also underscored the necessity to expand the existing strategic partnership between the two countries.
The statement of a former Prime Minister of Pakistan on Dr A Q Khan, although it created a furore, was largely welcomed by the advocates of nuclear non-proliferation. The exiled Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Benazir Bhutto categorically stated that she will permit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to interview Dr AQ Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, to determine the credibility of the allegation against him being solely involved in nuclear technology proliferation from Pakistan to other countries.
The Cold War mindset is difficult to fade away. With the announcement of the design and building of the nuclear energy centre in Myanmar by Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the US has raised concerns about the peaceful nature of Myanmar’s nuclear energy programme. The proposed 10-megawatt light water reactor has attracted international attention in Myanmar. The negotiation for acquiring nuclear technology between the Russian Agency and Myanmar was shelved since 2003 due to specific payment problems.