Chinese Build-up along Ladakh-Xinjiang Border Jeopardises India’s Security

The recent India-China Corps Commander meeting held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on March 11, 2022, has yielded no result and remained “inconclusive.” The Joint statement of the 15th round of the bilateral military meeting since the last 20 months following the violent Galwan clash (June 2020) states that “the two sides had a detailed exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the state leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.”[1] It means, a) the Ladakh-Xinjiang bo

MAHESH RANJAN DEBATA

Vocal for Local Arms: Imperatives of Self-Reliance in Defence Production

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has brought to the fore the grave geopolitical fault lines in Europe. India, the largest democracy in the world, has tacitly sided with Putin’s authoritarian Russia by abstaining from all the UN votes taken place since the Russian invasion. India’s decision was not so much about returning the favour of the Soviet Union’s crucial support on Kashmir issues during the early years of Indian independence. Rather, it was to protect New Delhi’s vital strategic interests.

LAXMAN KUMAR BEHERA

More than Meets the Eyes: India's Trade Agreement with UAE is a Strategic Step Forward

On February 18, 2022, India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with UAE. It came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, attended the India-UAE Virtual Summit. "I believe that the India-UAE CEPA signed today will be a game-changer in our economic ties," PM Modi tweeted after the Summit. CEPA was signed by Indian Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marr at a function held in New Delhi on the same day.

DEBA R MOHANTY

Crisis in Ukraine: Humanity is the Biggest Loser

Different media groups have produced contrasting perceptions of the situation in Ukraine thus far. Internet and social media sources are full of deep fakes, leaving the common citizens divided virtually along with Russian and non-Russian narratives. But, the reality on the ground is that as of March 1, 2022, Russia is in complete control of significant parts of Ukraine's territory. Russian troops are about to surround Kyiv and have fired missiles on Kharkiv, Chernihiv and fourteen other areas.

DEBA R MOHANTY

TM: "Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh’s Unchecked Online Recruitment Campaign"

February 28, 2022

In late December 2021, Bangladeshi counter-terrorism agencies warned about the possible resurgence of Ansar al-Islam Bangladesh (AIB), which also functions as an official wing of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and staunchly supports the Afghan Taliban’s Islamic Emirate. According to these agencies, AIB has been recruiting and training in the hinterlands of Bangladesh.

ANIMESH ROUL

Higher Military Institutional Reforms: Chief of Defence Staff and Department of Military Affairs

General Bipin Rawat, the most decorated  Indian military officer, who had served as the Chief of the Army Staff from December 2016 to December 2019, became India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) effectively from January 2020 until his untimely death in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu on December 8, 2021. Late General Rawat,  an officer of the Indian Army from the Infantry (5/11 Gorkha Rifles), had a distinguished career of nearly 43 years of military service.

DEBA R MOHANTY