- 22 April, 2024
Geopolitics & National Security
Gurjit Singh
Mr Gurjit Singh was an Indian diplomat for 37 years. He has been the Ambassador of India to Germany, Indonesia, Timor-Leste & ASEAN and Ethiopia, Djibouti and the African Union besides having been in Japan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Italy on assignment. He was the Sherpa for the first 2 India-Africa Summits and his book ‘The Injera and the Parantha’ on India and Ethiopia was well received. He has also written books on India’s relations with Japan, Indonesia, and Germany.
Articles Lists
SCO Manifests Indian Strategic Autonomy
Indian participation at the 22nd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization drew attention. It was a clear manifestation of India’s strategic autonomy as the SCO is widely regarded as a group of autocratic regimes with only India as the democratic freshener. India views the SCO despite the Ch
‘Defence of Japan 2022’: Moment of Reckoning
Japan's annual ‘Defence of Japan’ (DOJ) 2022 was released in July. It appeared after the assassination of former PM Abe, a leading light of Japan's enhanced defence capabilities. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party obtained a firm majority in the upper house elections before its release. PM Kish
Japanese Elections After Shinzo Abe
The triennial elections to the upper House of Councilors of the Japanese Diet were held on Sunday, 10 July in the shadow of the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe. With his assassination, the nature of Japanese politics is likely to change. Prior to the assassination, the election was seen as a r
Changing Contours of Germany-China Relations
There is much attention currently focused on Germany's changing policy towards Russia. This includes the energy-security matrix. A review of the German defence policy is also underway. While these are major initiatives, there is a slower change emerging in Germany's relationship with China. In mo
China-EU Summit Amidst Russian Ukraine War
The EU-China summit on 1 April took place at a time of crisis in Europe due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This currently dominates European thinking deeply. They presently view the world more in bipolar terms, having themselves lagged behind the US. They are curtailing the strategic autonomy t
Neutrality Option for Ukraine
The Russian entry into Ukraine by force is now a month old. It is a war by strange means, in the sense that conventional battle theories are not holding true. Neither is conventional diplomacy succeeding. Among the things that Russia demanded even before the war was ensuring the neutrality of Ukr
A Russian Scramble for Africa
The demise of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the overthrown President of Mali, on 16 January 2022 brought focus back on the military coup in Mali. The military coup had tried to stabilize the country, but it suffers both from a lack of legitimacy and the jihadi challenge. Consequently, attention is agai
The Transatlantic Alliance Looks Up
With the arrival of 2022, Germany took over the presidency of the G7. It is a new experience for the ‘traffic light’ three party coalition of Germany which has an SDP chancellor and Green Foreign Minister. Having made the initial visits to Paris, Brussels and European capitals, Foreign Minist
China Comes Calling in Africa
The Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) had its 6th ministerial meeting on 29-30 November in Dakar, Senegal. The meeting was coordinated between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Senegal's foreign minister Aïssata Tall Sall. Chinese trade minister Commerce Wang Wentao also participated. Ch
Japanese Election Results – Beyond Predictions
The Japanese general election held on 31 October 2021 delivered results beyond the prediction of opinion polls. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a stable majority on their own, despite its worst show since 2009. Japan's Nikkei 225 share index closed 2.6% higher, as investors felt
ASEAN Turns the Heat on Myanmar
At an emergency ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on 15 October 2021, the ASEAN ministers took an unprecedented decision. This was to almost exclude Myanmar from the next summit proceedings. The ASEAN second summit of 2021 is scheduled for the last week of October. Traditionally, that summit precedes
China and ASEAN at 30
As the Quad focused on ASEAN at its summit on 24th September, there were several China-ASEAN activities between the two summits, which did not attract too much attention in India. Currently, China and ASEAN are marking 30 years of their dialogue partnership. Prior to the Quad II Summit. Chinese F
A Change is Coming Through German Elections
Change is expected in the German elections on 26 September. For the first time since 2005, Chancellor Angela Merkel, is not a candidate. Her self-imposed term limit of four as Chancellor, has given way to a sense of uncertainty in Germany. Germany has become accustomed to the Merkelianer way. It sig