Reality check shows case for new South Asian organization including China

India it seems is the most anxious country in South Asia. Its traditional sway over the region is being challenged as other countries here are rising. It is not 1947 when India was born nor is it 1971 when India fashioned the region it's way.

However, while 1971 was a great year it also marked the beginning of change. A new state Bangladesh was born and its birth brought about changes in the region. Changes in South Asia have now turned from a whiff to a strong smell increasing in intensity in the last decade. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE. 

ON THE MOVE  

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Despite Kabul-Taliban talks, Afghan peace process is still dicey

Although the intra-Afghan talks have been launched, the peace and reconciliation process in the country still faces many difficulties.

First, the United States will not withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan. The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said recently that the United States will reduce its troops in Afghanistan to 4,500 within one to two months. As long as the US troops continue to stay in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban will not completely stop the resistance movement. To truly achieve peace in Afghanistan, the US troops must leave Afghanistan completely. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE. 

Army infections unmask India’s struggle to sustain border bluffs

The Indian Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said at a meeting on September 16 that about 20,000 Indian military personnel have been infected with COVID-19 so far.

India, at this stage, has no choice but to struggle and perhaps even intensify its provocations on the border. However, if the number of infected Indian troops increases or the situation becomes more unfavorable to New Delhi, it may resort to negotiations to resolve disputes. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE. 

China and friends surround India: Your move, New Delhi

Developments in the Afghan peace process have always had a direct bearing on the trajectory of Washington’s ties with Islamabad. Relations between the two countries have improved, owing to Pakistan’s positive role in helping the United States and the Afghan Taliban strike a deal. The commencement of the intra-Afghan dialogue, coupled with United States’ acknowledgement of Pakistan’s go-between efforts, is good news for Pakistan-United States relations.

There are two concomitant factors that explain why the all-Afghan parleys in Doha are propitious for Washington-Islamabad ties. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE.

WORLD NEWS

Will the Philippines risk war with Malaysia over Sabah?

Listening to Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. dial up the rhetoric this week over who owns the Malaysian state of Sabah, you could be forgiven for thinking that Manila is preparing to go to war for the oil-rich territory. 

"Sabah is ours!," Locsin thundered before a House of Representatives committee on Tuesday, announcing that he had reactivated Manila's North Borneo Bureau after realizing that the rest of the world had "forgotten our Sabah claim, casually designating it as another country's territory when we have not forgotten it."

The ugly diplomatic showdown has been boiling since July when Locsin fired off a series of provocative tweets over the hot-button issue. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE.

DEFENCE

Pakistan, Iran, China, Russia start one of world’s most fiercest military drills

Russia launched a major military drill on Monday, involving almost 80,000 servicemen. Kavkaz-2020 (Caucasus-2020) is the final stage of annual combat training this year, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The main operations during the drill will take place in the North Caucasus, as well as in the Black and Caspian seas, all of which are part of the country’s Southern Military District.

Up to 1,000 servicemen from Armenia, Belarus, China, Myanmar and Pakistan were invited to practice joint actions, while the Iranian military vessels are expected to join naval exercises. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Iran and Sri Lanka plan to participate as observers. TO READ FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE.

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