China has established a new county in Xinjiang province near Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Afghanistan border, a move seen as strengthening security along the Wakhan Corridor and addressing concerns about Uyghur separatist militants.
The modern war is about quality over quantity, points out Mihir S Sharma.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
'A lot of people in India are not ready to move on. You are still concerned that any defence deal with the US will constrain your strategic autonomy, as if the US had the power to do that,' says Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Henry L Stimson Centre, a Washington, DC think-tank.
Michael Krepon, the co-founder of Washington, DC-based think tank Stimson Centre, believes that the horrific 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai set the bar very high for the next India-Pakistan crisis.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
'Trump has no more elections to fight and his soaring ambition, which is no secret, will be to carve out a presidential legacy that outshines by far all his mediocre predecessors.' 'Trump's turnaround on the H-1B visa debate shows that he can take tough decisions and there are no holy cows in his domain,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's zero tolerance policy against terrorism is questionable given its reluctance to take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack, a US expert has s
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
They warned that Islamabad wants to send a 'strong message' to India against isolating it on the world stage.
In the shock after Nathuram Godse murdered Mahatma Gandhi that January evening 72 years ago today, a young American diplomat rushed to capture the assassin. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel traces the memorable life of Herbert Reiner, who History has sadly relegated to a footnote.
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