Articles written by Saurav Jha
By Saurav Jha
10 Jan 2012 |
Briefing
The recent thaw in India-Australia relations comes at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama is orchestrating Washington’s strategic pivot to Asia and signals that space is being negotiated for India in the regional order. Washington seems to be using its military allies such as Australia and Japan to explore Indian participation in an evolving Indo-Pacific security and economic architecture.
By Saurav Jha
14 Dec 2011 |
Briefing
Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh’s recent visit to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is less indicative of a new initiative than of existing relationships being taken to the next level. The deeper strategic cooperation with the two largest Central Asian republics will not only help New Delhi secure its economic engagement with both countries, but also increase its own geopolitical space more broadly.
By Saurav Jha
13 Dec 2011 |
Briefing
India’s engagement with Central Asia on strategic military concerns is gathering pace, with high-level visits and cooperation deals underscoring the immense value New Delhi attaches to the region. The strengthened Indian presence in the area is driven by New Delhi’s desire not only to protect its investments in Central Asia, but also its interests in Afghanistan after NATO withdraws in 2014.
By Saurav Jha
01 Nov 2011 |
Briefing
An Indo-Japanese entente in Asia has been a much-discussed, but somewhat amorphous proposition -- till now. China’s belligerent posture in the South China Sea and the perceived decline of U.S. influence has managed to focus minds in both Tokyo and New Delhi. Japan and India are moving to put in place a strategic economic structure that can enrich both sides while maintaining the Asian balance of power.
By Saurav Jha
13 Oct 2011 |
Briefing
In a move that signals India's resolve to stay the course in Afghanistan, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai in New Delhi last week. The deal includes a major security component. However, India's plans in Afghanistan go well beyond a simplistic security rubric and are increasingly driven by longer-term geo-economic interests.
By Saurav Jha
05 Oct 2011 |
Briefing
While much has been written about China's port development projects in the Indian Ocean region, Beijing's undersea activities in the area could also pave the way for a naval presence and may prove to be the greater source of consternation for India and its navy. The cornerstone of China's undersea resource ambitions is its manned submersible program, which seems to have made some impressive strides of late.
By Saurav Jha
07 Sep 2011 |
Briefing
Ending a months-long dispute over oil payments, Iran has now resumed oil shipments to India, with Turkey stepping in as a key facilitator to resolve the impasse. The tripartite arrangement, by which Turkey will rout Indian payments to Iran, comes amid regional tensions over Syria and indicates that India's energy interests are emerging as a key variable in the strategic calculus of Middle Eastern capitals.
By Saurav Jha
29 Jul 2011 |
Briefing
Many commentators saw Vietnam's calls for foreign involvement in its maritime territorial dispute with China as a thinly veiled invitation to the United States. But it could also be a precursor to India establishing a permanent naval presence in Vietnamese waters. That would not only add military heft to India's "Look East" policy, but also reflects a larger Indian effort to counter China's activities in South Asia.
By Saurav Jha
16 Jun 2011 |
Briefing
Saudi Arabia's recent announcement that it plans to build 16 large
reactors by 2030 may have seemed incongruous in the wake of the
Fukushima crisis. In fact, it actually buttresses the Middle East's
current trajectory as a major future market for nuclear energy. Moreover, given the sheer size of the plan, Riyadh is in a position to set terms and use the project to enhance
new partnerships while balancing old ones.
By Saurav Jha
11 May 2011 |
Briefing
India's selection of European aircraft as finalists for the multi-role fighter jet tender has
been seen by many U.S. observers as a snub to the Indo-U.S.
strategic partnership, despite the Indian government's great efforts to
frame the decision as a purely technical one. In reality, the Indian decision reflects the fact that, in
this particular case, Europe offers a superior value proposition than
the United States.
By Saurav Jha
29 Apr 2011 |
Briefing
The Saudi intervention in Bahrain has upped the ante in the Saudi-Iranian cold war, crystallizing it into a wider Sunni-Shiite schism in the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia has reportedly invoked a treaty with Sunni-dominated Pakistan to secure troops to stabilize Bahrain and its own eastern provinces. Riyadh has also asked Turkey to make it clear to Iran that interference in the Gulf states will not be tolerated.
By Saurav Jha
21 Apr 2011 |
Briefing
The plight of the Indian freighter MV Asphalt Venture added a new
dimension to India's fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean when Somali pirates announced they would retain seven Indian sailors as hostages, even though they
had released the ship itself. India can no longer afford a purely defensive strategy on the high seas,
but must now look at both economic and political intervention
in the Horn of Africa.
By Saurav Jha
08 Mar 2011 |
Briefing
The implications for India of a proposed U.S.-China grand
strategy agreement hammered out by a group of policy experts in
Washington and Beijing was a major concern for the late K. Subhramanyam. The document proposed a series of strategic
compromises between China and the U.S. Indian analysts, including Subhramanyam, saw the proposal as a ploy by the Chinese to "use the U.S. to attain
hegemonic power in Asia."
By Saurav Jha
01 Feb 2011 |
Briefing
India's central bank announced that it would no longer allow
Indian importers to trade with Iran using the Asian Clearing Union, saying it wanted to explore an alternate means of facilitating
trade-related payments. Talks are currently underway to resolve the issue. Nevertheless, the episode has underlined the fact that India cannot always avoid zero-sum games as it emerges into becoming a full-fledged global power.
By Saurav Jha
18 Jan 2011 |
Report
As U.S. President Barack Obama put it in his address to the Indian parliament, "India isn't emerging. It has already emerged." India has grown steadily through the global recession, and the Asian giant is taking measures to reorient global institutions to suit its geopolitical weight. India has sought partnerships with neighbors and like-minded Asian democracies to counter China, and is attempting to rapidly modernize its military, especially its naval and air-force capabilities. This strategic posture review examines India's foreign and defense policies and its strategic priorities.
By Saurav Jha
14 Jan 2011 |
Briefing
Turkey is leveraging its longstanding ties with
Pakistan and its stature as one of the few industrialized countries in
the Muslim world to create a diplomatic role for itself in Afghanistan. Ankara's recent decision to keep India out of the January 2010 tripartite summit on Afghanistan at
Pakistan's behest may be
indicative of a larger realignment in the region, with the
Pakistan-Turkey relationship serving as an incubator.
By Saurav Jha
15 Dec 2010 |
Briefing
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is the latest head of state to visit
India at a time when the latter is looking to award lucrative contracts
in energy, infrastructure, security and other areas. The visit saw
forward movement on a number of bilateral deals valued at around $20
billion. Both sides seek a more-enduring partnership than a purely
commercial transaction, however.
By Saurav Jha
25 Oct 2010 |
Briefing
For a number of reasons, space-based solar power may soon emerge as one of the leading
sectors of strategic cooperation between India and the U.S. Neither SBSP nor the idea of an international partnership as an enabler
for it is new. However, various technological advances that make SBSP a more realistic possibility now coincide with growing U.S. interest in India as a potential partner in such an endeavor.
By Saurav Jha
04 Oct 2010 |
Briefing
Reports last week suggested that China is considering
investing in a large, 1,000-megawatt reactor in Pakistan. If
validated, they indicate that Chinese policymakers have given the
go-ahead to a nuclear development plan prioritizing early export of
indigenous large reactors, while simultaneously underlining Beijing's
willingness and ability to pursue a policy of nuclear exceptionalism in
the subcontinent.
By Saurav Jha
17 Sep 2010 |
World Politics Review
Nuclear energy's recent renaissance has seen the United States firm up
nuclear cooperation agreements with a number of emerging nuclear
nations. However the most eye-catching so far is the proposed deal with
Vietnam, which stands out not only for its departure from the standard
template of such deals, but also because it comes at a time when Sino-American interests have
been at odds in the South China Sea.