The Hindu god Narayana (or, Vishnu) on the back of a Garuda (the mount of Vishnu), depicted on one of the pediments in Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand The curtain has come down on the abortive colour revolution in Thailand with the country’s Constitutional Court ordering the dissolution …
Indian-Russian convergence in Bay of Bengal
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) met with Chairman of State Administration Council of Myanmar Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Vladivostok, Sept. 7, 2022 Timing is almost everything in diplomacy in the pursuit of foreign policy strategies. The foreign office consultations during the past fortnight that India hosted with two of its crucially important neighbouring countries Bangladesh …
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Modi’s trip to Jakarta is a geopolitical event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (5th from left) and leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Jakarta, sept 7, 2023 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s daylong visit to Jakarta for the ASEAN-India Summit on Thursday despite the countdown having begun for the G20 summit he’s hosting in New Delhi, stands out as a sign of Indian diplomacy …
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Wheel has come full circle in Myanmar
Guerrilla fighters, trained, equipped and financed by Western intelligence to overthrow military rule in Myanmar (File photo) Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic figure of Myanmarese politics, has been moved from prison to house arrest. This may seem a baby step, but make no mistake, the journey of a thousand steps begins with one step, as …
Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) met Chairman of State Administrative Council & Prime Minister of Myanmar’s Provisional Government, Min Aung Hlaing, Naypyidaw, August 3, 2022 The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar on August 3 shows that the relationship is assuming a strategic character. The Foreign Ministry in a press release on August …
Fizz is gone from Biden-Putin summit
The morning after a Russian-American summit is most critical to know whether the previous day’s bonhomie was real, surreal or unreal. Surveying the Geneva Summit (June 16) between presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, I cautiously assessed the next day, “Does Biden have the political capital to press ahead with a project to create “stability and …
This is how shingles of Indian interests in Myanmar overlap Russia and China’s
Refugees fleeing the attack by separatist Karen Liberation Army on Myanmar military outpost on Thai border, March 27, 2021 India did the right thing by dissociating from other “Quad” members to join the defence attaches of Myanmar’s neighbouring countries and attend the parade on Saturday in Naypyitaw to mark the Armed Forces Day — although pro-American …
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Blinken blinks on human rights
Protesters wearing helmets, gloves stand behind makeshift shields during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, March 1, 2021 On March 3, the US State Department has put on its website a hilarious statement titled The United States Opposes the ICC Investigation into the Palestinian Investigation. In a nutshell, the statement exposes that the Joe Biden Administration …
India needs course correction on Myanmar
The Modi government made a strident call on February 1 that the “rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld” in Myanmar. The statement, following a prodding from Washington, was unabashedly intrusive, and, ironically, completely overlooking that human rights, rule of law, democratic pluralism, etc. are universal values that India also can (and …