FDI in the News: International
Iranian Sanctions Predicament
- FDI in the News: International
Sergei Desilva-Ranasinghe, Perth, W. Australia | Mon, 02/13/2012 9:23 PM
The implementation of the tough new US and EU sanctions against Iran has encountered practical challenges, with India, an important Western strategic partner, voicing its concerns. Given that India is a major recipient of Iranian oil, a major investor in Iran’s energy sector and has other vitally important strategic interests at stake in Afghanistan and Central Asia, its quandary encapsulates the difficulties involved in the full implementation of sanctions.
Sri Lankan stability critical to New Delhi’s Indian Ocean ambitions
- FDI in the News: International
July 23r
Author: Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe, FDI
A controversial advisory panel report, published by the United Nations in late March 2011, called for a full investigation into the perceived breaches in the Laws of Armed Conflict during the endgame of Sri Lanka’s civil war. This has placed India in a difficult position where it must balance its relations with Sri Lanka while appeasing the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, home to over 72 million Indian Tamils. The report’s fallout prompted a high level Indian delegation to head to Sri Lanka on 10–11 June for crisis talks with Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse. Here, the ultimate objective for India is to ensure that Sri Lanka does not drift further towards China as, presently, China is the most dominant and influential foreign power in Sri Lanka, which is of serious concern to India.
Beijing and Xinjiang: long-term problems
- FDI in the News: International
By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe
August 30th, 2011
Over the past month, ethnic unrest in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has left dozens of people either dead or wounded. Like Tibet, China’s efforts to stabilise Xinjiang represent a serious long-term challenge, especially in securing its domestic and regional interests. This is especially relevant in terms of the Muslim world, given that Xinjiang shares a border with eight neighbouring countries – of which many are Muslim – and whose co-operation China is dependent upon in its perennial fight against cross-border activities of Uyghur militants.
Indo-US defence cooperation: a confluence of strategic interests
- FDI in the News: International
August 2nd, 2011
In another example of increasing co-operation between Washington and New Delhi, the US Defence Security Co-operation Agency recently announced India’s intention to purchase 32 US-manufactured MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, in a deal worth US$86 million. The agreement is indicative of the growing confluence of strategic interests between the two countries, which in recent years has seen relations flourish.
China-India rivalry in the Maldives
- FDI in the News: International
By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe
June 17th, 2011
The May 28-31 visit to the Maldives by the most senior Chinese official ever to visit the Islamic archipelago-nation, went largely unreported in the Western media. The significance of the visit by Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, underscored the increasing importance of the Maldives to China’s regional strategic calculations.
China refutes Gwadar naval base conjecture
- FDI in the News: International
By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe
June 13th, 2011
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar has affirmed that the country is appreciative of China’s willingness to operate Gwadar port, and is also keen to see that “a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan”.
Why the Indian Ocean Matters
- FDI in the News: International
In the fourth in our series on understanding Asia-Pacific sea power, we look at what the rise of India and China means for the region.
By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe
March 2nd, 2011
As the third-largest body of water in the world, and containing vital sea lanes that help feed some of Asia’s largest economies, the importance of the Indian Ocean has long been clear.
Indian Ocean's 'Great Game'
- FDI in the News: International
China-India Rivalry Drives Development
By Sergei DeSilva-Ranasinghe
Janauary 31st, 2011
The intensifying great power rivalry that has characterized the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean is providing unprecedented impetus for the economic development of the region. The weakening of Western, or more specifically, U.S. influence throughout the world has in part enabled an increasingly powerful China, and an emerging India, to expand their influence through shrewd soft-power diplomacy.