StratNews Global

The visit of British foreign secretary Dominic Raab to India should be seen as a preparatory one in the run-up to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s India trip in January next year, says Ruchi Ghanashyam, former Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom. Johnson will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade next year; the last British PM who was extended the honour was John Major in 1993. As India and the UK seek to broaden bilateral ties and collaboration post-Brexit, the trade would be a key area, High Commissioner Ghanashyam told StratNews Global. Once Brexit happens, there will be stability and a more level playing field for countries outside the EU to trade with the UK, she added. Listen in for more.

Podcast Producer: Manas R. Tarai

Chinese President Xi Jinping may say his country is distributing Coronavirus vaccines for ‘global good’ but that’s part of an image repair exercise. Just like the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s vaccine diplomacy is not altruism but driven by strong commercial interests, says Jacob Mardell, an analyst at the Mercator Institute of China Studies in Berlin. The attempt to present itself as a charitable actor might be disrupted by commercial interests, he told StratNews Global. “It’s actually funny how Xi Jinping added to the global good rhetoric by acknowledging that the vaccine had a price tag attached.” Listen in for more.

#Indian #China #Jinping

Podcast Producer : Manas R.Tarai

He’s said it before and now U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has reiterated that a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is the best way to stave off a nuclear race in West Asia. Biden wants to go back to something that looks like a diplomatic resolution, says Alex Vatanka, Director of Iran Program at Middle East Institute. He (Biden) knows it’s better to not ask too much from Iran in the beginning but to focus on the nuclear issue first and, once trust is  developed, expand the scope of the discussions, Vatanka told StratNews Global.

The Trump administration had pulled out of the agreement in 2018 and had launched a ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran. That included crippling sanctions and offensive action such as the killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, who was hit by a U.S. drone in January this year. Last week, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, believed by the West to be the architect of Iran’s nuclear programme, was killed. Iran has pointed fingers at Israel and has vowed to take revenge. “Most of it is posturing. Iranians will not attack Israel, certainly not with missiles soon,” according to Vatanka.

But will Iran blink first so far as the nuclear deal is concerned? “Russia and China are encouraging Iran not to blink first because they don’t want to see America back in Iran. So they are interested parties in this fight telling Iran—don’t cave in to American pressure, we will support you, buy enough oil, trade with you, invest in your economy and support you diplomatically at places like the United Nations,” said Vatanka. Listen in for more.

Podcast Producer: Manas Tarai 

Fathom this: the U.S. appoints a special coordinator for Tibet last month, a post that lay vacant for long. It invites Sikyong Lobsang Sangay to the State department first and then to the White House annexe. All this towards the fag end of the Trump administration. What does it signify? As he leaves the White House, Donald Trump wants to leave his name on a policy that he has not implemented during the four years he was president, says author, historian and noted Tibetologist Claude Arpi. Last week, a U.S. State Department report mentioned Tibet as being under Chinese military occupation since the 1950s. “It is part of a policy paper, not part of official U.S. policy. While leaving the presidency, Trump wants to leave his imprint and in a way influence the next administration,” Arpi told StratNews Global. India should have a coordinated Tibet policy, he said, adding that “India should put pressure on China to acknowledge India’s deep links with Tibet.” Listen in for more.

#Indian #US #Tibet

Podcast Producer : Manas R. Tarai

With not much headway in intra-Afghan talks and a new administration due to take charge in Washington, D.C., will there be a change in the U.S. approach? In the short-term, there is likely to be a continuum, says Shuja Nawaz, Distinguished Fellow at Atlantic Council. “The medium and long term will be determined by the ability of the United States to put together a new plan with its coalition partners on future engagement with Afghanistan and the region. And also on the success of any move within the U.S. to have a broader regional engagement so that it is not solely based on Afghanistan,” he told StratNews Global. The onus will be the Afghan government to successfully complete intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban and also on Pakistan to help deliver some kind of a cessation of hostilities in Afghanistan, he added. Listen in for more.

#Indian #US #Afghanistan

Podcast Producer : Manas Tarai

On Friday, the Malaysian government will table the annual budget with an overarching focus on rebuilding lives, livelihoods and the economy that have taken a pounding due to the pandemic. The government has a wafer-thin majority in Parliament and there has been a recent unsuccessful attempt to unseat Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. 25 MPs have given no-confidence motions against the administration as well. “Yassin is in a delicate position but I think we can expect the budget to be passed,” Dr Francis Hutchinson, Coordinator of the Malaysia Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. These motions do pose a risk to stability but Yassin has a number of things going for him, Dr Hutchinson told StratNews Global. Listen in for more.

#Indian #Singapore #singapore

Podcast producer : Manas Tarai 

A week to go before U.S. votes in the presidential elections and polls show Joe Biden in the lead. Indian Americans make up about 1 per cent of the electorate but could play a key role in some swing states where they have a sizeable presence. What are the key issues on their minds? Healthcare, economy and racism, Prof. Sumit Ganguly of Indiana University, Bloomington, told StratNews Global, quoting a recent survey. Venktesh Shukla, Managing Director, Monta Vista Capital & Former Chair of TiE Global and TiE Silicon Valley, who joined in the conversation from California, was of the view that it’s also about Trump’s inconsistent behaviour and the “sheer incompetence” with which he has handled the fallout of the pandemic. So who would be a better President from an Indian perspective? Biden, say Prof. Ganguly and Mr Shukla. For more, listen in.

Podcast Producer : Manas Tarai

If China's foreign minister visited five of the 10 ASEAN countries earlier this month, Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, chose two countries in the same region—Vietnam and Indonesia—this week for his first official trip abroad. What explains the rush?

In this exclusive podcast Dr Prabir De, professor of the ASEAN Centre at the RIS think tank, tells StratNews Global that like China, Japan has a  lot of business interests in southeast Asia, necessitating a counter-visit. Several ASEAN countries contribute goods and services to China but with Covid-19 disrupting supply chains, both parties have taken a hit. China is now reaching out to the region, promising free Covid vaccines and trying to wean the bloc away from rivals Japan and the United States.

As Dr. De notes, Asean needs all three players and, therefore, does a fine balancing act. He also talked about Australia joining the Malabar exercise, saying it sends out a signal of convergence and has a strong economic dimension as well. For more listen in.

Podcast Producer:Manas Tarai 

Among the targets of the global surveillance mounted by the Chinese firm Zhenhua Data are over 10,000 Indians, ranging from top

What Zhenhua has done is a sophisticated form of data espionage, he told StratNews Global, adding that the ‘leaky digital ecosystem' in

He shared a note of caution: ‘People should realize that they are the custodians of their own data; the government has a limited enabling role but cyber hygiene needs to be begin at home’.

Indian defence companies are upbeat on Ministry of Defence's recent  announcement listing out a number of defence weapons and platforms that  would be barred from being imported from abroad. Many of them see this  as a final step in the incremental defence reforms that have been  undertaken by the Modi government. Speaking to StartNews Global  Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, two leading stalwarts of Indian  defence industry, JD Patil of L&T and Ashok Atluri of Zen  Technologies, however cautioned against excessive euphoria and pointed  out that the the intent needs to be translated into action, meaning the  local companies should get orders from the ministry so that they can  start manufacturing and delivering the requirements that the armed  forces have.

Podcast Producer : Manas Tarai