Written by ​Balaji Chandramohan, Australian Institute of International Affairs

As the three navies of India, the United States and Japan were involved in the annual tri-lateral naval exercise codenamed Malabar in the Bay of Bengal, it signalled a strategic and operational shift in how the three countries view their maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region... ...

Written by Dilip Hero, The World Post

​After nineteen days of marathon negotiations and four missed LONDON -- In most countries, governments change and policy follows. In China, where the Communist Party is determined to stay in power for perpetuity, the government can lay down policies and carry them out over the long haul. The long-term policy can be upgraded as the economy and technology permit... ...

Written by Rosa Brooks, Foreign Policy

​So Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead, and apparently no one noticed for two whole years. His death is a good thing, insofar as it saves American taxpayers the $10 million bounty the United States was offering for his capture. Still, if I were to drop dead, I’d like to think that someone might notice a bit more promptly, if only because my kids might wonder why no one was cooking dinner anymore. But perhaps that explains the delay: Mullah Omar hadn’t been making dinner for anyone in the U.S. intelligence community. Nonetheless, Mullah Omar’s belatedly recognized demise suggests several lessons for the United States... ...

Written by Seema Sirohi, The Diplomat

​Afghan President Ashraf Ghani seems to have arrived at the same conclusion about Pakistan that his predecessor did but after making a sincere 10-month effort to reach out to his meddlesome neighbor. The realization, therefore, is that much starker... ...

Written by BDJ Desk

The shared values that the United States and India hold dear face profound challenges in a number of areas that threaten global security and the international order, according to the US Ambassador to India, Mr. Richard Verma... ...

Written by Kamran Yousuf, The Express Tribune with The International New York Times​

​“The spy drone is used for aerial photography,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a brief statement. The incident comes just days after ice breaking meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Russia... ...

Written by Robin Wright, The New Yorker

​After nineteen days of marathon negotiations and four missed deadlines, Iran and the world’s six major powers announced a nuclear deal in Vienna this morning. The exhaustive and elusive diplomacy—sustained by an unsettling combination of Twizzlers, gelato, string cheese, and Rice Krispies treats—was dicey to the end. Secretary of State John Kerry wasn’t sure that the often volatile talks would succeed, until Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, showed up at Kerry’s working quarters, in Room 103 of the opulent Palais Coburg, just before midnight Monday... ...

Written by ​Sitwat Waqar Bokhari, CRSS

​The landlocked Afghanistan has been using the port of Karachi in Pakistan for its international trade for decades but with the development of the strategically located Chabahar port of Iran, the situation has taken a turn to the disadvantage of Pakistan. Chabahar port is located in the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran, some 72 kilometers west of Pakistan’s Gwadar port... ...

Written by Daniel Chardell, The National Interest

The BRICS grouping—comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is as contentious as it is misunderstood. Skeptics dismiss the BRICS out of hand, arguing that the coalition is all talk and no action. Enthusiasts, on the other hand, maintain that the BRICS portend a new global... ...

Written by BDJ Desk

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

​Conference Hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Confederation of Indian Industry... ...