CHANGE IN INDIA’S STANCE DISCOMFORTS DRAGON

zones (EEZs), China has always used “Nine-Dash Line”, to justify its viewpoint. Even a judgement by International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2013 establishing EEZ rights of Philippines in SCS have been rejected by China as it doesn’t recognise the ICJ ruling calling it as an encroachment on its sovereignty. China intends “to prevent an internationalization or regionalization of the dispute and would like to prevent or weaken any move towards solidarity within ASEAN on these issues and continue to address them on a bilateral basis.” The recent US initiatives like creation of AUKUS, new alliance group in the region among Australia, United Kingdom and United States, and the formation of QUAD to which India is also a part adds to Chinese discomfort.

INDIA’S STAKES AND CHANGE IN POLICY

Tripura Rivals Join Hands To Take On Bjp For Democracy

With Tripura assembly elections approaching, all eyes are on Congress and the CPI-M. The two parties, which fought several elections against each other in the past, have entered into a pre-poll agreement to take on their two common rivals---the BJP and the Trinamool Congress. That makes Tripura somewhat different from West Bengal’s political scene where the Congress, TMC and CPM fought the state elections against one another. What makes Tripura battlefield interesting is that the Congress had been the ruling party for several years before the BJP dislodged it from power and is now allying with the CPM.

The author is a Post Graduate in International Studies, Alumni of Defense Services Staff College, Wellington and College of Combat, Mhow

India’s increased cooperation with US and QUAD for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Indeed, the change is driven by the new perception in Indiathat there is no division between strategic interest and economic/business interest; both are very much part of national interest.

Second, security and business opportunities influence India to delve into the potential of the South China Sea. This change in stance must take a permanent shape and form while dealing with China in future

The South China Sea (SCS) has abundance of minerals and oil resources and estimated to contain 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The area witnesses roughly 30% of the global maritime trade passing through it on its way to the highly trafficked ports in Southeast Asia. The conflict among the five states, namely the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia, has remained unresolved for decades. The claimant states, have divergent and sometimes overlapping territorial claims based on a variety of historical and geographical data. The current problems stem from the 1951 San Francisco Treaty, which followed Japan’s defeat in World War II. Within the terms of its surrender, Japan gave up its rights to its islands in the South China Sea, leaving a power vacuum in the region. No country was explicitly granted sovereignty over these waters, and China asserted its advantage by submitting the now infamous “nine-dotted line” claim covering almost the entire South