This article examines the policies the Chinese state has taken towards the Uyghur Muslim community in Xinjiang since the Cultural Revolution and tries to analyse to what extent have these changed with time. The article argues that the Uyghur community has been seen as a threat to the stability of the state, which is why harsh measures have been directed towards this ethnic group. The party has tried to maintain control over these groups by force by attempting to confine all forms of religious activity and by suppressing any independent body.

• Kunal Mukherjee
• May 2010
• Strategic Analysis

President Barack Obama's foreign policy orientation towards East Asia seems to be characterised by continuity rather than change, and is not so very different from that of his predecessors. With Japan and South Korea, Obama is trying to revitalise bilateral alliances. With China, he continues on his predecessor's policy of greater engagement, though he has offered some concessions during his visit to Beijing in November 2009. However, North Korea remains a real and huge challenge for Obama to test his engagement in East Asia.

• Pranamita Baruah , Rajaram Panda , Shamshad A. Khan
• May 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Specialists on Chinese studies are divided on whether or not China is moving towards democracy. Many scholars forcefully argue that China by now is fairly democratic. While conforming to these views, this article prompts the thesis that China is already somewhat democratic today and is becoming more so. This is argued by highlighting the trends and the progressive character in its emerging regime politics. On the surface, these progressive trends and character may be seen as rhetorical and more as a communist proposition to legitimize its ruling.

• Jagannath P. Panda
• January 2010
• Strategic Analysis

First it was Arunachal Pradesh, then Sikkim, and now it is Ladakh. There has been a shifting pattern in Chinese mischief along the Indian borders. But more curiously, when reports of Chinese incursions hit the headlines, China denied them while India played them down.

• P. Stobdan
• January 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Experts are still searching for a settled answer to the causes and aftermath of the violent unrest between the Han and Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang province that erupted on July 5, 2009. The long-simmering resentment of the native Uyghurs against the Han-dominated groups coupled with the deepening economic crisis is believed to have been the major reason for the ethnic riots. The questions being asked now are: Was it a crisis of ethnicity or economy? Why did the crisis manifest itself this way? And was the crisis a prelude to China's terrorism problem?

• Jagannath P. Panda
• March 2010
• Strategic Analysis

The rapid speed of globalization and increasing economic interdependence has had a direct impact on defence policies and countries are constantly seen fine-tuning their priorities. Walden Bello argues in his book Dilemmas of Domination that the declining US hegemony would prompt US allies in Asia to alter their defence planning and strategies vis-à-vis emerging powers like China.

• Pankaj K Jha
• November 2009
• Strategic Analysis

In the aftermath of North Korea's second nuclear test and the launch of three short-range missiles on May 25, 2009, followed by the launch of seven ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on July 4, there has been widespread speculation on Japan's principled position on non-proliferation and disarmament and whether it will abandon its nuclear abstinence and acquire nuclear capability. This possibility has been echoed recently by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

• Reshmi Kazi
• November 2009
• Strategic Analysis

Democracy came to Taiwan under the leadership of Chiang Ching-Kuo, which brought an end to almost four decades of one-party dictatorship. Chiang Kai?Shek had harboured the dream of overtaking the whole of China and establishing the rule of Kuomintang (KMT). But with the passage of time and a shift in the international political scenario, he realized that this would not be possible.

• Gunjan Singh
• September 2009
• Strategic Analysis

This article explains how growing economic interests have made China and India more prone to various non-traditional security threats in their neighbourhood. It examines whether this evolution has led both countries to mitigate their struggle for influence in favour of security cooperation, and found that despite shared security interests, China and India are not able to overcome mutual distrust. The conclusions are that the quest for short-term gains impedes substantial security cooperation and that economic ambitions have added new impetus to the regional struggle for influence.

• Jonathan Holslag
• September 2009
• Strategic Analysis

One of the most notable attempts by Japan towards fostering regionalism in recent years has been through its active and positive participation in the East Asia Summit (EAS), envisioned to be a stepping stone towards the formation of an East Asian Community (EAC). The idea behind regionalism and efforts towards the EAS and EAC are to be perceived within the broader context of Tokyo's attempts to shape the regional environment and influence policies in the region. Its primary goal is to neutralize and dilute the influence of China.

• Arpita Mathur
• September 2009
• Strategic Analysis

The decade-long effort to list Azhar showcases the pragmatism that marks India's multilateral diplomacy and questions the general perception that India's multilateral approach is ambivalent and inconsistent.

• Rajeesh Kumar
• May 09, 2019
• IDSA Comments

It is neither the Wuhan spirit nor India’s zero tolerance on terrorism but China’s own vulnerability to terror that caused Beijing to ultimately take on board New Delhi’s concerns on terrorism.

• Abanti Bhattacharya
• May 06, 2019
• IDSA Comments

As the East Asian regional order becomes fragmented, how is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe managing Tokyo’s strategic interests within the US-Japan-China relations?

• Titli Basu
• January 17, 2019
• Issue Brief

China has managed to establish an edge in solar energy manufacturing and technology, and any shift in its solar policy is likely to affect countries looking to increase their solar energy capacity.

• Chithra Purushothaman
• December 31, 2018
• Issue Brief

There is a need to close the perception gap in India’s assessment of the state of Chinese politics, to distinguish between transformation and conflict, and respond accordingly.

• M.S. Prathibha
• December 20, 2018
• IDSA Comments

While broad agreement at the top leadership level has been easy to achieve, negotiations relating to defence equipment and technology cooperation have proved to be difficult, shaped as these are by a complex interplay of variables like cost-competitiveness, technology transfer and domestic politics.

• Titli Basu
• August 31, 2018
• IDSA Comments

India must jettison the attempt to maintain a balance between China and the US and instead take advantage of China’s internal and external vulnerabilities to gain an upper hand in the asymmetric power equation that has developed.

• Abanti Bhattacharya
• August 27, 2018
• IDSA Comments

While the US may be able to ensure the security of its homeland, it is bound to gradually yield strategic space to China in the region. All said, prevailing alignments in the region are in for a definite reset.

• G.G. Dwivedi
• June 22, 2018
• IDSA Comments

The summit brought out ambiguities in America’s policy towards denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula. To translate outcomes of the summit into concrete deliverables, Trump administration would not only have to clearly define its denuclearisation action plan in terms of goals, methodology and timeline but also bolster its alliance with South Korea and Japan.

• Titli Basu
• June 19, 2018
• IDSA Comments

While the recent Korean Summit marks the beginning of the new era, to achieve lasting peace will require intense diplomatic efforts.

• G.G. Dwivedi
• May 04, 2018
• IDSA Comments