South Asia

News that China is considering a Seychelles offer of a base for its ships means a new strategic headache for India’s military planners.

India will have been paying close attention to parliamentary elections in Russia. The two countries have plenty of shared defense, strategic and nuclear interests.

The accidental killing of 24 Pakistani troops by NATO aircraft has prompted an angry response from Pakistan – and further dimmed any prospect of mutual trust.

The cancelation of the latest talks over their disputed border, allegedly due to Chinese pressure on India over the Dalai Lama, is likely to stoke growing tensions.

A general election isn’t due until 2013. But the big political parties, the Army and the Supreme Court are already engaged in a battle that will shape the country’s future.

Occupy Wall Street protesters aren’t the only ones taking to the street over claims of corporate greed. In Bangladesh, angry investors say they’ve also been cheated by the banks.

Japan and India are set to boost military and economic ties. But even without a rising China, the two would surely have found each other.

Microfinance schemes were meant to be the saviour of the world’s poor. But in parts of India, lenders are enticing borrowers into poverty traps.

Some are urging India to play a more active role in the South China Sea. There’s no need – China has too much to lose by escalating territorial disputes.

India’s armed forces are frequently called upon to assist following natural disasters. But will they get what they need to defend the border?

As long as Pakistan feels threatened by India’s superior conventional forces it will likely continue its nuclear build-up. What can the West do?

Barack Obama’s once promising foreign policy has been undermined by short-sighted support for Israel and muddled objectives in Afghanistan.