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Indian Prime Minister meeting his Vietnamese Counterpart ( Credits- Wikimedia Commons / Narendra Modi Official) Source- The National Interest Author- Sylvia Mishra India no longer hides its aspirations of playing an active political and security role in the Asia-Pacific. For political and commercial reasons, the region is critical to India’s strategic thinking. But India’s may not be able to deftly integrate itself in the region, due to lack of consistent political will, steady military modernization and the galloping pace of the regional economy. However, New Delhi has been slowly expanding its strategic and economic heft through its Act East policy, blue-water navy and multilateral diplomacy. In the evolving security context of the Asia-Pacific, one country that is key to India’s sustained presence and role is Vietnam. In the last few years, Hanoi’s diplomatic profile has grown in New Delhi’s strategic calculus. At the intersection of India’s Act East policy and Vi...

US Army Rangers ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons) Source- The National Interest Author- Robert Prescott In the Old Testament book of Judges, the Almighty tasks Gideon with leading the Israelites against their oppressor, the Midianites. In assembling an Israelite army, the Almighty commands Gideon to reduce his numbers. Gideon obeys and ultimately triumphs with the remaining force of three hundred men employing an elaborate ruse. Reducing the size of an armed force seems counterintuitive, but, as the story illustrates, organizational design, and not end strength, is critical to military effectiveness. In the present day, headlines are replete with American Army leadership warning of risks arising from the reduction in the service’s end strength. Unfortunately, Army leadership indicated the risks could only be addressed by providing the service with more resources, namely appropriation dollars to afford additional personnel and new equipment. Given the Department ...

Image credits- ASEAN Source- The Diplomat Author- Ahmad Rashid Malik Meeting with envoys from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, and Myanmar) in Aiwan-e-Sadr on April 19, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain expressed his desire to boost relations with ASEAN. He specifically mentioned Pakistan’s intention to seek a Full Dialogue Partnership (FDP) with the organization, which aims at strengthening political, trade, and economic ties with ASEAN member states. He admitted that Pakistan’s trade with ASEAN is well below its potential. ASEAN is a promising area for trade, investment, and connectivity. In terms of trade potential, ASEAN is the seventh largest trading area in the world. The combined GDP of the ten ASEAN nations is over $2.4 trillion. It is a hub for regional trade and manufacturing activities and is emerging as one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world. As the region...