SEARCH RESULTS

< Back Dr Medha Bisht Medha Bisht is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi. She was formerly a Fellow at the South Asia Centre, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. She completed her PhD in Diplomatic Studies, at the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her articles on strategic thought, Indian foreign policy, Bhutan, and Women’s Movements, have appeared in journals such as the Hague Journal of Diplomacy, the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, and Asian Affairs. Her most recent book is titled, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Philosophy of Strategy’, published by Routledge in 2019. Publications Taliban Talks to “International Community”: https://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/taliban-talks-to-international-community-medhabhist-030921 Chinese Inroads into Bhutan: Diplomatic Gimmick or Strategic Reality?: https://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/ChineseInroadsintoBhutan_mbisht_140812 Dams in Arunachal Pradesh: Between Development Debates and Strategic Dimensions: https://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/DamsinArunachalPradesh_mbisht_010210

955d0334-27fe-4c38-940e-97ebbc3de35a < All op-eds Collective HADR Responses in the Indo-Pacific: Additional Mechanisms in the Making? Dr Lina Gong This blog originally appeared as an online publication for the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technical University, Singapore. It has been republished with the consent of both RSIS and the author, Dr Lina Gong. SYNOPSIS The emergence of new regional mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad and the Lancang Mekong Cooperation offer additional mechanisms to strengthen collective response and complement the role of ASEAN in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the Indo-Pacific. The respective designs of these new mechanisms nevertheless raise important questions over the extent to which they will contribute to deepening collective disaster response. COMMENTARY Natural hazards pose significant threats to the Indo-Pacific. In 2021, the region accounted for nearly half of disaster-induced fatalities and 23% of economic losses in the world. Climate change adds to the risks facing the region as climate extremes are projected to increase in frequency and severity. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has further strained personnel, resources and logistics in disaster responses. These trends highlight the need to strengthen regional militaries’ capacity for collective response in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR). Military involvement in disaster response is common in this region and foreign military assistance is requested when national military assets are inadequate. Success and Constraints of the ASEAN Model The ASEAN countries have built a multi-layered network to support collective response to disasters in the region. Established institutions and platforms contribute to better communication and coordination on HADR issues. Relying on its convenient location in the region and network of international liaison officers, the Changi Regional HADR Coordination Centre ( RHCC ) hosted by Singapore was launched in 2014 to enhance regional coordination in HADR. The RHCC shares information to facilitate informed deployment-related decision-making on the part of partner militaries and avoid duplication when a disaster strikes across the wider region. Platforms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)–Plus have facilitated multi-level engagement on HADR issues between ASEAN and its dialogue partners since the 1990s through regular meetings and workshops as well as joint training and exercises . These activities help connect focal points of contact from different countries and sectors, including military forces, government agencies, regional and international organisations, and humanitarian agencies, to foster a regional network of disaster relief. However, it is necessary to recognise the difficulty for ASEAN to go beyond a facilitative role. Currently, collective response takes the form of multiple bilateral responses, as seen during the Palu earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia in 2018. Eighteen countries deployed assets through direct coordination with the Indonesian military forces, while the RHCC Centre was not utilised. The same pattern was seen in military responses to COVID-19 in the region, with one military delivering critical medical supplies and vaccines to another bilaterally. It shows the ASEAN countries’ preference for dealing with military HADR interactions primarily by themselves with some engagement through regional mechanisms, an approach that ultimately limits the depth of HADR cooperation in the region. A more regionalised response to HADR under the ASEAN banner can contribute further to enhancing the speed and efficiency of coordination and deployment. The discussions for the establishment of an ASEAN Militaries Ready Group on HADR since 2015 can be seen as a step in this direction. Quad and LMC as Alternatives: Potential and Uncertainty Although the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and the Lancang Mekong Cooperation (LMC) are relatively new and under-institutionalised mechanisms, compared with ASEAN, the two arrangements have the potential both in resources and capabilities to be more operational. The Quad, consisting of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, evolved from the core group of relief nations after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and was revived by the participating countries in 2017. Motivated by the need to contain the growing influence of China, the revived Quad is now primarily a cooperative mechanism for traditional security concerns. However, all four countries are key HADR providers in the Indo-Pacific and have mature bilateral or trilateral military partnerships, which reduce common concerns in HADR operations, such as interoperability, communication and logistics at the country-to-country level. Interoperability between the United States and Australia as well as Japan is high due to their long-standing security alliances. Australia and Japan signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement in January 2022, which deepens bilateral security cooperation, including in HADR. Interoperability between the Indian military and the other three is increasing as Australia and Japan have been invited to join India’s Malabar naval exercise , which started in 1992 on a bilateral basis between India and the United States. As Australia, India and Japan are located in different subregions of the Indo-Pacific, and the United States has an extensive military presence across the region, logistics for collective responses under the Quad framework is not likely to face major constraints. However, the place of HADR on the Quad agenda is unclear. The Quad Leaders’ Joint Statement adopted in March 2021 pledged to respond to an array of global challenges, including HADR. However, it disappeared in the joint statement of September 2021. Following the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, the four leaders indicated an interest in establishing a regional mechanism for HADR . These changes possibly suggest that areas in direct competition with Beijing are viewed with higher urgency and importance, such as COVID-19 and emerging technologies. The wavering attitude to HADR raises uncertainty over the Quad’s sustained commitment and investment in collective response. In addition, despite the common goal, the calculations of the four countries on HADR deployment do not necessarily always converge as some may still prefer bilateral assistance over collective response under the Quad banner on some occasions. It remains to be seen how the HADR mechanism within the Quad will balance the diverging interests and concerns of the four participating countries. The LMC, which involves Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, was launched in 2016 in Sanya, China. Disaster response is not among its founding five priorities of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, and agriculture and poverty reduction; however, it has appeared in recent declarations. The LMC is not designed as an HADR provider, evident in the fact that it did not provide emergency relief to the LMC counties hit by deadly floods in November 2020. Instead, China provided bilateral aid to the affected countries through its embassies. The declaration following the third LMC leaders’ meeting in August 2020 specified the emergencies for which humanitarian assistance will be provided, which include floods, droughts and landslides. As such, it can be assumed that HADR within the LMC context is broadly linked to water management. The declaration also pledged to strengthen “collective response” to future public health emergencies. The motivations for the LMC fundamentally differ from the two aforementioned platforms, yet HADR now makes it into the LMC’s declarations. First, the LMC is primarily intended to enhance socio-economic cooperation , even though political and security cooperation is one of the three pillars. Geographically, its focus is on the Mekong subregion. Second, China is obviously the most resourceful and capable provider due to its size and clout as an external partner for HADR efforts. The LMC region has been a priority area in China’s active diplomacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a special fund for public health established in 2020 to support infectious disease control in the subregion. In the past two years, Beijing has deployed military medical teams and donated vaccines to its LMC counterparts through the Chinese Defence Ministry. These bilateral activities have been listed as examples of cooperation under LMC. They significantly outnumber the bilateral interactions between other LMC countries tracked by the LMC secretariat. The power imbalance between the LMC countries can be a double-edged sword for possible collective action under the LMC banner, and differentiating LMC responses from China’s own diplomatic offensive is crucial. Conclusion The proliferation of multilateral mechanisms can potentially benefit HADR by broadening the sources of personnel, capabilities and resources. However, ASEAN’s experience shows the difficulty in moving towards meaningful collective response in HADR in multilateral contexts. As the Quad and LMC were not revived/established for humanitarian purposes and do not have clearly defined arrangements for collective responses, their collective action in HADR, other than in the form of joint exercises, are likely to be ad hoc at best. Previous Next LATEST OP-EDS Dr Dhanasree Jayaram Intersectionality As The Key To Indo-Pacific Climate Action The Indo-Pacific is a dynamic region that faces a multitude of climate vulnerabilities. These climate vulnerabilities intermingle with the region’s social, economic, ecological, political, and cultural fault lines, thereby exacerbating the systemic crisis that the region’s populations are currently facing and will be facing in the future. Applying an intersectional framework is critical for developing a comprehensive understanding of varying vulnerabilities and capacities (that influence the agency of those affected) across societies. Read More Purvaja Modak 2024: Brazil’s G20 Year While Indonesia and India made some progress on negotiations on climate action, inclusion of the African Union in the G20 and the reform of multilateral development banks (MDBs), much more action is essential. Read More Abhivardhan An Indo-Pacific Perspective on AI Safety Analysing varied approaches to AI regulation in key countries, this article explores the challenges and opportunities of AI Safety in the Indo-Pacific region and discusses the need for a coordinated approach to addressing these issues. Read More

< Back Dr Madhumati Deshpande Madhumati Deshpande is currently serving as Department Coordinator, and Assistant Professor, at the Department of International Studies, Political Science, and History, Christ University, Bangalore. She holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and has formerly worked as an Editor at Springer Reference Works, New Delhi. She has also been a Graduate Assistant, at the Carter Center, Atlanta, in its Democracy Program. She has published research articles on Indian politics, influence of religion on foreign policy, India-Sri-Lanka relations, and maritime policies, among others. Publications Scrutinizing the Indo-China Issue with Dr Madhumati Deshpande https://www.thepolitindia.com/post/scrutinizing-the-indo-china-issue-with-dr-madhumati-deshpande

Dr. Happymon Jacob is the Founder and Honourary Director of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research. Dr Jacob is Associate Professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). < Back Dr. Happymon Jacob Dr. Happymon Jacob is the Founder and Honourary Director of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research. Dr Jacob is Associate Professor of Diplomacy and Disarmament at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Prior to joining JNU in 2008, he held teaching positions at the University of Jammu in J&K and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi; and research positions at the Centre for Air Power Studies, Delhi Policy Group, and Observer Research Foundation. Dr Jacob is an elected member of the Pugwash Council since 2013. He is the author of Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India-Pakistan Escalation Dynamics (Oxford University Press, 2019), and Line of Control: Traveling with the Indian and Pakistani Armies (Penguin Viking 2018). His concurrent engagements with the Indian media include a column with The Hindu and hosting of weekly video show on national security on The Wire.In.

< Back Dr Nanda Kishor Dr. Nanda Kishor M S is an Associate Professor at Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University and formerly Head, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations and Coordinator of Centre for Polish and Central European Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal. He holds an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Hyderabad Central University (HCU), Hyderabad, India and completed Postdoc at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, with ERASMUS MUNDUS Fellowship from the European Union. He has been teaching Geopolitics of West Asia, India’s Foreign Policy, Concept of War and Peace in Geopolitics, Terrorism and Asymmetric Conflicts. Dr. Kishor has been working on conflict resolution, West Asia (Middle East), refugees and international law. He was a recipient of the Short-Term Junior Research Fellowship from UNHCR, Brookings, Government of Finland and MCRG (Kolkata). He visited Hochschule University of Applied Sciences, Bremen, Germany, on a short-term fellowship by the DAAD sponsored program of HS Bremen in 2012. He was part of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) by the United States during June-July 2013. He is a Senior Fellow at Defence Research and Studies (DRaS) in India, Non-Resident Fellow of Middle East Institute New Delhi, Advisor and Subject Expert for COVINTS, a Bangalore based Risk Analyst Company, Analyst at Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism (London), Visiting Fellow to AIDIA (Kathmandu), was Features Editor (Security Studies) of Science, Technology and Security forum (MARG-MAHE). He has several publications in journals and edited volumes. Publications

< Back Dr Pavithra Jayawardena Dr Pavithra Jayawardena is a senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo. She currently teaches introductory course for International Relations, Geopolitics and Research Methodology at the undergraduate level. Publications

< Back Dr Chow Bing Ngeow Dr. Ngeow Chow-Bing is Director of the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya. He received his PhD in Public and International Affairs from Northeastern University. Publications

< Back Lucio III Blanco Pitlo Mr Pitlo is a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the National Chengchi University. Publications

< Back Ms Anoosha Panwar Anoosha S. Panwar is pursuing her Doctoral studies in Competition Law from National Law University, Delhi. She also works as Teaching Associate at National Law University, Delhi. Publications

< Back Mr Anurag Mishra I am Anurag Mishra, a Ph.D. scholar at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal University, New Delhi. I hold a Master of Laws degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and a B.A.LL.B. degree from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. I have a keen interest in the US politics and foreign policy as well as International Law which I studied during both the undergraduate and post graduate level. Publications

< Back Don McLain Gill Don McLain Gill is a Manila-based geopolitical analyst, an author, and the Director for South and Southeast Asia at the Philippine-Middle East Studies Association (PMESA). He currently has over 100 publications to his credit in the form of books, book chapters, peer-reviewed international journal articles, newspaper columns, and commentary/ analysis articles for top publishers such as The Diplomat, The National Interest, Asia Times, South China Morning Post, Observer Research Foundation, East-West Center, RUSI, and The Stimson Center, among others. He is also regularly interviewed by international news tv channels and newspapers on a wide array of issues regarding Asian affairs, South and Southeast Asian geopolitics, and Philippine foreign policy. He holds an MA Degree in International Relations. Publications ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific: Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-7521-9_5 India-France Partnership Provides a Model for East-West Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific https://thediplomat.com/2023/01/india-france-partnership-provides-a-model-for-east-west-cooperation-in-the-indo-pacific/ Will the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment be a Game-changer in the Indo-Pacific?https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/will-the-partnership-global-infrastructure-and-investment-be-game-changer-in-the-indo

< Back Mr Sujeet Kumar Sujeet Kumar is serving the nation, and his state of Odisha, as a Parliamentarian (Member of RajyaSabha/ Upper House). He earlier served as the Advisor, in the rank of Chief Secretary, to the Special Development Council (SDC) of Government of Odisha and as the Special Secretary of Odisha State Planning Board, very senior policy planning positions with Government of Odisha. Publications