Articles By Kanwal Sibal
India’s maritime and other challenges in the Indo-Pacific region
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 28 May , 2018
Until very recently we would be talking only about India’s challenges, maritime and others, in the Indian Ocean region and not the Indo-Pacific region. The concept of the Indo-Pacific is a very...
Tillerson's speech and his vision for India-US ties in the decades ahead
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 27 Oct , 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s speech on October 18 at a Washington DC-based think tank is important as it tells us how the US views India as a partner in the years ahead. It is not the first...
No tears for Sharif
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 06 Aug , 2017
Nawaz Sharif’s ouster is surprising. And not so surprising, because his position had earlier been jolted by the massive ‘dharnas’ orchestrated by Imran Khan, with the army’s tacit support....
The Belt and Road Forum: India Hits the Nail
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 07 Jun , 2017
China has been working to undermine India’s position from within by courting business, academic and media lobbies that question the wisdom of government’s decision on boycotting BRF. India was...
Why India must keep an eye on China's 'Silk Road' project
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 25 Apr , 2017
China is planning to hold an international conference on President Xi Jinping’s ‘One Belt One Road’ (OBOR) project (aimed at rebuilding the ancient Silk Road) in May where the presence of world...
India's foreign policy last year and the challenges of 2017
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: The Telegraph | Date: 13 Jan , 2017
The vigour of the Indian prime minister’s diplomacy did not abate in 2016. Ties with the United States of America received particular attention, with five meetings with Barack Obama during the...
China has not been made to pay yet for protecting Pakistan
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 19 May , 2016
China’s repeated blocking of India’s moves in the 1267 United Nations sanctions committee to include leaders of Pakistan’s jihadi organizations perpetrating terrorist attacks against India...
Evolving Dynamics of Indo-US Relations
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Vol. 30.1 Jan-Mar 2015 | Date: 24 Sep , 2015
The pro-US lobby in India prefers to see in Prime Minister Modi’s move to invite President Obama an inclination to strategically lean towards the US, shed “strategic autonomy” and end the...
Indo-Pak Talks: The problem is with the Pakistani mindset
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Economic Times | Date: 10 Jul , 2015
Prime Minister Modi extended his hand of friendship to Pakistan immediately after his electoral triumph by inviting Nawaz Sharif to his swearing-in ceremony and agreeing to hold foreign secretary...
Dealing with the US always tests our diplomacy
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 06 Oct , 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit presented him with a difficult challenge. At the rhetorical level, projecting the India-US relationship as between two democracies is easy. The US calls...
Indo-US relations: Not natural partners at all
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 30 Sep , 2014
If the media coverage in India of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit and the adulation with which the Indian-American community greeted him in New York were any yardstick, it can already be...
The Arc of the India-US Partnership
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Vol. 27.2 Apr-Jun 2012 | Date: 29 Sep , 2014
Today, the India-US relationship is a transformed one with the change in Indian thinking about America being the most important element. Being ‘pro-American’ is not a stigma any longer...
China failed to capitalise on Xi's Delhi visit
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 23 Sep , 2014
President Xi Jinping’s visit to India produced less than the expected results, despite favourable conditions for a “re-set” of India-China relations being in place. Prime Minister Modi,...
Modi-Xi agenda: Work for 'Hindi-Chini buy-buy'
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 16 Sep , 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is receiving the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad on the former’s birthday. If symbolism mirrored reality, then we should see the birth of new...
India and Japan: Imperative for Bullet Train Journey
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 11 Sep , 2014
Prime Minister Modi’s just concluded visit to Japan has been successful on various counts. Politically, the India-Japan relationship has been solidified; economically, prospects of major Japanese...
How India and Australia became happy allies?
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 08 Sep , 2014
The transformation of India-Australia relations in the last decade has been remarkable. We have moved rapidly from a lack of empathy to recognition that our relationship can be mutually...
Because Pakistan crossed the line
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Economic Times | Date: 30 Aug , 2014
The Pakistan high commissioner seriously transgressed diplomatic norms in meeting the Kashmiri secessionists after being advised against it by the foreign secretary. Accredited envoys do not...
Pakistan isn't ready for peace with India
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 26 Aug , 2014
We have to draw some hard lessons from the latest drama in India-Pakistan relations. If we do not, we will continue being beset with unmet expectations, unrequited gestures and a thousand...
Modi is building a more connected India
By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 13 Aug , 2014
If Modi has not revealed his hand yet on domestic issues and his silence on rising controversies is puzzling and disappointing many, his personal imprint on our foreign policy is already...
Kerry Visit: Not Much Expected, Not Much Achieved
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Economic Times | Date: 02 Aug , 2014
Not too much was expected from the just-concluded India-US strategic dialogue and not too much has resulted. Its importance lay in resuming and creating a congenial atmosphere for high level...