Articles By Kanwal Sibal

Syria: Need proof to pass judgment

Syria: Need proof to pass judgment

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 10 Sep , 2013

The G 20 meeting in St Petersburg has further exposed and deepened international divisions on Syria. President Obama believes that the Syrian government is responsible for last month’s chemical...

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Should the PMs of India and Pakistan meet in New York?

Should the PMs of India and Pakistan meet in New York?

By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 06 Sep , 2013

Whether the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, should meet his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in New York in September has become a politically controversial issue. The government is being...

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Syria: Two-faced in West Asia

Syria: Two-faced in West Asia

By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 04 Sep , 2013

President Obama’s plan to take military action against Syria can be legitimately questioned on legal, political and moral grounds. Syria has not, strictly speaking, violated international law in...

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India lost in Afghan endgame

India lost in Afghan endgame

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 27 Aug , 2013

The situation in Afghanistan is full of uncertainties and the prospects of India’s neighbourhood becoming even more difficult for us are real. We have little control over the situation in...

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Dialogue With Pak A Trap

Dialogue With Pak A Trap

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 13 Aug , 2013

Our response to the killing of five Indian soldiers last week by the Pakistanis inside our Line of Control has again shown our inability to deal effectively with the dual issue of dialoguing with...

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New hurdles on the road to peace in Kabul

New hurdles on the road to peace in Kabul

By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 08 Aug , 2013

In 2014, power will be transferred to a new president in Afghanistan. The army of the United States of America will complete its withdrawal and the Afghan National Security Forces will assume...

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India’s options in dealing with Pakistan

India’s options in dealing with Pakistan

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 Aug , 2013

When we consider our options, the first reality that we must accept is that we have no option but to deal with Pakistan irrespective of whether we have friendly or inimical relations with it, as...

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Afghanistan: 2014 will be a turning point

Afghanistan: 2014 will be a turning point

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 01 Aug , 2013

2014 will be a turning point in Afghanistan. Power will be handed over to a new President after elections. The US military will complete its withdrawal. The Afghan National Security Forces will...

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Political Islam’s Failure

Political Islam’s Failure

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 09 Jul , 2013

If the overthrow of President Mubarak by the mass of protestors in Tahrir Square in 2011 was a surprise, the ouster of President Morsi by even larger protests in Tahrir Square and across Egypt in...

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Mounting threat from China, lackluster Indian response

Mounting threat from China, lackluster Indian response

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: The Telegraph | Date: 05 Jul , 2013

India will have to manage its relationships with China and Japan with greater finesse. China constitutes by far our most difficult diplomatic challenge as its rise impacts us directly in view of...

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New Iran Prez can’t do wonders

New Iran Prez can’t do wonders

By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 25 Jun , 2013

Hassan Rowhani’s election as President of Iran on June 14 is unlikely to materially change the dynamics of the conflict between Iran and the western powers.  The “reformists” in Iran who...

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Make most of Japan’s overtures

Make most of Japan’s overtures

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 12 Jun , 2013

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Japan from May 27 to 30 was opportune as the circumstances today are more propitious than ever for India and Japan to forge a solid strategic...

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India’s China Syndrome

India’s China Syndrome

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 29 May , 2013

India-China relations are complex enough not to be seen in black and white terms. Amidst all the good reasons for India to mistrust China and deal with it as an adversary, it makes sense to work...

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Bowing down to the dragon

Bowing down to the dragon

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 14 May , 2013

Our statements on the recent India-China face-off in Ladakh continue to confound. One would have thought that we would have analysed the incident in depth, tried to figure out China’s...

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Guns, Helicopters and the Treaty

Guns, Helicopters and the Treaty

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: The Telegraph | Date: 27 Apr , 2013

The United Nations general assembly has approved the arms trade treaty on April 2, causing India some discomfiture. India participated actively in the negotiations but could not endorse the final...

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Let’s not get too relaxed on China

Let’s not get too relaxed on China

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 24 Apr , 2013

Reports of Chinese soldiers intruding 10 kilometres into Ladakh challenge once again our assumptions about the stability of the situation on the unsettled India-China border. Our expanding...

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India: Strategic Challenges and Responses

India: Strategic Challenges and Responses

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 04 Apr , 2013

At the outset let me clarify that I will discuss the subject primarily from the foreign policy and security point of view. Many believe that strategic challenges should now include those...

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Anti-Lanka vote was a bad idea

Anti-Lanka vote was a bad idea

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 25 Mar , 2013

India has ended up looking opportunistic and unprincipled, a victim of its internal political wrangling, with a government in New Delhi not fully in control of foreign policy. India has once...

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Italy goes back on its word

Italy goes back on its word

By: Kanwal Sibal | Date: 16 Mar , 2013

The latest turn of events in the Italian marines case is most unfortunate for both India and Italy as the bilateral relationship is being put under serious strain. The Indian side had greater...

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Adrift Without A Strategic Culture

Adrift Without A Strategic Culture

By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Courtesy: Mail Today | Date: 12 Mar , 2013

Does India have a strategic culture? If strategic culture is defined narrowly in the context of the nuclear age alone, then India, as a recent entrant to the nuclear club and still in the process...

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