IDR Blog
Understanding Duterte: The Unpredictable President of The Philippines
Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the powerful seven-term mayor of Davao city,1 was elected as the new president of The Philippines in May 2016 with an approximately 39 per cent of vote share.2 His landslide victory in the presidential election has been largely attributed to his over two decades of administrative experience as the longest serving city...
Dhaka Carnage – A Wake up call for Realism
The siege of the Holey Artisan Café by a group of young Jihadis on July 1 evening was something waiting to happen. Twenty guests dining in this up-market restaurant in Dhaka’s diplomatic area were killed by these terrorists. Most of them were foreigners. Two police officers also lost their lives. The terrorists were killed in a mixed...
South China Sea Ruling: India Strikes the Right Balance
The verdict on The Philippines’ petition regarding the legality of Chinese claims in the South China Sea was much awaited, given that China had claimed the sea almost in its entirety. The Chinese reaction in the run-up to the award indicated that they were prepared for a verdict that was not likely to be in their favour. Chinese media had...
Tackling IS is a Battle of Minds and not just Swords
While the Islamic State (IS), the most dreaded terrorist organization, has lost sizable territory and fighters because of constant bombing by diverse forces, including United States and Russian, but the ideology of this terrorist outfit remains intact. IS, which is known as Dae’sh in Arabic, claims to establish a Caliphate (Islamic State)...
China loses to Philippines in South China Sea: What lies ahead?
The United Nations’ arbitration court, in a landmark ruling, has dismissed China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, saying it has “no historic title” to the vast maritime region which is valuable because of $5 trillion worth of global trade passing through it. The court declared that “although Chinese navigators and...