Youth-led protest movements across South and Southeast Asia seek a political reset

Written by Adhiraaj Anand

Deeper and more sustained transnational exchanges could foster new regional identities and solidarities between national protest movements, as well as increase their resilience and capacity for innovation.

People for democracy, states for impunity: Competing transnational solidarities in Southeast Asia

Written by Yatana Yamahata

Solidarity among Southeast Asians has strengthened pro-democracy movements across the region and, in doing so, fostered a sense of shared regional identity. ASEAN, however, does not mirror nor reinforce this solidarity. Instead, it remains constrained by its founding principle of non-interference.

Sheikh Hasina’s political demise and Bangladesh’s foreign policy in the Yunus era

Written by Khandakar Tahmid Rejwan

Bangladesh’s historical pro-India stance under Hasina is likely to diminish under the new interim administration due to Touhid’s critical views on India over issues like alleged border killings and the need to balance geopolitical partners.

South Asia, Power Politics9DLOctober 8, 2024Sheikh Hasina’s political demise and Bangladesh’s foreign policy in the Yunus era, Khandakar Tahmid Rejwan, Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, Muhammad Yunus, China, India, Myanmar, Protests

In conversation with Dr T.V. Paul

9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr T.V. Paul about his latest book: The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi.

This book explores India's successes and constraints since its independence in 1947, analysing the motivations of its leaders and the benchmarks for global status.

In Conversation9DLSeptember 19, 2024TV Paul, 9DASHLINE, The Unfinished Quest, India's Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi, independence in 1947, global status, great power status, Indo-Pacific region, swing power, China-India rivalry, Xi and Modi, Sino-Indian relations, 4, 056-kilometer border, BRICS grouping, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), East Asia, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Bandung meeting, United Nations, Himalayan borders, 1962 war, Indira Gandhi, Pakistan, China ], South Asia, US-led war in Afghanistan, Meiji restoration, China and Japan, Jiang Zemin, Deng Xiaoping, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping, balance of power, mid-21st century., COVID-19 pandemic, Covid outbreak in 2020, Maldives, Bangladesh, third force, Washington, South China Sea, Hindu nationalism, BJP, Hindu Rashtra, Naval buildup, Muslims, identity politics, BRI, aspirational power, rising power, In conversation with Dr T.V. Paul

Sino-India rivalry for port dominance in Bangladesh

Written by Mae Chow and Shakthi De Silva

Ultimately, Bangladesh's ability to maintain constructive engagements with China and India will not only shape its own future trajectory but also contribute significantly to the stability and prosperity of the broader Indo-Pacific region.

South Asia, Faultlines9DLApril 24, 2024Sino-India rivalry for port dominance in Bangladesh, Mae Chow, Shakthi de Silva, 9DASHLINE, Bangladesh, India China, India, China, Sino-India rivalry, least developed country, developed economy, port, maritime, infrastructure, trade, port infrastructure, Beijing, New Delhi, Dhaka, intra-regional trade, Belt and Road, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Bangladesh-China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCM-EC), Myanmar, Mongla Port, Bay of Bengal, Neighbourhood First Policy, Kyaukpyu, Sri Lanka, Hambantota Port, Chittagong, foreign direct investment, China Harbour Engineering Company, investment, Sheikh Hasina, Sonadia Deep-Sea Port Project, single-point mooring, sea-land integrated super-large oil storage and transportation system, Chittagong port, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), China State Engineering and Construction Company (CSCEC), Payra Deep Seaport, Indian Ocean, littoral, String Of Pearls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maldives, Nepal, connectivity, sea lines, Mongla port, Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line, Eigs India Consulting Engineers, Mongla Port Authority, development, Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA), Yun Sheng BD, Mongla Export Processing Zone, electric vehicle manufacturing supply chains, loans, balancing, strategic partnerships, sovereignty, diplomacy

India and Bangladesh must address climate migration together

Written by Soraya Kishtwari

As there is no clear legal framework whereby governments or international bodies are able to categorise and process migrants displaced by climate change, many struggle in legal limbo.

South Asia9DLApril 8, 20249dashline, 9DL, Soraya Kishtwari, India and Bangladesh Must Address Climate Migration Together, Climate change, UNDP, climate migrant, Climate Crisis, india, Bangladesh, climate change mitigation, climate refugee, Sundarbans, climate governance, migrant crisis, India-Bangladesh relations

BIMSTEC: India’s unlikely regional security platform in the Bay of Bengal

Written by Tobias Scholz

The recent enhancement of security dialogues and mechanisms will continue to look inward by building trust, resilience, and capacity among BIMSTEC partners.

South Asia9DLNovember 14, 20239dashline, tobias scholz, BIMSTEC: India’s unlikely regional security platform in the Bay of Bengal, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), India’s Look East policy, BIMSTEC’s security agenda, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC, myanmar, Bangladesh, worsened Myanmar’s relations with Bangladesh and India, Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking, BIMSTEC Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), Advanced Persistent Threat actors (APTs), CERT-to-CERT cooperation, QUAD, ASEAN’s Cybersecurity Skilling Programme, indo-pacific, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), G20 Summit in New Delhi, Ordnungsmacht, BIMSTEC member states

Structural trends could force swing states to choose sides

Written by Marc Saxer

‘Partnerships of the Middle’ recognise the aversion of Asian powers against alliances and offer informal avenues of collaboration to safeguard global public goods.

Power Politics9DLNovember 7, 20239DASHLINE, Will structural trends force ‘swing states’ to choose sides?, Marc Saxer, China, United States, hegemony, competition, Indo-Pacific, superpowers, allies, balancing, balancing power, balancing game, balancing strategies, bloc building, bloc, technological bifurcation, bipolarity, band-waggon, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, military alliance, Marcos Jr., President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., President Marcos Jr., treaty ally, Russia, North Korea, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Burmese junta, Myanmar, ASEAN, bloc formation, binaries, Taiwan, cold war, hot war, hedging, Global South, Russian invasion, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Malaysia, Pakistan, Beijing, International Monetary Fund (IMF), bailout, swing state, bamboo diplomacy, Thailand, Washington, Quad, Quadrilateral Dialogue, technology transfers, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Bangladesh, Vietnam, diversification, supply chains, China plus One, multi-alignment, non-alignment, Biden administration, de-risking, decoupling, democracies, systemic rivalry, autocracies, rules-based international order, Tokyo, Canberra, G20, 5G, Huawei, Netherlands, South China Sea, geoeconomic, geoeconomy, geoeconomics, export controls, investment bans, strategic competition, friend-shoring, Eurozone, sovereign debt crises, the West, sanction regime, SWIFT, de-dollarisation, Renminbi, Russian System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS), Chinese Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), Chip4, Partnerships of the Middle, Group of Friends for Multilateralism, Structural trends could force swing states to choose sides

Gendered insecurities and gender-responsive security sector reform in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Dr Phyu Phyu Oo

Gender-responsive security sector reform shows promise in recognising the security threats to women and marginalised individuals, and working towards ending such violence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Editor's Picks9DLJune 20, 20239dashline, Gendered insecurities and gender-responsive security sector reform in the Indo-Pacific, PHYU PHYU OO, gender-based violence, sexual and gender-based violence, SGBV, human rights violations, gender-based vulnerabilities, man-made conflicts, natural disasters, pandemics, Indo-Pacific, COVID-19, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 lockdowns, myanmar, Myanmar military coup, women peacebuilders, human rights defenders, gender-based harm, Pacific Islands, gender-based discrimination, structural issue, gender inequalities, LGBTQI+, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, minority ethnic populations, The Philippines, Myanmar, China, sexual humiliation, Sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, social protection support systems, gendered threats, harmful societal gender norms, societal gender norms, Indo-Pacific countries, structural state failures, state-based solutions, national security actors, gender-responsive security sector reform, security sector reform, SSR, gender-sensitive training, political instability, thailand, post-conflict state building, Solomon Islands, Australian Defence Force, gender-responsive practices, gender-sensitive practices, marginalised individuals, security needs, domestic security sector reform

Revival of Bay of Bengal: Bhutan and Bangladesh agree on sea port access

Written by Bhumika Sevkani

The development of these seaports is particularly crucial for the smaller landlocked countries of South Asia such as Nepal and Bhutan.

Climate displacement in South Asia and India’s imperative to act

Written by Bhumika Sharma

Given the lack of international consensus, a unique opportunity exists for India to address the protection gap in South Asia’s policy regime for climate migrants.

South Asia9DLApril 12, 20239DashLine, Climate displacement in South Asia and India’s imperative to act, Bhumika Sharma, South Asia, climate vulnerability, climate change, floods in Pakistan, Pakistan, displacement, World Bank, climate-sensitive policies, climate-induced migration, internal displacement, Internally Displaced Persons, cross-border population movements, migration, climate-related risks, floods, salinity ingression, Bangladesh, India, climatically displaced persons, 2012 Nansen Initiative, Switzerland, Norway, humanitarian assistance, climate mobility, climate displacement contingencies, 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967 Protocol, IDPs, Kampala Convention, international human rights law, United Nations Human Rights Committee, Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand, principle of non-refoulement, Kiribati, resource scarcity, economic insecurity, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Warming, UN IPCC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), conflict, droughts, erratic rainfall, seasonal labour migration, income diversification, rising sea levels, cross-border transhumance arrangements, West Africa, Asian Development Bank, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Sundarbans Delta, trafficking, human trafficking, slavery, Nepal, Terai, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, seasonal migration, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Palk Strait, humanitarian visas, relocation, resettlement, 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act

The Adani Group and India’s foreign policy

Written by Pranesh HP

India ought to ensure that it does not lose domestic integrity to corporate influence while chasing economic goals abroad, creating negative downstream implications for its foreign policy.

South Asia9DLMarch 31, 20239dashline, The Adani Group and India’s foreign policy, PRANESH HP, Adani Group, Hindenburg Research, Haifa, market value, South Asia, China, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, state capital, private sector buy-in, India, Chinese foreign investments, multinational corporation, Gautam Adani, Kanti Bajpai, Modi, Prime Minister Modi, host nations, Chinese influence, Unsustainable debt, Chinese loans and investments, debt-trap diplomacy, Sri Lanka, Hambantota Port, protest, domestic factors, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, Chinese debt, international investors, Indian state-run companies, poverty, weak infrastructure, infrastructure diplomacy, foreign investment portfolio, mass privatisation, Colombo Port, Rajapaksa government, Sri Lankan East Container project, Ceylon Electricity Board, Bangladesh, energy crisis, coal power plants, electricity, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Tim Buckley, Carmichael coal mine, RN Bhaskar, crony capitalism, domestic integrity, corporate influence, The Adani Group and India’s foreign policy

Best of 2022: The Climate Crisis

In 2022, the Indo-Pacific region witnessed several devastating climate-related disasters, from floods in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to heat waves and droughts in China. It is clear that the climate crisis has become an increasingly urgent global issue, and that concerted international action is necessary.

Faultlines9DLJanuary 3, 2023Best of 2022: The Climate Crisis, ASEAN leads the Indo-Pacific climate response, Clare Richardson-Barlow, Asean, indo-pacific, Net-Zero, South Asia must proactively prepare to face climate change, Manali Kumar, natural disasters, climate change, APOORVA JAIN, Building a case for disaster diplomacy in South Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bangladesh’s manoeuvring of climate change geopolitics, Rudabeh Shahid, Atlantic Council, Sirazoom Munira, Paris Climate goals, Dhaka, China's water security dilemma, Zenel Garcia, Philip Guerreiro, Water, Beijing, Environment, economy, society, water security, Competition and cooperation: India and China in the global climate regime, Miriam Prys-Hansen, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, German Institute for Global and Area Studies, Simon Kaack, New Delhi, China, The World Needs Sino-American Climate Cooperation, Taylah Bland, Climate, Sino-American, Superpowers, Washington, Asia Society Policy Institute

China’s water security dilemma

Written by Zenel Garcia and Phillip Guerreiro

The current approach has resulted in a water policy that has had a detrimental impact on regional water security and social stability, thus heightening tensions in the region.

What’s next for Bangladeshi politics?

Written by Ali Riaz

The escalating face-off between the Bangladeshi government and the opposition will likely lead to heightened violence in the coming months, further persecution of critics by the government, and the potential weakening of the ruling party’s grip over the situation.

South Asia9DLNovember 24, 20229DashLine, What’s next for Bangladeshi politics?, Ali Riaz, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, Bangladesh Awami League, BAL, political rallies, political volatility, general strikes, public demonstrations, opposition parties, transport strikes, rallies, anti-government demonstrations, elections, economic crisis, political dissent, price hikes, fuel price hikes, trade deficit, rolling blackouts, national grid failure, fuel shortages, wage cuts, rigged elections, human rights, human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, UN Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet, US Treasury, sanctions, Rapid Action Battalion, RAB, persecution of opposition activists, surveillance capacity, encrypted messages, Telegram, Digital Security Act, DSA, CII, Election Commission, Gaibandha, Electronic Voting Machines, EVMs, CSOs, Taka 8711 crore, VVPAT

What is Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour about?

Written by Bec Strating

The IPE constitutes a form of ‘normative seapower’ through efforts to exert influence and shape perceptions within the crowded maritime marketplace of norms, ideas, and narratives.

Pacific9DLNovember 22, 20229DashLine, Bec Strating, What is Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour about?, Australian Defence Force (ADF), Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE), military, armed forces, navy, civilians, Maldives, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, 2016 Defence White Paper, regional security partner, floating diplomacy, hard power, capabilities, soft power, IPE 2021, IPE 2019, COVID-19 pandemic, IPE 2020, regional defence diplomacy, Australia, normative seapower, interoperability, Asia, Pacific, HMAS Canberra, Straits of Malacca, Port Klang, fleet, Patong Beach, Phuket, Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), HMAS Adelaide, Royal Australian Navy, HMAS ANZAC, frigate, Sembawang Naval Base, flotilla, gunboat diplomacy, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)., AUSINDEX maritime exercise, Delhi, Indian Navy, Malabar exercises, Department of Defence, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, air force, army, Defence Strategic Review, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), United States

Building a case for disaster diplomacy in South Asia

Written by Apoorva Jain

South Asia is increasingly facing threats from natural, technological, and complex disasters. Meanwhile, coordination failure is turning natural disasters into catastrophes. Disaster aid and relief can be an effective diplomatic tool in the region.

South Asia9DLNovember 1, 20229DashLine, Building a case for disaster diplomacy in South Asia, APOORVA JAIN, Pakistan, flood, flood-borne diseases, international aid, international organisations, Bangladesh, India, United States, China, Turkey, South Asia, regional mechanisms, natural disasters, Afghanistan, Himalayan belt, earthquakes, glacial lake outburst floods, Dudh Koshi sub-basin, Nepal, Pho Chu sub-basin, Bhutan, tropical cyclone, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, climate change, flash floods, urban centres, agricultural lands, droughts, desertification, tropical storms, tsunami, Kosi flooding, Kashmir earthquake, Indian Ocean tsunami, humanitarian assistance, institutional frameworks, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, SAARC, sustainable development, environment, Male Declaration, Hyogo Framework of Action, HFA, Dhaka, SAARC Disaster Management Centre, SDMC, New Delhi, South Asia Disaster Knowledge Network, SADKN, South Asia Digital Vulnerability Atlas, SADVA, SAARC Food Bank, South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise, SAADMEx, GSAT-9, South Asia satellite, disaster diplomacy, emergency routes, disaster resilience, disaster mitigation, disaster management, Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, World Food Programme, WFP, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA, Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure, CDRI, Climate Action Summit, European Union-South Asia Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management Program, EU-SAR DRM Program

South Asia must proactively prepare to face climate change

Written by Manali Kumar

South Asian countries would do well to finally set aside their mutual animosities and start developing transnational and regional mechanisms to adapt to climate change and recover from disasters.

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