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May 07, 2024
 

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Harsh V. Pant

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Harsh V. Pant
For Harsh V. Pant's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2011
India protects Kazakhstan stake
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Kazakhstan last month is a reminder of the Central Asian stakes for Indian foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2011
India's vexing flyover of Libya
LONDON — Along with Germany, Brazil, China and Russia, India abstained the week before last from voting on the U.N. Security Council resolution that approved a no-fly zone over Libya and authorized "all necessary measures" for protecting civilians from Moammar Gadhafi's forces.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2011
Tale of two defense policies
LONDON — China has declared that its official defense budget for 2011 will rise by 12.7 percent from the previous year. Last year there was a lot of hoopla surrounding the fact that China had announced a mere 7.5 percent jump in defense budget. It was the first time since the 1980s that China's defense spending increased by a single-digit percentage. But this year we are back to the norm of double-digit increases.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2011
Spurred by Beijing, New Delhi moves to raise its profile in Iraq
LONDON — After seven long years, the Indian government has decided that the time has come to make its presence felt in Iraq by naming an envoy to the country. The previous ambassador to Iraq was withdrawn in 2004 when the security situation in the country was spiraling out of control.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2011
India-Pakistan matrix challenges nuclear security efforts in region
LONDON — According to the most recent estimates by U.S. intelligence, Pakistan has doubled its nuclear stockpile over the past few years. The nation's arsenal now totals more than 100 deployed weapons.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 31, 2011
India aims to raise its profile vis-a-vis China by 'looking east'
LONDON — In a sign of the importance that India is attaching to its ties with East and Southeast Asia, India hosted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at its Republic Day celebrations last week.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2011
A crisis of governance is paralyzing India
LONDON — Despite all the claims of India as a rising power, the country is suffering a serious crisis. The credibility of the government in New Delhi is being tested by a plethora of corruption scandals in recent months. From the Commonwealth Games to telecommunications there are scandals galore and the government is finding it difficult to govern amid demands by the opposition that it hand over the inquiry to a joint parliamentary committee.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2011
Borders of India's latest outreach to Iran
LONDON — As India takes its seat on the U.N. Security Council as the new nonpermanent member after nearly a two-decade hiatus, its latest move vis-a-vis Iran has signaled New Delhi's desire to be viewed as a responsible rising power and a potential permanent member of the Security Council.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 28, 2010
India asserting its interests vis-a-vis China
LONDON — India hosted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao earlier this month in an attempt to stabilize Sino-Indian ties, which have undergone great turbulence the past two years.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2010
India's defense policy arrives at the crossroads for best buys
LONDON — This seems to be the time to woo India as a defense partner. The British defense secretary, Liam Fox, was in New Delhi promoting the European fighter Typhoon as India was looking to buy 126 multi-role combat aircraft for its air force.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2010
India moving to pole position for Security Council challenge
LONDON — U.S. President Barack Obama made a splash in India recently when he indicated that the United States would back India's bid for a permanent seat on an expanded United Nations Security Council.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2010
Obama appears to punch India's buttons
LONDON — Barack Obama's visit to India last week ended on a high note. After downplaying expectations for some months now, the U.S. president made all the right noises in his address to the Indian Parliament.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2010
Singh's Japan stop was first step to shoring up regional security
LONDON — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan as part of his three-nation tour of East Asia last week was intended to underscore India's growing role in East Asia and to acknowledge that Japan has a crucial role in the emerging security environment in the Asia-Pacific.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2010
India grappling with the China syndrome
LONDON — A two-week standoff between China and Japan over a boat collision has once again underlined the communist state's penchant for bullying its neighbors, and might have done more harm than good for the emergence of China as the leader in the region over the long term.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2010
Deals with Bangladesh to help India burnish South Asian image
LONDON — India and Bangladesh have reportedly agreed in principle to swap each other's enclaves that are spread along the border areas and re-demarcate 6.1 kilometers of boundary — in effect resolving an issue that has bedeviled Indo-Bangladesh ties since independence.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2010
Rise of China prods India-South Korea ties
LONDON — Indian Defense Minister A.K. Anthony was visiting South Korea last week at the invitation of his South Korean counterpart to boost defense cooperation between the two states. His visit comes two months after the Indian external affairs minister visited Seoul.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2010
Japan's textual demands vex civilian nuclear deal with India
LONDON — When Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was in Delhi a few days back for the fourth round of strategic dialogue between Japan and India, he made it clear that negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact are going to be rather difficult.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2010
U.K.-India relationship in transformation
LONDON — By any measure, British Prime Minister David Cameron's recent visit to India has turned out to be a transformative one. In one stroke, he has redefined the parameters of the Indo-British partnership for the 21st century.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2010
Indian influence founders in Afghanistan
LONDON — When Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna underscored the folly of making a distinction "between good Taliban and bad Taliban" at the Afghanistan Conference in London earlier this year, he was completely out of sync with the larger mood at the conference. As a result, Indian diplomacy was set back when Indian concerns were summarily ignored.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2010
India ignoring Washington as it woos Iran
LONDON — India and Iran have decided to give new direction to their bilateral ties that have been dormant for some time now.
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.

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