India's ranking as 'one of the top five global military spenders' blends symbolism and aspirations

More than Putin, it is the mismanagement of West-led order that is to be blamed for the Ukrainian crisis

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently released its report on international arms transfer. This article highlights the current state of arms transactions, including sales and procurement of defence and military equipment worldwide. It attempts to establish and underscore the patterns of the arms trade in the years spanning 2017-to 2021.

In the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan signed an interim trade agreement on April 2, 2022, at the signing ceremony of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.

Key actors in global politics appear to be receiving conflicting signals from India's position on the Ukrainian imbroglio every passing day. A few pointers are in order for further consideration. First, India has abstained from voting against Russia at the United Nations at least twice in the past, pleasing the Russians with its tacit support. At the same time, its latest abstinence at the UN actually went against Russia, making the Russians curious about Indian intents.

The Rohingyas, as described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, are "one of, if not the most discriminated people in the world." Native to Myanmar's Rakhine state, Rohingyas are a stateless Muslim minority. Myanmar does not recognize them as citizens and considers them illegal immigrants. According to the Human Rights Watch, various laws in place discriminate against them, including prohibitions on their freedom of movement, education, and employment.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict is more than one month old now, yet there is no immediate solution in sight. Just before starting the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin had given a clear-cut 'nuclear' message to the world by mentioning that any western intervention would witness consequences the West had never seen or thought of before. Putin is systematically raising the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) bogey over the last month. Traditionally, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons are classified as WMD.

The recent India-China Corps Commander meeting held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on March 11, 2022, has yielded no result and remained “inconclusive.” The Joint statement of the 15th round of the bilateral military meeting since the last 20 months following the violent Galwan clash (June 2020) states that “the two sides had a detailed exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the state leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.”[1] It means, a) the Ladakh-Xinjiang bo

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has brought to the fore the grave geopolitical fault lines in Europe. India, the largest democracy in the world, has tacitly sided with Putin’s authoritarian Russia by abstaining from all the UN votes taken place since the Russian invasion. India’s decision was not so much about returning the favour of the Soviet Union’s crucial support on Kashmir issues during the early years of Indian independence. Rather, it was to protect New Delhi’s vital strategic interests.

India intends to be a leader in extending sustainable finance for the development of vulnerable countries.