... the 26/11 attack occurred because India invested heavily in two components of counter-terrorism: international diplomacy and domestic intelligence, but neglected a third: covert retaliatory capability ... as long as Pakistan exists, there will always be a state-driven component to terrorism that strikes at India from overseas ...

… a Task Force to review the IWT is a good move and hopefully it will help India in creating adequate water management infrastructure in a time bound manner so that she is able to utilise all the waters that she is entitled to harness. The unending debate over ‘Rights of Pakistan vs Needs of India’ may be left to continue without having to abrogating the IWT …

... US-Japan alliance is cornerstone for Japan’s security and its deterrence. However, despite conflicts of interests and intermittent tensions, Japan has never sought to replace the alliance with its own defense capabilities .. Though Japan’s strategic policies have underwent massive change with the beginning of 2000s, its security policy for deterrence has not shifted from resting on the US-Japan alliance ..

… China is unsatisfied with the degree of accommodation offered by the US and the US is uncomfortable with the strategic demands made by China … US wants China to reduce its trade deficit … an unrealistic request given the time it would take to adjust supply chains and given the US consumers' demand for Chinese products … and that China opens up more sectors to investment and trade without restriction ... America holds almost all the high cards in trade with China, and almost none of Beijing’s supposed points of pressure are real threats.