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The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative Concept, Context and Assessment by Siegfried O. Wolf, Springer, Switzerland, 2020, £88, ISBN 978-3-030-16198
Aakriti Vinayak

The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative that was officially launched in April 2015, promised to be a game changer. The economic corridor that would link Kashgar in Xinjiang to Gwadar in....

May 23, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , China , China , Belt and Road Initiative , CPEC , China-Pakistan Economic Corridor , Book Reviews
IS Pakistan Losing the COVID-19 Battle?
Tilak Devasher, Consultant, VIF Article

While the entire world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s handling of the crisis raises fears that if it does not get its act together quickly, it may be at risk of losing the battle. The numbers of positive cases as of 20 Ma....

May 22, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Pakistan , Article , Pakistan , Balochistan , COVID-19 , lockdown , Sindh , lack of testing , polarisation
Pakistan Study Group Report: April 2020
Dr Yatharth Kachiar Article

A meeting of the Pakistan Study Group was held via video conferencing on 29 April 2020. The main items on the agenda were the COVID-19 situation in Pakistan and China-Pakistan relations.

COVID-19 Situation in Pakistan
Impact on C....

May 21, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Pakistan , Article , India , Pakistan , China , economy , Civil-Military , COVID-19 , IMF , Federalism
Myanmar Round Up: April 2020
Dr Cchavi Vasisht Article

Myanmar continues to struggle amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing its deep socio-economic problems, concerning poverty, hunger, internally displaced people and ethnic armed organisations. The military operations continue unabated in Rakhine, Chin....

May 19, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Myanmar , Article , Myanmar; Burma;
Notes from the Sub-continent – April 2020
Mayuri Mukherjee Article

As coronavirus infections continue to rise around the globe, much of the media focus in the Indian sub-continent has remained focussed, as expected, on different aspects of the pandemic--how are governments managing this public health crisis, do they....

May 14, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Article , Pakistan , Nepal , Sri Lanka , Bangladesh , Coronavirus , Tablighi Jamaat , Extraction , Easter attacks , Indian Muslims , USCIRF , KP Oli
Round Table Discussion on ‘Post COVID-19: India and the Neighbourhood’

Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a Round Table Discussion (RTD) on ‘Post COVID-19: India and the Neighbourhood’ on 11 May 2020. Amb Satish Chandra, Vice Chairman VIF, delivered the opening remarks followed with presentations b....

May 13, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Interaction , SAARC , Neighbourhood , Post COVID-19 , Hydroxychloroquine , Political developments
COVID-19 Paves the Way for a Cashless Economy in China
Aayush Mohanty Article

Governments worldwide are at the time engaged in containing COVID-19 and have either initiated unprecedented lockdowns or following strict social distancing protocols for public safety and prevent community transmission. The World Health Organisation....

May 11, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy , Neighbourhood Studies , US , China , Economic Studies , Article , China , Banking , Digital Currency , Libra , cryptocurrency , blockchain , U.S dollar
Political Crisis amidst COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal
Prof Hari Bansh Jha Commentary

At a time when almost all the countries of the world are struggling to fight the corona virus pandemic, the Council of Ministers in Nepal brought in two important ordinances on April 20, 2020, that could have serious implications on the future of Nep....

May 08, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Nepal , Commentary , Two new ordinances , splitting political parties , Federal Socialist Party , Constitutional Council , Rastriya Janata Party , Janata Samajbadi Party , Communist Party of Nepal , PM Oli
Myanmar Ethnic Strife: The Rise of Arakan Army
Dr Cchavi Vasisht Article

On 10 April 2009, the separatist Arakan Army (AA) established itself as a “revolutionary armed organisation” in Myanmar. Till 2015, it operated in Kachin and Shan States under the guidance of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) with headqua....

April 30, 2020 Neighbourhood Studies , Myanmar , Article , Arakan army , 11th Anniversary of Arakan Army , Way of Rakhita , Arakan Dream 2020 , Riverine Warfare , Myanmar Government and Tatmadaw , India’s Role.
Kazakhstan Protests Chinese Language Article questioning its Territorial Integrity
Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Associate Fellow, VIF Commentary

Introduction
On April 14, 2020, the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan summoned Chinese ambassador Zhang Xiao to register a formal protest against the publication of an article on a major Chinese website, Sohu.com. This website was the offici....

April 23, 2020 International Relations and Diplomacy , Neighbourhood Studies , Central Asia , China , Commentary , China , Central Asia , Kazakhstan , Social Media , Coronavirus , Weibo , Wechat , Territorial integrity , Manipur , Hyper-nationalism , Chinese medical assistance , Chinese diplomacy.
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