… for some years before India’s military modernization bears fruition at the field level, the Indian military, having committed to its rigorous oath, has little option but to defend the nation by harnessing what resources that might be available and what little that might be coming in the immediate future …

The strategic goals reconfirmed by the CCP, in late 1970’s, included maintaining domestic stability; sustaining economic growth and development; defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity; safeguarding China’s interest world over. The focus of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Five year Plans, was on investing in export industries, infrastructure, adaption and investment in technology development. China began opening its economy to the outside world and embraced market forces. Since then, China’s growth and development have been spectacular.

This discussion paper attempts to examine two major questions, first, if RVC can be developed in South Asia, and, second, is the South Asian region ready for this development? We are premising our arguments on the marginal rise in trade volume over the last decade, coinciding with the removal of a number of tariff and para-tariff barriers particularly by India, and the recent focus on developing a multi modal transportation infrastructure in the region as well as measures to facilitate trade and logistics being undertaken by India and the neighborhood.

The civil war in Syria similar to the continuing conflicts in Yemen and Libya has its roots in the 2011 Arab spring protests. The protracted conflict between President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces and a fragmented opposition has been diffused by Russia and Iran and the ruling regime has succeeded to reclaim majority of territories. The north-western governorate of Idlib is one of the last rebel-held regions and the Syrian government is pursuing its efforts to reclaim control since late 2016.