… India’s significant stakes are expected to increase in future … regional expectations for a more proactive strategic engagement by New Delhi … China’s dramatically expanding naval forays in the IOR threatens India’s primacy in its prime theatre … imperative for India to further her power projection ...
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a discussion on "Strategic Outcomes and Lessons Learnt from the Shangri-La Dialogue for the Region and India” on 26 June 2023. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, Chaired the session and gave the opening remarks. Mr. Nitin A. Gokhale, Amb. Arun Kumar Singh, Amb. P.S. Raghavan, Amb. D.B. Venkatesh Varma, Lt. Gen. R. K. Sawhney (Retd.), Gp. Cap. Naval Jagota (Retd.) and Dr. Sweta Kumari participated in the discussion.
The Vivekananda International Foundation organised a virtual talk by Ms. Cleo Paskal, Non-Resident Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Washington DC on "Geopolitical Relevance of the Pacific Islands for India and the Indo-Pacific Region" on March 15, 2023 (Wednesday). Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, chaired the session and made welcome remarks. The talk was followed by Q& A and discussion. Lt. Gen. R.K. Sawhney (Retd.), Vice- Admiral Satish Soni (Retd.), Gp. Cap. Naval Jagota (Retd.), Dr. Udai Bhanu Singh and others participated in the event.
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a talk by Prof. Gulshan Sachdeva on “Connectivity Strategies in the Indo- Pacific Region” on February 13, 2023. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, chaired the session and made welcome remarks. Lt. Gen. R. K. Sawhney, Amb. Anil Wadhwa, Mr. Anil Devli, Mr. Kanav Monga, Dr. Udai Bhanu Singh, Brig. Vinod Anand and members from the strategic community participated in this deliberation. The talk was followed by a discussion and Q& A session.
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised a talk by High Commissioner of Singapore to India H.E. Simon Wong Wie Kuen on “Singapore’s Approach to the Indo-Pacific” on January 16, 2023. Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF, chaired the session and made welcome remarks.
The Vivekananda International Foundation organized a trilateral webinar with the Japan Institute of National Fundamentals and the Prospect Foundation on 29 September 2022 on "Emerging Strategic Environment in the Indo-Pacific". After initial remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, Ms Yoshiko Sakurai, President JINF, and Dr I. Chung, President of Prospect Foundation, presentations were made by Mr Masanori Kondo, Visiting Researcher JINF, Dr Ming Shih Shen, Research Fellow and Director at Institute for National Defense & Security Research, and Amb Ashok Kantha, Distinguished Fellow VIF.
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organised an interactive session with a visiting delegation from the Korean National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) on November 24, 2022. The talk focussed on the prospects of Republic of Korea-India relations vis-a-vis the recent developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Vivekananda International Foundation organized a joint webinar with the Prospect Foundation on 27 May 2022 on Strategic and Economic Implications of Ukraine War on Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific’. After initial remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF and Dr I. Chung, President of Prospect Foundation, presentations were made by Dr Cheng-yi Lin, Research Fellow, Academia Sinica, Dr Arthur Ding, Professor Emeritus, National Chengchi University, Amb Ashok Kantha, Distinguished Fellow VIF, and Prof. Srikant Kondapalli, Distinguished Fellow VIF.
In April 2022, China and the Solomon Islands signed a bilateral defence pact. The signing of this deal has caused great distress within Australia and the US, drawing sharp reactions from both the countries. The news of possible pact of this kind broke into the media in the month of March and apprehensions were raised at that time as well.
On 13 January 2022, VIF held a virtual interaction with scholars from Sichuan University. The speakers were Amb. Anil Wadhwa (retd), Amb Gautam Mukhopadhaya (retd) and Mr. Pranav Kumar from the Indian side. Prof. Liu Siwei, Prof. Zhang Li, Prof. Yang Wenwu were part of the Chinese delegation. The discussion took place on three areas- the Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan and, on respective economies. Both sides exchanged views on these issues. The bilateral relations have changed, the standoff at the LAC continues. Simultaneously the global and regional situation has changed.