Politics

Joe Biden participates in the Quad leaders meeting via video link in Washington on Mar. 12: rifts in shared values would strike at the core of the security partnership's spirit.
Opinion

Biden should consider downsides of stressing national values in Indo-Pacific

Criticism could weaken strategic relationships to compete against China

2 May 2021
Many hospitals in India, like this one in New Delhi, have been overwhelmed by the surge in COVID-19 patients. (Source photos by Reuters and National Institute of Infectious Diseases/Kyodo)
Coronavirus

COVID variants swamp India and Japan hospitals: 5 things to know

More infectious strains hit regions previously less affected by pandemic

30 April 2021
An S-400 "Triumph" surface-to-air missile system at a military base near Kaliningrad, Russia. Washington has warned India it could face sanctions if it purchases the Russian equipment. 
Indo-Pacific

India and Russia agree on 2-plus-2, in diplomatic balancing act

While deepening ties with Quad, Modi keeps relationship with traditional partner

29 April 2021
Journalists covering a gunfight in downtown Srinagar in Kashmir where over a dozen of residential houses were damaged during the operation in May. (Photo by Umer Asif)
Politics

Indian media decree threatens Kashmir journalists' jobs

Regional police warn of sanctions for those who publish 'anti-national' news

28 April 2021
People wearing protective face masks wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Mumbai on April 26.
Coronavirus

US assembles 'strike team' to combat variant surge in India

Biden, Blinken and Campbell welcome private sector's help as new cases top 350,000

27 April 2021
The U.S. has sent AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccines to Mexico. Here the first batch is seen arriving at Benito Juarez International airport in Mexico City on March 28. 
Coronavirus

US to provide India with raw material for COVID vaccines

Fauci says sending unused AstraZeneca doses is also under consideration

26 April 2021
A notice at a Delhi hospital on April 22 relays the grim news that oxygen supplies at the facility are exhausted, despite government pledges to divert the gas from industry. 
Coronavirus

'Storm of COVID cases' has India gasping for oxygen

Nation diverts crucial gas from industrial use to meet surging demand in hospitals

23 April 2021
A U.S. Navy officer signals to an F-35B Lightning II as it takes off from the USS Makin Island in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 12. The U.S. looks to enhance its fleet structure in the Indo-Pacific region, with a possible new base in Singapore for a new numbered fleet. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Defense Department)
Indo-Pacific

Resurrecting 1st Fleet: US Navy explores Indian Ocean options

Former secretary urges forming 'expeditious' presence in Singapore

21 April 2021
Hindu devotees take a dip in the Ganges River during the Pitcher Festival in Haridwar, India, on April 14, 2021.
Coronavirus

India's COVID cases surge amid Hindu fair and election rallies

South Asian nation becomes second after US to breach daily 200,000 mark

16 April 2021
A health worker shows Covishield vaccine in Gauhati on Mar. 1: the Modi government chose to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Opinion

Narendra Modi fails India's vaccine test

Rollout was meant to be a moment to shine

14 April 2021
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to convince his country of 1.3 billion that "in every aspect of life, modernization is essential."
Asia Insight

Modi's structural reforms enter climax as vested interests dig in

Indian PM faces Thatcher moment as he sweeps away decades-old socialist residue

13 April 2021
A guard holds up a notice to inform people of a vaccine shortage at an inoculation center in Mumbai on April 9, 2021.
Coronavirus

India deals with COVID surge as states feud with Modi government

Amid record infection numbers, prime minister calls for 4-day 'vaccine festival'

11 April 2021
An honor guard from Japan's Self-Defense Forces attends a welcoming ceremony for a 2019 meeting between Japan's and India's defense ministers in Tokyo.
Indo-Pacific

Japan and India to hold 2-plus-2 talks with eye on China

Defense and diplomatic chiefs to lay groundwork for Suga-Modi summit

10 April 2021
Cricket is more than just sport in India, and the Indian Premier League is by far the most popular professional league in the country.
Sports

India's Premier League cricket opens cash-rich with Chinese money

Vivo returns as T20 title sponsor despite recent Sino-India violence

9 April 2021
A Rohingya woman displays identity cards of family members issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at their makeshift camp on the outskirts of Jammu, India, on March 9.
Myanmar Crisis

Rohingya in India under threat of deportation to junta-ruled Myanmar

With court nod and political gains, New Delhi expected to move Muslim minority

8 April 2021
Japan will propose an in-person summit with fellow Quad members the U.S., India and Australia.
International relations

Japan seeks first in-person Quad summit in June on G-7 sidelines

Suga plans trip to India after Washington visit to shore up support

8 April 2021
Myanmar's military has stepped up violence against protesters over the last nine weeks. 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar army kills eight near India border in dawn ambush

Kalay becomes a resistance hideout as student protesters call for more to take arms

7 April 2021
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will decide on a visit to the Philippines and India after weighing the situation with the coronavirus pandemic. 
International relations

Japan's Suga eyes Philippines and India visit in April-May

Prime Minister to reaffirm cooperation with China's maritime presence in mind

7 April 2021
A boat with an Indian flag is seen on Neill Island, an island of the Andaman Islands. (Photo by Mallika Agarwala)
Indo-Pacific

Japan sends first-ever aid to Indian islands at mouth of Malacca

Andaman and Nicobar Islands have potential to monitor Chinese vessels up close

7 April 2021
An Ansat Aurus helicopter is seen at Kazan Helicopter Plant, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters, in Kazan, Russia. India and Russia have been discussing the possibility of making Russian military helicopters in India.
International relations

Russia pushes for more military-equipment production in India

Foreign Minister Lavrov seeks to deepen cooperation, while US warns of sanctions

6 April 2021
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi bump elbows in Tehran on Mar. 27: U.S. sanctions have made China Iran's most important commercial partner.
Opinion

US sanctions often advance China's interests

Iran, Russia and Myanmar pivot to Beijing as Biden applies outdated policy

5 April 2021
French amphibious assault helicopter carrier, Tonnerre, approaches to dock at Cochin Port, in Kochi on March 30.
Indo-Pacific

France to lead Quad naval drill in Indo-Pacific challenge to China

Five-nation exercise in Bay of Bengal seeks to promote maritime cooperation

2 April 2021
A worker at a cotton processing facility in Gujarat, India: Indian cotton exports to Pakistan are set to resume as early as June.
Trade

Pakistan to resume India trade in June after 19-month freeze

Planned sugar and cotton imports signal growing thaw in ties

1 April 2021
A woman walks in a New Delhi market in September. India's gender gap ranking fell more places than any other Asian nation in the World Economic Forum's latest report.
Society

Pandemic widens gender gap across Asia

India and Indonesia tumble in WEF ranking; Japan and South Korea inch up

31 March 2021
A rickshaw puller in Delhi in August 2020. Due to the pandemic, many Indians still use public transport only when they must, severely impacting transportation workers' income.
Coronavirus

India's poor hit hard by pandemic-induced downturn

Study shows number of those in poverty doubles, middle class shrinks by a third

30 March 2021