Politics

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be meeting his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar next week for the second time in October, after both attending a Quad meeting in Tokyo.
22 October 2020
Pakistan, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, left, and India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, have opened a new front in their long rivalry: basmati rice. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

Basmati rice row marks latest front in India-Pakistan rivalry

Islamabad readies objection to New Delhi's geographical indication push in EU

21 October 2020
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International relations

Quad drills: Australia to join India, US and Japan at Malabar

Four countries eye defense cooperation in Indian and Pacific oceans, irking China

20 October 2020
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, left, with Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi before their luncheon meeting at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on Oct. 7.
International relations

Quad is the landscape ahead, India's foreign minister says

Relationship with China 'profoundly disturbed' by border clash: Jaishankar

17 October 2020
Transparency International's "Exporting Corruption 2020" report lists only four countries worldwide as practicing "active" enforcement against bribery of foreign public officials.
Economy

China, Japan and India lag behind in international bribery battle

Report warns of lax enforcement and risk of undermining COVID recoveries

13 October 2020
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will face reelection on Sunday. 
Your Week in Asia

Apple 5G iPhone, China-India talks, New Zealand election

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

11 October 2020
Among the companies enticed to boost output in India, some such as Foxconn assemble Apple's iPhone.
Electronics

India offers Foxconn and Samsung perks to boost phone production

New Delhi eyes $143bn output increase from program including parts makers

8 October 2020
A healthcare worker in protective gear takes a swab from a man for a rapid coronavirus antigen test at a kiosk in Ahmedabad, India on Oct. 5.
Coronavirus

India's COVID-19 arc slows as daily testing capacity hits 1.5m

Experts see hopeful sign but warn against complacency amid reduced restrictions

7 October 2020
The U.S. government says it is changing some work visa requirements to protect the American economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
International relations

Trump administration announces major H-1B work visa rule changes

A third of applicants would be denied under the new requirements, official says

7 October 2020
The chief diplomats of the Quad group of nations gathered in Tokyo on Oct. 6. (Pool photo/Mainichi Shimbun)
International relations

Quad ministers agree to meet once a year

US, Japan, India and Australia reaffirm 'shared goal' of open Indo-Pacific

6 October 2020
From left, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The top diplomats will meet in Tokyo on Oct. 6 for "Quad" talks. (Source photos AP, U.S. Navy)
Comment

Suga builds on Abe's legacy with Quad diplomacy

Quasi-alliances with India and Australia provide Japan firmer footing to take on China

6 October 2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks in Dubrovnik, Croatia on Friday as part of his six-day trip to Southern Europe. He will visit Tokyo from Tuesday. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, Pool)
International relations

Pompeo heads to Tokyo for Quad talks as Trump stays hospitalized

Huawei, COVID-19 and supply chains to be included in security dialogue

5 October 2020
Vital relationship -- Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, left, was welcomed to India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2016. 
International relations

Nepal warms to India on territory spat, cools to China

Nepali textbook with contentious map dropped amid talk of Chinese incursion

5 October 2020
Tibetan exiles celebrate the Dalai Lama's 85th birthday in Dharmsala, India on July 6: India could tacitly help Tibetan exiles to find, appoint and protect the Dalai Lama's successor.
Opinion

Chinese anxiety over Tibet fuels rising tensions with India

Xi Jinping appears to have underestimated New Delhi's capacity to fight back

5 October 2020
Last November, India announced it was pulling out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, mainly over fears that its agricultural sector would be swamped with imports. (Illustration by Hiroko Oshima)
Asia Insight

Japan and Australia wary of China as RCEP talks enter last stretch

Economic fallout from COVID-19 gives impetus to negotiations on trade megadeal

29 September 2020
India's approval for a new defense agreement between the U.S. and the Maldives counters China's recent incursions into the region. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

India on board with US-Maldives alliance to counter China

Delhi's ground-leveling move sets up new Great Game in South Asia

27 September 2020
Supporters of India's main opposition party protest farm bills passed by India's parliament, in Kolkata on Sept. 21.
Politics

India braces for mass protests over contentious farm bills

Farmers take to streets fearing reforms will swipe floor from under prices

24 September 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks during Independence Day celebrations in Delhi on Aug. 15: A shortfall in the Goods and Services Tax has left states starved of cash.
Economy

India's tax reforms falter, hurting Modi's economic legacy

Pandemic starves Delhi of GST cash, leaving states with big budget hole

22 September 2020
A ban on the slaughter of cattle will end up increasing Sri Lanka's cattle population and send herds roaming across many parts of the country, the vice president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka says.
Politics

Sri Lanka cattle-slaughter ban mimics India's slight of Muslims

China-leaning Mahinda Rajapaksa seeks political gains with Modi-style policy

19 September 2020
The threat of war hangs over Leh's picturesque main market in India's troubled Ladakh region. (Photo by Bhat Burhan)
International relations

Uneasy Ladakh locals watch India-China spat at close range

While diplomats talk, residents see more fighter jets and troop movements

18 September 2020
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Interview

Russian envoy to US blasts 'unproductive' coalition against China

Antonov calls Quad's Indo-Pacific strategy opaque and touts India ties

18 September 2020
People wearing face masks stand in line to enter a metro station amid the coronavirus pandemic in New Delhi on Sept. 14.
Coronavirus

India's COVID cases top 5 million as it narrows gap with US

Asia's third-largest economy slowly reopens but struggles to impose safety rules

16 September 2020
A Filipino-Chinese resident waves miniature Philippines and Chinese flags upon the arrival of a Chinese naval ship in Davao city, southern Philippines in April 2017.
South China Sea

Philippine and Chinese defense chiefs try to ease South China Sea tensions

Beijing offers Manila $19m military grant in regional PR offensive

12 September 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a bilateral meeting in Osaka, Japan, in June 2019.
International relations

India and Japan sign military supply pact as China flexes muscle

Logistics agreement aimed at strengthening security in boost for 'Quad'

10 September 2020
Water is sprayed on a French-made Rafale fighter jet during its induction ceremony at the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala, India, on Sept.10. 
Politics

India inducts Rafale jets amid rising tensions with China

New Delhi says move sends 'stern message' to those eyeing its sovereignty

10 September 2020