The China-Taiwan Saga
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Takshashila Dispatch. In this week’s edition, we cover our work on China-Taiwan tensions, an economic agenda for the Quad, self-reliance in India’s defence manufacturing sector, unpacking ten years of China’s Belt & Road Initiative, and policing in India.
The China-Taiwan Saga
The latest Takshashila Position Paper by Anushka Saxena examines the tumultuous relationship between China and Taiwan in great detail to identify the stressors in the relationship. It analyses Taiwanese public opinion on the idea of unification with China and whether unification by force is a feasible option for the Chinese government. The paper also offers insights into India’s options in the case of conflict.
Here’s a quick summary:
Takshashila Position Papers provide iterative analyses of a particular topic, through constant monitoring and periodic updating of our assessments. We also invite readers to discuss and deliberate on developments related to a particular topic, contributing to this process of iterative analysis. Write to us at research@takshashila.org.in.
The Quad Agenda for Semiconductors, Biotechnology, and Space
Last week, the Quad Leaders summit concluded in Hiroshima, Japan, at the sidelines of the G7 meeting. The latest Takshashila Issue Brief - The Quad Agenda for Semiconductors, Biotechnology, and Space, argues that apart from its maritime and security objectives, the Quad should give a serious push to an economic agenda. This will not only help strengthen the cooperation between the countries but is also critical from the securitisation of trade and economic partnership perspective.
Based on our past research on the subject, we identify the specific areas for Quad collaboration across semiconductors, biotechnology, and space.
How Atmanirbhar is India’s Defence Sector?
The Government of India has introduced initiatives like the import ban list and the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme to create self-reliance in the defence sector. In his weekly column for The Print, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon examines the effectiveness of these initiatives and where India still lags behind:
The MoD’s website, called Srijan, provides information regarding the lists and explains the processes and procedures to the interested parties. Details given on the indigenisation achieved for the first three lists suggest fairly reasonable progress and the Navy having achieved the most. But the devil lies in the details and with the inclusion of the low-value spares and components, it would require an in-depth analysis to identify the actual progress of indigenisation as statistically, a washer/bolt would equate to a marine X-band radar. Such obfuscation could distort the reality of indigenisation achieved and artificially magnify the progress in self-reliance.
The claims of achievement can only be analytically discerned when the latest figures of India’s arms imports are viewed and expressed relatively with reference to previous years. Currently, those figures are not reflecting the claims.
Unpacking China’s Overseas Finance as BRI Turns 10
This year marks the 10th anniversary of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initiative has seen an unprecedented expansion of Chinese overseas lending. While this has led to infrastructure development across developing countries, it has also exacerbated geopolitical competition, had adverse environmental impacts, and led to debt distress.
In last Wednesday’s All Things Policy, Manoj Kewalramani spoke to Samantha Custer from Aid Data to understand the scale, scope, and implications of China’s overseas finance.
Police Chowki Ep. 2: Police Laws in India
Did you know that police forces in many states of India still derive their powers from and function under a colonial law passed in 1861?
In the second episode of Police Chowki, Javeed Ahmad and Shrikrishna Upadhyaya discuss the Police Act of 1861, the subsequent attempts to reform the legislation, the Supreme Court decision in the Prakash Singh case on police reforms, and what should be the guiding principles behind police laws.
Assessing Arguments Against Closer India-U.S. Ties
Yusuf Unjhawala, Adjunct Scholar at Takshasila, appeared in an episode of The Cārvāka Podcast with Kushal Mehra. He discussed his latest discussion paper on debunking oft-cited arguments against a strong India-U.S. relationship.
Pranay Kotasthane at BarCamp Bangalore
BarCamp Bangalore - an unconference-styled event of an ad hoc gathering of people who desire to share and learn in an open environment - took place on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Pranay Kotasthane, Deputy Director, Takshashila conducted two fun sessions on What to Unlearn before Learning Public Policy and Siliconpolitik: Geopolitics of Semiconductors.
Takshashila Internal Conference on Assessing Strategic Trade Vulnerabilities
We held an internal conference on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, on the theme of ‘Assessing Strategic Trade Vulnerabilities’. The panellists were Amit Kumar, Bharath Reddy, Saurabh Todi, Anushka Saxena, Sarthak Pradhan and Suman Joshi, while Manoj Kewalramani chaired the session.
The participants focused on frameworks for unpacking and distinguishing the concepts of dependency and vulnerability in supply chains, their geopolitical significance and policy measures adopted by countries to harness strengths and bridge vulnerabilities.
Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellowship
The applications for the NASC Fellowship are closing soon on May 31st.
Takshashila is Hiring for Multiple Roles
We are currently hiring for multiple positions - Research Analysts for High-Tech Geopolitics and Space Power, Programme Managers, and Communications and Digital Managers. Visit our website to know more about the roles and process to apply.
That’s all from us this week. Take care!