India’s Proximity Archives
Date: December 11, 2024
South Asia
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, visited Dhaka on December 9, meeting the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Dr Muhammad Yunus and the Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain. He also held Foreign Office Consultations with the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mohammad Jashim Uddin. The Foreign Office Consultations included discussions on political and security affairs and border management. Furthermore, both sides committed to strengthening cooperation and consultations to promote regional integration, especially through BIMSTEC.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, visited Dhaka on December 9, meeting the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh Dr Muhammad Yunus and the Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain. He also held Foreign Office Consultations with the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mohammad Jashim Uddin. The Foreign Office Consultations included discussions on political and security affairs and border management. Furthermore, both sides committed to strengthening cooperation and consultations to promote regional integration, especially through BIMSTEC.
Southeast Asia
On December 5, the third India-Viet Nam Security Dialogue was co-chaired by Mr. Pavan Kapoor, India’s Deputy National Security Adviser and Lt. Gen. Pham The Tung, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Public Security, in Hanoi, Vietnam. The dialogue facilitated an exchange of views on global and regional security issues, as well as the discussions on strengthening cooperation in areas like countering terrorism, combating organised crime and sharing of information between law enforcement agencies.
East Asia
South Korea’s former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, has been arrested on insurrection charges following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law. A formal arrest warrant was issued late on December 10, 2024. The charges against him include “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights”. The unprecedented martial law declaration, which lasted only six hours, involved deploying military forces to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting against it. Mr Kim was contrite on Dec 10, saying that “all responsibility for this situation lies solely with me”. He “deeply apologised” to the South Korean people and said that his subordinates were “merely following my orders and fulfilling their assigned duties”.
South Korea’s former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, has been arrested on insurrection charges following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law. A formal arrest warrant was issued late on December 10, 2024. The charges against him include “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights”. The unprecedented martial law declaration, which lasted only six hours, involved deploying military forces to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting against it. Mr Kim was contrite on Dec 10, saying that “all responsibility for this situation lies solely with me”. He “deeply apologised” to the South Korean people and said that his subordinates were “merely following my orders and fulfilling their assigned duties”.
West Asia
The Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) backed by Turkey seized Syria's capital Damascus on December 8, ending six decades of Assad family rule. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia where he has been granted humanitarian asylum. Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, leader of the HTS, described the overthrow of the Assad regime as a "victory for the Islamic nation" and vowed to liberate those the Syrian government had imprisoned. Analysts noted that the collapse of the Assad regime is a blow to Iran's “axis of resistance” against Israel and the US. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force struck military targets and airbases across Syria, dismantling the remaining capabilities of the Assad regime.
The Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) backed by Turkey seized Syria's capital Damascus on December 8, ending six decades of Assad family rule. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has fled to Russia where he has been granted humanitarian asylum. Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, leader of the HTS, described the overthrow of the Assad regime as a "victory for the Islamic nation" and vowed to liberate those the Syrian government had imprisoned. Analysts noted that the collapse of the Assad regime is a blow to Iran's “axis of resistance” against Israel and the US. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force struck military targets and airbases across Syria, dismantling the remaining capabilities of the Assad regime.
Central Asia
On December 4, Central Asian neighbours Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan announced a border demarcation deal on the last contested frontier in the region, potentially ending decades of territorial disputes. The deal, reached by Bishkek and Dushanbe's powerful secret service chiefs, comes almost two years after an intense and bloody border conflict killed around 100 people in September 2022. Managing expectations, the Head of National Security of Kyrgyzstan, Kamchybek Tashiev said that the next steps will include the drawing up of final documents, followed by the ratification of the agreement in both countries’ parliaments and presidential signatures. He said this could take “a few months.”
Indian Ocean Region
On December 9, 2024, INS Tushil, a multi-role stealth guided missile frigate, was officially commissioned by India’s Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh into the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia. This frigate is designed for blue water operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in all four dimensions air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic. INS Tushil is an upgraded Krivak III class frigates of the Project 1135.6 of which, six are already in service. She is the first of the two upgraded additional follow-on ships, the contract for which was signed in October 2016.
