As tensions rise between the West and Iran, the international community is looking anxiously to the emerging powers of the East &mdash; China and India &mdash; to provide some answers in restoring the delicate balance of power in West Asia. China&rsquo;s response has been to steadfastly reject Western overtures to impose sanctions on Iran even as Beijing has signed a civilian nuclear energy cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia.

Harsh V Pant: Learning from China on Iran

Business Standard

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu is finally moving towards commission, with the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) giving its approval for the loading of fuel in the first unit of the nuclear power plant last week. The project has been under scrutiny for a lot of reasons, not least because of the anti-nuclear power mood after the accident to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year.

Harsh V Pant: Time to get over Fukushima

The US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta was in South Asia last week and his visit to India drew a lot of attention as he underscored the need for Washington and New Delhi to deepen security ties and defence cooperation in the region. As the troops led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) prepare to depart from Afghanistan and Washington refocuses its strategic energies on managing China&rsquo;s growing prowess in the Indo-Pacific, Panetta was trying to reaffirm America&rsquo;s commitment to viewing India as a valuable partner and to get a sense of what India thinks about the rapidly evolving strategic realities in its vicinity.

Harsh V Pant: Filling the gaps in Afghanistan

India&rsquo;s ties with Iran have been hogging the limelight once again. Even as New Delhi was playing host to the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, a trade delegation from Iran was visiting India to boost bilateral trade ties. For a long time now, India has been trying to strike a delicate balance between its burgeoning ties with the US and its historical relationship with Iran.

Harsh V Pant: Teheran stands between Washington and New Delhi

Whether or not unexpected troop movements around Delhi in January, on the same day that the army chief took the civilian authorities to the Supreme Court, &ldquo;spooked&rdquo; the government to the extent that it was reported in The Indian Express is a matter now for the historians to sort out. But what cannot be denied is that the relations between civilians in government and the military are at an all-time low, and the trust deficit is widening by the day.

Harsh V Pant: Soldier, state and society - the ever-growing imbalance

This year China has again announced a double-digit increase in its military spending, as concerns continue to rise in the region and beyond about China&rsquo;s true intentions behind its building of capabilities. Last week, Beijing announced that the total defence budget for 2012 would be increased to $106 billion, from $95.6 billion last year, an increase of 11.2 per cent.

Harsh V Pant