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Dear Friend,
The Informal Wuhan Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi at the end of April set the tone for further discussions at the Institute in the month of May. The ICS continued to lead informed academic and policy-oriented interventions on a range of issues related to China and East Asia.
EVENTS AND Activities
May saw ICS Wednesday Seminars ranging from discussions on China’s engagement with South China Sea to South Asia in the context of Afghanistan and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Prof. Baladas Ghoshal, Secretary General and Director (Academic), Society for Indian Ocean Studies, talked about the Challenge of the Rise of China and the Response from Southeast Asia (YouTube and SoundCloud), Dr. Mitsuhiro Mimura, Senior Research Fellow, Research Division at the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia, Japan, shared first-hand impressions of his travel on Karakoram Highway to understand China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (YouTube and SoundCloud), and Dr. Raghav Sharma, Associate Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs presented his thoughts on Recalibrating Afghanistan: China's Westward March (YouTube and SoundCloud).
The ICS also hosted a Roundtable Discussion on "Informal Wuhan Summit" (YouTube and SoundCloud). The event consisted of presentations by four panellists, namely Prof. Alka Acharya, Honorary Fellow and Former Director, ICS, Amb. Vinod Khanna, Former Director and Emeritus Fellow, ICS, Dr. Jabin T. Jacob, Senior China Analyst, and Dr. Atul Bhardwaj, Adjunct Fellow, ICS followed by a discussion. We also organised a Book Discussion on Higher Education in India and China: Select Perspectives (YouTube and SoundCloud), edited by Prof. Sreemati Chakrabarti, Vice Chairperson, ICS. Dr. G. Balatchandirane, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi and Ms. Aishna Sharma, Doctoral Student, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, JNU joined Prof. Chakrabarti for the discussion.
PUBLICATIONS
ICS Publications in the month of May were reflective of current developments in the Korean peninsula. Dr. Sandip Mishra, Associate Professor Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, penned down his views on Summit Diplomacy and Denuclearizing North Korea. Amb. Vishnu Prakash, Former Ambassador to Seoul and Amb. Anil Wadhwa, Former Ambassador, Senior Fellow & Cluster Leader, Vivekananda International Foundation, expressed their opinions on India’s role in the region in their respective pieces Spring Time in the Korean Peninsula after a Long Winter? and India and North Korea: Time for Reset?.
ICS Associate Fellow, Tshering Chonzom contributed an ICS Analysis on China's Crackdown on Crime and Corruption with Tibetan Characteristics while Amb. Anil Wadhwa wrote on Chinese Investments in Europe.
IN THE MEDIA
The Informal Summit in Wuhan was the main focus in the media interactions and outreach of the ICS faculty. Amb. Shyam Saran, ICS Governing Council Member and Amb. Shivshankar Menon, ICS Advisory Board Chairperson offered their views in The Indian Express and The Wire respectively. Anurag Viswanath, ICS Adjunct Fellow, presented her views on China’s Social Credit System in Financial Express and Prof. Alka Acharya reviewed K. N. Raghvan’s book titled Dividing Lines: Contours of the India-China Discord for Outlook magazine.
Prof. Mohanty was invited by Asia Global Online Journal to write about the main argument of his book on China’s transformations that was released earlier this year. Prof. Patricia Uberoi, Chairperson, ICS, talked with Deutsche Welle on South Asia’s take on China’s BRI and Dr. Tshering Chonzom was quoted in China Brief. I commented on the Wuhan Summit and developments in the Korean Peninsula in interactions with print and electronic media.
FACULTY UPDATES
I led a delegation including Amb. PS Raghavan, Convenor, National Security Advisory Board, former Director, Prof. Alka Acharya, Prof. Prabir De of RIS, and Assistant Director, Dr. Aravind Yelery to the 16th Russia-India-China Trilateral Academic Conference on 22-23 May in Moscow. In this annual Track-2 RIC dialogue, India, Russia and China are represented respectively by the ICS, Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Science, Moscow and the China Institutes of International Studies, Beijing.
Two of our research faculty, Dr. Tshering Chonzom and Dr. P K Anand are in a month-long research residency at India China Institute, New School, New York (21 May-20 June), as part of the Fellowship of China India Scholars Leaders Initiative (2018-2020).
Our Research Faculty maintained its speaking engagements and outreach. For instance, I visited Manipal University to deliver a talk on 8 May and addressed Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents on 17 May 2018. Research Associates, Dr. Veda Vaidyanathan and Mr. Bhim B Subba participated in a meeting and panel discussion organised by Embassy of the People's Republic of China in India on Sinology and China Studies.
The ICS Website and following us on Facebook and on Twitter are among the several ways you can get the latest on our publications and activities. You can also sign up to receive the latest information about our events and publications as well as browse our YouTube and SoundCloud channels.
I look forward to seeing you at more of our events.
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