WORLD ROUNDUPThe Deep Roots of the India-Canada Diplomatic Rift | The End of Nagorno-Karabakh | North Korea and China Aren’t the Allies You Think They Are, and more
· The Deep Roots of the India-Canada Diplomatic Rift
The murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar is just the latest episode in a complicated relationship that has been marked by fundamental differences in the countries’ values and priorities
· The End of Nagorno-Karabakh
Armenians’ mass exodus from the contested region raises the specter of ethnic cleansing
· America Prepares for a Pacific War with China It Doesn’t Want
Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand
· What Does a Russia-Leaning Party Win in an E.U. Nation Mean for Ukraine?
In much of Europe, the election in Slovakia was seen as a bellwether of mainstream support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. But voters seemed most concerned with pocketbook issues.
· Russia May Be Planning to Test a Nuclear-Powered Missile
Visual evidence from a remote base in the Arctic shows launch preparations mirroring those that preceded earlier tests
· South Korea Urges UK to Take Military Role in Pacific
Foreign minister tells The Times Britain remains a ‘global power’
· North Korea and China Aren’t the Allies You Think They Are
We have a habit of thinking of China and North Korea as allies. We need to think again.
The Deep Roots of the India-Canada Diplomatic Rift (C. Christine Fair, Lawfare)
On Sept. 18, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained to the Canadian Parliament that “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.” Canada came to this conclusion and opted to make a public accusation based on intelligence from intercepted electronic communications among Indian diplomats. On the same day, Canada ousted an Indian diplomat, whom Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly asserted was the Indian intelligence chief in the country. Within a few hours, India announced that it had expelled an unnamed “senior Canadian diplomat” in response.
While much ink has been spilled and will continue to be spilled on the minutiae of the allegations and their wider diplomatic ramifications, this imbroglio was long in the making and it derives from fundamental differences in Canada and India’s priorities, values, and history. Reckoning with these divisions will be profoundly difficult and is unlikely with the countries’ current leaders. It will require greater recognition by Indian officials about the protection of free speech in Western countries and greater acknowledgment of the seriousness of Indian concerns about the threat of terrorism from Sikh extremists. Reaching this understanding is in both countries’ interests.
The End of Nagorno-Karabakh (Alexandra Sharp, Foreign Policy)
Following more than three decades of cross-border violence, the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has ceased to exist. On Thursday, the government of the “Republic of Artsakh,” a breakaway government established during the post-Soviet struggle for control of the region, signed a decree dissolving its rule by Jan. 1. The decision marks a major win for Azerbaijan and furthers the mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the area.
Around 78,300 Armenians (or more than half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population) have fled the region in the last week, after Azerbaijan launched what it called an “anti-terrorist” offensive on Sept. 19 targeting the Armenian enclave. Within 24 hours, regional leaders had surrendered to Baku’s forces, and by Wednesday, top Artsakh officials such as Ruben Vardanyan had been arrested and brought to face court in Azerbaijan’s capital.
