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Synopsis Pentagon's South Asia Defence and Strategic Year Book is now in its fourth year of publication. It contains well-documented and comprehensive analyses of defence, economic and geostrategic issues that impact regional security in South Asia. These wide ranging perspectives give deep insights into the various factors which are juxtaposed together to have a far reaching impact on the world as a whole, and South Asia in particular.

Being a region rife with geopolitics, by virtue of its location, population make-up, and varied social and communal fabrics interwoven together, South Asia is a highly volatile region in terms of national security, military balance and strategic imperatives. Pakistan and Afghanistan have become epicentres of terrorism. The presence of weapons of mass destruction and the danger of their falling into hands of terrorists is a rising cause of concern. The internal situation in Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar continues to be unpredictable. Sri Lanka has yet to stabilize its problem of the Tamil minority. India is emerging as an engine of growth. The emerging threat from the dangers of climate change adds another component to the complex jigsaw. Yet, threats are becoming increasingly difficult to predict in the prevailing environment of strategic uncertainty and the concomitant interdependence among the countries of South Asia.

The Year Book aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the security environment in the region by focusing on the military capabilities and strategic factors that impact current events. Perspectives from defence analysts, academics and think tanks help to provide an understanding of the security environment, and the macro and micro factors which govern it, alongside their inter-se relationships. The theme of the publication is "Understanding Through Information".