International Relations Mixed Practice — MCQs with Answers (Set 7)

All three statements are correct: HAMMER is a French precision munition used on the Rafale, SCALP and Storm Shadow are the same missile under different names, and BrahMos is an India-Russia joint venture.

Alcatraz Island genuinely served as a US military fort, then a federal prison, and was later occupied (1969-71) by Native American activists calling themselves ‘Indians of All Tribes’.

The correct answer is (b) Thailand. Exercise Maitree, instituted in 2006, is an annual army-to-army exercise between India and Thailand, alternating host countries each year.

The correct answer is (a) 1 only. This statement is wrong: the New Delhi Summit in December 2025 was actually the 2nd WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, not the 3rd (the 1st was held in Gandhinagar in 2023). Statement 2 is genuinely correct: the 11th International Yoga Day 2025’s theme was ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health.’

The correct answer is (a). This statement is wrong. BIMSTEC has only 7 members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Pakistan is NOT a member — this distinguishes BIMSTEC from SAARC. The other three statements are correct: Dhaka hosts the secretariat, India leads security, Thailand leads connectivity.

LAMITIYE-2026 is genuinely India-Seychelles. DUSTLIK is actually India-Uzbekistan, not Azerbaijan. Cyclone-IV is actually India-Egypt, not Israel. Only the first statement is correct.

The correct answer is (b) 1, 2 and 3 only. SAARC’s seven founding members in 1985 were India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Afghanistan joined only later, in 2007, as the eighth member — it was not present at the founding.

The answer is the Sino-Indian War of 1962. The MEA brief calls the border conflict of 1962 a setback to India-China ties. Eight years after 1954 is 1962. That subtraction is our own. Why the others fail: the 1965 war, the annexation of Goa and the Bangladesh Liberation War are not conflicts between India and China. Memory hook: 1954 plus eight is 1962.

The answer is the Bandung Conference. The MEA says Panchsheel was incorporated into the Ten Principles of the April 1955 Bandung Conference of 29 Afro-Asian countries. Why the others fail: the Belgrade conference came later, in 1961. The MEA says it accepted Panchsheel as the core of the Non-Aligned Movement. The MEA booklet names neither Geneva nor The Hague as a home of Panchsheel. Memory hook: Bandung 1955, Belgrade 1961.

The answer is Jawaharlal Nehru and Zhou Enlai. They issued the Joint Statement of 28 June 1954 during Zhou’s visit to India. It said the principles should guide relations with other countries too. Why the others fail: Gandhi and Mao are not the issuers of that statement. Patel and Deng are not the issuers. Nehru and Mao are wrong because Zhou, not Mao, joined Nehru. The 29 April treaty itself was signed by Nedyam Raghavan and Chang Han-fu. Memory hook: Joint Statement, two premiers.

The answer is mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. It is the first principle in the preamble of the 1954 agreement. Why the others fail: a military alliance is not one of the five. Economic integration into a single bloc is not one of the five. Universal nuclear disarmament is not one of the five. Memory hook: respect, no attack, no meddling, equal gain, peace.

The answer is 1954. The agreement that lists the five principles was signed at Peking on 29 April 1954. The MEA says the principles were first formally enunciated there. Why the others fail: 1950 is not the year of the agreement. 1961 is the Belgrade conference of non-aligned states. 1962 is the year of the border conflict. Memory hook: signed in 1954, spoken again in 1955 and 1961.

Correct because the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy targets net-zero emissions from international shipping by or around 2050. Indicative checkpoints aim for 20 to 30 per cent cuts by 2030 and 70 to 80 per cent by 2040, against 2008 levels.

Correct because MARPOL is the IMO’s main treaty for preventing pollution from ships. Its six annexes cover oil, noxious chemicals, packaged goods, sewage, garbage and air pollution, and it entered into force in October 1983.

Correct because a UN conference in Geneva adopted the convention that created the IMO on 6 March 1948. The convention entered into force in 1958, and the body first assembled in January 1959.

Correct because the United States withdrew from UNESCO in December 1984 and the United Kingdom followed in 1985. Both cited politicization and concerns that NWICO threatened press freedom. UNESCO had meanwhile set up the IPDC in 1980 to fund media development.

Correct because the commission sought balanced, two-way information flows. It wanted democratization of communication and technology transfer to developing countries. The core demand became the New World Information and Communication Order.

Correct because the report was titled Many Voices, One World. It carried eighty-two recommendations and demanded a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). UNESCO debated it at the 1980 General Conference in Belgrade.

Correct because Irish statesman Seán MacBride chaired the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems. MacBride had shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974. The commission published Many Voices, One World in 1980.

The correct answer is the first option, about interdependence, technology and no rival ideology. China sits deep inside the world economy. Census ranks it the third-largest US goods trading partner in 2023. A closed and autarkic economy is wrong because China trades heavily with the USA. A formal bloc like the Warsaw Pact is wrong because Russia and China say their ties are not Cold War style alliances. Full nuclear parity is wrong because SIPRI puts China at around 620 warheads, while Russia and the USA hold about 83% of stockpiled ones. Memory hook: China is tied in, not walled off.

The correct answer is about $690.3 billion. Census shows $154.0 billion of exports and $536.3 billion of imports for 2022. $414.6 billion is wrong because that is the 2025 total. $574.9 billion is wrong because that is the 2023 total. $583.6 billion is wrong because that is the 2024 total. Memory hook: 690 in 2022, then 575, 584 and 415.

The correct answer is about 620. SIPRI says China now has around 620 nuclear warheads. About 4,012 is wrong because that is the world total of deployed warheads. About 9,745 is wrong because that is the world total in military stockpiles. About 12,187 is wrong because that is the world total in January 2026. Memory hook: China about 620, world 12,187, stockpiles 9,745, deployed 4,012.

The correct answer is 1955. The Warsaw Pact was set up on 14 May 1955 as a counterweight to NATO. 1949 is wrong because NATO’s Washington Treaty was signed on 4 April 1949. 1989 is wrong because that is when President Bush took office and ordered a review of Soviet policy. 1991 is wrong because the Soviet flag came down over the Kremlin on 25 December 1991. Memory hook: NATO 1949, Warsaw Pact 1955, Soviet end 1991.