The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
"China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan," Tharoor said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged that NATO is blatantly trying to lure India into anti-China intrigues.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Defence sources stated that the disengagement involves removing infrastructure and withdrawing troops from both sides. The process is expected to be completed by Tuesday.
India and China held talks in New Delhi to discuss the lessons learned from the eastern Ladakh military standoff and prevent its recurrence. The two sides also prepared for the next meeting of the Special Representatives on the boundary question. The talks took place under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). Both sides highlighted the importance of regular exchanges and contacts at diplomatic and military level to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.
'Pakistan's role in Bangladesh will always be negative, since it's a one-point agenda is hostility against India.'
A Chinese diplomat's aggressive comments threatening the Japanese Prime Minister over remarks about Taiwan have ignited a diplomatic row between China and Japan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said the US threats of tariffs against India and China are failing and there is a growing understanding in Washington of the futility of talking in such language with two ancient civilisations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday met Sri Lanka's top leadership and discussed a host of issues, including the debt crisis faced by the island nation, investments, promoting tourism and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as the two countries marked the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
And while delegates from all over China attended the National People's Congress, all eyes were on one man, the anointed-by-personal-diktat ruler for life, Xi Jinping.
China has formally started the construction of a USD 167.8 billion dam over the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh, raising concerns in India and Bangladesh.
The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
The foreign ministry's statement came amidst the reported visit of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to Pakistan on a mediation mission.
China on Thursday said the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia's Kazan on Wednesday carries a "great significance" as they reached an "important common understandings" to improve the bilateral ties.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
In Ahmedabad to promote tourism in the island nation, Fernando said China has made a lot of investment in Sri Lanka and has been 'understanding its requirements in the past'.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Wednesday expressed hope that the recently completed Indo-China border disengagement in Eastern Ladakh would smoothen relations and pave the way for a better understanding between the two neighbours in the days ahead.
Her comments come a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Geneva that roughly 75 percent of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.
India has reached out to key global powers, including members of the UN Security Council, and apprised them about the reasons behind its military strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi also conveyed to the countries that it will retaliate if Islamabad escalates the already tense situation.
India-US relations, like Rome, were not built in a day, nor can they be demolished in a day.
All said and done, when the new global order emerges, India can only remain with the democracies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
China hopes both sides will remain restrained, move toward each other, and work together to de-escalate the situation.
According to informed sources, Doval will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday to attend the crucial talks, which were expected to provide a way forward for the two countries to normalise the relations.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
During a special briefing in Tianjin, Misri confirmed that the prime minister will first address the SCO plenary session before meeting President Putin.
Family of former Bangladesh prime minister Khalada Zia, who remains in a critical condition, is preparing to transfer her to London for medical treatment. Her son, Tarique Rahman, lives in London.
India and China have agreed to take measures to further ease the situation at the borders while continuing to implement the October agreement to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh comprehensively. The two sides held the 32nd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi, agreeing to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels and safeguard sustainable peace and stability in the border areas. This meeting follows the October 21 agreement between the two countries to resolve the over four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
'The BNP's election manifesto lists grievances against India, mirroring the attitude of past BNP governments.' 'Political parties have been careful not to say bad things about China.'
Once the OS layer is opened to the State, it doesn't close, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
President Xi is also skipping the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and East Asia summits in Jakarta this week.
China has objected to Indian Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks on the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, urging India to be cautious on Tibet-related issues to avoid impacting bilateral relations. China insists any future Dalai Lama must receive its approval.
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
Outgoing Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri on Monday had a virtual farewell call on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during which he said that "certain challenges" had overpowered the vast opportunities in the bilateral ties last year and hoped that with continued communication the two sides would be able to resolve the current difficulties.
'The worst part is that after the attack on December 9, the Dehradun police refused to register an FIR for the murder.'
China has protested to India over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greetings to the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday and the attendance of Indian officials at the celebrations, stressing New Delhi should appreciate Beijing's sensitivities on Tibet-related issues.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further solidify bilateral strategic ties.
