Against the backdrop of growing Chinese assertion in the Asia-Pacific region, India on Thursday said it supports the "freedom of navigation" in international waters noting that any disputes or differences in the region must be resolved diplomatically.
From the Syrian civil war to the Ukrainian crisis to the terror unleashed by the dreaded Islamic State, there was no lack of news in 2014. In this five-part series,rediff.com presents a selection of the year's most enduring moments year from around the world.
United States President Barack Obama is impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of the big things he wants India to achieve.
'Relations between India and Japan are robust and devoid of either shadow of history or any irritant.' 'In fact, there is plenty of warmth and goodwill earned over history. There are no negatives but only opportunities,' notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
"This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that's very significant," a senior administration official told reporters at the White House on the eve of Modi's arrival.
'... For the India-US relationship to continue its positive trajectory, it will require India to adapt to a different approach.' Nisha Desai Biswal -- who as the Obama administration's point person for South Asia was in the inner circle of all the Obama-Modi Summits -- tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar why she is hopeful that India and the US are on an irreversible forward course.
'We are confident that the US manufacturing industry will be able to take advantage of the US-India Investment Initiative to effectively support our goals of assisting in the development of three Indian cities -- Ajmer, Vishakhapatnam and Allahabad -- where the United States will be the lead partner,' Senators Warner and Cornyn told Obama.
'Washington senses that the anchor sheet of India's strategic autonomy lies in its longstanding partnership with Russia, which remains firm and immutable despite the changes in world politics in the post-Cold War era,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.<
'This was the first ever visit by a President in a re-election year so it sent a strong signal of the priority of the relationship and the desire to continue to strengthen it.'
'Modi's initial forays into foreign policy had the flavour of Aswamedha Yagas launched by ancient kings to conquer the world.' 'He overcame the hesitations of history and explored unconventional ways to win friends and influence people.' A fascinating excerpt from Ambassador T P Sreenivasan's new book, Modiplomacy -- Through a Shakespearean Prism.
India on Friday said the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan has given 'good signals" in normalising bilateral ties but cautioned against expecting "magic overnight".
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Two top United States lawmakers have introduced a legislation in the House of Representatives to designate India as a special global partner of America
Joe Biden will embark on his maiden visit to India as United States Vice President on July 22 to discuss key bilateral issues, including trade, energy and defence, to make Indo-US ties the most important strategic partnership of the 21st century.
Underlining that a closer and stronger bilateral strategic partnership is indispensable for advancing peace in the world, India and Japan on Sunday decided to promote economic and social development and engage with other nations to address regional challenges and promote peaceful resolution of disputes.
'Our strategy should be to 'hold the line' in the north on the Sino-Indian land frontier, but maintain and, if possible, enlarge India's current edge in the maritime south.'
Outlining seven principles of engagement for closer cooperation between India and China, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said the two countries should show sensitivity to each other's interests and sovereignty and move quickly to resolve the boundary issue.
United States Vice President Joe Biden on Monday left for a rare vice presidential trip to India for the first leg of his visit to the Asia-Pacific region.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar expects to see progress in India-US defence relations at the speed of a year per month.
'It is unrealistic to expect that security dilemmas and strategic distrust to disappear or even diminish any time soon,' says Rup Narayan Das.
'If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,' Trump said.
The agenda prepared by ministers will be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other RCEP leaders in Nonthaburi, a city north of Bangkok, on November 4, the official deadline to close talks.
"We often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia Summit.
Sri Lanka and southern India could continue to experience higher than normal rainfall and this could cause further flooding, particularly urban flooding, in certain locations, the report said.
China remains the elephant in the room and has to be tamed, which the United States alone is unable to do and therefore calls allies to come on board.
He warned that Pakistan-supported terrorist groups would continue to carry out attacks inside India.
'In the past the US has been reluctant to name Pakistan directly in an US-India joint statement.'
Among others, China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which is aimed towards having a military presence, says a Pentagon report
The deal would allow Japan to export nuclear technology to India.
The US has been, historically, a sleeping partner in India-China relations. Today, any attempt by the Modi government to make a bilateral move to improve relations with Beijing could upset Biden's apple cart, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The relation between India and China has broad influence on Asia's security and the United States will continue to engage with them to encourage regional stability, the nominee for the Pentagon's top policy post for the Asia-Pacific region said.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Text of PM Narendra Modi's press statement after delegation level talks with US President Obama at the Hyderabad House in Delhi.
Deborah Lee James will travel to India later this month as part of a maiden visit to four Asian countries that would also take her to Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines and will discuss the situation in the South China sea as well as the growing threat of terrorism.
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Seeking to boost the strategic ties, India and the US finalised the text of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement.
With the situation in Ladakh tense and no resolution in sight the trigger to take the India-US relationship to a transformational one is already there, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Pakistan-based terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayiba are likely to turn their attention to India with the drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan, a top Pentagon commander has told lawmakers.
India on Tuesday supported Afghanistan's reconciliation process with the Taliban, but warned that it must not undermine the legitimacy of the Afghan government and should be within the internationally accepted "red lines".
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