'Nehru was an idealist, he was certainly a visionary in one way, but Mao Zedong was not. Mao Zedong was a very down-to-earth strategist. He wanted to take Tibet, to take the plateau, to take the rivers, to take the minerals.'
David Perdue said in a post on X that the US-India relationship delivers real results through close cooperation in diverse areas, including defence, energy and through Quad engagement.
India's exports experienced their steepest fall in five months, declining by 7.44 per cent in March to $38.92 billion, primarily due to trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, with shipments to West Asia contracting by over 50 per cent.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
China has denied reports of finalising a deal with Iran to sell CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missiles, amidst rising tensions in the Middle East and joint US-Israeli airstrikes.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China mediated tensions between India and Pakistan, a claim disputed by India which maintains that the matter was resolved bilaterally.
China has initiated screening procedures for travelers arriving from regions affected by the Nipah virus, including India. While no cases have been detected in China, health authorities are taking precautionary measures due to the ongoing outbreak in India.
The report evaluates the likely military, strategic and international fallout for China under scenarios ranging from a "major war" to a "minor conflict" with Taiwan, Focus Taiwan said.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army's eastern theatre command continued its military drills around Taiwan for a second consecutive day on December 30, involving naval, air and ground forces in what it described as a demonstration of joint operational and blockade capabilities.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
The Chinese military on Monday started new major drills in the 'middle areas' of the Taiwan Strait amid rising diplomatic tensions with Japan over Taiwan that Beijing claims as its territory.
In its annual report to Congress on Tuesday on 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025', the US Department of War said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is actively considering and planning for additional military facilities.
China has imposed sanctions on 20 US defence firms in response to the Trump administration's approval of a record USD 11.1 billion arms sales package to Taiwan.
China has expressed its support for Russia's initiative to revive the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, emphasizing its importance for regional and global security and stability.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Lin Jian, said on Wednesday that China supports Iran in maintaining its stability, adding that Beijing has always opposed the interference in other countries' internal affairs and the use of force in international relations.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Indian security agencies have continued efforts to reinforce the Siliguri Corridor through improved infrastructure, faster mobilisation capability and diversified connectivity routes to the north east.
China has reacted positively to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India, emphasizing the importance of trilateral ties between China, Russia, and India for regional and global peace and stability.
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.
India has lodged a strong protest with China for carrying out construction activities in the Shaksgam Valley, asserting its claim over the territory and rejecting the China-Pakistan boundary pact of 1963.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
'China's basic purpose of taking the Shaksgam Valley was access to the Indian Ocean.'
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Today's situation in the Shaksgam Valley is the consequence of what happened in Gilgit in 1947. But is India ready to militarily get back its territories? asks Claude Arpi.
The delegations from the US and Iran head to Islamabad on Friday, carrying a ceasefire that is already fraying, a Strait that is technically open and practically closed, and a negotiating agenda that would challenge even parties actually negotiating in good faith, which these groups are not. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Russia and China on Saturday condemned the United States airstrikes on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'For the first time in a hundred years, the army has been taken out of the political equation. And for the first time ever, there is only one man who calls the shots. Not even Mao had this kind of power.'
China refutes allegations of harassment of an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai airport, claiming actions were lawful and reiterating its claim over the region.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
It was a meeting at the official level, not at the political level, Hossain said, adding that there was no element of formation of any alliance.
Russia has shared intelligence with Iran that could help Tehran target American warships, aircraft and other military assets in the region, according to United States intelligence assessments cited by media reports, marking the first indication of Moscow's possible involvement in the ongoing conflict. Officials familiar with US intelligence findings said a significant portion of the shared information reportedly includes imagery from Russia's network of surveillance satellites.
India on Monday advised its nationals to be careful while travelling to or transiting through China, more than two weeks after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly harassed at the Shanghai airport.
'Islamabad feels it has no alternative, but to address the challenges from the Afghan-Taliban through an open war.'
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
The well-fought defensive battles in Aksai Chin and eastern Arunachal, in remote and forbidding locations such as Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill and Walong, effectively halted Chinese advances not once but twice during the campaign. These engagements, fought with grit and without adequate support, were not immediately known to the world in 1962, points out Dr Kumar.
An Arunachal Pradesh woman was allegedly detained at Shanghai airport for nearly 18 hours after Chinese immigration officials refused to recognise her Indian passport, claiming Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.
A Chinese diplomat's aggressive comments threatening the Japanese Prime Minister over remarks about Taiwan have ignited a diplomatic row between China and Japan.
Will rising tensions between US-Israel and Iran threaten crude oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, putting India's fuel prices, imports, and economic stability at risk?
His successor issue is also expected to flare up fresh tensions between Beijing and Washington as China's policy comes in conflict with the US Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, which reaffirmed America's steadfast support for the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism.
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