Parrikar was originally scheduled to travel to Bangladesh much earlier this month but the visit was delayed.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that commitment by Indian and Chinese leaderships to maintain peace and tranquillity at borders pending boundary settlement is an important guarantor for further progress in Sino-Indian ties, particularly growth of 2.5 billion people.
India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
On Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will hold the 2+2 talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, covering the entire expanse of defence and security ties as well as key regional and global issues.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has asserted that India has zero tolerance for terrorism and will never give in to nuclear blackmail, emphasizing that New Delhi will deal with Pakistan purely bilaterally. He made these remarks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, where he also highlighted the importance of the strategic partnership between India and Germany, emphasizing the need for a free trade agreement between the two nations.
Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
Operationalisation of a new border defence agreement to deal with recurring troop incursions along the LAC besides improving defence ties, is expected to top the agenda of General Bikram Singh as he starts a rare visit by an Indian army chief to China from Wednesday.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China needs closer scrutiny, says Rup Narayan Das.
Singh conveyed to Li that India wants to improve relations with China but it can happen only after peace and tranquillity are restored at the border, the sources said.
India and Egypt on Wednesday decided to elevate their ties to the level of strategic partnership with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi vowing to expand ties in areas of defence and security, trade and counter-terror cooperation.
JD-U MP Sanjay Kumar Jha heads a diplomatic mission to Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore, to seek international cooperation after the Pahalgam attack while highlighting Pakistan's role in cross-border terrorism.
China wants a code of conduct for troops on the India-China border areas. While the Indian side has reacted cautiously, it is not clear what effective additional protocols that the current proposed code will bring forth to usher stability in the border areas, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
China on Tuesday dismissed reports of fresh incursions by its troops into India as "routine patrolling" and asserted that both countries have a very effective and smooth mechanism to handle border incidents.
Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who is in China on a four-day official visit, on Thursday held talks with People's Liberation Army Chief of General Staff Fang Fenghui in Beijing.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
India and China have agreed to work towards a "roadmap" for rebuilding mutual trust following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, according to a statement from the Indian Defence Ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of a regional security conclave. Singh called for drawing lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020 and emphasized the need for cooperation rather than conflict. Both sides agreed to work towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, and a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.
In his media statement following talks with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic, Modi said both leaders agree that "terrorism is an enemy of humanity" and is inimical to forces that believe in democracy.
The 16th round of India-China border talks will be held in Beijing on June 28 followed by the visit of Defence Minister A K Antony a week later as the two countries are set to resume top level contacts to build on the recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi.
Setting up Chinese Industrial Parks in India, increased access to Indian products to bridge the ballooning trade deficit besides border issues was expected to figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
'China has thus far been cautious, emphasising its focus on development rather than weaponising water resources.'
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier.
A new Border Personnel Meeting point was on Saturday operationalised at Daulat Beg Oldie along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh sector, which would serve as the northern-most meeting point between armies of India and China.
China on Monday said Defence Minister A K Antony's visit Beijing has given both countries an opportunity to enhance their "strategic cooperative partnership" and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas through increased military-to-military coordination.
After India firmly told China that its violation of the border pacts has "eroded" the entire basis of bilateral ties, China's defence ministry on Friday said the situation at the border is "generally stable" and both sides should put the boundary issue in an "appropriate position" and promote its transition to "normalised management".
'India's letter to Pakistan on April 24 (2025; two days after the Pahalgam terrorist attack) didn't tear up the treaty -- but it did put it on ice.'
China has reacted cautiously to India's proposal for the establishment of mountain strike corps along the Sino-Indian border, while the official media in Beijing ignored the development.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The US remained "watchful" over developments along India's frontier with China as it cannot take its eyes off the regional security issues, a senior American official said on Wednesday against the backdrop of the over 29-month border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly frayed ties between the two neighbours.
Against the backdrop of recent incursions by the Chinese troops, India and China on Saturday held a flag meeting in eastern Ladakh where the Indian side is understood to have raised concerns over detention of its nationals by the People's Liberation Army.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has arrived in Beijing for a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Chinese officials. The visit comes amid ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and to resume bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
The move came against the backdrop of Turkiye backing Pakistan and its condemnation of India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor.
The 18th edition of exercise Yudh Abhyas is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 31, sources in the defence and military establishment said on Wednesday.
In a rare honour, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit and address China's ruling Communist Party's Central School during his visit in Beijing next week besides holding in-depth talks with Chinese leaders.
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
In his opening remarks at the talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that India is confident of overcoming the challenges with a strong political will and an inherent capability of its people.
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.
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