India is acquiring the drones primarily to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the contested frontier with China.
Expected to be renamed "Shi Lang," after the Qing Dynasty admiral who conquered what is now known as Taiwan in 1681, the carrier has been undergoing modernisation work at the port of Dalian since 2002.
India must be aware that there is no question of the US fighting the Chinese on land. We have to fight our own battles, points out Virendra Kapoor.
China on Monday signed a defence cooperation agreement with the Maldives to provide free military assistance to foster "stronger" bilateral ties with Male, weeks after President Mohamed Muizzu set a deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his island nation.
China and Pakistan on Friday signed eight agreements, including a whopping $18 billion deal to build a 200 km-long strategic tunnel through the rugged PoK, as the two all-weather allies sought to boost economic ties and supply critical oil to the energy-hungry Communist giant.
The Chinese government has stirred yet another controversy even as Vice President Hamid Ansari is in Beijing to mark 60 years of the Panchsheel agreement. In a recent map, China has shown Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
A hike in China's defence budget has got defence experts and analysts debating the country's rising military power and clout.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
China has more than 500 nuclear bombs in its arsenal and is developing new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Chinese state TV reported USS George Washington would pass through the "Huangyan islands", also claimed by the Philippines as Scarborough Shoal, while analysts expressed concern over the US nuclear powered super carrier passing through "Chinese waters".
Prime Minister Modi on Saturday left for Egypt after concluding his state visit during which he held wide-ranging talks with President Joe Biden and addressed the joint session of the US Congress.
"Prudence and caution" needs to be exercised, warns China.
As US President Joe Biden launched a new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations, including India, to enhance trade, economic and investment opportunities, China, which sees the pact as a threat to its dominance in the region, went on the offensive against it, promising more opening up, while the official media here termed it as "economic Nato".
US admiral's suggestion for a revival of a strategic maritime quadrilateral with Japan, Australia and India leaves China livid, says Rajeev Sharma.
The Sino-Japan row over disputed islands in the East China Sea took a new turn on Thursday as Beijing said its surveillance plane was 'disturbed' by Japanese fighter jets and warned Tokyo of consequences.
China's first aircraft carrier is likely to be commissioned on August 1 and deployed in the disputed South China Sea, boosting its blue water aspirations.
Future conflict will involve bypassing of frontiers to strike at critical vulnerabilities directly and in the hinterland at the appropriate time, explains Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd), who served as chief of the Integrated Defence Staff and Central Army Commander.
'India has ramped up infrastructure on its side, so the Chinese military is finding Indian soldiers in locations where they are not used to seeing an Indian footprint,' points out Harsh V Pant.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday deplored the "expansionist" tendency among some countries which "encroach" upon seas of others, in oblique comments against China which has a maritime dispute with Japan.
China on Thursday ruled out establishing an air defence zone along the India-China border like it recently did over the disputed islands in the East China Sea, saying such zones are created only in coastal areas beyond territorial airspace.
The 2025 Sony World Photography Awards has announced its National and Regional Award winners, celebrating talent from 56 countries.
In a surprise move China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announced that a maritime surveillance fleet consisting of two patrol vessels, Haijian 50 and Haijian 66 started patrolling the waters of the Diaoyu Islands since Friday
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
The experts also said China's military 'misadventure' may have been driven in part by President Xi Jinping's attempt to show 'gains somewhere" after the growing global criticism against his country over the origin of COVID-19.
The maritime row between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea has flared up as Manila with tacit United States backing lined up its naval ships at the disputed island to challenge Chinese claims over it, leaving a perplexed Beijing to mull military options.
China's behaviour in the post-pandemic geopolitical landscape which may determine the Quad's future trajectory, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Indo-Pacific region. Senior officials from the ministries of External Affairs and Defence, and the US departments of Defence and State met here for the India-US 2+2 Inter-Sessional meeting.
"I fully understand the One-China policy. But I don't know why we have to be bound by a One-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," the US President-elect told Fox News.
Amid growing confrontation between China and Japan over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, Chinese government will be briefing the Indian government regarding its case.
Following the Chinese president's comments on Kashmir, India in a quick response asserted that it is not for other countries to comment on "internal affairs of India".
Thousands of Chinese protesters on Saturday pelted stones at Japan's embassy in Beijing amid growing tensions between the two sides over a group of islands in East China Sea, where surveillance ships dispatched by Beijing asked Japanese Coast Guard vessels to leave the disputed area or face consequences.
The US election campaign has provided plenty of ammunition for the CCP to make its case that its political system is superior.
A joint statement was issued by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa after their in-person meeting in Phnom Penh on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
As India's stock rises, the resolution of the border row may become even more difficult, warn Harsh V Pant and Kalpit Mankikar.
The Chinese navy's growing aggression in the Western Pacific is bringing together a range of allies.
The American efforts to make India a security partner have enhanced India's importance to Chinese decision makers and new recognition of India's importance and achievements are reflected in a much more positive reporting about India in the State-controlled media, says Walter Andersen.
Reacting strongly to reports that China has in its recent map shown Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, India on Saturday said "cartographic depictions" do not change reality on the ground and asserted that Arunachal was an integral part of the country.
Russian shipments averaged 1.67 million barrels per day in January compared to 1.48 million bpd in December and 1.53 million bpd a year earlier.
