The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.
Announcing the hotline, the Chinese defence ministry said as agreed upon by the defence departments of China and Japan, the two sides have recently completed the construction of a direct telephone line for the sea and air liaison mechanism and will maintain communication on the arrangement for the launch.
National security advisor Ajit Doval on Friday suggested that various central armed police forces of the country should have "jointness" and interoperability among themselves like the ongoing plan for the defence forces.
At a time when tensions are high over the repeated ceasefire violations perpetrated by Pakistan's troops at the Line of Control and China's incursions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the country's top military officers at the defence ministry.
The Chinese air force is now a 400,000-person force that flies some 2,000 combat aircraft -- more than thrice the size of the Indian Air Force.
The sources said the talks are focused on sorting out certain issues relating to cost component, weapons package and technology sharing.
Taiwan had shifted its purchases of large military platforms and systems, like fighter jets and naval vessels, to smaller lethal anti-ship and surface-to-air-missiles, reported The Singapore Post citing local media.
It said that the transit was "ongoing" and that there had been "no interference from foreign military forces so far."
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
'Indians are basically liked because they are educated, they are intelligent.'
The Fujian was launched at a brief ceremony held at the Shanghai shipyard, the official media reported from the eastern metropolis.
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'India is a huge market for Chinese goods. I don't think a war stands to logic when you have economic compulsions, but then Chinese are known to do illogical things.'
China is expected to unveil its investments in India during President Xi Jinping's visit to New Delhi, scheduled for the third week of this month.
The 'request for proposal' for the indigenous construction of the six submarines will be issued soon, they added.
The arrival a couple of days ago of a Chinese nuclear submarine for the first time in Karachi port, coinciding with a Chinese military delegation's visit, points to Pakistan's importance for China, says former R&AW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
Officials hint the visit could finally see a formal defence industrial road map being adopted by both nations.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan W Greenert characterised navy-to-navy ties as "solid and growing" and said bilateral wargames had progressed from "two ships going by doing flashing lights...probably about a decade ago, to coordinated operations, carrier air wing and under sea".
There is little appetite among combat aircraft engine makers to share the IP that results from a co-creation project. But Rolls-Royce is willing to walk the Aatmanirbhar talk.
Rahul alleged that the panel's time was being wasted in discussing armed forces' uniform instead of the crucial issue of national security, sources said.
The Philippines, confronted with Chinese bullying in the South China Sea, have become the first foreign military to order the shore-based, anti-ship cruise missile.
The P-8I, which is widely acknowledged to be the world's most deadly LRMR-ASW aircraft, is a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner, onto which a plethora of sensors and weaponry has been fitted.
We should reassess what India's role in the world is and whether we are doing the right thing for ourselves, notes Aakar Patel.
Any move by India to join the US navy for jointly patrolling the disputed South China Sea will be against its national interest, would divide Asian countries and further escalate regional tensions, a state-run Chinese daily said on Friday.
China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also made substantial progress in militarising its man-made islands in the past few years, which it says it has the right to defend.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
Shanghai on Monday reported 425 confirmed and 8,581 asymptomatic domestically transmitted cases, the highest daily increases since the latest outbreak, bringing the total number of COVID-19 infections in the city to over 60,000.
If you are serious about countering the Chinese threat, then the best weapon is investing in real freedom, plurality, elections and democracy. Unfortunately, it isn't an approach all Indians currently seem to agree on, asserts Shyam G Menon.
In what could be a lesson learnt from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war where anti-tank missiles have played a big role, the Indian Air Force is arming its Russian-origin helicopters with the Israeli 'Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) ATGMs' which can hit ground targets from distances up to 30 km.
The C-802 has a range of 8 km and its ability to gain altitude on its way to target turns it into a kind of cruise missile which can fly out of range of navy vessels' electronic defences.
Commander Kasutubh Gosavi was given the honour for saving 15 lives.
The Central Committee members on Sunday elected a 25-member Political Bureau which picked the Standing Committee members to govern the country.
India's combat capability and readiness to confront any multi-dimensional security threat was elaborately tested at a four-day mega military exercise conducted in the Creek sector of the Kutch peninsula that concluded on Monday, military officials said.
Xi Jinping's recent actions in South Asia have amply demonstrated the disastrous impact of China's embrace, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
The US military has intensified its efforts to collect the remnants of the high-altitude surveillance balloon from China that floated over the United States over several days last week from Montana to South Carolina.
Tokyo Olympian Arjun and his partner Ravi completed the race in 6:57.883s while the Chinese duo clocked 7:02.374s. The Uzbeks finished with a timing of 7:07.734s.
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army did not hide casualties during Galwan clash in eastern Ladakh as the Chinse have done.
