China on Monday successfully test-fired a long-range strategic missile from one of its nuclear-powered submarines in the Pacific Ocean, drawing sharp reactions from Japan and Australia.
Gwadar is viewed as a critical pearl in China's maritime strategy as it would give a permanent logistical footprint near an important choke point - the Strait of Hormuz and the oil rich Persian Gulf, explains Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Experts' worries intensified after Pakistan commissioned its first Chinese-built Hangor-class submarine, PNS Hangor, last month.
Viewing the rapid modernisation of the Chinese Navy as a "major concern", Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi on Monday made it clear that India will protect its interests in the disputed South China Sea, even if it means sending forces there
'General Subramani's appointment as military adviser in the NSCS has given him insight into decision-making at the apex level prior to formally taking over as CDS.'
'It makes a lot of sense to keep nuclear assets at sea and the Indian government has said it will do so,' Admiral Madhavendra Singh told a magazine.
Despite decades of efforts towards energy transition, oil will remain the critical energy source for all nations for some decades. We can hope for peace opening the Strait of Hormuz, but must prepare for war closing it, points out former foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai.
Jinan, a Luyang II-class missile destroyer of the Chinese navy, on Monday docked at Mumbai harbour on a stopover while on an anti-piracy mission on the Gulf of Aden.
Vietnam is an emerging regional power and a closer relationship with Hanoi is closely aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
For the foreseeable future, the most likely outcome remains continuation of the status quo. Taiwan will remain self-governing without formally declaring independence, while China continues to apply sustained pressure short of war, predict Krishnan Srinivasan and Manoj Mohanka.
While the Andaman and Nicobar islands serve as a vital, stationary asset for projecting power in the Indian Ocean, referring to them as an unsinkable aircraft carrier ignores key military and geopolitical limitations, explains Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The United States has paused a proposed USD 14 billion arms sale to Taiwan due to concerns about maintaining sufficient munitions for potential conflicts, particularly in light of the ongoing situation with Iran.
For India, China's Indian Ocean power projection, maritime domain awareness, dual-use ports, underwater surveillance, antisubmarinewarfare, naval exercises with Pakistan, pose considerable pressure, depleted India's strategic depth and marginalises Indian role, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
'We won not (only) because we were able to carry out long-range precision strikes.' 'That is, of course, one of the reasons but we had better situational awareness about what's happening than Pakistan.'
A lesson for India is to clearly define objectives beforehand, so that the adversary or other parties do not attempt to mitigate them midway.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open for normal passage of ships, describing it as an 'international waterway' amid rising tensions between the US and Iran.
A new report suggests China's maritime vulnerability lies in the Strait of Hormuz, not Malacca, creating strategic competition in the Indian Ocean.
The Chinese military is planning to revamp its English-language instruction in its academies to improve graduates' communication skills on the international stage, according to an article by senior lecturers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
China remains a "formidable challenge" that has increased its presence not only along India's land borders but also in the maritime domain, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Tuesday and asserted that the naval force keeps a regular watch in the Indian Ocean Region.
The United States has warned China against escalating tensions as Taiwan detected multiple Chinese naval vessels, official ships and balloons operating around the island amid Beijing's large-scale live-fire military drills.
China's Navy wants to join hands with India to maintain security of the Indian Ocean
China has denied any links to the Iranian cargo ship seized by the US in the Gulf, which allegedly contained chemical materials for manufacturing missiles. The denial follows allegations by former US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley, who claimed the ship was headed from China to Iran.
India's defence expenditure surged to $92.1 billion in 2025, making it the world's fifth-largest military spender, according to SIPRI data. This 8.9 per cent year-on-year rise was primarily driven by operational and procurement needs following heightened regional tensions with Pakistan in May 2025.
Security agencies are investigating after a Chinese-made GPS tracking device was found attached to a seagull near a sensitive naval zone in Karwar, India. Preliminary findings suggest scientific research, but concerns remain due to the proximity of a strategic naval base.
China calls the shoal Huangyan Dao. China has already deployed some of its biggest CCG vessels in the area to assert its claims.
Vice Admiral K Swaminathan highlights concerns over Pakistan's arms procurement and China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean Region.
We, Indians, forgot that for Pakistan, Kashmir dispute and blood feud with India is the raison detre for its existence. It is also the excuse with which the Pak army keeps its grip over the state. Peace in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan is against the interests of the Pak army, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran if a deal is not reached before the ceasefire ends, while Pakistan urged both sides to extend the truce and pursue diplomacy.
The Chinese military has began recruiting Uygur Muslim women for its navy in what appears to be first such experiment to open up its ranks for minorities, especially from volatile Xinjiang province where Islamic militants are fighting a separatist movement.
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.
China's latest defence budget surges to $275 billion, fueling its ambitious military modernisation program and intensifying geopolitical dynamics in the region.
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.
'Torpedoes travel at more than 100 kilometres per hour, about 50-60 knots.' 'It must have been a matter of a few minutes before it detonated under the Iranian ship.' 'The Iranian ship would have probably got three, four minutes and wouldn't have known till they actually heard the whirr of the torpedo.'
China has commissioned its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, featuring advanced electromagnetic catapults, amidst rising tensions and military modernization efforts.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Amid rising tensions in West Asia, China is urging all parties to cease military operations, following Trump's appeal for help in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
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.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'India was not obliged to protect the Iranian ship.' 'Once the Iranian ship left Indian waters, she was on her own.' 'Guilt tripping India is wrong.'
