Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that the country refused permission for the US to land two warplanes at Mattala International Airport, citing a commitment to neutrality amidst rising tensions in the Middle East.
Which are the world's most vital straits, important to shipping?
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
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar affirms India's self-determined and 'unstoppable' rise, emphasising the nation's strategic growth and role in the Indian Ocean region amid evolving global dynamics.
China has commissioned its third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, featuring advanced electromagnetic catapults, amidst rising tensions and military modernization efforts.
The Sittwe deal is more significant than Chabahar in Iran, where India has rights to operate only two terminals and not the port itself.
The maiden Africa India Key Maritime Engagement exercise will be held from April 13 to 18 off the coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Indian Navy will conduct a large-scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African countries in April, aiming to enhance interoperability with African navies and further strengthen maritime security cooperation. The exercise, titled "AIKEYME" (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement), will see the participation of several African nations, including Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa. The exercise is part of India's growing engagement with the Global South, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "MAHASAGAR" vision for mutual and holistic advancement in the region.
Two passenger ships with Indians and foreign nationals evacuated from conflict-hit Yemen are expected to reach the port on Saturday afternoon.
India on Monday sent two passenger ships to Djibouti Port to evacuate Indians stranded in conflict-hit Yemen.
France has evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission from violence-hit Sudan.
Last year, China held a meeting with some South Asian countries on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation without the participation of India.
India on Monday launched 'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate its nationals from violence-hit Sudan.
'China's moves are of direct significance to India, which will closely monitor Chinese naval activity in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean not least because of Chinese maps depicting claims over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.'
As many as 350 Indians on Wednesday reached Djibouti after being evacuated on a Navy vessel from Aden, the seaport city of strife-torn Yemen.
Around 350 stranded Indians were evacuated on Wednesday from strife-torn Yemen's Aden city on an Indian Naval ship that will now take them to Djibouti, a country neighbouring Yemen and across the Red Sea.
India tonight evacuated more than 300 Indians from Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah, taking the total number of those rescued to over 800 from the strife-torn country as government stepped up efforts to get clearance for air sorties to bring back its nationals from Sanaa.
Indian Air Force aircraft carrying 452 Indians evacuated from strife-torn Yemen have arrived in Mumbai.
India on Sunday evacuated 670 more nationals, including 488 from Sanaa by three Air India flights, taking the total number of Indians rescued from war-ravaged Yemen to nearly 2,300 after the "largest" evacuation in a day so far.
India on Tuesday night got permission to dock its ship at the Aden harbour for the evacuation of nearly 400 Indians from the sea port city as the government launched a massive air and sea evacuation operation for its over 4,000 nationals in strife-torn Yemen.
Among others, China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which is aimed towards having a military presence, says a Pentagon report
Around 1,350 Indians have been evacuated from Yemen and efforts are on to rescue over 2,000 others from various parts of the strife-torn country where situation has deteriorated significantly due to escalation in fighting between warring groups.
Two Navy-escorted passenger ships with 475 people evacuated from the conflict-hit Yemen arrived in Kochi on Saturday.
Trump had accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists.
French naval commander expresses concern over China expanding its maritime influence in the region.
After the rescue of more than 350 Indians from Aden, another batch of over 300 will be evacuated from Al Hudaydah on Thursday night.
After hectic diplomatic efforts, India finally got permission to land in Sanaa and the first flight with a passenger capacity of 120 has landed, the spokesperson in the external affairs ministry said.
'If we were willing to go to Yemen, one can only imagine our condition. Only those who are desperate will go there.'
Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the frigate was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai, according to Global Times.
The evacuation mission mounted by the government helped more than 5,000 Indians leave war-torn Yemen. The author goes behind the scenes to find out how this was achieved
The Fujian was launched at a brief ceremony held at the Shanghai shipyard, the official media reported from the eastern metropolis.
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.
Relief writ large on her face, a Keralite among the first batch of Indians who returned home after being evacuated from Yemen on Thursday said it was an unforgettable trauma with streets of the war-hit nation dotted with arms-wielding security personnel and civilians.
India on Thursday wrapped up its air evacuation operations from Yemen rescuing another 630 of its citizens from Sanaa, taking the total number of Indians brought home from the war-ravaged country to over 4,640 besides around 960 nationals from 41 countries.
China hiked its annual defence budget by 7.1 per cent.
The report claims that the military experts who have analysed the evidence collected by its Investigative Unit say an airstrip under construction in Agalega will almost certainly be used for maritime patrol missions by the Indian Navy.
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The deployment seems to be more than what is needed.
'We had doctors from Syria who could not go home as the situation in their country is even worse. We are fortunate we have a safe home to come back to while they don't have that luxury.'
'Putting tanks on the Ladakh border is not enough to combat China, what is needed to ensure resilience against any cyber-attacks or attacks in outer space or China flexing its economic muscle, as it did with Australia.'
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