Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Australia will not be at the periphery of India's vision but at the centre of its thought, as he called for closer bilateral security cooperation and a comprehensive global strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism.
Ashley J Tellis, a leading authority on Indo-US relations, tells Archis Mohan in an emailed interview that it is time Washington and New Delhi agreed on the contours of their 'strategic partnership', and that India's elite could learn from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in how he has put India's interests first and his own sentiments about the Americans second.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in Japan of an "expansionist" mindset of some countries have riled the Chinese official media which said the Indian leader is more "intimate with Tokyo emotionally".
Defence, security, science and technology, trade and culture are some of the issues on the plate for the talks.
India will become the largest single source of global oil demand growth after 2020, the International Energy Agency said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first State visit to India is an indication of the success of India's Act East Policy, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
The India-Japan 2+2 dialogue added strategic heft to the special relationship in the wake of growing Chinese assertiveness on regional affairs, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'No one knows Pak and understands Pak better than China,' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
'While visits and personal meetings are useful, changes of strategic significance have occurred recently, with Beijing trying to take the lead which Modi must take note of.'
Eyeing greater cooperation with South East Asian countries on economic and security issues, India on Thursday announced a separate Mission for ASEAN region to be set up in Jakarta with a full-time resident Ambassador.
'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
'We have not been able to use the potential of our location in the region and the world and our strength as a nation and an economy to establish an EU-like structure in South Asia,' points out Aakar Patel.
PM Modi seems to be gradually ending India's strategic ambiguity
Seoul said North Korea launched the missile apparently to 'provoke' Trump.
Talking about the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as it is not completely demarcated, there are differing perceptions about it by both sides.
While inaugurating the leadership summit of the US-India Business Council in Washington, DC, US Vice President Joe Biden said that there was no reason why the two largest democracies in the world should not continue to have a more productive relationship. Aziz Haniffa/ Rediff.com reports.
Japan could soon be the second country after the US with which India has a logistics support agreement. Besides the LSA, India and Japan may also sign a maritime domain awareness agreement which would enable the two navies to share information. For example, if a Japanese P-1 maritime patrol aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it would pass on the information to the Indian Navy, reveals Ajai Shukla.
'Modi and Abe are working seriously for India-Japan bonhomie to grow stronger.' 'It is a win-win situation for both countries and the future look promising,' says Rajaram Panda, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations India Chair Visiting Professor at Reitaku University, Japan.
China will also set up 50 joint laboratories with countries participating in the Belt and Road initiative to enhance cooperation on innovation.
'Even if such a thing happens, it will not prolong for many days like Doklam did.' 'That is because both the leaders do not want it.'
'The US-India relationship is in a different league altogether,' Obama administration officials tell Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com in Washington, DC.
His remarks without naming any country came against the backdrop of tension between India and Pakistan after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
The entire gamut of China's activities is aimed at keeping India on tenterhooks, cause fatigue to its troops and keeping its security system unstable, so that it cannot play a meaningful role in international geopolitics as an effective partner of the US and Japan, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The new government needs to clearly insist on diplomatic reciprocal arrangements with China. While reciprocity is a function of power in bilateral relations, the Modi-led government's responses should be based on India'S inherent strengths, says China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has suggested five thrust areas to improve relations with India. It is likely all these issues, in addition to the points raised by Xi at Fortaleza, will be part of the joint declaration at the end of his visit to India, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
Modi, who is undertaking his first visit to China as prime minister, will reach the ancient city of Xi'an, the home town of President Xi Jinping, for a summit meeting, an unusual departure from normal protocol and seen as a reciprocal gesture by the Chinese leader who was hosted by Modi in Ahmedabad when he visited India in September last year.
'The US wants Modi to succeed because we want India to succeed. For our part, when India thinks of its partners in the world, we want it to think of the US first. That means positioning our country as the preferred provider of the key inputs that can help to propel India's rise.' 'The meeting between Modi and Obama is, and must be, an opportunity for true strategic dialogue -- not a scripted exchange of talking points, but an open discussion of the big questions. What kind of world do we want to live in? What are our true priorities? And most importantly, why does this partnership still matter?'
The India-Japan joint naval exercises are a strategic signal for China, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
With PM Modi's visit, the time has come for a relook at India-Myanmar ties, and elevate the relationship to higher levels, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the United States Congress.
'We should expect a cold-blooded, transactional relation that requires a lot of engagement and mutual trust to sustain,' says Constantino Xavier, Fellow, foreign policy, Brookings India.
'The Vladivostok visit marks a subtle reversal of trend discernible in the revival of India-Russia relations pioneered by Modi during the past couple of years,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi knew in his heart that India does not have the financial muscle to support the new bank with offers of co-financing international projects, something China can do from the bank's base in Shanghai. If established in Mumbai, it may have employed a few Indian bankers and satisfied the national ego but there was little financial value to be drawn from it.
'In India foreign policy is generally handled by the prime minister.' 'One can clearly see the Vajpayee stamp on all this.' 'Only a person with poetic imagination can weave such a complex web,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The United States and China have agreed to expand military exchanges and exercises as part of efforts to build more stable bilateral ties amid tensions over cyber security.
'If, as appears to be the case, India is on way to 'mending fences' with China, and China is equally desirous to 'reset' the relationship, this could be a self-reflexive moment in India's positioning vis-a-vis not just the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan issue and China as a whole,' points out China expert Alka Acharya.
The two countries also decided to expand trade and commercial ties holding that there are opportunities to exploit untapped economic potential in the two countries.
'Xi Jinping got a dose of Modi's medicine inside the tent where he was being hosted on the banks of the Sabarmati river.' 'Modi reportedly told him, looking deep into his eyes: "This was not expected of your country. Can you tell me when the troops are withdrawing?".'
The Japanese prime minister's visit to the memorial in Hawaii, the spot that was bombed 75 years ago, shows that it is possible for two powerful former enemies to transcend recriminatory impulses, observes Rajaram Panda.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances