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.
"In the flux and transition of our times, the most critical need in this region is to uphold and strengthen the rules and norms that must define our collective behaviour," he said.
'Unquestionably, the spirit behind the Panchsheel agreement and the 'Hindi Chini bhai bhai' slogan were thrown overboard by the Chinese, and a trust deficit was injected between the two nations.' A revealing excerpt from General J J Singh's The McMahon Line: A Century Of Discord.
In the test, a space rocket boosted a hypersonic glide vehicle, one capable of carrying a nuclear device, which circled the globe before impacting.
Pakistan's Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif is in China's militancy hit Muslim-majority Xinjiang province on a rare visit where he met his Chinese counterpart General Fang Fenghui, promising to crackdown on Uighur militants.
China has also announced that it would hold six live-fire military drills in waters around Taiwan.
'Does the country risk being enclosed in a geographical cocoon if it spurns a multi-continent project for which everyone else has signed up,' asks T N Ninan.
There are signs of China's external behaviour becoming more aggressive in the coming years. If that happens, strategic implications for neighbours having territorial disputes with China can become deeper and imperatives can rise for the former to counteract, says D S Rajan
India and Vietnam on Monday inked seven pacts, including one to enhance cooperation in the strategic oil sector, as they called for "freedom" of navigation in the South China Sea, a remark which could irk China, which has been claiming territorial sovereignty over the high seas.
'Xi is keen that the remaining three territories still outside the Chinese ambit -- Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Senkaku Islands in the East Sea -- be absorbed by the Communist regime by the time the centenary of the revolution rolls around in 2049.'
President Pranab Mukherjee's recent visit to the Pacific Island nation is path-breaking, but much more needs to be done, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Parrikar also released the revised strategic guidance document in view of the prevalent geo-economic and geo-strategic scenarios.
Dr Manmohan Singh would be faced with very few choices in Beijing given the Chinese conceived notions of the world today and India's low place in their calculus, says Srikanth Kondapalli.
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.
The agenda prepared by ministers will be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other RCEP leaders in Nonthaburi, a city north of Bangkok, on November 4, the official deadline to close talks.
However, Denmark said it is difficult to conclude on the real intention behind this.
'Whether it is the One Belt One Road project or building relationships in the Indian Ocean Region -- supposedly our area of concern -- the Chinese are seriously outpacing us,' points out Vice-Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The Indian economy, severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. However, India is likely to bounce back with an impressive 8.8 per cent growth rate in 2021, thus regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy, surpassing China's projected growth rate of 8.2 per cent, the IMF said in its latest 'World Economic Outlook' report.
The two countries also signed three other agreements -- to enhance aviation links, to jointly work in the area of energy efficiency and promotion of parliamentary cooperation.
The United States has started deploying the first elements of its advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system at the Osan Air Base in South Korea after North Korea conducted test of four ballistic missiles which broke international sanctions.
The US wants to split Sino-India ties, says the Chinese media.
Biden said, "One of the reasons why President Obama called our relations with India, quote, "a defining partnership of the century ahead" is that India is increasingly looking east as a force for security and growth in Southeast Asia and beyond."
'The PLA has continued to do exercises and drills and recently carried out air exercises with fighter jets.'
Major General S C N Jatar, who passed into the ages on Monday night, thwarted anti-national forces at the peak of the Assam agitation. Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) salutes this officer and gentleman.
The Australia-led search operation for the crashed Malaysian airliner has now shifted 1,100 km further north-east in the southern Indian Ocean following a "new credible lead", officials said on Friday.
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.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
India needs to have a re-look of whole gamut of its relations with major powers and also prepare for a more turbulent neighbourhood. But such is the tyranny of Indian status quo mindset that any talk of re-look at nuclear doctrine or foreign relations is treated as blasphemy, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
The UK said the deployment of the carrier strike group marks the start of "a new era of defence cooperation with allies in India and the Indo-Pacific."
An aggressive Pyongyang is likely to force Seoul and Tokyo to build nuclear deterrents and thus thwart Beijing's ambitions.
Notwithstanding how the current impasse is solved, at some point in the future, Russia will realise that just as centuries ago it developed the paradigm of securing its heartland's safety through annexing vast buffer zones between itself and the enemy, a more modern security is possible only through friendly relations and sustainable peace, observes Shyam G Menon.
'The Chinese navy is large and expanding both in numbers and capability by the day.' 'India too must take measures to safeguard its own interests, now and in the future.'
Modi's Vietnam visit is timely and crucial for several reasons. First, Vietnam lies at the heart of India's vision for Southeast Asia as also its 'Act East' policy. India also wants to boost its defence exports to friendly countries. And it is looking to increase trade between the two countries will now is only $7.83 billion, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
It is often said that the India-Indonesia relationship is overshadowed by mutual neglect.
Vietnam is a key player in India's act east policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From India's perspective, a strategic partnership with Vietnam will only deepen political, economic, and security ties and be a bulwark against China, say Melissa S Hersh and Dr Ajey Lele
In recent years, China has refrained from taking a public stance on the India-Pakistan ties, expressing hope for resolution of the disputes through dialogue.
'China's deep involvement in the stability and economic and political success of Pakistan actually produces some elements of congruence with India's core interest in a stable and productive relationship with Pakistan.' 'It is not far-fetched for us to pursue that congruence and with ingenuity work out with China a formula that also satisfies our formal position on PoK,' argues Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances