The rupee tumbled 3 per cent against the US dollar in 2024 as concerns over slower economic growth and a stronger greenback in global markets weighed, but it was among the least volatile currencies in the world and the headwinds may be less intense in the coming year.
Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the strategic Indo-Pacific region and standing up to competitors with "robust pragmatism". Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking charge at 10 Downing Street last month at the Lord Mayor of London's Banquet on Monday evening, the British Indian leader reflected upon his heritage and committed to promoting British values of "freedom and openness" around the world. He also pledged to "do things differently" far removed from the so-called "golden era" with China, which he said poses a "systemic challenge" to British values and interests.
"We should safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and achieve full unification of the motherland. This is the aspiration of all Chinese people. This is also in line with fundamental of the Chinese nation," he said in an apparent reference to Taiwan which China claims as part of it.
New Delhi's regional partners in restraining a belligerent China -- primarily the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore -- would like the Indian Navy to lock down the Indian Ocean Region, while the other partners can focus on deterring the PLA (navy) in the South China Sea, explains Ajai Shukla.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that the 2.3 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest, will be trimmed by three lakh.
Russian shipments averaged 1.67 million barrels per day in January compared to 1.48 million bpd in December and 1.53 million bpd a year earlier.
Any miscalculation and miscommunication are fraught with the risk of a major catastrophe, warns Rup Narayan Das.
Brinkmanship in the Taiwan Strait will not only be a recipe for disaster to both China and Taiwan, but also to international peace and stability, warns Rup Narayan Das.
Modi hailed the close defence cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the logistics agreement between the two navies.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
Military clashes between China and Japan cannot be ruled out and the People's Liberation Army will fight back if provoked, a top Chinese official said on Monday.
Future conflict will involve bypassing of frontiers to strike at critical vulnerabilities directly and in the hinterland at the appropriate time, explains Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd), who served as chief of the Integrated Defence Staff and Central Army Commander.
US envoy Eric Garcetti on Thursday said he respects that India likes its "strategic autonomy", but in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy, even as he pitched for forging a stronger partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
We have seen greater Chinese activism in the South and East China seas, but not across the Sino-Indian border. If the Chinese troops stay put in the Burthe area and construct defensive structures, that will be an indicator of their deciding to follow a similar policy of activism across the Sino-Indian border, says B Raman.
The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
The annual threat assessment of the US Intelligence Community released by the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also said that the 'expanded military posture by both India and China along the disputed border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to US persons and interests and calls for US intervention'.
'They have done in Eastern Ladakh what we did in Dokalam in 2017.'
Esper also highlighted the 'increased' military cooperation with India and called it as 'one of the most important defence relationships of the 21th century'.
Prime Minister Modi, who is in Japan on a two-day visit to attend a summit of the Quad leaders at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, penned an op-ed on the vibrant relations between India and Japan in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi.
China has taken a position of non-acceptance and non-participation on the jurisdiction by the International Court of Arbitration in a case the Philippines has brought against China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, Abraham Denmark, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
Japan's athletes have little to fear from local fans at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, a senior Chinese official said on Wednesday, despite worsening relations between the Asian powers in recent weeks.
India is right to forcefully reject Chinese claims of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. It should now build credible strategic partnerships with other regional states so as to prevent a Chinese regional dominance, says Harsh V Pant.
'If the Chinese military gets hold of some western sectors on the India-China boundary, it will give them added military advantage.'
The United States-China Summit meeting concluded at a sprawling mansion in Woodside, California with Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreeing to work towards ensuring that the differences between the two countries remain manageable and the relations do not derail.
Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the summit. It would be their fourth meeting in last seven months.
Xi said the entire military should devote all its energy to carry out all its work for combat readiness, enhance its capability to fight and win, and effectively fulfill its missions and tasks
As United States President Joe Biden prepares for a rare summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ongoing wars in Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas set the stage for high-stakes discussions, CNN reported on Tuesday.
As Japan beefs up its defences against China, both New Delhi and Tokyo seem to have decided to re-energise their relationship to ensure a strategic balance in Asia. It is a clear signal that they may be ready to work together in containing if not confronting China, says Nitin Gokhale.
'Modi's intention was to create goodwill that will allow India to be seen by Trump as more than just a bad tariff problem.' 'He succeeded brilliantly on that count but none of these wins are unfortunately permanent.' 'Modi will have to do this again and again if Trump's grievances are to be durably assuaged.'
China welcomes all initiatives that truly help developing countries build infrastructure and sincere efforts to promote connectivity and common development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
The Indian armed forces, especially the Navy, are building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and security, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he said.
The US is making investments in defence ties with India to uphold a favourable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers Thursday indicating that strengthening ties with New Delhi is one of the key factors to address the pacing challenge from China.
Pompeo, who became the Trump administration's highest ranking official to visit Sri Lanka, said that the US and Sri Lanka shared a vision for democracy to build a relationship and the "freedom to hold democratic elections".
Modi will participate in the first-ever trilateral meeting between Japan, America and India and the 2nd Russia, India China trilateral, which is taking place after an interval of 12 years, on Friday.
Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century.
'During his visit to Vietnam on September 3 -- the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 15 years -- Modi will notice the widespread anti-China sentiment in that country.'
Taiwan has sent a navy frigate with anti-ship missiles to defend fishermen who repeatedly have been chased from disputed East China Sea waters by Japanese patrol boats.
In the opinion piece after the summit, the leaders said the cooperation, known as "the Quad," was born in crisis. It became a diplomatic dialogue in 2007 and was reborn in 2017.
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