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
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.
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.
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.
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).
'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.'
It seems China is ready to cooperate with India in the central Asian region through the SCO framework, the reasons for which are manifold, says Sana Hashmi.
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A sensational interview on India-China ties, with the man most qualified to answer.
'China's military is expected to deploy full throttle its new equipment including J-20 stealth fighters, drones, medium range missile systems, surveillance and others to continue to put psychological pressure on India,' warns Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor in Chinese Studies, JNU.
Narendra Modi speaks to CNN's Fareed Zakaria in his first interview after becoming prime minister. The excerpts
'The Modi-Xi and Modi-Obama meetings, with an interval of just 12 days, are juxtaposed superbly at a crucial point in the prime minister's life. Can Modi carve out a win-win situation with the superpower and the emerging superpower at the same time?'
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Donald Trump on Thursday branded President Barack Obama as "ignorant" and "incompetent," alleging that a rising China had reduced the United States to a "third-world country".
His view will be shaped by his perception of US world interests and India's economic performance relative to China.
Defence, security, science and technology, trade and culture are some of the issues on the plate for the talks.
'We have the geographic advantage, demographic advantage, we have the necessary technical skills.' 'We just have to get all of these together. Then, we can very well compete.'
The Indian Navy has a big role to play in support of our strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean. The increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern and need to be factored. Hence, the requirement of an Aircraft Carrier is a foregone conclusion, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Terming Barack Obama as an "incompetent president", 70-year old Trump claimed that the US president did not know what he was doing.
The PM will have an audience with the Emperor of Japan and hold the annual summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe that could see a civil nuclear cooperation pact being inked.
The Yuan Wang 5 can easily monitor the Indian coast while operating in international waters. She does not have to enter a port in Sri Lanka to fulfill this mission, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'We should not minimise the seriousness of Chinese encroachments because their perception is different.' 'Nor should we fall into the trap of accepting so-called 'buffer zones' in areas of overlapping claims. We cannot have buffer zones in our own territory,' asserts Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port authorities said the high-tech Chinese research vessel that was to dock there on Thursday won't reach the port as scheduled, according to a media report, days after India expressed security concerns over its presence in the island nation.
Thailand's importance to India's Act East policy is too significant to be overlooked.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India has a chance to rise again as a global economic power and suggested that it could match with China and he has a "clear roadmap" to channelise entrepreneurial capabilities of country's 1.25 billion people.
'It will be important strategically and geographically because there is no port in India which is as close to the international shipping route as Vizhinjam.'
'There is no parallel in UN history of an individual terrorist being bailed out by a world power,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
When Vietnam's India born Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh arrives in New Delhi on Wednesday evening, he will have many areas of similar interest to discuss with his counterpart, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
India and Japan are set to intensify defence cooperation with the two sides likely to launch a security consultative framework involving their foreign and defence ministers.
Four major political takeaways from Narendra Modi's much-anticipated trip to China
'We may think that in our border quarrel, the Chinese can give up a bit of territory here or there to satisfy us, but that's not how they see it.' 'Arunachal Pradesh is 90,000 square kilometres and twice the size of Taiwan.' 'The Chinese can't be seen to be asserting their rights to Taiwan and on the other hand, cheaply giving up Arunachal Pradesh.'
In its sheer audacity, the initiative with Russia has the potential to transform world politics in the same way as the 1972 Nixon visit to China and 'Shanghai Declaration' changed world dynamics, says Anil Athale.
The Modi government has to embrace the history of Tamil conquests in South East Asia and stop obsessing about Babar/Humayun, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Xi, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, called the progress China had made under his watch "truly remarkable
'Either China is building regional transport infrastructure long before it needs it, or this is in a chain of Chinese investments with more strategic than economic intent,' says T N Ninan.
'After many rudderless years, India and Japan have prime ministers with a sense of purpose and direction,' says Brahma Chellaney.
Brushing aside India's concerns, China on Monday cemented its "all-weather ties" with Pakistan by agreeing to build a strategic $46 billion (Rs 2.9 lakh crore) economic corridor through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as part of 51 deals signed, expanding the communist giant's influence in the region.
Modi assured Trump that India will try to 'live up to the expectations' of the US and the world and also thanked the US President for speaking 'highly' about India during his trips.
'China refuses to talk to India on nuclear or ballistic missile issues and conclude any de-targeting agreement as Beijing did with Russia or a non-targeting agreement with the US.'
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