Chushul and Depsang are not vital in this game of Chinese checkers, the Indian Ocean Region is. Keeping our maritime prowess restricted has to be a key Chinese strategic interest and it would appear that the LAC affair has helped China achieve its aim, points out Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
In his remarks, Admiral Singh complimented his force for continuously maintaining 'peak combat-readiness' and 'high tempo' of operations over the past few months, they said.
In what would be a major boost for the submarine building capability within the country, the first three nuclear attack submarines to be built indigenously would be having 95 per cent 'Made in India' content in them and it would further go up in the next three.
With the 126 fighter deal in the pipeline, India and France on Friday set out on a course of long-term strategic cooperation with the latter offering to move on from client-seller relationship to joint production of military hardware which could be exported to other countries.
The Maldives still considers India a friend, the tourism-dependent country's economic minister has said while defending President Mohamed Muizzu's stand against the presence of "foreign soldiers" in the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar said on Friday that his force is fully capable of confronting any security threat and fully backed the ambitious tri-services reforms that included setting up of a maritime theatre command.
'The United States should not, by this logic, expect India to create military distractions along the Line of Actual Control, hold up Chinese shipping in the Indian Ocean, or even openly provide intelligence or basing for US forces transiting the region.'
The southwest monsoon over the country is likely to be normal in July, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday in its forecast for the month.
Against the backdrop of growing Chinese assertion in the Asia-Pacific region, India on Thursday said it supports the "freedom of navigation" in international waters noting that any disputes or differences in the region must be resolved diplomatically.
Anyone within range of China's expanding navy will have to build capabilities faster and/or work more closely with the US, as Australia has just announced, asserts T N Ninan.
A massive quake measuring 8.7 on the Richter Scale rattled northern Sumatra in Indonesia on Wednesday, at around 2:38 pm, because of which tremors were experienced across the eastern coast of India, principally in Kolkata, Chennai, and also in Bengaluru.
The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday.
The defence ministry has already shortlisted two Indian shipyards and five foreign defence majors for the project, being billed as one of biggest "Make in India" ventures.
"The external affairs minister will be visiting Moscow to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting which is scheduled on September 10," spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivstava said at an online media briefing.
The Indian Navy is fully capable of defending the nation against any form of threat, Sitharaman said.
'Storms push a lot of water into land, then there is heavy rainfall due to the cyclone.' 'Along with this, we see the gradual rising of the sea level.' 'We see this during and after the latest Cyclone Tauktae.' 'This kind of overlapping events are increasing and we do not know much about how to tackle them.'
The total allocation to the defence sector is 12.9 per cent of the total budget of the government of India for the financial year 2024-25.
The China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to revive diplomatic ties should not be a matter of concern for India as the pact would provide regional stability and would be beneficial for New Delhi's interests as well, Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi said on Friday.
vThe longest duration cyclone over the north Indian Ocean had developed over the Bay of Bengal and weakened over the Arabian Sea between November 8-23, 1977 with a life period of 14 days and six hours.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
In a tweet, before leaving for New Delhi, Rajapaksa said he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with India.
Naik said the prompt and effective deployment of the Navy in the time of crisis has underscored India's vision of being the "preferred security partner and first responder in our region".
Taking a dig at China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said 'some irresponsible nations' with their narrow partisan interests and hegemonic tendencies are coming up with wrong definitions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.
India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his demise, saying Kumar contributed towards strengthening the country's maritime security.
Discover our country through great Indian rail trips!
India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran, a move that will boost regional connectivity as well as trade ties. This is the first time India will take over the management of an overseas port that will also have a multiplier effect on trade among India, Iran and Afghanistan as efforts continue to directly tap the potential in Central Asia, bypassing neighbouring Pakistan.
With China increasing its military power and influence in the strategically crucial Indian Ocean, a noted American expert has urged the Obama administration to partner India to balance and counter Beijing's increasing influence in the region.
India is likely to convey to Russia that its troops would not be participating in the multinational military exercise Kavkaz-2020 where Chinese and Pakistani troops are also going to be there.
'Cooperation at sea involves not just ships going out together and carrying out exercises over a couple of days, but understanding the whys and the wherefores,' points out Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an asset that any country aspiring to become a major power would give anything to own.' 'It is disappointing that India has not capitalised on this potential,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
US Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James Mattis will travel to New Delhi next month for the 2+2 dialogue.
Three weeks after India handed over a coastal radar system to the Maldives, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, chief of the naval staff, met Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and other senior leaders of the island nation in its capital Male with a focus on further boosting the bilateral defence ties.
With inadequacies in the Russian MiG-29Ks that India bought to operate off the INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, the acquisition of a capable, long-range multi-role carrier-based fighters will be critical for India's naval power.
COVID-19 has emerged as an important form of diplomatic currency around the world as nations try to showcase their soft power gains. In this race, India has an edge as India is already a pharmaceutical giant having produced some 60 per cent of global vaccines and now justly seeking to strengthen ties and expand its influence in its neighbourhood and beyond, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
