He said India would continue to actively pursue and promote its geo-political, strategic and economic interests on the seas, in particular the Indian Ocean.
The prime minister also pitched for respecting freedom of navigation against the backdrop of South China sea dispute.
India's decision to heed to Australia's request to be part of the mega naval drill comes in the midst of growing strain in ties with China over the border row in eastern Ladakh.
The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday.
'The Indian Navy has sufficient combat power in areas of interest to India that can quickly scale up operations if the need arises.' 'This includes all the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean as also areas within.'
Noting that India is increasingly getting concerned about China's posture on its border, a top United States intelligence official said on Wednesday that the Indian Army is strengthening itself for a "limited conflict" with China.
"Most worrisome are China's technological advances in the spheres of cyber and space domain, which often transcend beyond the military, to include critical national infrastructure as well," General Bipin Rawat said at the three-day Indian Air Force Conclave.
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.
India's first indigenous aircraft carrier will be commissioned next year and its combat capability, reach and versatility will add formidable capabilities in the country's defence, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Kochi on Friday.
The reaffirmation from the US comes in the backdrop of the maiden India US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue which was held on Tuesday.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
'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).
Riled by Sri Lanka's request to defer the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota Port, China on Monday took a dig at India, saying it was "senseless to pressure" Colombo by citing the issue of security concerns.
On a day Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was released, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a veiled message to Pakistan, saying no country should provide shelter to terrorists but should punish them.
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.
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.
Kalvari underwent around 120 days of extensive sea trials and tests for various equipment and is expected to bolster India's maritime prowess.
United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have made the first use of the secure hotline set up between Washington and New Delhi as they reviewed progress on key areas of cooperation and discussed global issues ahead of the upcoming G-20 summit.
Corroded nuts and bolts likely contributed to the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue by causing a failure in steel members forming the frame inside the statue, according to a structural engineer.
INSAT-3D, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation and its Space Applications Centre, is designed to provide meteorological observation and monitoring of land/ocean surfaces.
'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 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.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
As weather patterns grow more unpredictable due to climate crisis, India is taking a giant leap with "Mission Mausam" to improve weather understanding and forecasting through expanded observation networks, better modeling and advanced tools like AI and machine learning.
Discover our country through great Indian rail trips!
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.
In another forecast for August, IMD Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said monsoon is also likely to be normal in the month.
Amit Kilam of band Indian Ocean speaks to Chandrima Pal about the explosion in vernacular contemporary music.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Bari during which they discussed defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration.
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 Chinese and Pakistani navies at a naval base in Karachi on Saturday kicked off the 'Sea Guardians-3' exercise in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea in drills that include anti-submarine operations, Dawn News reported on the exercises which will end on Friday.
The Indian Navy continues to monitor the situation very closely with all stakeholders and remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region, it said in a statement.
In a tweet, before leaving for New Delhi, Rajapaksa said he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with India.
Describing Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province area as the "fountainhead" of terror activities in the region, India on Thursday said use of terrorism as state policy with deep roots in military establishment there is a major obstacle for peaceful bilateral ties.
A massive earthquake of 8.7 magnitude hit waters off Indonesia triggering tsunami fears across the Indian Ocean nations, including India, reviving memories of the 2004 devastation that had claimed tens of thousands of lives in the region.
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.
Images that should keep you grinning for days on end.
"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.
At the summit, India signed the SCO's memorandum of obligations, kick-starting the process of its accession into the group as a full member.
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