The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'As far as acquisition of Russian equipment is concerned, with about 70% of Indian military equipment being of Russian origin, a sudden decision to abandon imports from Russia is not feasible,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
China's embassy in Colombo has sought an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities after Colombo sought a deferment of the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota port over which India raised concerns, sources said.
Aman Kumar Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, an Indian national, was among the 11 crew members of a ship freed after being held hostage for nearly four years by Somali pirates, with a top United Nations official calling for the release of all remaining captives.
INS Tihayu, specifically built for meeting needs of extended coastal and offshore surveillance and patrol, has a length of 49.9 metres and maximum breadth of 7.5 meters.
'When there is a change in the wind speed or the stress exerted on the surface, it will change the ocean currents.'
A number of other frontline ships, submarines and fighter jets of the three countries will be part of the over week-long drill in the Bay of Bengal which is taking place in the backdrop of a major military face-off between armies of India and China in the Sikkim section.
The United States Navy carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the Indian waters near Lakshadweep Islands on Wednesday without New Delhi's prior consent to challenge India's "excessive" maritime claims, according to an official statement.
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.
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.
India is responding swiftly to the intended Chinese encroachment in a region it has seen as its traditional sphere of influence. The Indian Ocean is becoming the latest theatre of Sino-Indian rivalry, with China straining to breach India's old intimacy with island nations like the Maldives and Mauritius and sparking a diplomatic battle between the two countries.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his country's soil will not be used against India's interests, addressing concerns over China's growing influence in Colombo. The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including a defense cooperation agreement, energy ties, and debt restructuring. They also agreed to initiate a ferry service between Rameshwaram and Talaimannar, and to adopt a "humanitarian approach" to the fishermen issue.
This was the first major request of arms sale purchase by India after Obama designated New Delhi as a major 'strategic defence partner'.
'Modi's first foreign trip at the very outset of his second term as PM reinforces a growing impression that this regional tour underscores a shift in emphasis in India's foreign policy that was traditionally focused on the northern tier of countries to the Indian Ocean rim,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'... To ensure that the vast Indian Ocean Region remain peaceful.'
Boeing's confirmation that the Super Hornet has flown off a ski-jump is a statement that it is ready to operate off existing Indian aircraft carriers.
'We have to be prepared on the borders to withstand Chinese expansionist designs.'
The Sittwe deal is more significant than Chabahar in Iran, where India has rights to operate only two terminals and not the port itself.
The senior defence official, however, refrained from describing the kind of responses that the two countries would respond to their common challenges.
A Regional Meteorological Centre bulletin said a cyclonic circulation is now seen over the Comorin area and its neighbourhood, extending up to mid tropospheric levels.
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.
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.
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.
The reaffirmation from the US comes in the backdrop of the maiden India US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue which was held on Tuesday.
'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).
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.
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 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.'
The theme of the President's Fleet Review-2022 was 'Indian Navy -- 75 years in Service of the Nation', commemorating the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
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.
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
"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.
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.
Kalvari underwent around 120 days of extensive sea trials and tests for various equipment and is expected to bolster India's maritime prowess.
The row erupted on a day President Dr Mohamed Muizzu embarked on a week-long visit to China.
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.
