British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who landed in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning on a two-day India visit, was accorded a grand welcome at the airport in Ahmedabad. Soon after, he visited Sabarmati Ashram in the company of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupesh Patel.
"A Biden administration will be mostly positive for India," said Rick Rossow from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "I expect most positive areas of cooperation -- notably defence -- to be maintained," he said.
INS Vishakapatnam's ground attack and anti-ship capabilities are achieved through a bank of BrahMos cruise missiles that can be fired at targets up to 295 km away.
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.
The two-plus-two dialogue will be held on Tuesday. A host of crucial bilateral, regional and global issues including China's efforts to expand influence in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh is likely to figure in the talks.
'Clearly, Washington has all but given up hope following US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells's stormy visit to Colombo last month where she read the riot act to Sri Lankan leaders to sign the pending status of forces agreement allowing American troops to use Sri Lanka as a hub for operations in the Indian Ocean,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If a workable compromise is found and Russia'S Western borders are left undisturbed with a suitable buffer, it will indicate that the US is indeed serious about its focus on China, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
While many Western countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, are diplomatically boycotting the Winter Olympics over China's human rights record, Putin will join a number of Beijing-friendly leaders at the Games.
The 2015 round will support approximately 60 scholarships and provide around $8 million in mobility grants for Australian undergraduate students.
Defence and strategic experts on Monday said that China's posturing in the Indian Ocean will disturb stability and peace in the region.
The impact of Shinzo Abe's towering personality is such that even in death, Abe remains a polarising figure, asserts Dr Rajaram Panda.
China also said that it was opposed to any third-party involvement in the resolution of the Sino-India boundary disputes.
Johnson was to spend a few days in India starting April 26 as part of a planned itinerary, which is expected to include finalising a UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership.
India, Jaishankar said, is a "prisoner of its past image" and must get over it.
Colombo seems to be veering to the middle path between China and the US on global matters, but in regional matters of strategic security, it is increasingly identifying with India, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'India does not wish to remain silent in improving its strategic space so that its leverage to counter China's expansionist designs is maintained, besides enabling it to play a responsible role from a position of strength for peace and stability in Asia,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
China on Tuesday urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
'India enjoys the maneuverability of a coming big power.' 'It is this possibility that has persuaded Moscow to humour India and stayed Washington from getting punitive about India's neutrality on the Ukraine issue.'
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark T Esper will visit India on October 26 and 27 for the high-level dialogue aimed at further boosting defence, security and global strategic ties between the two countries.
Asserting that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are 'responsible' leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said they both are capable of solving issues between the two countries, and that it was important that no 'extra-regional power' should interfere in the process.
The US House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included key components of Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi's resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC.
"We have many relationships...they have a history. We will do what is in our national interest and part of that strategic partnership is the ability of each country to comprehend and appreciate the national interest of the other," Jaishankar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington, DC, on Wednesday on an official visit to the United States during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that international travel should be made easier through mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, amid several countries adopting different sets of rules to allow foreigners to enter their territory in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
'As Prime Minister Modi said, our ties are no longer just another partnership. It is a far greater and closer relationship'
The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation.
The Americans have expended a lot of diplomatic energy to coax India into toeing their line but India has refused to buckle under pressure. As Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, India has not taken anyone's side but its own side, points out Virendra Kapoor.
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, while reacting to Japan's plans to step up investments in the northeastern states, told the media that China is opposed to any foreign investment in the areas where it has disputes with India.
India must be aware that there is no question of the US fighting the Chinese on land. We have to fight our own battles, points out Virendra Kapoor.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar left London at the end of a four-day visit to the United Kingdom on Friday with a message of convergence as the two countries agreed on an ambitious '2030 Roadmap' towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
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.
'The credit for managing Trump should go to Modi.' 'Biden is a predictable and rational person with plenty of administrative experience,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Any form of entanglement with India or the US on the strategic plane will be anathema to Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa rulers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi cautioning that cryptocurrency can spoil the youth.
'There are three pillars of concern: The expansion of Hindu majoritarianism, the concentration of executive power and decay of independent institutions, and curbs on free expression and dissent.'
'The BJP has done the Uri surgical strikes, handled the Dokalam crisis and the Balakot strikes.' 'So if there is a de-escalation only at the diplomatic level and not resolving this issue of a colonel being killed, then it translates into public anger.'
Tillerson said China's behaviour and action is "posing a challenge to the rules-based international order".
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).
The two leaders also took positive note of the growing bilateral cooperation in defence, counter-terrorism and energy, besides the co-ordination on regional and global issues, the officials said.
