The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
The Taliban have postponed the formation of a new government in Afghanistan for next week, their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Saturday, as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.
He was ready even to take on Germany's collective guilt over the Holocaust
Biden's lengthy remarks on Afghanistan contained no condemnatory references to the Taliban, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said that despite "saber rattling" between Islamabad and New Delhi, there is no chance of a nuclear war between the two neighbours.
The IAF chief also said Pakistan has become a pawn of Chinese policy and its dependence on China would increase further in future. He said India needs to understand the interplay of some major events in its vicinity that would impact the security scenario of the region.
Interestingly, India had objected to the establishment of a UNHCHR when it was proposed by the US at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in July 1993 and the whole proposal was remitted to the General Assembly in New York because India and others said that the whole issue should be examined in detail, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who had led the Indian delegation for negotiating the terms of the HCHR.
The implications of the interim deal between Iran and the world's big powers go far beyond the nuclear programme, says Nitin Pai
While there were no surprises on policy issues from either side, there were far less interruptions and tense moments between Pence, 61, who comes from Indiana and his Democrat challenger Harris, 55, who is from California.
The key is to act and not wait and watch before the limited window of opportunity shuts, argues Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
It also said the recovery rate of coronavirus cases in India stood at 38.39 per cent. Referring to data from World Health Organisation situation report, the ministry said 45,25,497 COVID-19 cases have been reported till Monday which is about 60 cases per lakh population.
China may accord recognition to the new government in Kabul at an early opportunity, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
South Korea squandered a chance to book their spot at next year's World Cup finals on Thursday after a 0-0 draw with 10-man Iran left their qualification hopes precariously balanced.
'Instead of writing NAM's obituary, India should reinvent it,' suggests Dr Rup Narayan Das.
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 road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Drone warfare has come to stay.' 'India should exploit the expected Reaper acquisition from the US to build an effective counter terror campaign,' argues Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'It is a testing time for our foreign policy which may involve a certain element of taking risks, assessing costs, and expecting failures,' asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
General Naravane's UAE and Saudi Arabia visits communicate India's long awaited arrival in the domain of integrated foreign policy where the diplomatic and the military domains both complement each other much more substantially, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The United States has said that the tension on the Korean peninsula has reached "critical time" and asked China to put "some teeth" in its policy to exert pressure on its ally North Korea to scale back on its threat of a nuclear war.
Pakistan's lawyer Khawar Qureshi also alleged that Jadhav was an "instrument of India's official policy of terror".
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by US Congressmen if the US had explore the possibility of northwest India for counter terrorism capabilities in Afghanistan. Blinken's remarks on India assume great importance, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Monday agreed with the safety concerns in Islamabad, raised by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and moved the Nov 29-30 tie out of Pakistan's capital city.
On why he was determined to go his own when most of the nations have not back his plan, Bush asserted that he is not going to change his principle just to be popular.
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's offer to normalise relations with India is an attempt to buy temporary peace due to its economic and politico-strategic compulsions, notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
'We've never really been in the situation of having a difficult time with the Chinese and an increasingly difficult time with the Russians along with a relationship with the Americans which is important.'
Democratic Presidential front-runner Barack Obama has challenged President George Bush and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain to a debate on the foreign policy, saying they have a lot to explain on issues like Iraq war, Iranian nuclear programme and Middle East conflict.
Kim Yong Chol delivered a letter from the North Korean leader to Trump.
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
More than four decades ago, the Nixon administration knowingly broke United States law to help the Pakistani army against Bangladesh and encouraged China to mass troops on Indian border to oppose the strong stand taken by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, according to a new book.
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'As matters stand, Russia and Saudi Arabia, two of the world's biggest oil producers, are set for a hard landing as they didn't diversify their economies as much as they should have when the oil prices were booming.'
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The most unfortunate part is that after precipitating the crisis situation on Tuesday, the government ducked and took help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to 'de-escalate' the situation.' 'Make no mistake, this fateful move has grave implications.' 'You don't take help from the wolf to guard the sheep, right?' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel was prepared for "every possible scenario" in Syria after the United States delayed a military strike in a surprise move that prompted some Israelis to question their main ally's resolve on Iran.
Worried by Iran's nuclear ambitions, Saudi Arabia is trying to strike a secret deal with Pakistan to buy ready-made nuclear weapons instead of going through the lengthy process of developing its own, says Amir Mir.
Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said Pakistan stands with Saudi Arabia and will react strongly if there is a threat to its integrity, but kept mum on Riyadh's request for military assistance to fight Houthi rebels in war-ravaged Yemen.
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