If Xi Jinping is dethroned in the future, the instrument for that may well be embedded within the PLA, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The United States has warned China against escalating tensions as Taiwan detected multiple Chinese naval vessels, official ships and balloons operating around the island amid Beijing's large-scale live-fire military drills.
In its annual report to Congress on Tuesday on 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025', the US Department of War said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is actively considering and planning for additional military facilities.
Preliminary reports suggested that they were shot from a point-blank range, another official in the Churachandpur district headquarters said.
Vice Admiral Li Hanjun, chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and Liu Shipeng, deputy chief engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation, have been expelled from the National People's Congress (NPC), the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
A blast on a railway track in Pakistan's Sindh province derailed five bogies of a train, injuring several people. The Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express has been attacked multiple times this year.
'Nehru was an idealist, he was certainly a visionary in one way, but Mao Zedong was not. Mao Zedong was a very down-to-earth strategist. He wanted to take Tibet, to take the plateau, to take the rivers, to take the minerals.'
Beijing has been wary of Sanae Takaichi's efforts to boost Japan's military profile since taking office six months ago, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
The Chinese military has conducted nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) drills using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robotic dogs, and explosive ordnance disposal robots, official media reported. The drills, conducted by a brigade attached to the People's Liberation Army's 73rd Group Army, focused on exploring training methods that integrate technology and networked systems. Experts highlighted the increasing use of unmanned equipment in military operations, citing its ability to reduce human casualties and increase combat effectiveness. The drills also showcased the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and intelligentisation, which is becoming a growing trend in defense.
The fierce battles of Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill, and Walong taught the PLA a hard lesson: Fighting the Indian Army would never be easy or inexpensive.
In 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a multi-domain combat mission against Pakistan in response to cross-border terrorism. The operation involved precision strikes, military retaliation, and diplomatic measures, marking a significant shift in India's security policy.
A combination of security pressure and rehabilitation efforts has significantly weakened Naxalism in India, leading to numerous surrenders and the elimination of key leaders.
As the March 31 deadline arrives, a wave of Maoist surrenders suggests insurgency's end, but political and social concerns remain.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Security forces in Manipur have launched a major crackdown on the banned People's Liberation Army (PLA) following an ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy. Fifteen cadres have been arrested, including suspects directly involved in the attack. Investigations are underway to determine if the PLA has political patronage and if weapons looted during ethnic clashes are being used against security forces.
108 Maoists surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, yielding a large cache of weapons and cash. The surrender highlights the government's success in combating Left Wing Extremism and the weakening of Maoist ideology.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The agreement was to disengage from remaining standoff sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), two days before a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Israel wishes to continue its bombing campaign until Iran's military and industrial infrastructure are degraded to a point where it ceases to pose a threat to Israel. Iran, for its part, has learnt from its experience in the 12-day war of last June. Any ceasefire, it believes, will only be a prelude to another attack on itself. It is determined to convey that any attack on Iran will impose heavy costs on Israel, the US, America's allies in the Gulf -- and on the world at large, points out T T Ram Mohan.
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
In a significant victory for the government's anti-Naxal efforts, 108 Maoists, including 44 women, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, citing disillusionment and the appeal of rehabilitation programs. The surrender also led to the recovery of a large cache of weapons and valuables.
Although extensive air attacks have been carried out to destroy most of Iran's defence capabilities, the latter's resilience and sustenance during the war clearly indicate that the US landing force would encounter severe resistance in the operation, explains Commodore Venugopal Vengalil (retd).
The same technologies that enable State forces to monitor and strike insurgent camps are now being mirrored by non-State actors with increasing sophistication.
In response to US criticism of India's oil imports from Russia, the Indian Army shared a 1971 news clip highlighting the US's role in arming Pakistan.
The well-fought defensive battles in Aksai Chin and eastern Arunachal, in remote and forbidding locations such as Galwan, Rezang La, Gurung Hill and Walong, effectively halted Chinese advances not once but twice during the campaign. These engagements, fought with grit and without adequate support, were not immediately known to the world in 1962, points out Dr Kumar.
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
BLA fighters reportedly took positions across the city, seizing control of the Levies and police stations, the deputy commissioner's office, a government guest house, and local bank branches.
Top Maoist commander Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji has surrendered to police, marking a significant blow to the outlawed organisation. His surrender comes ahead of the Union government's deadline to eliminate Naxalism.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
The Quetta-bound Jaffar Express was targeted in the Spizend area of Mastung on Tuesday, latest in a series of attacks that have targetted this train since March this year.
A leading Chinese scientist specializing in semiconductor chips for weapon systems has been detained by anti-corruption authorities, according to his company, Zhejiang Great Microwave Technology.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
A UN report highlights the lack of justice for Tamil civilians who experienced sexual violence during Sri Lanka's civil war, primarily by security forces.
'One Chinese interlocutor said India should realise that "China can do without India, but India could not do without China", pointing to its inability to do without Chinese intermediates and components,' former foreign secretary Shyam Saran discovers on a visit to China.
In a culture where children take up the profession of their father, her becoming a politician was seen as natural and acceptable.
'There are only a few countries in the world that have deployed combat-ready laser systems.'
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
