India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden are expected to deliberate on ways to bolster bilateral ties in trade, investment and defence and security in their in-person talks in Washington, DC, on September 24, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.
His remarks without naming any country came against the backdrop of tension between India and Pakistan after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status.
Describing India as one of the most important partners of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, the Biden Administration on Tuesday said that it welcomes India's emergence as a leading global power and its role as a net security provider in the region.
In a late night statement, the White House said completion of these sales would increase bilateral defence trade to nearly USD 19 billion, supporting thousands of US jobs.
Modi will arrive in France on Thursday evening and straightaway head for talks with Macron, who will also host a working dinner for the visiting leader.
'Lingering border disputes and fierce geostrategic competition in South Asia between China and India are likely to temper any cooperation Beijing might hope to achieve with New Delhi in the SCO,' says P K Vasudeva.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'Any future course of action towards active participation in the alliance when formed would need a lot of deliberation, long term vision and should be in our best national interests,' notes Commodore Vengalil Venugopal (retd).
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
Commerce ministers of the three countries, who met in Pretoria on Tuesday, also decided to hold formal annual trilateral talks to boost intra-IBSA trade.
Modi hailed the close defence cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the logistics agreement between the two navies.
The US actions can be seen as a riposte to India's neutral position on the Ukraine crisis, its continuing import of Russian arms and oil thus undermining Western sanctions, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
"President Biden has had warm and productive early conversations with his counterparts in Australia, India, and Japan, and looks forward to engaging even more directly with our partners in the Indo-Pacific as soon as possible," a senior administration official told PTI.
We do not know, because there has been no discussion, no transparency and most likely no real thinking on this matter at our end, observes Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Japan from November 15 to hold summit-level talks with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda on a wide spectrum of issues, including the progress in cooperation in maritime security and cyberspace.
An agreement to expedite the Jaitapur nuclear plant was expected to be signed.
MH-60 Romeo Seahawks would add lethal capabilities of the Indian Navy, which experts say is the need of the hour given the aggressive behavior of China in the Indian Ocean region.
China had been trying hard to enter the Indian market, without opening its own to Indian products. There is an economic crisis in India-China relations that the Chennai Connect barely scratched the surface, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
By hosting the 10 ASEAN leaders on Republic Day, India amply demonstrated that ASEAN is a central pillar of its Act East policy. But is India 'central' for ASEAN, asks Dr Rahul Mishra.
PM indirectly referred to North Korea's proliferation linkages with Pakistan.
'We are confident that the US manufacturing industry will be able to take advantage of the US-India Investment Initiative to effectively support our goals of assisting in the development of three Indian cities -- Ajmer, Vishakhapatnam and Allahabad -- where the United States will be the lead partner,' Senators Warner and Cornyn told Obama.
India is devoting itself to promoting a strategy of diversifying its energy sources.
The minister said apart from the potential of 10 million jobs under Sagarmala, more than 10 million could be easily created in shipping, highways and other sectors
The two countries, among the very few fast growing large economies globally, also decided to boost bilateral trade and investment in areas of oil and gas, renewable energy, IT and pharmaceuticals, during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
During the 13th annual summit, the two prime ministers reviewed developments in bilateral relations and explored new areas of cooperation, focusing on shared vision for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, where China is flexing its muscles.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
Addressing a joint media event with Macron, Modi said the two countries have robust cooperation in the fields of defence and security.
Thailand's importance to India's Act East policy is too significant to be overlooked.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday said both India and United States have invested in the relationship and will continue to deepen it by creating a healthier, more secure and prosperous future to be able to impact policies that affect the world.
This is Modi's first bilateral visit to Myanmar.
The second phase of the mega exercise is scheduled to be held from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian sea.
The navies of India, the US, Japan and Australia on Tuesday held a series of complex manoeuvres in the Bay of Bengal, kick-starting the four-day-long first phase of the Malabar naval exercise, seen as a prelude to future military cooperation among the member nations of the Quad or Quadrilateral Coalition.
Asserting that "maritime muscle flexing" by some countries and other factors have made the Indo-Pacific region "more contested and more volatile," naval chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday said that the Indian Navy has its task cut out as it has been a major security provider in the region.
In the opinion piece after the summit, the leaders said the cooperation, known as "the Quad," was born in crisis. It became a diplomatic dialogue in 2007 and was reborn in 2017.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
In his opening remarks at a ministerial meeting in Tokyo of the Quadrilateral coalition, also known as 'Quad', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India remained committed to a rules-based world order, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
The exercise is taking place at a time India and China are locked in a nearly six-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties.
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