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).
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.
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
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.
'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).
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.
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.
"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.
'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.
Modi hailed the close defence cooperation between the two countries and welcomed the completion of the logistics agreement between the two navies.
'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.
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.
Addressing a joint media event with Macron, Modi said the two countries have robust cooperation in the fields of defence and security.
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.
Thailand's importance to India's Act East policy is too significant to be overlooked.
The second phase of the mega exercise is scheduled to be held from November 17 to 20 in the Arabian sea.
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.
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.
This is Modi's first bilateral visit to Myanmar.
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.
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.
More than India's alignment with the Quad, India's defence cooperation and partnership with the USA is of critical importance, notes Rup Narayan Das.
US Vice President Kamala Harris would host a separate meeting with the prime ministers of three Quad countries -- India, Australia and Japan -- at the White House to discuss with them the important factors for democracies to go forward, officials said.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
"Welcome to India, President @EmmanuelMacron! Your visit will add great strength to the strategic partnership between India and France. I look forward to our talks tomorrow," Modi tweeted after receiving Macron at the airport.
The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Friday held extensive talks in Melbourne amid escalating tension between Russia and NATO countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and increasing concerns over China's "coercion" in the Indo-Pacific region.
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