National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Beijing on Sunday to hold the crucial Special Representatives border talks with China to resolve the long-running boundary dispute between the two countries and lay the ground for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to New Delhi in December.
The need for an inclusive government in Kabul and a zero-tolerance stance on the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups are among four aspects that Prime Minister Narendra Modi listed on Wednesday for countries in the region to focus on in the backdrop of the developments in the war-torn nation.
Pakistan has said it could focus on American demands to do more in the war on terror only if the US used its influence with India to lessen tensions and to press for resumption of the stalled composite dialogue process.
Rediff.com brings you for the second in the series of leaked Wiki cables, which point towards some startling revelations.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan held different opinions about talks with Pakistan, a cable released by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has revealed. The former NSA has described Dr Singh as a "great believer" in talks and negotiations with Islamabad, while Narayanan himself was "not a great believer in Pakistan".
Seeking to downplay the Headley controversy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday, that the access given by the US to the Pakistani-American terrorist was "unprecendented", saying such cooperation may not have been possible five years ago.
The White House has ruled out an apology to Islamabad for November 26 incident in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border fire by the North Atlantic Traty Organisation and said it is time that the two countries move ahead. "I wouldn't have anything new to offer on that beyond what we have said, that we deeply regret the incident. We have thoroughly investigated it. We shared the results of that investigation with the Pakistanis," said a US official.
National Security Advisor M K Narayanan summoned Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner G G A D Palithaganegoda and conveyed India's concerns over the offensive of the security forces in the Tamil areas and the killing of innocent people there.
The hotlines or secure lines of communication between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Barack Obama and their national security advisors have recently become operational, though it has not been put to use during its short lifespan so far.
'The struggle for Tamil equality and justice for Tamils did not start with the LTTE and will not end with LTTE. I am not saying that the LTTE has come to an end.'
While the precise nature of the Monday night talks was not divulged, sources said the two sides exchanged frank and candid views on bilateral defence cooperation and regional and other security issues.
The senior minister said the British government is addressing India's concerns over activities of pro-Khalistani elements and that any attempt to radicalise people in the UK will be dealt with by the law-enforcing authorities.
'Will President Dissanayake calibrate his foreign policy taking into account India's immediate security concerns? We need to watch.'
United States President Joe Biden and Chinese's wannabe supreme leader Xi Jinping met virtually a few hours ago.
Apparently concerned over repeated incursions by Chinese troops, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has convened a meeting of top officials including Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and Secretaries of Defence, Home and Foreign Ministries.
It has emerged that a senior US government functionary offered to help India garner greater funding from the World Bank in return for protecting Dow Chemicals from possible legal fallout from the gas tragedy.
"The rains are continuing, the great dam above Sindh is in danger. If it breaks, the situation will reach an even more catastrophic level. It's already exceeded in the number of people affected the 2005 earthquake, but not as many people dead -- of course, that was 75,000. It is a major international humanitarian catastrophe."
"We value our partnership with India, and we've been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it's real on their northern border," Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges.
The major substantive lesson that we should draw from the foreign minister-level talks is that Pakistan is not serious about addressing our concerns on terrorism. This should have been clear to us long ago because we have been talking to Pakistan on terrorism ever since 1997, says former deputy national security advisor Satish Chandra.
The Kashmir issue was raised by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his first meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, a top Pakistani advisor said on Wednesday, discounting reports that the issue was sidelined during the talks.
India's concerns over China's plans to build two nuclear reactors for Pakistan and bilateral issues are set to figure prominently during talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy Shiv Shankar Menon and the Chinese leadership in Beijing from Saturday.
The United States administration is pushing for greater control over the investigation of any involvement of the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence in slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's presence in Pakistan since 9/11, amid fears that Islamabad may not carry out a credible probe.
Saran's appointment will bring in a professional diplomat, who does not have any experience of handling internal security (which was Narayanan's strength) and issue of terrorism. But on other side, Saran has the backing of more than three decades of experience in international affairs and has recently gained thorough understanding of issues related to climate change.
Former NSA Brajesh Mishra told rediff.com, "One knew that the US was in Afghanistan to kill Osama. If they would get him, then their operation will be over. But, I believe the Taliban in Afghanistan is as dangerous as Osama's Al Qaeda. They are having a presence outside Afghanistan as well in Europe and even in the US."
India on Monday joined a US-led initiative to set up an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to bind partner countries to achieve common goals, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that New Delhi will work with the stakeholders to make it an "inclusive and flexible" structure to pave the way for development, peace and prosperity in the region.
After weeks of denying the possibility, Pakistan turned around on its position -- admitting to CNN-IBN that some or all of the terrorists who carried out the 26th November attacks on Mumbai- could have been Pakistani nationals.
Modi said he really enjoyed the Metro ride.
Cricket Australia said an independent security assessment confirmed there is a risk of terrorism in Bangladesh targeting Australian nationals.
A top United States Intelligence official on Monday held a series of meetings with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and senior officials, during which the progress in investigations into the Mumbai terror attacks was reviewed.Director of National Intelligence John Michel McConnell, who flew into the Capital, is also believed to have met National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and discussed issues related to evidence gathered so far in the probe in the 26/11 terror strikes.
China is keen to resolve in a "peaceful manner" its longstanding boundary dispute with India and wants to ensure that 2012 is a year of cooperation and development between the two sides.
"Due to scheduling reasons, it is inconvenient for China to attend the meeting," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told mediapersons.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday had a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava, ahead of the 'chakka jam' announced by farmer unions protesting against the three agri laws at Delhi's borders, sources said.
Sponsorship and external linkages have 'tended to fertilize indigenous terrorism.'
The retired American general who delivered an alleged memo that sought United States help to stave off a feared coup in Pakistan has said that he believes the document was "not credible".
Warning that India and China could ill-afford misperceptions on policy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Thursday said that pursuit of an ambitious agenda by the two countries could put bilateral relations on a sound footing.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would co-chair the first US-Pak Strategic Dialogue to be held in Washington on March 24.
