Menon has somehow come to symbolise the 'Sharm-el-Sheikh' line of India's neighbourhood policy -- unlike his hard-line predecessor who instinctively trusts crisis management to problem-solving. A 'greening' of the national security establishment is overdue and it will be in sync with the spirit of our times.
Top US security officials briefed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, on the probe into the botched car bombing in New York by a Pakistani-American and discussed measures to prevent "potential attacks."
What needs to be understood is that not one, but three cancers afflict Pakistan
While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.
'Some observers say India and China are bound to be strategic adversaries. I find such determinism misplaced,' says National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon.
PM Manmohan Singh, Minister of External Affairs, SM Krishna, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and other senior officials will be in New York from September 22 to 26 to attend the high-level segment of the 66th UNGA. Sahim Salim reports.
"The goal is to have an Afghanistan again that has a degree of stability such that forces like Al Qaeda and associated groups cannot have safe haven unimpeded, which could threaten the region and threaten US and other interests in the world," US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said, outlining the issues that would figure at the key summit.
Saudi Arabian authorities have expressed unhappiness over the media leaks of details of the operation that led to the arrest of key Mumbai attack handler Abu Jundal, according to National Security Advisor Shivshanker Menon.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
Counter-terrorism experts from India, Pakistan and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on Monday deliberated on boosting cooperation in combating various regional security challenges at a meeting hosted by New Delhi.
The directions follow a report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which has seen a new pattern of transnational cyber-enabled financial fraud and investment scam, impersonating as stockbrokers and company executives.
Dilli Gupshup: The return of the V K Singh saga led one Union minister to blame Defence Minister A K Antony for the mess.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government had committed a 'diplomatic blunder' by allowing Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor Sartaj Aziz to meet Kashmiri separatists on Indian soil and demanded that the talks be stopped.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday presenting the S K Singh Award for recognising excellence in the Indian Foreign Service, to Tanmaya Lal
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.
"The President very much welcomes India's Look East approach. We believe that just as the United States, as a Pacific Ocean power, is going to be deeply engaged in the future of East Asia, so should India as an Indian Ocean power and as an Asian nation," Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes said.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Monday held talks in Beijing with senior Chinese diplomat and his counterpart for the boundary negotiations Dai Bingguo and discussed wide-ranging bilateral issues.
In the first high-level Sino-India contact since the once-in-a-decade leadership change in the ruling Communist Party of China, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Beijing on Sunday for wide-ranging talks on bilateral ties, including the vexed border issue.
Ahead of National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon's visit to Beijing next week, China on Friday sounded buoyant about the resolution of the border problem with India, saying the two sides shared a lot of common ground on the issue and the talks have made positive progress.
The White House on Tuesday said that it was weighing whether to release pictures of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's corpse to put at rest speculation and disbeliefs in some quarters about the death of world's most wanted fugitive.
Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other top officials also attended the meeting.
Gen Bipin Rawat's appointment, first as army chief superseding two other army commanders, and then as CDS, was the consequence of his close personal rapport with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Now, with General Rawat gone and nobody named to replace him as CDS, it is evident that no other top military officer enjoys that relationship with Doval, observes Ajai Shukla.
In a major confidence building measure, India and China on Tuesday signed an agreement for setting up a mechanism to avert any untoward incident on the border, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying good cooperation between the two countries would bring "great changes" in the world. The agreement was signed after two days of talks between Special Representatives -- National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo.
India and China will hold the 15th bilateral round of talks in this capital with an agenda to address border claims, visas, cooperation and improve current bilateral trade from $60 billion to $100 billion by 2015.
"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.
After having successfully disengaged with China in the Pangong lake area, Armies of India and China are likely to hold talks again this week to discuss further disengagement from Gogra heights and Depsang plains, said sources.
In the wake of the Friday's Kabul bombing, a team of Indian investigators has been rushed to the Afghan capital and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon will pay a visit there on March 5, to discuss security of Indians in Afghanistan. The Indian team, including officials of home and defence ministries, has joined their Afghan counterpart in probing the attack on the two hotels on Friday.
A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, chaired by Prime Minister, has been convened to discuss the emerging scenario in Pakistan. This is the second briefing the Prime Minister will have on Pakistan.
Menon arrived in Washington to review the implementation of initiatives launched during the November visit of US President Barack Obama to India.
The US president said that there is a lot of "dislike" (between India and Pakistan).
The United States has assured India that the tragic shooting incident at a furdwara in Wisconsin will be fully investigated, Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao said.
After a detailed deliberations, it was decided a standard draft international agreement for establishing hotlines and a set of standard operating procedures will be prepared by DRDO and MTNL, which will be used for negotiations with foreign partners, the sources said.
Sri Lanka on Friday briefed India about steps being taken towards political reconciliation with ethnic Tamils, amid a growing unease over the slow pace of reforms to enable devolution of power to the war ravaged north.
After watching Uri: The Surgical Strike, Syed Firdaus Ashraf gets the feeling that Modi has added another tool to help him win the 2019 Lok Sabha election: Hindi cinema...
'Reform of global governance in itself should not worry any but the most dyed-in-the-wool reactionary or conservative power. Surely it is in our common interest to improve the way the international community conducts its affairs, strengthening purposeful multi-lateralism and international law, says NSA Shivshankar Menon
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.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of discussions with Sri Lankan leadership during the visit of a MPs' delegation led by her to look into the resettlement and rehabilitation process of displaced Tamils there.
The meeting between Jaishankar and McMaster gains significance as the top military leader was appointed as the National Security Advisor by US President Donald Trump ten days ago.
Accusing Pakistan of harbouring Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, a top Afghan official on Monday said the global community is committing a blunder by embracing it as a strategic partner despite the fact that terrorism emanating from the region is affecting India, United Kingdom and others. "Unfortunately, the military-intelligence establishment of one of our neighbours still regards Afghanistan as its sphere of influence," Rangin Dadfar Spanta said.
Apart from S M Krishna's performance in Islamabad, a perusal of the statements made in recent weeks by the Indian side reveals an unfortunate lack of precision in the use of language.
