'I have no doubt that the government means well.' 'I am merely curious to know whether my suspicions of it being enthusiastic about shooting first and aiming later are unfounded,' says Aakar Patel.
Modi on Saturday embarked on a five-nation visit to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico focus of which will be to enhance India's engagement in areas of trade, energy and security, besides pushing for its membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Now, India and US can jets, warships can use Indian bases
On his recent visit to China, the President made eminently sensible suggestions to improve relations except that they can't work in the present atmosphere.
The government must justify why we need to buy foreign reactors when we have developed up to 700 MWe unit-size pressurised heavy water reactors, a design which can be easily extended to 900 to 1000 MWe unit size. Why can't the 'Make in India' philosophy apply to indigenous nuclear reactors, more than 18 of which have been designed, built, and being operated by Indian engineers, asks Dr A Gopalakrishnan.
Furthering Indo-US cooperation on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama on Tuesday agreed to make "joint and concerted efforts" to dismantle safe havens for terror and criminal networks like Lashkar-e-Tayib, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Dawood-company, Al Qaeda and the Haqqani network.
'If the situation deteriorates and there is further escalation, the USA is in preparedness.'
The American efforts to make India a security partner have enhanced India's importance to Chinese decision makers and new recognition of India's importance and achievements are reflected in a much more positive reporting about India in the State-controlled media, says Walter Andersen.
'While China expressed reservations on the Indian role in the South China Sea, Beijing threw to the winds Indian concerns on Kashmir by announcing $46 billion in investments Pakistan occupied Kashmir,' says Srikanth Kondapalli.
"The prime minister raised the issue of Kim Davy's extradition and hoped that Denmark would take into account India's sensitivities and extend full cooperation. The Danish minister assured that Denmark was seized of the matter," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.
Seeking to boost the strategic ties, India and the US finalised the text of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement.
'This is the first time the US has formally recognised the threat India faces from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.'
India and China on Friday agreed to seek a "political" solution to the border dispute at the earliest as Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Beijing to "reconsider its approach on some issues" and announced CBMs like e-visa for Chinese tourists and operationalisation of hotline between two militaries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday began summit-level talks.
Immediate NSG membership will not help India realise its nuclear ambitions any faster. It could have easily left the process take its own course, instead of running a high-stakes campaign to get in, says B S Raghavan.
'China has gone too long as a rogue power, trashing international norms, agreements, and treaties as if they were not the paper they were written on.' 'The ill-advised attack on Ladakh may be the beginning of the end of that nonsense,' advocates Rajeev Srinivasan.
India on Monday got the backing of Switzerland in its bid to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
As Xi is due to arrive in Goa on Saturday to take part in the BRICS Summit, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the relations between India and China made "great headway" despite some "disputes" but there was no change in in Beijing's stand on the issues of NSG and Azhar.
The session will have 20 working days for now.
'A lack of strategic trust and the 'persistent security dilemma' prevails between India and China,' points out Dr Rup Narayan Das.
'India can rely on him to fight terrorism in all its forms, including Pakistan-sponsored outfits.'
'War cannot resolve problems. So wisdom is to resolve diplomatically.'
'The F-21's capabilities far exceed all other torpedoes currently in service.'
'Problems will keep recurring unless China vows to resolve all outstanding issues between the two sides,' says Sana Hashmi.
'By his very presence in Delhi on Republic Day, Obama is revisiting the most defining relationship of the 20th century after a period of stagnation,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Despite almost $30 billion of funding since 2001, all the US reaps today is unmitigated hostility of a Pakistan emboldened to flaunt its China card.' 'How can the US give credence to any offers from Pakistan, which has trotted out the standard alibi of non-State actors time and again, including dreaded terror outfits being out of State control, Pakistan itself being a victim and so forth?'
Ties with Pakistan and China which were on the centre stage of Indian diplomacy saw a "deterioration" in the year gone by, according to foreign policy experts who feel that the relationships are unlikely to see any forward movement in the new year.
Modi is likely to seek support of Switzerland and Mexico for India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group as both these countries are key members of the elite group. The issue is likely to figure during Modi's meeting with Obama in Washington.
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
'The boycott has not achieved success. Sales figures for Chinese products on the top three Indian online retailers in the first week of October hit a new record. Amazingly, the Chinese mobile phone company Xiaomi sold half a million phones in just three days on the Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal and Tata CLiQ platforms.'
'Just how strong were the ties between the world's largest and oldest democracies that an incident involving a diplomat and a maid led to anger threatening the relationship itself? Or had the relationship been weakening in the past few years, masked by the empty symbolism of State dinners, asks Devesh Kapur.
Swaraj said there is scope to do a lot more and this would be an important element of their deliberations.
Trump's diatribe against India in his speech on the Paris Agreement is hard to explain, especially when a Modi-Trump meeting is supposedly on the cards, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'China's deep involvement in the stability and economic and political success of Pakistan actually produces some elements of congruence with India's core interest in a stable and productive relationship with Pakistan.' 'It is not far-fetched for us to pursue that congruence and with ingenuity work out with China a formula that also satisfies our formal position on PoK,' argues Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
'There is no holistic picture of our own goals and objectives.' 'For some inexplicable reason, the decision makers find it best to listen to their inner souls in dealing with these issues rather devising a carefully thought-out, structured plan,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
India needs to have a re-look of whole gamut of its relations with major powers and also prepare for a more turbulent neighbourhood. But such is the tyranny of Indian status quo mindset that any talk of re-look at nuclear doctrine or foreign relations is treated as blasphemy, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
"We are committed to building a new India. We have to do this as early as possible," he said.
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
India and China met and spoke a lot this year, but failed to produce any meaningful results.
'The success or otherwise of Modi's foreign policy will largely depend on the equation he is likely to strike with Donald Trump.'
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