Saturday's Quad meeting in Delaware is taking place against the backdrop of China's assertive behaviour in the South China Sea, its sabre-rattling in the Taiwan Strait and increasing footprints in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Lieutenant Commanders Dilna K and Roopa A have successfully crossed the most dangerous passage in their historic 8-month sailing expedition around the globe.
The Orion capsule returns to earth after a 26 day mission orbiting the Moon and back.
The deployment of the UK's "most advanced naval capabilities" has been flagged by the UK ministry of defence as a "decisive step" in bolstering UK-India security ties.
India is likely to experience below-normal monsoon rainfall this year, with a 20 per cent chance of drought due to the end of La Nina conditions and the potential for El Nino to take hold, private forecasting agency Skymet Weather said on Monday.
'India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and we continue to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation that directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability.'
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
India will be the most consequential partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific this century, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday ahead of the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between the two countries next week. Esper on Tuesday told a Washington audience that he and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be travelling to New Delhi next week for the 2+2 ministerial with their respective Indian counterparts Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
The prime minister also underlined the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific for the Pacific island nations and said India respects the sovereignty and integrity of all countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held bilateral talks with Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Bari during which they discussed defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration.
The IMD said that rainfall over India in August and September would be around 106 percent of the long-period average of 422.8 mm.
The heat wave is likely to impact parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, the Met office said.
India will receive normal monsoon this season, country's meteorological department said on Wednesday in its forecast for the Southwest monsoon that covers 75 per cent of the country, and thereby may bring much-needed respite to the economy, which is reeling under the catastrophic effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian armed forces, especially the Navy, are building partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region for peace and security, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, he said.
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.
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).
Four-nation grouping Quad on Tuesday launched a major new initiative for the Indo-Pacific that allows the partner countries to fully monitor the waters on their shores and help ensure peace and stability in the region, a move that comes amid China's increasingly intimidatory behaviour.
India and the United States have announced a groundbreaking 10-year defence partnership, paving the way for increased military cooperation and potential sales of F-35 stealth fighter jets. The agreement aims to bolster both countries' defence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, with plans for joint production of weapons and platforms. The move comes amid China's growing military presence in the region.
June rainfall accounts for 15 percent of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the four-month monsoon season in the country.
Within India, people are selecting destinations via routes such as Lakshadweep, Alappuzha, the Sundarbans, Goa and Kochi for pre-wedding parties.
'Trump's aggressive stance towards China and preference for military posturing could shift the Quad's balance towards overt militarisation.'
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Indian Navy is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the United States Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast evolving regional security landscape, they said.
Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
Aarohi Pandit, the world's first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean solo in a light sport aircraft (LSA), is all set to re-enact on 15th of this month India's first commercial flight flown by the legendry J R D Tata in 1932.
China has deployed a fleet of underwater drones called Sea Wing (Haiyi) glider in the Indian Ocean, which can operate for months on end and make observations for naval intelligence purposes, according to defence analyst HI Sutton.
India and the United States have agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in several key areas, with President Donald Trump announcing plans to provide India with F-35 fighter jets and billions of dollars in military supplies. The two leaders also discussed energy cooperation, critical technologies, connectivity, and countering terrorism. They agreed to work together on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and Trump noted India's reforms to welcome US nuclear technologies. Prime Minister Modi said the two countries can shape a better world through their cooperation. Both leaders also addressed the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with Modi stressing India's commitment to peace.
Above-normal heatwave days are predicted in most parts of central, east and northwest India during this period.
Lieutenant Commanders Roopa A and Dilna K have completed 3 months at sea and have embarked on the longest and toughest leg of the voyage.
Justifying the docking of Chinese submarines in Karachi and Colombo, a Chinese think tank questioned criticism in India of the presence of Chinese naval ships in the Indian Ocean, saying China has a right to protect its interests and India should be "broad-minded" to accept it.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
G P Sharma, President (Meteorology) of the Skymet Weather said the Long Period Average of the rainfall during June to September will be 103 per cent with an error margin of plus or minus 5 per cent.
An American began a 6,000-mile (9,656-km) voyage on Sunday in Japan, attempting to become the third person and the first woman to cross the Pacific Ocean by herself in a rowboat.
Bibhu Prasad Routray explains why the US is supporting Japan's resolve to release 'treated' radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean. And what role China plays in the US decision.
Seven out of eight women street vendors reported experiencing high blood pressure, while women in the middle age group raised concerns about delays in their menstrual cycles due to the extreme heat.
Conditions were becoming favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon over some more parts of the south peninsula and east India and adjoining areas between June 18 and 21.
Today humanity is churning the ocean with a thoughtless vengeance -- with toxic wastes, plastics and hazardous substances being dumped into our once pristine seas. And there is no benign Lord Shiva to rescue us from our collective greed, says Shyam Saran.
In an address at the Global Dialogue Security Forum, he underlined the need for India to put greater focus on having strong bilateral, trilateral and multilateral arrangements with like-minded countries to maximise its strategic leverage in the region.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
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