United States President Donald Trump has said that Iran is under close watch and a 'massive fleet' is heading towards the Gulf region.
In its annual report to Congress on Tuesday on 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025', the US Department of War said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is actively considering and planning for additional military facilities.
Most Japanese and Chinese imported oil and one-third of the world's traded goods pass through this area in Southeast Asia.
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
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.
'Will this near-war, India's strongest military response so far, buy India another seven years of deterrence?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The Indian couple was on a four-day cruise on the Spectrum of the Seas which was on the way back to Singapore from Penang on Monday morning when the 70-year-old Jakesh woke up to find his wife missing from their room.
'Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a faction operating in the Red Sea -- which is a typically safe area - has been firing projectiles arbitrarily.' 'Additionally, there have been two incidents involving Somali pirates, and one vessel has been hijacked.'
China's PLA Navy has deployed a number of platforms including frontline warships and a submarine for the exercise from November 11 to 17.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
Access to Sabang Port will allow the Indian Navy to dominate Malacca Strait more effectively, reports Ajai Shukla.
India's reaction came after the US Navy, in an unusual move, announced that one of its ships conducted patrols in the Indian EEZ this week, without seeking consent from India.
The P-8I, which is widely acknowledged to be the world's most deadly LRMR-ASW aircraft, is a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner, onto which a plethora of sensors and weaponry has been fitted.
There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.
The Chinese have been objecting to the presence of Indian Navy ships in the region where it has significantly expanded its presence since 2009 through artificial islands and military presence.
'India should respect Maldivian nationalism and their desire to be not over-dependent on India.' 'India should not behave like a big brother towards Maldives as many times, we tend to behave like that.'
He is currently on a two-day swing to the crucial State of Iowa. On January 15, Iowa would kick off the 2024 Republican presidential primary season.
The Chinese research vessel returned to China a few days ago after being under constant watch of Indian Navy vessels, the sources said.
Annoyed over conflicting reports about the missing plane, China on Wednesday night asked Malaysia to verify rumours and share all information about the flight MH370 after official admission that it may have turned back and disappeared over the Straits of Malacca.
The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.
The navy has significantly expanded its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region deploying a plethora of warships and submarines to create pressure points on China as the maritime space around the Malacca Strait is very critical for its supply chain through sea routes.
The massive international search for the missing Malaysian airliner is likely widen into the Indian Ocean with the US deploying a ship to the Andaman Sea to locate the airliner
The government has asked Indian ships sailing in the Malacca Strait and South East Asia to be 'extra cautious' and take necessary security steps in view of rising incidents of hijacking and robbery
'The Andamans are strategic territory for India.' 'We need at least three full-length, 10,000-feet airfields here.'
The deployment seems to be more than what is needed.
The MoU also provides for cooperation in military training, defence industries and defence research and development.
A wide spectrum of drills including surface and anti-aircraft drills, helicopter operations, maneuvers and cross-deck flying was carried out for the second consecutive day as part of the 11th edition of the biennial Indo-Russian exercise Indra Navy.
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
Investigators have found nothing suspicious in the initial search of a home-made flight simulator, personal computers and e-mails of the pilots of the missing Malaysian plane, amid continued speculation over the fate of the aircraft carrying 239 people.
Kuala Lumpur's delay in roping in India to help track the missing aircraft is an indicator that New Delhi must redouble its diplomacy and capacity demonstration in East Asia, feels Nitin Pai
'Movement of naval forces at sea is often more than just perfunctory deployment -- reading the messages that they send is important,' alerts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Chief of Naval Staff, on Tuesday commissioned the Marine Commandos (MARCOS-East) unit as 'INS Karna' at a function at INS Kalinga in the district.
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.
New Delhi's regional partners in restraining a belligerent China -- primarily the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore -- would like the Indian Navy to lock down the Indian Ocean Region, while the other partners can focus on deterring the PLA (navy) in the South China Sea, explains Ajai Shukla.
Mere shuffling of resources or cosmetic changes to prove a point would be counterproductive in the long run, observes Commodore Venugoptal Menon (retd).
In a record time of 13 years, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant is now ready for formal induction into the Indian Navy.
Indonesia is not even counted as a next-door neighbour of India, though the southern-most tip of India is less than a hundred miles away from the northern-most tip of Indonesia. Bringing Indonesia back in the mainstream of the Indian strategic calculus is a step long overdue, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
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