'Two powerful men shaking hands with two powerful women as equals. This photograph made me very happy,' says Aakar Patel.
Indian troops were maintaining their "posture" along the border with China while infrastructure development in the frontier areas was on track, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday, days after personnel of the two countries were locked in two separate incidents of violent face-offs. Gen Naravane said the incidents in Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim involved aggressive behaviour by Chinese and Indian troops resulting in minor injuries to personnel from both the sides.
The two sides held talks on Tuesday as well but it could not produce any tangible outcome, the sources said.
Ahead of the first of its kind dialogue involving India, Japan and the United States, a top American diplomat has said the trilateral talks make good strategic sense, but the idea that they are aimed at China's containment is "preposterous".
US admiral's suggestion for a revival of a strategic maritime quadrilateral with Japan, Australia and India leaves China livid, says Rajeev Sharma.
India-Vietnam relationship has its own imperatives and dynamism. In India's look east policy Vietnam has been the major pivot, at least in terms of security and strategic imperatives, says Rup Narayan Das.
'Nasr' is a high-precision weapon system with the ability to be deployed quickly, the army said.
'Singh apprised the Japanese leaders about Islamabad's 'evil design' on Kashmir at a time when Pakistan has decided to internationalise the issue.'
India and China achieved a major milestone this year when their bilateral trade crossed the landmark figure of $100 billion but it did not generate any fanfare in both capitals as the two Asian giants are going through a "particularly bad patch" in their relations due to a set of actions by Beijing in violation of agreements that led to the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Starting with a modest $1.83 billion in 2001, the bilateral trade crossed $100 billion-mark in the first 11 months this year, a significant milestone for which the two countries carried out campaigns to boost trade and build it as a major stakeholder to improve the relations between two nations, whose ties otherwise remained frosty over the festering boundary dispute and strategic rivalry. According to last month's data from China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), the India-China bilateral trade totalled $114.263 billion, up 46.4 per cent year-on-year from January to November 2021.
The United States on Monday assured India that its concerns over Taliban insurgents gaining legitimacy without severing their terror links will neither be "overlooked or undermined" during the talks with the Islamic fundamentalist group.
US Secretary of Defence Leon E Panetta's two-day visit to India last week to reinforce bilateral strategic defence and strategic cooperation seems to have gone well for the US, but will the India side take initiative and grasp the aggressive US hand? Seema Mustafa reports
In remarks titled 'Implement Consensus and Handle Differences Properly to Bring China-India Relations Back on the Right Track' posted on the Chinese embassy website, Sun spoke of disruptions in the bilateral relationship and outlined five steps to clarify 'some fundamental points'.
'2020 will show whether India's troubled domestic economic and political house reveals a mismatch in their strategic association or whether closer strategic ties are yet possible,' says Anita Inder Singh.
'The crisis has strengthened America's resolve to work towards building its relationship with India as a bulwark against Chinese aggression'
"No other relationship of India has as many layers as our relations with China. We are the world's two most populous countries and among the fastest growing major economies. Our cooperation is expanding," he said.
The agreement will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two countries.
"The meeting demonstrated the depth of India-France bilateral partnership, especially in the defence sector, that has significantly strengthened in recent times. Both leaders resolved to take the relationship to the next higher level," said a statement issued by the ministry after the 35-minute meeting.
'No amount of digression can hide deflect the fact that the PM's visit was badly conceived, planned and executed,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi's hardline policy towards Pakistan and J&K has created numerous leverages and bargaining positions that New Delhi can bring to the bargaining table and translate into concessions, argues Ajai Shukla.
China's surplus foreign exchange reserves and India's long-term fund requirement complement each other.
PM Modi also called for a strong action plan for combating extremism.
The remarks by the Chinese foreign ministry came a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured India that the US stands firmly with it to confront threats to its sovereignty.
It also comes ahead of a possible visit by President Donald Trump to India later this month. Trump is set to visit India on a two-day trip between February 23 and 26 and both sides are in the process of fine-tuning his schedule, according to sources in New Delhi.
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he held a "good discussion" with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on many important issues, including on the two nations' commitment to democratic principles, recent protests, and the importance of resolving issues through dialogue.
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia's "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov.
US-India defence cooperation must not adversely affect the India-Russia interface, which has its own strategic meaning and content, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
The US said that it supports dialogue between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.
Modi is among the first world leaders to meet Mahathir, who became the world's oldest elected leader.
Ahluwalia said India is also interested in stepping up cooperation with China on railways development.
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
Fresh from his maiden trip to Afghanistan, Democratic Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American lawmaker in the Congress, has said that India has a very critical role to play in peace and development in the war-torn country.
The Indian Army on Friday strongly insisted on early disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the eighth round of corps commander-level talks between the two sides that primarily focused on a roadmap for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the region, according to people familiar with the developments.
Modi called for global solidarity and readiness against terrorism in the same way the world has shown solidarity against challenges like climate change.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his maiden trip to India next week would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues, his spokesperson said on Friday.
During the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston in last September, Modi, who shared the dais with Trump, invited the latter and his family to visit India, saying it will give a new height to the shared dreams of the two countries.
Britain has finalised 1 billion pounds worth of new trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in the UK, to be signed off at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part of an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will set the ambition to double the value of UK-India trade by 2030 and declare a shared intent to begin work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer," Johnson said.
'Washington appears to be playing the long game, and making the argument to India that over the longer term, Russia -- sanctioned, cash-strapped, isolated by the West -- will no longer be a viable defence partner for India'
This will be the fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014.
'Modi's finest political legacy ought to be a border settlement with Beijing,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
