India has denied seeking any assistance from the United States on the Chinese border incursions in Ladakh, asserting that New Delhi is capable enough to take care of its own territorial integrity.
United States President Barack Obama has nominated Nisha Desai Biswal as the new assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs.
A United States Senate Intelligence Panel has released 13 videos showing images of the chemical attack in Syria allegedly carried out by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as the White House pressed its case for military action in the strife-torn country.
General Mattis has been the most steadfast champion in Trump's cabinet of the US-India defence relationship. If Trump chooses a more pliable successor, the Pentagon's attention could go off India.
Even as the Obama administration has started pushing for the ambitious goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons, United States' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the US would maintain its nuclear deterrence.
The Obama Administration has indicated that it apparently has no problem with India training Afghan security forces but that is a sovereign decision to be taken by the government in Kabul, Washington is aware that such training of Afghans by India is already taking place.
The legislation, the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019, gets rid of the certification requirements for Pakistan's action against the Haqqani Network and it also gets rid of the authority to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism.
A beautiful rendition of 'Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye', a favourite bhajan of Mahatma Gandhi, was sung on the occasion.
"From India to Indonesia, China to Russia, and Australia to Japan, millions have moved from poverty to prosperity. China's rapid development helps drive this extraordinary and dynamic growth. In turn, China gains greatly from Asia's growth," assistant secretary of defence Wallace Gregson told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
The Obama administration is apparently committed to alleviating India-Pakistan tensions and consequently influencing the Pakistani army to focus on the internal terrorist threat from the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and not India, in order to advance Washington's AfPak agenda.
The Barack Obama Administration's decision to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan should not be a cause of concern for India as the regional security situation was taken into account at the time of sale, the Pentagon has said.
Mindful of India's concerns over Pakistan misusing American weapons against it, the United States on Tuesday said it was 'clearly observing' how these arms were being used even as it expressed its commitment to combating the Lashkar-e-Tayiba- Al Qaeda syndicate in its entirety.
The Barack Obama administration has launched a concerted and aggressive campaign on behalf of United States's fighter aircraft manufacturers to push for the 'mother of all deals'-- the $11 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft deal for 126 fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The deal could give the ailing US economy a major boost in terms of both exports and thousands of jobs.
Narendra Modi and Barack Obama will ponder over ties twice over, says Nayanima Basu
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
The Obama administration has christened his vision of Indo-US ties that has overcome the "hesitations of history" and working for the betterment of the global good as "Modi Doctrine".
United States President Barack Obama has authorised "targeted air strikes" against Islamic militants to protect American military personnel and airdrops of meals and water to thousands of religious minorities trapped on a mountaintop in northwest Iraq.
India and the US renewed 10-year Defence Framework Agreement.
'Here in Delhi, the Modi government is supposedly looking at 'options' to hit back at Pakistan in any whichever way it can, while in Washington, the Obama administration is looking for ways to strengthen US military cooperation with Pakistan,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United States President Barack Obama will meet in Washington on Thursday to chart a course for "future cooperation" in areas such as civil nuclear technology, trade, investment, defence and counter-terrorism, amid perceptions that bilateral strategic ties have plateaued.
Acknowledging that it is clear to all that many terrorist groups operate in Pakistan, he said the US continues to work with the Pakistani government in this regard.
'India-US defence pacts are seen by many analysts as a subtle move to jointly contain China's growing militarism, especially in the strategic Indian Ocean Region.'
'Of all the areas that define the future for a strong US-India partnership, none is more important than our defence and security ties.'
'The diplomat's arrest has led to a major diplomatic spat, the likes of which I have not seen in my nearly three decades of covering the US-India relationship, says Aziz Haniffa. 'The knee-jerk reaction by the powers-that-be in Delhi was myopic to say the least.'
General McMaster reffirms India's Major Defence Partner status.
The Iraqi forces defeated by IS fighters in their takeover of Ramadi were not outnumbered and in fact showed "no will to fight.
Pakistan is expected to discuss with the US, the alleged role of India's external spy agency RAW in abetting violence in the country.
US-Pakistan relations are poised to touch a qualitatively new level under the Biden administration, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Trump Administration's consideration in this regard comes months after a successful meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House on June 26.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal will travel to Bangalore and New Delhi from March 4 to 6
The Obama administration sees India not only as a land of huge potential for expanded business and trade but also as a strategic partner in the face of an increasingly assertive China, whose leader visited Modi in India last week.
The Indo-US defence relationship may now get personal attention with strong India-backer Ashton Carter today being nominated by President Barack Obama for the key post of the defence secretary.
Indian Ambassador to the United States Dr S Jaishankar told Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that it was "a very nice meeting and President Barack Obama was extremely cordial."
The way the present government has dealt with appointments of civil servants remains to be a cause for concern.
'Big countries do not agree on every set of issues.' 'Look, one of the differences in the relationship is that when we do not agree, we are sitting down and talking to each other.'
Friends of India in the US hope that New Delhi will receive a presidential waiver, given that Trump Administration has recognised India as a major defence partner and is in advance stage of selling billions of dollars' worth of equipment to India in the next few years.
'... For the India-US relationship to continue its positive trajectory, it will require India to adapt to a different approach.' Nisha Desai Biswal -- who as the Obama administration's point person for South Asia was in the inner circle of all the Obama-Modi Summits -- tells Rediff.com's Monali Sarkar why she is hopeful that India and the US are on an irreversible forward course.
This was the first major request of arms sale purchase by India after Obama designated New Delhi as a major 'strategic defence partner'.
The Trump administration has a "very positive view" of the Indo-US relationship and a lot of interest in taking the ties forward, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said on Saturday after his wide-ranging talks with senior Cabinet members and top officials in Washington.
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