'The continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress party'
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Azerbaijan said on Thursday that it is open to dialogue with Armenia and if India comes up with some proposal to bring stability in the region, Baku will welcome such initiatives, hours after the two arch-rivals believed to have negotiated a cease-fire to end the recent hostilities between them.
Pentagon has sought direct dialogue between India and China 'free of any coercive aspects'.
What drives Pakistani men to join its military, despite the toll it takes on them?
The Taiwanese foreign minister said the time has come for all democratic countries to find ways to deal with China's expansionist agenda and its military muscle flexing, especially in the maritime domain.
The commanders will also deliberate on the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir besides delving into issues having national security implications, they said. However, the main focus will be on the situation in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball face-off in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.
"CCP's (Chinese Communist Party) territorial aggression is also apparent on its Indian border where China has attempted to seize control of the Line of Actual Control by force," US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said in a remark on China early this week in Utah.
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
In its annual threat assessment presented before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, the US intelligence community said the expanded military posture by both India and China along the disputed border elevates the risk of armed confrontation between the two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to US persons and interests and calls for America's intervention.
The US House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included key components of Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi's resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC.
Undeterred by the ban imposed by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday said that it will go ahead with its proposed 'Sankalp Diwas' to take a resolve to launch an agitation for rebuilding the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
50 per cent of the flashlights market in the country is dominated by Chinese imports, which have been increasing.
Indian military sources said no firearms were used in the clashes and that most of the injuries were sustained following stone-pelting and use of rods by the Chinese side.
It also promised financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually to all dependent widows and single mothers, two free LPG cylinders to all the beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana and 24x7 power supply.
The mixed narratives emerging from Russia undermine Mr Putin's position and authority even more than the actual facts, observes Mihir S Sharma.
The Indian Navy has deployed a range of its frontline warships and submarines in the Indian Ocean region to send a clear message to China following the escalation of the border dispute in eastern Ladakh.
India is witnessing trailers of future conflicts and its adversaries will continue with efforts to achieve their strategic aims, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said on Thursday delving into national security challenges emanating from China and Pakistan.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
The situation was on Saturday peaceful along the Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat district, where 11 people have died so far, but nearly 10,000 people have fled their homes to take shelter in relief camps.
Poland, Britain against allowing Russian, Belarusian athletes at Paris Games
A new version of jihad is attracting "small but steady stream" of Indians to join Islamic State movement in Syria, Former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan has warned.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
Though General Naravane's visit will not deal with 'impermanent' issues like the changing stands of politicians, it will certainly reinforce the deeper 'permanent' links between the people of Nepal and India. Time will hopefully tackle the present impermanence of the Sino-Nepalese romance, notes Claude Arpi.
General Naravane said that the Chinese army has been trying to alter the status quo along the LAC in very 'small incremental steps' and over a period of time Beijing has gained a lot.
India and China failed to reach any specific agreements on their disputed boundary issue on Friday in the latest round of negotiations in Beijing but decided to pursue their goal for a "fair and reasonable" solution acceptable to both sides.
The 16th round of India-China border talks will be held in Beijing on June 28 followed by the visit of Defence Minister A K Antony a week later as the two countries are set to resume top level contacts to build on the recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi.
'The PLA is under constant watch.' 'There is an escalation matrix. For every degree of escalation, responses are thought of and trained for.'
The United States has said it will continue to press Pakistan to take "additional steps" to deal with terror groups seeking refuge within its borders, hours after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sought American help to resolve bilateral issues between India and Pakistan.
He, however, said sometimes such people spread wrong news or information about China on purpose.
In a letter addressed to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Mizoram Home Secretary Lalbiaksangi said that National Highway 306, the state's lifeline that connects it with the rest of the country, has been blocked in Assam since July 26.
Even as the bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries remains hostile, there is growing coordination between India and Pakistan on one multilateral forum - the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both countries have made two joint submissions at the WTO as co-sponsors in the past two months. In June, Pakistan joined India, Cuba, and 44 African countries, seeking sufficient flexibility in intellectual property rights for developing countries to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The annual meet also saw some shareholders of the country's second largest IT services company raising concerns over falling operating margins. But many congratulated the management for delivering good FY20 performance despite the tough economic conditions.
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The meeting, which comes after the Doklam standoff, is aimed at a working a new paradigm for the bilateral relations for the next 15 years.
China has been an aggressor against India along the Himalayan border, a top American diplomat nominated by President Joe Biden as his next envoy to Beijing has told lawmakers, stating that the US must hold the Chinese government accountable for failing to play by the rules.
'China physically occupies about 45,000 sq km of J&K as claimed by India, including 3,000 sq km captured in the 1962 War and never returned; and 5,180 sq km ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963.' 'It is hard to justify remaining silent about the return of China occupied Ladakh,' observes Ajay Shukla.
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
The readouts by the Indian and Chinese sides on the meeting on Monday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow bring out that divergences are crowding into the centrestage of their relationship, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
