95 aircraft, 16 ships and 2 submarines from 3 countries are taking part in Malabar exercise.
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
The fault line between the West and Russia has widened into a deep chasm and this is likely to endure in the foreseeable future. Far from forcing its way into the European tent, Russia may be reduced to the status of an even more sullen and weakened bystander on its periphery. The US appears to have won this hand with little cost to itself, observes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'In a serious fiscal situation like this, an ostrich-like focus on annual budgeting, event management and defensive rhetoric will only make matters worse,' warns Rathin Roy.
The Karnataka legislative assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution condemning the recent defacing of Shivaji Maharaj and Sangolli Rayanna's statues and burning of Kannada flag, and said such incidents will be considered as an act of sedition and strict action will be taken against those involved under 'Goonda Act.'
'Modi forgot to ask Trump for anything that India may need -- and there is so much shortfall all around!', states Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Why do Innovation Revolutions happen outside India, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and some other members sought that the bill be referred to a standing committee for scrutiny.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from several quarters, including from members and supporters of the Democratic party, for not releasing surplus COVID-19 vaccines to India when the country is experiencing its worst-ever public health crisis.
Blinken and Indian leaders on Wednesday will discuss a plethora of pressing issues such as the fluid situation in Afghanistan, regional security concerns, COVID-19 response and ways to boost Indo-Pacific engagement, people familiar with the agenda of talks said.
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh lays out the roadmap for rural growth --- without mincing words.
The new framework of the ministerial dialogue was initiated in order to provide a forward-looking vision for the strategic partnership between the two countries.
'Criticism of Uddhav suits the NCP perfectly.' 'NCP members head key ministries in Maharashtra like home, finance and health, yet as chief minister it is Uddhav who is criticised for the state government's shortcomings.' 'Few hold NCP chief Sharad Pawar accountable for the performance of NCP ministers,' argues Sanjeev Nayyar.
Since the June 15 clash, the PLA has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles and artillery along the LAC, from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh.
'The Olympic Spirit has been thrown to the wind in Xi Jinping's China.' 'The International Olympic Committee is ready to kowtow to totalitarian China,' notes Claude Arpi.
Biden's lengthy remarks on Afghanistan contained no condemnatory references to the Taliban, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
'Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms,' Trump said in a statement.
There is growing alarm at the inexorable rise of China, both of its military prowess and its aggressive bullying of other countries plus its subjugation of whole portions of its own population.
'But India, increasingly, is not that far behind, which is a story I never expected to tell.'
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In return for Pak's gesture, the US has authorised the reinstatement of a military training and educational programme which had remained suspended for 2 yrs. Pak blamed Iran's Maj Gen Soleimani for Baloch militant attacks against its forces.
The IAF has paid French aerospace firms Dassault and Thales about Euro 350 million for 'performance-based logistics'. This requires the vendors to ensure that 75 per cent of the Rafale fleet is combat-ready at all times, notes Ajai Shukla.
China on Thursday sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft to its newly declared air defence zone in the East China Sea as a "defensive measure" after Japan and South Korea said their military planes flew through the area in defiance of Beijing's unilateral move.
This visit has ended on a vastly different note in comparison with Modi's previous visits. Call it a rebuke, call it a censure, call it a distancing from Modi, the sharp message would have gone home, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by US Congressmen if the US had explore the possibility of northwest India for counter terrorism capabilities in Afghanistan. Blinken's remarks on India assume great importance, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
'In our textbooks, we never had chapters where a woman does something. We had one Rani Laxmibai chapter, the rest only the men did. We have been trained like that but, now, things have to change.'
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The fact that this happened and the fact that we were not able to bring it down, we were not even able to trace from where it came from and where it went, certainly raises questions on our level of preparedness.'
While the Saudi drone strike has put the focus back on anti-drone measures, caution also stems from the fact that India has a number of large oil refining assets close to India-Pakistan border.
'The leverage created by the Indian military must not be lost.'
Claims to be a victim of cyber attacks that were originated in the US.
It will be interesting to see whether India-China border tensions figure during the deliberations of PLA deputies to the NPC and CPPCC, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
Once the tanks roll back, a zero-based assessment of future equations with China is necessary. Given the conflict situations that China is imposing on India time and again, the red, amber and green lines of interactions with China need to be laid down and communicated in no uncertain terms, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
'There was no fight between the Shiv Sena and her.' 'But if she is still targeting the Shiv Sena, then only she can talk about the reason behind it.'
Future, even present, wars -- at least those involving such tech giants as China -- include hi-tech battlefields, which a Pakistan-obsessed India has not sufficiently prioritised. Today's generals plan on how to disrupt an enemy city's power supplies, rail networks, airports, ports, and government departments, not just by bombing or torpedoing them; they also examine the option of tripping up the computer networks that run these, notes David Devadas.
CAATSA was aimed at Moscow and not intended to damage the military capabilities of its 'allies and partners', US said.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who has been under fire over his comments on the home ministry's stance on China, has offered to resign.But the Congress top brass has refused to accept his resignation, sources said. Ramesh got into trouble after he criticised the home ministry of being 'overly defensive' and 'alarmist' in its approach towards the entry of Chinese companies in India, while on a visit to Beijing last week.
The United States forces in Afghanistan handed over the full control of a key US-run detention center -- the Bagram prison -- to the Afghanistan defence ministry on Monday, putting an end to a source of tension between Kabul and its main ally Washington.
India has much paranoia in India about a new 'Terroristan' coming up between Pakistan and a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Pakistan has zero ability economically, diplomatically, geostrategically or militarily to create one. If they try, it will be great for India as they will destroy themselves yet again, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Unperturbed by the US entry into the Indian market, the defence official said it would not make a dent in Israeli defence sales to New Delhi.
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