In a diplomatic breakthrough, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe on Monday held their maiden talks, marking the "first step" towards mending ties between the two Asian rivals after years of territorial disputes and animosity due to wartime history.
Xi, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, called the progress China had made under his watch "truly remarkable
Donald Trump on Wednesday started his maiden visit to Beijing with both sides inking deals worth $9 billion.
'The worst case scenario is for China to behave like a bull in China shop, and brazenly and wantonly indulge in further encroachments, create obstacles to free navigation and convert SCS into an Air Defence Identification Zone.'
Japan has the capital and needs to pull out of China, which has been its major destination. India, on the other hand, desperately needs capital especially for infrastructure, argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
India has moved beyond the traditional trappings of non-alignment
A strong partnership with US would deter China from making any aggressive posture against India, said Puneet Ahluwalia, a member of the Trump's Advisory Committee on Asian Americans.
The Bay of Bengal base will house nuclear submarines and aircraft carrier
His view will be shaped by his perception of US world interests and India's economic performance relative to China.
The J-20 fighter is called Beijing's answer to the US F-22 stealth fighter and the F-35 that will be soon deployed in the Pacific by the United States and Japan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India has a chance to rise again as a global economic power and suggested that it could match with China and he has a "clear roadmap" to channelise entrepreneurial capabilities of country's 1.25 billion people.
Against the backdrop of growing Chinese assertion in the Asia-Pacific region, India on Thursday said it supports the "freedom of navigation" in international waters noting that any disputes or differences in the region must be resolved diplomatically.
There are many reasons for Japan to turn a deaf ear to its anti-nuclear lobby and concentrate on its geo-strategic imperatives to sign the nuclear deal with India, says Debalina Ghoshal.
'Assuming the official defence allocations represent the true picture, the $142 billion figure still represents a phenomenal increase and surpasses that of Japan ($42 billion), India ($40 billion), South Korea ($33 billion) and several other Asian countries put together and shows that China is flexing its military muscle.'
The United States and China have agreed to expand military exchanges and exercises as part of efforts to build more stable bilateral ties amid tensions over cyber security.
India and the United States discussed a host of issues, including the security situation in South Asia, East China Sea, anti-piracy operations and America's help in developing two new commands -- space and cyber, during a recent visit of Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne in Washington.
India is no longer shying away from playing a role on the regional and international stages and is willing to don a bigger role in regional politics. It is showing traits of a responsible stakeholder in the regional security dynamics, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Modi knew in his heart that India does not have the financial muscle to support the new bank with offers of co-financing international projects, something China can do from the bank's base in Shanghai. If established in Mumbai, it may have employed a few Indian bankers and satisfied the national ego but there was little financial value to be drawn from it.
'Relations between India and Japan are robust and devoid of either shadow of history or any irritant.' 'In fact, there is plenty of warmth and goodwill earned over history. There are no negatives but only opportunities,' notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
'After a strategic pause though, Beijing will revive its policy of slowly creeping towards acquiring sovereignty over the South China Sea.'
China released a white paper against the UN-backed tribunal's verdict, insisting that Beijing has claims over the strategic region for 2,000 years.
'It will make good sense for military men on that side of the table to be confronted by our own.'
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may attend the opening ceremony for the Sochi Winter Olympics, but China has ruled out any formal meeting with President Xi Jinping whose attendance at the Games has already been confirmed.
An international tribunal in the Hague has ruled in favour of the Philippines.
'There are major implications for India. Though there was a transparently thin attempt to project the troop reduction as intended to promote peace, the downsizing is actually part of plans to streamline and strengthen the PLA, capable of defending China's national interests at home and abroad,' says Jayadev Ranade.
Continued uncertainty or confrontation in the Asia-Pacific is clearly in no one's interest as it will affect major powers' attempts to restructure their economies and revive growth. Conflict would roll back the gains to each of our countries of 40 years of stability and peace, says Shivshankar Menon.
Because of India's weak fiscal position, the plethora of debt-burdened infrastructure companies and the poor asset quality of public sector banks, economic growth in 2015-16 may be limited to about six per cent, say Shankar Acharya.
India and Japan have a shared interest in countervailing China's hegemonic ambitions in Asia. Although neither has an interest in forming an overt anti-China alliance, Tokyo and New Delhi feel increasingly obligated to work together to find ways to guard against a muscular Beijing's power sliding into arrogance, says Brahma Chellaney.
From early indications, the Modi government's foreign policy seems to be pragmatic and reciprocal, says K G Suresh.
'After many rudderless years, India and Japan have prime ministers with a sense of purpose and direction,' says Brahma Chellaney.
'India should think big: About how in a multi-polar world, India can indeed be one of the poles, rather than being a secondary power that has to worry about 'alignment' with one of the poles. A G3 in other words, India should look to getting others to align with itself rather than the US or China,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Narendra Modi speaks to CNN's Fareed Zakaria in his first interview after becoming prime minister. The excerpts
A sensational interview on India-China ties, with the man most qualified to answer.
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