The United States has announced to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each by January 15 next year, which drew sharp reaction from influential lawmakers across the aisle.
'It is a testing time for our foreign policy which may involve a certain element of taking risks, assessing costs, and expecting failures,' asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
He said that the Communist Party of China has used the COVID-19 pandemic as a smokescreen for ratcheting up their oppression of Hong Kong and advancing their control and influence throughout the region.
Pakistan has a strong case to gain NSG membership on merit and non-discriminatory basis, Aziz said in a statement.
'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.
'The book has immense value because it reveals the inner workings of the think-tank which appears to provide facts and insights to Modi, though he himself takes the final decisions and articulates them in his characteristic rhetorical style,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of America's sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago," US President Joe Biden.
'Pakistan has robust incentive to turn heat on LoC.'
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee and one of Trump's most vocal Republican Party critics during this year's election campaign, met privately with the President-elect for about an hour.
India and Pakistan in a surprise announcement said on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
AQ Khan, a controversial scientist known as the father of Pakistan's clandestine nuclear programme, passed away here on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 85.
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director, in a statement said now it is known that Hillary Clinton hatched a plan to divert attention away from her use of a private email server by falsely tying then-candidate Donald Trump to Russia.
'Parading French troops alongside Indian military personnel, says Rajeev Sharma, turns India's non-alignment policy on its head!'
The Taliban have postponed the formation of a new government in Afghanistan for next week, their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Saturday, as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar left London at the end of a four-day visit to the United Kingdom on Friday with a message of convergence as the two countries agreed on an ambitious '2030 Roadmap' towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
'There is a cost to war.' 'The West knows that and so does Putin.' 'The point is, how much of the cost are both sides willing to pay?'
"Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist will stage a protest against Donald Trump's visit to the country. The agitation is likely to take place on February 24," said CPI General Secretary D Raja.
'A firm national resolve can only deter and defeat the nefarious designs of the adversary,' notes Rup Narayan Das.
The "bumper" 40 per cent increase followed a number of sweeping reforms intended to transform the "bloated People's Liberation Army, into a more modern, nimble fighting force".
Former external affairs minister, K Natwar Singh, shares his critique of the Narendra Modi government's foreign policy in this e-mailed interview with Aditi Phadnis. Edited excerpts
The new PM would be more than unwise to attempt steering away from India into an all-encompassing Chinese embrace that would ultimately swamp Bhutanese identity, says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'The numbers of troops on both sides are enormous.' 'They are about 50,000-60,000 soldiers facing each other in that sector -- that's about the total number of troops that both sides had in the 1962 War in all sectors.'
PM Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Israel is "worrisome" as it undermines India's position on Palestine, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Wednesday.
He has Biden's ear and because of the past relationship, Biden will actually listen to him, unlike some past residents of Roosevelt House.
The 38-year-old lawmaker's move leaves Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders as the final two candidates in the Democratic race.
Robust military preparedness along the entire perimeter of our nation is the only iron-clad permanent guarantee for our security, asserts Vivek Gumaste.
He underlined that Lok Sabha election results in India show that the Modi government kept alive and strengthened the 'expectation of change' in the country.
The visit of the MEPs to Kashmir was not ceding of ground on Kashmir, the MEA said.
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, he said there has been a 'complete and total failure' of foreign policy under the Modi government.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Harris, in a major foreign policy speech as part of her three-day visit to Singapore, said America's vision includes the freedom of navigation which is vital to all.
Pakistan is making efforts at multiple levels for the Taliban government to have a soft landing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Tehran,' Foreign Minister Zarif said, 'had expected the Modi government to be "more resilient" in the face of Washington's bullying,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In New Delhi's corridors of power, debate continues on whether the navy even needs a third aircraft carrier.
India and the US have "deep strategic relations" which have bipartisan support in the US and enjoys "overwhelming public support" in India.
Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.
Democracy will remain central to India's national identity, but will not be a conscious axis of its foreign policy, reports Aziz Haniffa
In a speech outlining his foreign policy, Trump did not mention about India, and said that his administration would seek to improve ties with Russia and China.
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