'The allegations of government involvement in targeted assassinations abroad are likely to help, not hurt, the ruling party.' 'True or false, they convey a sense of muscularity and, in some quarters, are celebrated as a harbinger of 'great power' status.'
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
'You ain't seen anything yet,' EAM Jaishankar says about the India-US relationship.
The joint military exercise between the Indian and US Army -- 'Exercise Yudh Abhyas-20' -- held at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan has ended. This was the 16th edition of the joint exercise and it began on February 8. The aim of the exercise was to focus on counter terrorism operations under the mandate of the United Nations.
rediffGURU Samkit Maniar answers readers' personal income tax queries
The armies of India and the US on Tuesday began an over two-week mega military exercise at a military facility in Uttarakhand with the aim of exchanging best practices and tactics in sync with growing defence ties between the two countries.
'Many said his visit was very risky. But mercifully, Air Force One has taken off from Delhi without Mr Trump stepping on anybody's toes,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual and global interests, aimed at further boosting the Indo-US strategic relations in areas like defence, space, clean energy and critical technologies.
Modi was addressing the State Dinner hosted in his honour by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the North Lawn of the White House.
'The United States should not, by this logic, expect India to create military distractions along the Line of Actual Control, hold up Chinese shipping in the Indian Ocean, or even openly provide intelligence or basing for US forces transiting the region.'
China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.
US Principal Deputy NSA Jonathan Finer said the US and India have a "complicated history" and they have not always been "wholly aligned".
On Tuesday, Pompeo and Esper will hold the 2+2 talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, covering the entire expanse of defence and security ties as well as key regional and global issues.
'And if the United States, at that time, perceives India to have welched on the deal, not been our friend, when we did so much to make it a friend, that's trouble.'
After the government's online monitoring system for the import of electronic hardware items went live on November 1, inbound shipments of laptops and tablets slipped in November to a nine-month low at $225 million, contracting 17.15 per cent year-on-year. This decline was primarily driven by reduced imports from Singapore (down 43.7 per cent), Hong Kong (down 27.4 per cent), and China (down 14 per cent), according to the data released by the commerce department. China accounts for approximately 83 per cent of such imports.
Mulford was at the centre of a controversy after his remarks in an interview to PTI that the Indo-US nuclear deal, signed on July 18 last year, could 'die' in the US Congress if New Delhi did not oppose Iran's nuclear programme.
China on Thursday sought to defend its move to block a proposal by the United States and India at the United Nations to blacklist Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) deputy chief Abdul Rauf Azhar, saying it needs more time to assess the application.
The 77-year-old former US vice president will become the 46th president of the United States, CNN reported, after a victory in Pennsylvania, the state where he was born put him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
With Lok Sabha elections months away, the visits are vital politically as these would showcase Modi's standing as a world leader to the home electorate.
China on Tuesday said the activities of its high-tech research vessel will not affect the security of any country and should not be 'obstructed' by any 'third party', as the ship berthed at Sri Lanka's strategic southern port of Hambantota amid Indian and United States concerns.
'In the long run, I don't foresee major ramifications [about Trudeau's allegations].' 'There's just enough hypocrisy among Western nations for India to douse the outrage.'
India has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe allegations relating to a conspiracy to kill a Sikh extremist on American soil.
The constitution of both countries begins with the "three words -- We the People -- as President Biden just mentioned", said Modi, who is on his first state visit to the US.
India and the US are set to address some of the prickly issues that have acted as major irritants in the commercial relations between both countries recently, to ensure greater flow of trade and investment.
In his departure statement ahead of his week-long visit, Modi referred to Indo-US relations and said working together, the two nations can contribute to building a more peaceful, stable, secure, sustainable and prosperous world.
'It is in the interest of both sides that the visit of the US President is seen as being successful. Both sides have invested considerable political capital in it. This rapid exchange of visits and the decisions taken have to be justified, beyond the symbolism, which is no doubt important in itself. This opportunity to impart a fresh momentum to ties should not be missed,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
Australian Deputy PM Marles to watch India-Australia World Cup cricket final in Ahmedabad
The medium and longer term prospects remain very positive for the India-US relationship, feels Kanwal Sibal.
'We genuinely believe that good India-US strategic ties in various fields are absolutely necessary -- whether it is security, space or trade. We are in favour of strengthening India-US ties,' says the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
Pak's role in Kabul is not sending a good message to India, a top American lawmaker has said
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her American counterpart James Mattis reviewed ongoing initiatives to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
Speaking about the issue in India in March 2012 at a media conclave, Kissinger defended his use of unparliamentary language while referring to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
EAM Jaishankar's mission is aimed at strengthening India's strategic autonomy in a complex international environment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This incident offers ammunition to those inside the US government and elsewhere who question the wisdom of trusting India, so it will have a lasting consequence no matter how it is managed.'
'India will want a lot of help from the US, but it's not going to want US troops.'
'These tactics are particularly evident in China's pursuit of its territorial and maritime claims in the South and East China Seas as well as along its border with India and Bhutan'
India and the United States signed an agreement to establish a bilateral energy cooperation programme under which the two countries will promote clean and energy-efficient businesses.
India has demanded resumption of export benefits to certain domestic products under GSP, and greater market access for its products from sectors like agriculture, automobile, auto components and engineering. On the other hand, the US wants greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items and medical devices, data localisation, and import duties cut on some ICT products.
'China's action towards India really gives you a good insight into how the Communist Party of China is thinking these days'
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
