As China tries to gain a foothold in the Indian Ocean region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India recognised that there are other nations around the world, with strong interests and stakes in the region.
India and the United States have agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in several key areas, with President Donald Trump announcing plans to provide India with F-35 fighter jets and billions of dollars in military supplies. The two leaders also discussed energy cooperation, critical technologies, connectivity, and countering terrorism. They agreed to work together on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and Trump noted India's reforms to welcome US nuclear technologies. Prime Minister Modi said the two countries can shape a better world through their cooperation. Both leaders also addressed the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with Modi stressing India's commitment to peace.
'Despite the current tension at Doklam and the risk of escalation on the Himalayan land frontier, it is the Indian Ocean we need to worry about more,' says Nitin Pai.
Pakistan has alleged that India was pursuing conventional, nuclear and missile development programmes which can lead to nuclearisation of the Indian Ocean and can disturb the "balance of power" in the region.
Rinku Singh maximum smashed the window glass of St George Park's press box and with a repair unlikely anytime soon
The massive international search for the missing Malaysian airliner is likely widen into the Indian Ocean with the US deploying a ship to the Andaman Sea to locate the airliner
Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
The Chinese ministry of defence in Beijing has said that the Indian Ocean cannot be a backyard of India, which naval forces from other countries could not visit.
'Trump's aggressive stance towards China and preference for military posturing could shift the Quad's balance towards overt militarisation.'
'The Andamans are strategic territory for India.' 'We need at least three full-length, 10,000-feet airfields here.'
From a few rain gauges in 1875 to rivalling the world's best weather agencies, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has weathered its way to becoming a global leader in forecasting.
India's Navy has commissioned its new Russian-made guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, in the Russian coastal city of Kaliningrad. The ship, part of a $2.5 billion deal for four stealth frigates, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navy's capabilities in the Indian Ocean. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, and other senior Indian officials. Singh described the commissioning as a testament to India's growing maritime strength and a milestone in its long-standing ties with Russia. The INS Tushil, an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, boasts advanced stealth features and stability characteristics, and incorporates 26% indigenous content thanks to collaboration with Indian naval specialists and Severnoye Design Bureau.
China has obtained approval to explore a 10,000 sq km polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in an international seabed region in the Indian Ocean, much to the disquiet of India. The China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association in a statement on Tuesday night said that its application for the exploration of the southwest Indian Ocean region was recently approved by the International Seabed Authority.
On board the INS Vikrant, the supreme commander of India's defence services witnessed several naval operations including a MiG 29K take-off and landing, missile firing drills from warship and submarine operations.
Pakistan plans to procure 40 jets of advanced Chinese stealth fighter J-35, which, if materialised, will mark the first export of China's latest jet. The sale would mark Beijing's first export of fifth-generation jets to a foreign ally and is expected to recalibrate regional dynamics, particularly in relation to Pakistan's rival India. The acquisition of new aircraft was pursued despite the serious economic crisis faced by Pakistan. China has helped Pakistan to jointly develop and operate the J-17 Thunder fighter jet, the mainstay of the PAF. China has delivered four advanced naval frigates to the Pakistan Navy in the last few years to enable it to play a bigger role along with its navy in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
On Christmas Day, Indian Ocean's singer Asheem Chakravarty died. He was just 52. A few weeks earlier, the band sat down with Aseem Chhabra for what would be their last interview together.
Fusion band Indian Ocean, who have scored two songs for Aamir Khan's upcoming film Peepli Live, perform live.
The navies of India and Indonesia are launching the 14th coordinated patrolling on the waters of Indian Ocean, to prevent piracy, armed robberies, poaching, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities in the deep sea.
Former Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, on Friday, dismissed the view that China plans to encircle India through military bases in the Indian Ocean, saying the 'string of pearls' is a "pretty ineffective murder weapon".
The US has deployed its naval carrier strike group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, as well as a fleet of F-18 fighter jets and E-2C Hawkeye all-weather aircraft for the exercise, officials said. The Indian assets at the exercise included Jaguar and Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets, IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft, Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft and warships Kochi and Teg. The Indian Navy has also deployed a fleet of P8I maritime surveillance aircraft and MiG 29K jets, apart from other platforms.
Advocating deeper economic ties in the Indian Ocean region and emphasis on maritime security, India on Friday pitched for more robust "cooperative regionalism" and said the geo-strategic importance of the area cannot be underestimated.
India said it is committed to building up Indian Ocean Rim Association in line with its own expanding bilateral ties with the members of the grouping.
Taking note of the "complex security matrix" in the Indian Ocean region and "political developments", Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday asked the Indian Navy to maintain high levels of preparedness in the area.
Russian space experts have forecast that the defunct six-tonne NASA satellite, what is set to crash on the Earth soon, is likely to fall in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Navy tested its war machinery in series of month-long drill in the Indian Ocean. RS Chauhan reports
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has pulled out of a loan deal with a US agency to fund a port terminal in Sri Lanka, saying it will use its own resources for the project. In an exchange filing late on Tuesday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said the project "is on track for commissioning by early next year". "The project will be financed through the company's internal accruals and capital management plan," the firm said.
In a move that may cause unease in India, China on Monday announced that it will set up its first military base abroad in the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles to "seek supplies and recuperate" facilities for its Navy.
Concerned at growing sea piracy in the Indian Ocean, particularly off the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean RIM - Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) on Tuesday pledged to jointly combat the menace through sharing of information and technical assistance.
Naval assets take years to build, and therefore, not only is futuristic force planning essential, but indigenous projects must also be put into the pipeline, technologies developed and contracts for assets signed regularly so that the Indian Navy always remains a future-focussed force, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Commander Abhilash Tomy KC, who is representing India in the Golden Globe Race, suffered a back injury on Friday after the yacht was dismasted due to extremely rough weather and sea conditions in the Indian Ocean.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Warning India against the increasing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean region, a top American military commander on Wednesday stressed on the need to sign two key agreements between India and the US for joint tracking.
India, along with 23 other countries, is participating in a major Indian Ocean-wide mock tsunami drill on September 9 and 10 that is aimed at testing the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday concluded a crucial visit to Male, assuring the country's top leadership that the Maldives remains an important partner of India in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
The mechanism will serve as a platform among the Indian Ocean Rim countries to have regular dialogue and exchange of information for ensuring safety of ships and maritime resources. "It is an initiative to ensure peace, security and economic propriety in the region," said Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
It's a strategic approach in which the country's military and defence mechanisms evolve continuously in tandem with emerging threats. The new strategy anticipates events and prepares to counter those proactively.
Justifying the docking of Chinese submarines in Karachi and Colombo, a Chinese think tank questioned criticism in India of the presence of Chinese naval ships in the Indian Ocean, saying China has a right to protect its interests and India should be "broad-minded" to accept it.
The missing Malaysia Airlines plane with 239 people on board, including five Indians, crashed in remote southern Indian Ocean with no survivors and their families have been informed, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Monday, 17 days after the jet vanished mysteriously.
Seismologists draw parallels to the quakes that hit the Pacific region, extending from Peru to Banda Sea in the east of Indonesian islands.
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