Indians at large harbour a notion that their country is cherrypicking out of the American basket of goodies, but the policymakers in Delhi and the political leadership are well aware that it can only be a pipe dream since a military alliance with a superpower is a profound irrevocable commitment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach involving the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Navy as well as diplomacy and economic measures to send out a firm and clear message to China that its misadventure in eastern Ladakh was not acceptable at all.
The agenda prepared by ministers will be discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other RCEP leaders in Nonthaburi, a city north of Bangkok, on November 4, the official deadline to close talks.
Tuesday's talks between Modi and Trump are likely to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests between India and the US on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military and economic clout.
The highly-anticipated summit, which began early Tuesday, is the third engagement between Xi, 68, and Biden, 78, since February.
Since the change in administration in the US, Indian leaders have publicly and privately identified with American objectives in Afghanistan.
'India appears to have stood its ground on strategic autonomy by resisting US pressure on Russia, China and Iran, but succumbed to the temptation to walk into a tighter embrace in defence cooperation, a high priority of the Trump administration,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'I do not agree that the intent was to send a political message to China that the US treats friends and foes alike.' 'In any case, such acts do not ruffle a feather in China,' observes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Gokhale and Pompeo expressed satisfaction over the significant progress and the quality of the India-US Strategic Partnership
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'Movement of naval forces at sea is often more than just perfunctory deployment -- reading the messages that they send is important,' alerts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
India on Friday said the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan has given 'good signals" in normalising bilateral ties but cautioned against expecting "magic overnight".
'There is little appetite in the Democratic foreign policy establishment to pick a fight with India.'
'Russia is the only country that can act as facilitator for any eventual Chinese-Indian rapprochement,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
She also addressed the Indian Community at a reception held in her honour in Jakarta.
New Delhi should resist any temptation to act as spoiler and instead should cooperate with its SCO partners in reaching a regional consensus behind the formation of an interim government in Kabul, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, allegations have been made that the Muslim militants in Sri Lanka draw sustenance from India. An overarching impression is being created that the ISIS is gaining ground in India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The two-day summit beginning Sunday will seek to review the progress in ties and deepen strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship.
The president and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad during the visit.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'After many rudderless years, India and Japan have prime ministers with a sense of purpose and direction,' says Brahma Chellaney.
The strategic alliance between China and Pakistan is primarily driven by their rivalry with India, eminent US experts have said, with one of them expressing concern over Sino-India border tensions.
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The camaraderie between Modi and Trump was on full display as the two leaders heaped praise on each other.
'This is the first time that the Americans have agreed to refer to "cross-border terrorist attacks" in a joint statement.' 'No wonder Pakistan has called the joint statement "singularly unhelpful" and has blasted it, and its all-weather friend China has applauded Pakistan's frontline role in combating terrorism,' points out former foreign secretary Ambassador Kanwal Sibal.
US-India defence cooperation must not adversely affect the India-Russia interface, which has its own strategic meaning and content, asserts Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
They also inked a pact for cultural exchanges through 2018-2020.
Modi said it is his 12th meeting with Abe since he first visited Japan as prime minister in September 2014
'The killings are a worrisome escalation of tensions, but little is known about the immediate causes or results of the fight in Galwan and it is not possible, at this point, to assign blame'
"Fifteen years ago, I was leading the efforts to approve the historic civil nuclear deal with India. I said that if the US and India became closer friends and partners, then the world will be a safer place," Biden, who was vice-president in the Obama administration, said while addressing the Indian-American community on India's Independence Day.
The navy finds itself fighting for relevance, with navy planners lamenting that its share of the budget has dropped dramatically.
'The sooner Pakistan and India face these geopolitical realities, the better it will be for their own security and prosperity,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Snooping is one of the oldest peccadilloes of man, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first State visit to India is an indication of the success of India's Act East Policy, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
PM indirectly referred to North Korea's proliferation linkages with Pakistan.
He said that if there are issues that need to be talked about, it is between India and Pakistan.
India's doctrinal policy shift in combating terror by carrying out the Balakot air strikes inside Pakistan, appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and hastening work on military modernisation marked a new beginning in 2019 in dealing with complex security challenges.
'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.
The visit of Modi to the United States represents an important opportunity to rejuvenate bilateral ties after a period of malaise and inattention.
