The Indian Navy has just one aircraft carrier. The INS Vikramaditya carries just 26 unreliable MiG-29 fighters and 10 helicopters -- an insufficient capability to battle a serious foe.
'If his three priorities are the economy, the economy, the economy, then there is need for a stable region, a stable neighbourhood.'
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
'We have been found seriously wanting in addressing our undersea warfare capability and China's emergence is a cause for concern.'
New Delhi and Beijing are the only two regional capitals that have commented on US President Donald Trump's speech on August 21 outlining the way forward in Afghanistan. The Indian foreign ministry statement was effusive in praise, while the Chinese statement has been one of cautious and guarded hope. Delhi has identified itself with Trump's Afghan strategy, whereas the Chinese stance is calibrated -- observant and objective, keeping a distance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Modi and Abe are working seriously for India-Japan bonhomie to grow stronger.' 'It is a win-win situation for both countries and the future look promising,' says Rajaram Panda, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations India Chair Visiting Professor at Reitaku University, Japan.
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.
'For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.'
In bilateral interfaces relations with China have also to be given due weight, opines Premvir Das
'Clearly, from the Indian viewpoint, the US retrenchment from Asia cannot be happening as good news.' 'The abandonment of the US' pivot to Asia exposes the US-Indian partnership to be a mere transactional relationship,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
'We're going to see a defence relationship that really takes off -- now that India is a major defence partner of the US, the sky is the limit for arms sales.' 'The economic partnership will lag behind the security relationship, but the meeting and joint statement give cause to believe that it will progress more robustly than many of us would have expected.'
'What gives hope is that Modi's own leadership is vitally linked to his capacity to deliver on the economic front. Indeed, if he succeeds, India's foreign policies will have changed beyond recognition,' feels Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
