The top diplomats of Quad nations on Friday denounced as "inadmissible" any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war and strongly opposed any "unilateral actions" that seek to change the status quo in the South and East China Seas, a region that has witnessed increasing Chinese military offensive.
The statement of Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral John Aquilino on Wednesday came ahead of the 15th round of high-level military talks between India and China on March 11.
The Chinese navy has kicked off 10-day military exercises in the disputed South China Sea amid heightened tensions in the region, especially with the United States.
Quoting from the epic Mahabharata and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, a top Chinese leader has said the easing of tensions between India and Pakistan has increased the prospects of peace in South Asia.
Officials said the bill has provided a clear legal basis for spectrum allocation, which till now was allocated or auctioned by the government based on the interpretation of various laws and judgements.
'Our record and our actions and stances is fairly clear and by criticising it repeatedly, it doesn't make us less credible'
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be visiting New Delhi on Sunday as a special envoy of President Xi Jinping to establish political contacts with the new Indian government amid hopes here of an upswing in bilateral ties due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's familiarity with China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday asked the United States to "play a constructive role" in maintaining peace and stability in the disputed South China Sea, asserting that Beijing will "unswervingly" safeguard its sovereignty over the area.
An international tribunal in the Hague has ruled in favour of the Philippines.
China will build its first long-term underwater observation platform in resource-rich South China Sea, where it has territorial disputes with many south-east Asian countries including Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'
The United States will continue to support India with equipment and other things it needs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, a top American admiral has told lawmakers, asserting that Washington and New Delhi share a 'tremendous partnership'.
He said that "the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship, that's natural".
'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'
In a stern message to its neighbours, China today said it is determined to defend "every inch" of its territory and there was "no room for compromise" with Japan over territorial or historical disputes.
The coming together of the Quad and the Australia-UK-US grouping would be a formidable adversary, moving toward the creation of a 'thousand ship navy' that reins in the PLA navy in the Indo-Pacific.
China having no reservation over the inclusion of heads of governments of POK and Gilgit-Baltistan in Zardari's delegation underlines once again that the Chinese no longer considers POK and GB as disputed territory, says B Raman.
The Bangkok Post reported that Beijing has warned ships to stay away from the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday deplored the "expansionist" tendency among some countries which "encroach" upon seas of others, in oblique comments against China which has a maritime dispute with Japan.
It also took exception to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's call for resolving the Doklam issue peacefully
The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when a violent clash between the two sides erupted in the Pangong lake area.
During his term at the ICJ, Bhandari has delivered individual opinions in 11 cases covering a broad spectrum of subjects such as maritime disputes, whaling in Antarctica, crime of genocide, delimitation of continental shelf, nuclear disarmament, financing of terrorism and violation of sovereign rights.
When Vietnam's India born Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh arrives in New Delhi on Wednesday evening, he will have many areas of similar interest to discuss with his counterpart, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has released a draft to amend the Indian Ports Act, 1908, which aims to bring in sweeping reforms in the sector by bringing non-major ports into the national fold, creating a new mechanism for resolution of disputes, and empowering maritime state development council (MSDC). The draft bill will see comments from stakeholders before being tabled in Parliament. "The Indian Ports Act, 1908 is more than 110 years old. It has become imperative that the Act is revamped to reflect the present-day frameworks, incorporate India's international obligations, address emerging environmental concerns, and aid the consultative development of the ports sector in the national interest," the shipping ministry said.
In the opinion piece after the summit, the leaders said the cooperation, known as "the Quad," was born in crisis. It became a diplomatic dialogue in 2007 and was reborn in 2017.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has underlined the need for building a combat-ready army and accelerate the building of the theatre joint combat command system, amidst the People's Liberation Army flexing its muscles in the disputed South China Sea.
India is planning to deploy a hovercraft for keeping surveillance in 'Harami Nala'-- a 22 km long water channel accessible from Pakistan -- infamous for being prone to infiltration from the neighbouring nation.
'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'
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The leaders said they stand for adherence to international law, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for principles of the UN Charter, including territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing in Beijing that the BRI is an economic cooperation project and it does not involve territorial disputes.
China will prioritise the development of a floating nuclear power platform in the coming five years.
Prime Minister Modi, who is in Japan on a two-day visit to attend a summit of the Quad leaders at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, penned an op-ed on the vibrant relations between India and Japan in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Speaking at a joint press event with Macron, Modi, who is in Paris on a two-day official visit, said a roadmap to strengthen India-France strategic ties over the next 25 years was being prepared with bold and ambitious goals on the anvil.
Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century.
US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Sunday said five years ago on September 25, 2015 the Chinese President, standing in the White House Rose Garden, promised 'China does not intend to pursue militarisation' of the Spratly Islands, and China's outposts 'would not target or impact any country'.
