Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
In a surprise development, a top Chinese military general has cast aspersions on the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s much-publicised 'real combat-oriented exercises' as 'fake combat capabilities' at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered it to prepare for 'maritime military struggles' to win wars.
Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
De-centralised execution should drive the operational concept and support military strategy, under a unified command architecture. Enablers and technology need to be positioned first for such an activity to be undertaken, recommends Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
Though the Chinese Navy's operating doctrine has changed from 'near sea defence' to 'far seas operations', China has a long way to go in becoming a real maritime power, writes Premvir Das
According to officials, the Indian Navy has opened an investigation into whether the drone used to attack the vessel was launched from long range or from a nearby vessel.
The Navy deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, helicopters and and MQ9B Predator drones to assist the vessel, MV Lila Norfolk, after it sent a message on the UK Maritime Trade Operations portal, saying unknown armed personnel had boarded it on Thursday evening.
The Indian Navy continues to monitor the situation very closely with all stakeholders and remains committed to ensuring the safety of merchant shipping in the region, it said in a statement.
Colombo can handle more container traffic than all of India's ports put together. For a country with a long maritime tradition, this is a pathetic state of affairs, saya T N Ninan.
"It is natural that China and India, as two regional emerging powers, will possess similar and even overlapping maritime interests," an article from an official think tank in the state-run Global Times said on Wednesday.
Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015...The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka," Chidambaram said.
In an address at the Navy Commanders' Conference, he said 'jointness' in operations will be critical in any future wars and restructuring of military commands and establishment of theatre commands is the way ahead.
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'I can feel the master's pain, because he must be sitting there and cursing and saying, 'Why was I born?''
'We have to keep a watch because India-Sri Lanka has a history that whenever there has been a change in government, either the connectivity projects have been questioned or cancelled or revived.'
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.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Colombo on Monday to hold crucial talks on the controversial 13th amendment on devolution of power in the Tamil-dominated northern province and a trilateral maritime security treaty with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
There is definitely much more to the mythical king than his ten heads and his abduction of Sita.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
It is the first mega exercise involving the two aircraft carriers after induction of the indigenously-built INS Vikrant in September.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
'While on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, maritime and space, are emerging as new theatres of conflict'
His remarks come a day after Ajit Pawar apologised to the people of the state for the collapse of the structure which was installed in the coastal district's Malvan tehsil, around 480km from Mumbai.
We should reassess what India's role in the world is and whether we are doing the right thing for ourselves, notes Aakar Patel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, an act coming in the backdrop of a huge row over the crash which provided ammunition to the opposition to target the Mahayuti government ahead of assembly polls.
The Indian Coast Guard has filed an affidavit in response to a plea moved by a woman officer seeking permanent commission.
The trigger that led Japan and the Philippines to ink the deal was because of the deteriorating security situation in the South China Sea. China's coast guard increased the frequency and intensity of incursions into Philippine waters, provoking the Philippines to take countermeasures to deter China, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
The second batch of Indian military personnel manning a helicopter gifted by India to the Maldives has left the island nation as demanded by him, President Mohamed Muizzu has said.
The bench asked whether the Union was still adopting "a patriarchal approach" despite the judgements of the top court on grant of permanent commission to women officers in the three armed forces- Army, Air force and the Navy.
A Rs 7,056 crore outer harbour project by VO Chidambaranar (VOC) Port in Tuticorin is garnering interest from domestic and global majors in the sector, such as Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Singapore's PSA International, Dutch major Van Oord, JM Baxi, and JSW, among others, according to sources close to the development. The project aims to capitalise on the newfound investor interest in the region, spurred by mega investments such as the Rs 16,000 crore electric vehicle manufacturing unit by Vietnamese major VinFast, the Indian Space Research Organisation's second spaceport in Tamil Nadu's Kulasekarapattinam, and Singapore's Sembcorp's Rs 36,238 crore investment in renewable energy.
Early on March 26, 2024, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States collapsed after it was struck by a container ship, the Dali.
The President stated that due to his government's success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation, a news portal Edition.mv reported.
The idea of holding multilateral naval exercises was mooted by visiting Royal Navy Chief and First Sea Lord Sir Johnathan Band during his interaction with top Naval brass in New Delhi.
Few people in India are aware that India and Indonesia are geographically contiguous, sharing a settled maritime boundary. The last island in the Andaman and Nicobar chain is only 80 kilometres from the first island of the Indonesian archipelago.
The overnight operation in the Arabian Sea was carried out in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad and the Narcotics Control Bureau, it said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned India's first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in Kochi on Friday, that put India into a select league of countries with domestic capability to build such large war ships.
The status of the current submarine force level is alarming and we need to address the threat perceptions expeditiously. Critical decisions pertaining to national security cannot be delayed any further due to the rapidly changing maritime threat perceptions and growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on Monday flagged concerns over growing geo-political power play in the Indo-Pacific, and noted that the US-China rivalry in the region is likely to be a "marathon".
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
