Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden are expected to deliberate on ways to bolster bilateral ties in trade, investment and defence and security in their in-person talks in Washington, DC, on September 24, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.
Post the 26/11 attacks, the Indian Coast Guard has carried out 26 operations in coordination with other maritime security agencies on basis of intelligence inputs to thwart any assault from the sea. But no one has been apprehended so far in the last 22 months. This despite the fact that these operations to nab 'rogue' boats and trawlers with terrorists were being carried out after receiving tip offs from intelligence agencies, Defence Ministry sources said.
Hosted by Singapore, the exercise was held on land at the now renamed "RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base" and at a sea phase in the South China Sea.
The row erupted on a day President Dr Mohamed Muizzu embarked on a week-long visit to China.
An India-Japan joint statement said the two leaders expressed serious concern over the conflict and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
The American ship, detained by Coast Guard for carrying arms and ammunition off Tamil Nadu coast, may escape action if it is established that the vessel was cruising beyond Indian territorial waters, a top official said.
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.
India and Australia on Saturday decided to expand military engagements across services and facilitate greater sharing of critical information in line with their resolve to significantly expand strategic ties.
The agreement on pre-notification of missile tests was signed by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan.
India's decision to heed to Australia's request to be part of the mega naval drill comes in the midst of growing strain in ties with China over the border row in eastern Ladakh.
India's historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
In a response to the recent Mumbai terror attacks, the Union shipping ministry is planning to develop a low-cost satellite to monitor ships and vessels operating in the Indian waters. The ministry has initiated talks with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) to develop the satellite.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his counterparts from Australia and Japan on Friday attended the first in-person meeting of Quad leaders hosted by US President Joe Biden during which they plan to discuss issues like climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and challenges in the Indo Pacific, amidst China's growing military presence in the strategic region.
During his South Africa visit, Modi will meet President Jacob Zuma and also Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president.
In the fifth such incident since August, Pakistan coastal authorities have apprehended 28 Indian fishermen and seized five boats, a Gujarat-based fishermen's association said on Thursday.
Indian policymakers must realise that in buying small quantities of equipment, it becomes hard to start manufacturing them in India, explains Ajai Shukla.
'Good to meet US Secretary of State @SecBlinken today. I welcome President Biden's strong commitment to strengthen the India-US Strategic Partnership, which is anchored in our shared democratic values and is a force for global good,' Modi tweeted.
India is increasingly a willing participant in the evolving US' Indo-Pacific strategy. While these developments are related to the perception of a growing Chinese security challenge, their implications for India's much-vaunted strategic autonomy should be a matter of deeper and closer reflection, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Muizzu's request came when India's Union Minister Kiren Rejiju paid a courtesy call on the new president at the latter's office, the Maldivian President's Office said in a press release.
The naval chief told his top commanders that efforts should be to make the navy an operationally focused force capable of dealing with changing environment of the 21st century.
The Pakistan maritime security agency apprehended 12 Indian fishermen and seized their two boats near the international maritime boundary on Sunday, a Porbandar-based non-government organisation claimed.
'Notwithstanding the realisation among the Indian leadership to build up its navy for the force's expanding role, the Indian Navy was allocated only 15% of the interim defence budget presented in Parliament in February 2019.' 'The outlay for the navy's capital acquisition is not even adequate to meet its committed liabilities,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Pakistani ships in high seas can pose a jehadi threat, Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan today said, citing reports of an attempt by militants to hijack a Pakistan navy frigate in September. He said that threat of maritime terrorism is increasing and the force was prepared for it.
In a late night statement, the White House said completion of these sales would increase bilateral defence trade to nearly USD 19 billion, supporting thousands of US jobs.
Admiral Philips Davidson, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, also told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China's recent activities along the Line of Actual Control have opened India's eyes to what cooperative effort with others might mean for their own defensive needs as he observed that New Delhi, in the very near term, will deepen its engagement with the Quad.
India on Saturday said the North Korean cargo ship, which illegally entered its territorial waters, had 'no business' to be there, even as its captain claimed it had done so due to mechanical problems. Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said in Delhi that the M V San 'had no business' to be in Indian waters and that the maritime security agencies had fears that it could be carrying nuclear components. =
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.
India has sent a letter of request to the United States seeking to purchase patrol drones for protection and vigilance of its maritime assets in the Indian Ocean, sources said.
The arrested Indian fishermen would be produced in court by the police and sent to jail.
The Indian government sources said Muizzu, in the meeting, brought up the issue of Indian military personnel present in the Maldives for operating aircraft for medical evacuation and to counter drug trafficking.
In an interview with France24, Wickremesinghe said, "We are a neutral country, but we also emphasise the fact that we cannot allow Sri Lanka to be used as a base for any threats against India."
Modi strongly pitched for enhanced cooperation in key areas of maritime security and counter-terrorism.
The two countries have decided to expedite trade related issues and signed six pacts to take forward their strategic partnership. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Indonesia, reports from Jakarta.
As India progresses towards formulating its own model of theaterisation, the public must get involved in the debate because in the end, it affects the well-being of the entire nation, asserts Biswajit Dasgupta.
An Indian Navy vessel and an Air Force aircraft carrying nearly 1,000 tons of fresh water reached Male on Sunday as India mounted a major effort to help the Maldivian capital that is reeling from an acute shortage of drinking water after its lone desalination plant caught fire.
Reports from Karachi on Sunday said the Maritime Security Agency arrested the fishermen on Saturday night. Their trawlers and some two tonnes of fish were also seized.
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