The India-Japan 2+2 dialogue added strategic heft to the special relationship in the wake of growing Chinese assertiveness on regional affairs, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
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.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti, made the remarks while speaking at a special flag installation ceremony organised at the Security Council stakeout here on Monday. Flags of the five new incoming non-permanent members of the Security Council - India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico - were installed at the stakeout during the special ceremony.
Senior journalist Sandeep Unnithan, author of Black Tornado, a semi-official account of the 26/11 attacks, was on Rediff.com chat on November 26. In what was a frank and instructive interaction Rediff users spoke to the scribe about his views on the status of security and possible upgrades to the same.
The report said that Indian officials believe China is trying to contain India by forcing it to divert more resources into defending simultaneously both its western border with Pakistan and eastern flank with China and by weakening its willingness and ability to challenge Chinese ambitions to dominate the region.
95 aircraft, 16 ships and 2 submarines from 3 countries are taking part in Malabar exercise.
The 2+2 was attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Indian counterparts S Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh respectively.
The United Kingdom on Tuesday posted a liaison officer at the Indian Navy's Information Fusion Centre (IFC) that has emerged as a key hub in tracking movements of ships and other developments in the Indian Ocean, a region witnessing increasing Chinese naval presence.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home on Thursday after a nine-day-three-nation tour of Myanmar, Australia and Fiji during which he had a range of international engagements.
With Pakistan in mind, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday warned that terrorism and radicalism emanating from "our neighbourhood" had directly affected both India and China and could lead to instability across Asia.
The air defence command is to be rolled out by the beginning of next year and the Peninsula command by the end of 2021, Gen Rawat told a select group of journalists. The Indian Air Force will helm the air defence command and all-long range missiles as well as air defence assets will come under it, he said.
As a percentage of the military budget, the navy's share has fallen from 19 per cent in 2010-2011 to just 15.5 per cent this year. With the Indian Navy's annual budget declining steadily, security planners are reluctant to green light crucial projects, discovers Ajai Shukla.
Esper also highlighted the 'increased' military cooperation with India and called it as 'one of the most important defence relationships of the 21th century'.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
While acknowledging Shivaji's naval contributions, questions are being raised about the inadequate acknowledgement of Chola sea-power in southern Tamil Nadu, which dates back by a few centuries, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday successfully launched a second generation navigation satellite, using a GSLV rocket with a cryogenic upper stage to do the job.
Singh said the warship's commissioning will boost India's maritime power.
A Tamil Nadu fisherman on Friday sustained bullet injuries when the Navy "fired warning shots" in mid-sea and Chief Minister M K Stalin sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to prevent such incidents.
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.
"This trip will advance the Biden-Harris administration's rock-solid commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
The United States, he said, will continue to take calm and resolute steps to uphold peace and stability in the face of Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine it, and to support Taiwan, in line with its longstanding policy.
Announcing the visit from June 25, the external affairs ministry on Monday said the Modi-Trump discussions will provide a new direction for deeper bilateral engagement.
That Australia is ready for a substantive engagement is evident from its 2013 Defence White Paper, which emphasised the need to build stronger defence relations with India, says Ajai Shukla
A Indian fisherman was killed and 30 others were allegedly kidnapped by Pakistani Maritime Security Agency, which took them away in five boats from international waters off Jakhau coast in Gujarat, a member of fishermen boat association said in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The Chinese military, on the last day of its largest-ever military exercises to vent out its anger over United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, carried out island saturation attack drills in the Taiwan Straits, amid global concerns of a full-scale attack to annex the breakaway island which Beijing claims is part of its territory.
'After many rudderless years, India and Japan have prime ministers with a sense of purpose and direction,' says Brahma Chellaney.
India will sit in the 15-nation United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22 term as a non-permanent member - the eighth time that the country has had a seat on the powerful horseshoe table.
Blinken will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping and will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Delhi.
These next generation ships can patrol the oceans for three or four months compared to the navy's current patrol boats, which can be at sea for a maximum of 45 days.
To threaten China and Pakistan, and then to sharply cut back on military funding, bespeaks a remarkable trust in Beijing and Islamabad that is not borne out by anything they say or do, notes Ajai Shukla.
India, Australia, Japan and the US on Friday pledged to work together for ensuring peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and the world, as top leaders of the Quad grouping announced a slew of new initiatives to take on common challenges, amidst muscle flexing by an assertive China in the strategic region.
All the convicts belonged to outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh.
US admiral's suggestion for a revival of a strategic maritime quadrilateral with Japan, Australia and India leaves China livid, says Rajeev Sharma.
The Chinese have been making inroads in Sri Lanka where they recently got a reclaimed port city near Colombo. Prior to that, they gained control over the Hambantota port which was built by them.
Fifty eight Indian fishermen were arrested on Thursday and their 11 boats seized by Pakistani authorities for allegedly violating the country's territorial waters.
Terrorism, trade and South China Sea dispute are expected to dominate discussions at the 13th ASEAN-India Summit likely to begin later today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Southeast Asian leaders reviewing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India cooperation and charting out its future direction.
Japan could soon be the second country after the US with which India has a logistics support agreement. Besides the LSA, India and Japan may also sign a maritime domain awareness agreement which would enable the two navies to share information. For example, if a Japanese P-1 maritime patrol aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it would pass on the information to the Indian Navy, reveals Ajai Shukla.
India-Maldives ties came under strain under Yameen who was perceived to be close to China.
