'The biggest challenge Swaraj and Sitharaman will face is how far they can take their counterparts Pompeo and Mattis seriously.' 'One just doesn't know how long they will even keep their jobs.' 'They are basically salesmen peddling American wares.' 'Actually, there is nothing like 'American policies' in the Trump era,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that if the Army cannot move its missile launchers, heavy machinery up to the northern Indo-China border, then how will it defend it and fight a war, if it breaks out.
The fresh negotiations with Israeli authorities concerned for procurement of the two Phalcon AWACS come in the midst of India's bitter border row with China in high-altitude eastern Ladakh.
The $10.5 billion arms and equipment deal helped to arrest the recent drift in the 'special and privileged' strategic partnership, observes Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Jaishankar said he emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the "way out".
An imminent concern for India is the fact that disenchanted al-Qaeda cadres may shift their allegiance to the Islamic State and its regional affiliate Islamic State -Khorasan Province.
Mikheev said Russia and India are holding talks with a view to sign a contract for 48 (Mi-17V-5) helicopters.
'Under the present Defence Procurement Procedure, it would have been a nightmare, and a long, long one at that, to build 108 Rafales in India. Modi realised this and took the wise decision, though it is a definitive setback for his Make in India scheme.'
In a projection of India's growing maritime prowess, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday addressed the top naval commanders onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea and witnessed a mega wargame, amid China's increasing military posturing in the Indian Ocean region.
Two powerful US Senators have urged President Joe Biden not to impose provisions of the punitive Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act against India for buying the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia.
The US should join hands with Japan, South Korea, India and Israel to target North Korea's nuclear and missile establishments through covert action, feels security expert B Raman
Former Defence Minister A K Antony also demanded making public the inter-governmental agreement with France. He wondered how India would bridge the gap with respect to China and Pakistan by acquiring just 36 aircraft when the original plan was for 126.
"It would be my hope that people understand why this particular transaction is important for us," the EAM said in Washington, DC.
'If the Iran nuke deal holds, Iran becomes a gateway to Afghanistan, and a better one than Pakistan because the route is not so mountainous. Correspondingly, I imagine Pakistan's value to the US will fall,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
Military officials, on the condition of anonymity, said the arrival of the Rafale jets will significantly enhance the IAF's overall combat capability and will send a clear message to India's 'adversaries'.
There are times in each nation's life when the gods shower their blessings on it. The right leaders are in place and they make the right decisions. Everything seems to click and good luck favours its people. Such times came to this country 50 years ago, recalls Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd).
'Europe can be discussed on a golf course...' 'North Korea? What do I care what the man with the bad haircut does?'
Some of the key fighter jet acquisitions over the years and the combat capabilities they possess that made India's airmen a force to reckon with are.
The US actions can be seen as a riposte to India's neutral position on the Ukraine crisis, its continuing import of Russian arms and oil thus undermining Western sanctions, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Previous governments in India had reservations about working with Israel.' 'Modi has shed this tag.' 'Disengaging itself from its traditional and ideological foreign policy approach in the Middle East shall serve India's long-term interests.' Rajaram Panda explains why the significance of Modi's visit to the Jewish nation goes beyond markers like the first-ever visit to Israel by an Indian PM and 25 years of diplomatic ties.
'Modi loves to keep others guessing and basks in the media glare, both traits that are politically helpful but are inimical to stable relations, especially in the fragile Indo-Pak equation.'
India and Russia have been in talks for over a year for the purchase of at least five systems of S-400 that will be a game changer in the region.
The IAF has been maintaining that the Rafale jets would significantly enhance its combat capability.
The terrible beauty of Doval's initiative is that it is all about a new journey rather than about a set compass pointing toward a pre-determined destination, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The armed forces have been pushing for adequate allocation of funds so that they are well prepared to deal with the possibility of a "two-front" war on both northern and western borders.
Images from Day 8 of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday.
The aircraft flew out from the airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will cover a distance of nearly 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates before arriving at Ambala airbase on Wednesday, officials said.
Friends of India in the US hope that New Delhi will receive a presidential waiver, given that Trump Administration has recognised India as a major defence partner and is in advance stage of selling billions of dollars' worth of equipment to India in the next few years.
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase on Monday in the United Arab Emirates after flying for over seven hours from the Merignac airbase. It was the only stopover by the jets while flying from France to India.
The Western world keeps talking, ratcheting up sanctions, the only thing it can do. The Russians march on to Kyiv and capture Zelensky and key members of his government as part of their 'de-Nazification' drive, predicts Shreekant Sambrani.
If they can sit together and hammer out 'Black Sea Initiative' deal for much needed food shipments, surely, they should be able to address the madness of the larger military conflict?
The Congress on Saturday attacked the Centre over a New York Times report which claimed that the Indian government bought the Pegasus spy tool in 2017 as part of a deal with Israel, alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping using the spyware which amounts to 'treason.'
The commanders are also expected to specifically deliberate on deployment of first batch of around six Rafale fighter jets which are expected to join the IAF's fighter fleet later this month, they said.
'The war of 1962 exposed the hollow intellectual foundations of Nehruvian foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis China and that is why it was such a shock.'
A proposed nuclear deal aims to stop Pakistan from building small tactical nuclear weapons that could fall into terrorist hands.
"Few shots from 30,000 feet! Mid air refuelling of #RafaleJets on their way to #India," the Indian Embassy in France tweeted
Facing criticism over delays in military acquisitions, Government on Friday cleared proposals worth over Rs 20,000 crore for the procurement of air defence missile systems for the army and other equipment.
'Today, I am taking new actions to restrict Iran's nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional weapons pursuits. My Administration will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, nor will we allow Iran to endanger the rest of the world with a fresh supply of ballistic missiles and conventional arms,' Trump said in a statement.
The ministry's year-end review is silent on the continued occupation by Chinese troops of territory that India has always claimed and patrolled.
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