It's intriguing that the prime minister now wants his American partner to help protect the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. That's conceding to the Americans a pre-eminence India has always contested, resented and feared, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The manner in which India and Pakistan have pursued atomic weapons has 'upset the balance of nuclear deterrence', United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday, asserting that the US is working hard with both countries to try to limit their number of nuclear stockpiles.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
'Hardliners who are against denuclearisation may be working secretly on North Korea's nuclear activities, despite official claims that dismantling its nuclear arsenal has already begun.'' 'Does it mean that Kim does not have full control over the military,' asks Dr Rajaram Panda.
The INS Chakra III will be ideal for 'sea denial' missions, in which the submarine denies the enemy the use of the sea.
In his Nuclear Posture Review to be released on Tuesday, Obama has however rejected the proposal that the sole purpose of nuclear arms is deterrence.
'The touchstone is reciprocity which will be applied to friends and foes alike.' 'It will be a bitter pill to swallow.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the passage of the amendment will strengthen India's national security and its global position.
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.
"Al Qaeda is especially notable for its longstanding interest in weapons-usable nuclear material and the requisite expertise that would allow it to develop a yield-producing improvised nuclear device," said John Brennan, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Counter-terrorism and Homeland Security, on Monday.
Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said that despite "saber rattling" between Islamabad and New Delhi, there is no chance of a nuclear war between the two neighbours.
'It seems likely that the February 2019 crisis is over.'
The White House said that Obama, who has been often accused by critics of making an "apology tour" to the Middle East and Europe during the first year of his presidency.
Disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has said he did Pakistan a favour by making the atomic bomb but was 'stabbed in the back by the very people who benefited most' from his work -- the army.
Like the Shourya and Prahar missiles, the Pralay is powered by conventional solid fuel, and its payload is designed to carry only a conventional warhead.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said China-Pakistan cooperation is in accordance with the 48-member nuclear club, which supervises global nuclear commerce.
Harsh V Pant says leakage of Pakistan's nukes is a bigger worry than the number of warheads in its arsenal.
One hopes the new Lok Sabha will mark a break from a dismal tradition -- lack of interest in defence and security policies, argues Colonel Anil A Athale.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
In the test, a space rocket boosted a hypersonic glide vehicle, one capable of carrying a nuclear device, which circled the globe before impacting.
The missile, developed by the DRDO, has a range of 3,500 km and it will be able to bring almost all parts of Pakistan and several areas of China within its reach, officials said.
India has been ranked below its two nuclear-armed neighbours -- Pakistan and China -- in the list of countries with a weak nuclear material security in the world, according to a US-based think-tank.
Serious question marks remain over how effectively, or whether at all, India can actually execute a disarming CF strike that takes out most of Pakistan's nukes, says Ajai Shukla.
In a major diplomatic breakthrough, the foreign ministers of United States and Iran will hold talks on Tehran's controversial nuclear drive at a landmark meeting on Thursday -- the first between the two states in more than 30 years.
India's nuclear strategy, which has traditionally focused on Pakistan, now appears to place increased emphasis on China, the two experts claimed.
The government has been pushing ahead with the programme while claiming that no decision has been made on a successor to Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent, The Sunday Times reported.
The G20's Bali Declaration Wednesday acknowledged differences among members on the Russia-Ukraine war but said it was essential to adhere to international law, including protection of civilians caught in conflicts.
"The recent election in Pakistan, as well as the normalising of US-Pakistan relations, are necessary but not sufficient conditions for the regularising of India-Pakistan relations," noted American scholar Stephen P Cohen has said.
Pitching for "progressive steps" to de-legitimise nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said a meaningful dialogue was needed among countries having atomic weapons to build trust and reduce the dangers of their accidental or unauthorised use.
'Countries in possession of nuclear weapons have a heightened sense of power and it is logical for Kim to expect/demand to be treated as an equal at any bargaining table.' 'It is here that Trump ought to respect Kim as the leader of a sovereign power and not treat the North Korean leader as a subordinate,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
'Despite the subsequent events at Kargil and the October 12, 1999 military coup in Pakistan, the Lahore initiative firmly established Vajpayee's credentials as a crusader of peace,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
The powerful United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution that endorses the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.
"The nature of the dangers which nuclear weapons pose has dramatically intensified with the growing risk that such weapons may be acquired by terrorists or jihadi groups who could threaten to use, or worse, even utilise such weapons to carry out attacks against targets which may be located anywhere in the world," Prime Minister's Special Envoy Shyam Saran said.
The president said Syria did not know if it was an Israeli trap and refused the offer.
He brushed aside Pakistan's threat of use of tactical nuclear weapons, saying such statements will not deter India when it comes to defending our borders.
'Any conventional conflict could trigger a nuclear war with results that neither India nor Pakistan could survive easily.' >A revealing excerpt from Shuja Nawaz's The Battle For Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship And A Tough Neighbourhood.
"Why should I bind myself? I should say I am a responsible nuclear power and I will not use it irresponsibly. This is my (personal) thinking," Parrikar said replying to a question as he explained the need to be unpredictable in warfare strategy.
CNN quoted a South Korean defence official as saying that the missile launch was carried out from North Korea's Sinpo region in South Hamgyong Province.
