'The India-China relationship has deteriorated greatly over these past two years and it is set to deteriorate further.'
Henry Kissinger once said, 'It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.' India will have to wait and see, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Whether it liked it or not, the Ukraine crisis forced India to choose between the aggressor Russia and the US-led free world, a decision it hated to make, Virendra Kapoor points out. In the end, it abstained from the vote in the Security Council.
The 2011 US Open champion could not wait to join her friend for the 'Barty Party'.
The elephant in the room will permeate the conversations, predicts Rup Narayan Das.
Blinken and Indian leaders on Wednesday will discuss a plethora of pressing issues such as the fluid situation in Afghanistan, regional security concerns, COVID-19 response and ways to boost Indo-Pacific engagement, people familiar with the agenda of talks said.
Key to China's decision regarding Taiwan will be its leadership's assessment whether the US will come to Taiwan's defence, explains Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
The agreement provides for creation of an enabling framework for closer cooperation and interoperability, besides allowing militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases and facilities for repair and replenishment of supplies, the official said.
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'The US will not want to tangle with China landwards.' 'Nor will the US confront the Chinese navy seawards on India's account.'
Arshdeep has courage but needs experience
'We will stand with friends, partners and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security and values in the Indo-Pacific region'
The capability of drones to evade radar, wreak devastation at strategic installations and transport weapons to terrorists has been a continuous concern for the country's security establishment, and in a maiden incident, these unmanned vehicles were used to strike an Indian Air Force base in Jammu on Sunday, officials said.
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The impact of Shinzo Abe's towering personality is such that even in death, Abe remains a polarising figure, asserts Dr Rajaram Panda.
'When the issue of terrorism came up, the Vice President suo moto referred Pakistan's role in that regard (of terrorism),' Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters when asked if the issue of Pakistan's role in terrorism came up during her meeting with Modi.
Australian Paralympic tennis champion Dylan Alcott, who led the player backlash and had described the exclusion as 'disgusting discrimination', thanked organisers for reversing the decision.
United States officials have identified Pakistan as a base of operations or target for numerous armed and non state militant groups, some of which have existed since the 1980s, the independent Congressional Research Service said in the report.
Calling COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines as one of the most important aspects of his discussions with top officials of the Biden administration, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the endeavour is to expand production of vaccines in India with assistance from the US.
He said that following a build-up of troops, multiple transgressions and attempts to unilaterally change facts on the ground by China, there have been several levels of talks and a fair amount of communication to ensure that the matter can be resolved through negotiation and diplomacy.
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.
India and the US also made a strong push for the intra-Afghan peace process to end violence in Afghanistan and ensure that it does not become home to terrorism, and vowed to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and on COVID-19 response and economic recovery.
'We are in close touch with Indian officials at all levels. We are also closely coordinating with our allies, friends, and Quad partners about how we can collectively support India in its hour of need,' a senior Biden administration official told reporters
India shifted gears in rejuvenating strategic ties with its major partners like the US and Russia and focused on drumming up global support for its distinct strategy in the Indo-Pacific to check Beijing's increasing muscle-flexing in the region.
Colombo seems to be veering to the middle path between China and the US on global matters, but in regional matters of strategic security, it is increasingly identifying with India, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In the next two weeks, the United States will detail plans to equitably distribute about 80 million (8 crore) COVID-19 vaccine doses globally without 'political requirements' of those receiving them, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
At a time when China is trying to make its foray into South Asia, India should use its shared history to strengthen its ties in the region, says Dr Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga met in Washington, DC, on Thursday to discuss ways to further cement the bilateral strategic ties ahead of the first in-person Quad meeting to be hosted by US President Joe Biden.
The flawed Indian policy toward Afghanistan is missing the woods for the trees. The Modi government doesn't have a 'big picture', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first-ever in-person meeting with President Joe Biden raised a number of issues involving the Indian community in America, including access for Indian professionals in the US and speaking about the H-1B visas, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said.
Pompeo, during a Congressional hearing on Thursday, told the members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that 'the actions are entirely consistent with what they have been signalling to the world for decades you might even argue since 1989, but certainly since General Secretary Xi came to power'.
Both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Modi have learnt from their past mistakes. Modi has understood that Rajapaksa is a 'forever politician' that India has to live with, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
But why should India be talking to the Taliban in the first place? There is no love lost there. India will never forget or forgive the humiliation to which the Taliban subjected it in the IC-814 hijack, notes Shekhar Gupta.
The virtual meeting comes in the midst of some disquiet in Washington over India's position on the Ukraine crisis as well as its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.
In one of the worst school shootings in American history, an 18-year-old gunman has killed 21 people, including 19 children, and two adults at an elementary school in Texas state, with an emotional President Joe Biden urging lawmakers to 'turn this pain into action' to control the powerful gun lobby.
'The fatal mistake for the USSR was the invasion of Afghanistan.' 'Quite possibly the fatal mistake for the Chinese empire is the assault on Ladakh,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
World leaders thanked India for its help and support in combating the coronavirus pandemic through "early and meaningful" shipments of COVID-19 vaccine doses, as they addressed the high-level UN General Assembly session this year.
Biden and Modi committed that the US and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism, the White House said in a readout of the call.
With the signing of the pact, the Quad grouping of India, Japan, Australia and the US is set to gain more heft now, notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent - nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa.
