China has made serious inroads into Latin America, which the US may now be hinting is simply not ok: Stay in your lane, Xi! In simple terms, China will no longer have access to Venezuelan oil, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further solidify bilateral strategic ties.
Whether Trump will actually press ahead with the oil sanctions remains unclear, since keeping Russian oil out of the world market risks high oil prices which could boomerang on the US economy and be damaging politically for Trump, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has confirmed that 12 Indian nationals have died while serving in the Russian military during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Another 16 Indians, who were serving in the Russian armed forces, are listed as missing by Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a total of 126 Indians were serving with the Russian military and 96 of them have so far been discharged.
'Pakistan is an ally who gives the US access.' 'If we have a presence there, it puts us that much closer to China and puts our assets closer to China and Iran.'
China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai-Delhi service after a five-year gap, marking the first mainland Chinese carrier to restore direct flights to India this year. The resumption follows the resolution of border tensions and aims to boost trade, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
A Russian defence expert says the reported sale of RD-93 engines to Pakistan for integration into the JF-17 will actually benefit India, dismissing criticism of the Indian government by the opposition.
Years of repression and disappearances have taught Venezuelans, the hard way, not to voice either their anger or their joy, observes Radha Roy Biswas who spent her formative years in Venezuela.
A 25-year-old Indian man who went to Russia on a student visa has allegedly been 'deceitfully' recruited into the Russian Army and pushed into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, his family claims. They are seeking the Indian government's help for his safe return.
'Trump is likely being purposefully vague, hoping that this lack of clarity will pressure India, fearing the worst, to agree to scale back its imports of Russian oil.'
'Friendship between our countries is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean,' the defence minister told the Russian president.
India has secured international support in its fight against terrorism, with Russia, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates expressing solidarity and a commitment to working together to combat the threat. This follows a recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, India, which claimed 26 lives. Multi-party parliamentary delegations from India briefed the leaderships of these countries on Operation Sindoor, India's response to the attack, and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism and combating radicalism. These developments highlight the growing global consensus against terrorism and the importance of international collaboration to address this shared challenge.
In an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Saturday, Putin said that such a move by Trump would "lead to the destruction of our relations. At least the positive tendencies that have appeared in these relations."
China's military has said it is willing to work with India to find a solution to the border issue, while also pushing for sound and stable defence ties. The statement comes after recent meetings between officials from both countries to normalize relations following a prolonged period of tension.
The 2025 US National Security Strategy marks a major pullback, with America turning backward and effectively allowing China greater dominance in Asia. while long-time partners like India are left to face an increasingly unstable global order largely on their own, observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
He said that in recent times, based on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China and India have maintained close communication on the border situation through diplomatic and military channels and achieved great progress.
Chinese airline China Eastern is set to begin its Delhi-Shanghai flight from Sunday, days after IndiGo's flight to Guangzhou from Kolkata, marking the resumption of the flight services between the two countries after a gap of five years.
An Indian defence firm has refuted a report in The New York Times that linked the company to a Russian arms agency, calling it "factually incorrect" and "misleading". The report suggested that military hardware supplied by a British firm to the Indian company may have found its way to Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms agency. The Indian firm said it has scrupulously followed all its international obligations and that India's legal framework on strategic trade guides its companies' overseas ventures. The New York Times report cited documents claiming that a British aerospace manufacturer, H.R. Smith Group, sold sensitive technology to the Indian firm, which is a major trading partner of Rosoboronexport. The company, however, denied the allegations, stating that the equipment was destined for an Indian search-and-rescue network and is not designed for military use.
'Trump does have a master plan in mind to put pressure on India with the additional tariff of 25 per cent to get Modi to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to freeze the Ukraine war.' 'It has not worked so far. By end-September only we'll know for sure the future trajectory of India's oil purchases from Russia,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a draft resolution endorsing United States President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan and authorising the establishment of an international stabilisation force in the enclave, with the American leader describing it as a 'moment of true historic proportion'.
Notably, US President Donald Trump and his administration have continuously targeted India over its purchase of Russian crude oil. India, on the other hand, has always maintained that India's purchases are based on its domestic needs and economic security.
'India has the deciding vote in the 21st century...India is a significant player in the 21st century and is poised to become even more powerful.'
During a visit to the UK, former US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim of intervening to resolve a conflict between India and Pakistan, linking it to trade negotiations. He also discussed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
India on Tuesday pressed Russia to release all the Indians recruited by the Russian military, following the death of another Indian national in the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone, taking the death toll to 10.
President Trump claims American tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil have negatively impacted Russia's economy, referring to India as Russia's major oil buyer. He also mentioned plans to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy, and claimed to have solved several wars, including the conflict between India and Pakistan.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised strategic nuclear forces drills amid uncertainty surrounding a potential summit with US President Donald Trump to address the Ukraine conflict.
India and the US have collaborated through the past one month on launching a powerful satellite; are commencing joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 jet engines in India; India is participating in a massive three week-long military exercise in the Western Pacific, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of "stopping" the conflict between India and Pakistan through trade and tariffs, and suggested he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for settling multiple conflicts.
Russian officials and state media on Saturday celebrated United States President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky's unprecedented clash at the White House.
"... It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end the senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," Trump said.
The Indian side is in "very close touch" with interlocutors in the foreign and defence ministries of Russia on the issue of Indians "who were, illegally or otherwise, contracted into fighting in the Russian Army", Misri said at a media briefing on Modi's visit to Russia for the BRICS Summit.
'During the 5-day visit, Amir Khan Muttaqi would have, conceivably, bumped into our powerful security agencies one way or another and some interaction would have ensued, which, in turn, can lead to future dealings.' 'Indeed, this will be the one crucial template of the Indo-Afghan relationship that Pakistan will be monitoring closely,' points Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday once again claimed that United States President Donald Trump has ended the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh emphasizes the importance of clear objectives and timely conflict termination, citing Operation Sindoor as an example for the world to follow.
The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 percent of the total military budget in 2023, the SIPRI report claimed.
When the technology gap between China and India will remain large, cost-effective hardware of the kind that proved their worth in Operation Sindoor should be our priority, points out R Jagannathan.
A top military official has revealed details about India's proposed air defence system, Sudarshan Chakra, describing it as a comprehensive system that will include counter-drone, counter-UAV, and counter-hypersonic capabilities.
