Some bold measures from Chinese Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie and his Indian counterpart A K Antony are essential to make the former's visit successful, notes Srikanth Kondapalli.
The Indian ships' participation in MALABAR-16, a maritime exercise with the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, reflects the vital strategic importance of the region to India.
The simmering row between China and Vietnam over the disputed South China Sea came to the fore on Tuesday with Hanoi protesting over a Chinese patrol vessel firing on its fishing boat and Beijing defending its action as "legitimate and necessary" to protect sovereignty.
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
A hike in China's defence budget has got defence experts and analysts debating the country's rising military power and clout.
The magazine in its cover story, titled 'Revisiting Tiananmen Square', has said globally the anti-China sentiment is at its peak since 1989 students' protests. The publication has made this claim citing an assessment report of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated to the Ministry of State Security, which happens to be China's top intelligence body.
China for the first time deployed a marine surveillance unit with a helicopter to carry out patrolling and observation missions near the contested islands in the South China Sea.
United States President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday in his Oval office - his first with a foreign dignitary in his second term - for bilateral and regional discussions with North Korean nuclear tests and South China sea dominating the proceedings.
Amidst escalating tension in ties with the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that disputes among countries 'need to be handled through dialogue and cooperation' and urged world leaders to eschew 'confrontation and exclusion.'
PM Modi articulated five action points that would serve the common interest of promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
China on Tuesday warned the Philippines not to "misjudge" its resolve over a disputed island in the South China Sea, saying it is "fully prepared" to respond to any move by Manila to escalate the situation.
"Prudence and caution" needs to be exercised, warns China.
As tensions prevailed with Philippines over the disputed South China Sea, China on Thursday asked Manila to remove its naval vessels "immediately" from a contentious lagoon where ships of the two countries were locked in an uneasy standoff.
The Chinese coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific, it said.
Viewing the rapid modernisation of the Chinese Navy as a "major concern", Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi on Monday made it clear that India will protect its interests in the disputed South China Sea, even if it means sending forces there
The United States said it does not endorse the new "controversial" Chinese map on its passport, which depicts certain disputes territories as its own, causing a major diplomatic row in the region including with India.
This was the first phone call between the two leaders after Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20.
Schultz was responding to a question on Chinese aggressive behaviour on South China Sea.
An exclusive white paper by the Jamestown Foundation claims that the powerful figures arraigned against the President include former Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and current Vice-President Wang Qishan, The Hong Kong Post reported.
"...In an era of globalisation and interdependence, the balance between the rights of States and the freedoms of the larger global community is vital for international trade and global security," Defence Minister A K Antony said in apparent reference to Chinese build-up in the area
'If one puts the context of what Xi Jinping said at the UN about not wanting a 'hot or cold war with any country', one realises that his speech was quite bizarre.' 'The world does not expect such statements from China, a nation aspiring to be a superpower.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for annual strategic and economic talks. Clinton's visit comes at a time when there is renewed tension in the South China Sea over China's dispute with US-ally Philippines over an island claimed by both countries.
The maritime row between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea has flared up as Manila with tacit United States backing lined up its naval ships at the disputed island to challenge Chinese claims over it, leaving a perplexed Beijing to mull military options.
The P-8I, which is widely acknowledged to be the world's most deadly LRMR-ASW aircraft, is a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner, onto which a plethora of sensors and weaponry has been fitted.
Pradhan said a team of officials of state-run Indian Oil Corporation had visited Vietnam and explored some business ventures
Avoidable unpleasantness has recently crept into India-China relations over issues, which should not have been overdramatised by China thereby injecting a certain distrust into the relations which had been progressing well despite continuing differences over the border dispute between the two countries.
Xi said he hopes that the two sides will uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, focus on cooperation, manage differences, advance the healthy and stable development of China-US ties, and join hands with other countries and the international community to promote the noble cause of world peace and development.
India and China are sparring over the opening of consulates in Lhasa in exchange for Chennai, in what amounts to a second round of diplomatic confrontation between Asia's largest powers, in the wake of their recent disagreement over an oil block in the South China Sea that is controlled by India, owned by Vietnam and counter-claimed by China.
China's first aircraft carrier is likely to be commissioned on August 1 and deployed in the disputed South China Sea, boosting its blue water aspirations.
The sanctioned individuals and their immediate family members are prohibited from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China. They and companies and institutions associated with them are also restricted from doing business with China, according to the statement by the Chinese foreign ministry.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Pompeo comes at a time both India and the US are at loggerheads with China.
China's behaviour in the post-pandemic geopolitical landscape which may determine the Quad's future trajectory, notes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Modi said both sides expressed commitment for an open, efficient and rules-based regional architecture and to expand bilateral maritime cooperation further.
Anyone within range of China's expanding navy will have to build capabilities faster and/or work more closely with the US, as Australia has just announced, asserts T N Ninan.
'The Chinese are retaining geostrategic pressure on India by keeping troops there and building infrastructure continually.'
The trilateral AUKUS security alliance complements partnerships like Quad and there was a "very warm embrace" of the deal by India and Japan as both the countries totally understood and supported what it is seeking to achieve, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.
Although two-way trade has grown 10-fold since 2000 and is expected to exceed $3 billion this year, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, India's flagship foreign direct investment project in Vietnam -- Tata Steel's proposed $5 billion facility -- remains stalled, largely owing to pending governmental approvals.
China resumed sovereignty of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997.
The American efforts to make India a security partner have enhanced India's importance to Chinese decision makers and new recognition of India's importance and achievements are reflected in a much more positive reporting about India in the State-controlled media, says Walter Andersen.
The two-plus-two dialogue will be held on Tuesday. A host of crucial bilateral, regional and global issues including China's efforts to expand influence in the Indo-Pacific region as well as its aggressive behaviour in eastern Ladakh is likely to figure in the talks.
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