It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.

'Modi is trying avenues to convince people why they should vote for the BJP.'

Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.

Will Foreign Minister Mr. Jaishankar please refer to the RTI reply dated 27-1-2015...The Reply justified the circumstances under which India acknowledged that a small island belonged to Sri Lanka," Chidambaram said.

The BJP is hopeful that the issue will come in handy in its efforts to gain political traction in the Dravidian territory during the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its own Tamilian citizens and Tamil Nadu fishermen has long been a charged political issue in the state.

We should reassess what India's role in the world is and whether we are doing the right thing for ourselves, notes Aakar Patel.

A senior government functionary claimed on Thursday that the average estimated cost of MQ-9B long endurance drones for India would be 27 per cent lower than the price incurred by other countries which have bought it from the US, asserting that it will most likely go further down during negotiations unless India seeks additional features.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday took a strong stance on the Indo-China border issue by saying that any unilateral attempt to change the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will not be 'countenanced' by India.

It claimed that Pakistani smugglers many times tried to use the Gujarat coast to smuggle drugs, but all such attempts were foiled.

"A fisherman from Thane in Maharashtra, who was on a fishing boat 'Jalpari,' was killed after the PMSA personnel opened fire on him and other crew members on Saturday evening," Devbhumi Dwarka Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi said.

The Assam-Mizoram violence is an outcome of BJP trying too hard to 'integrate' distinct northeastern states, explains Shekhar Gupta.

'Both have a very nationalistic view of foreign policy.' 'They think they are shrewd and clever diplomats.'

In fact, given the current tensions and massed troops on both sides, there is a danger that the LAC will become more like the Line of Control with Pakistan, a heavily fortified and strongly defended border where weapon fire exchanges regularly occur. Indeed, Stratfor Worldview research has listed a sharp increase in new Chinese facilities along the LAC in 2019-20.

Just like China wants Trump to lose the US presidential poll, it may want Modi to lose the Lok Sabha polls. So months before the 2024 elections, China may take possession of an important area, say one of the Char Dhams, warns Sanjeev Nayyar.

"I've spoken with Foreign (External Affairs) Minister (S) Jaishankar a number of times about this (Chinese aggressive actions). The Chinese took incredibly aggressive actions. The Indians have done their best to respond to that," Pompeo told reporters at a news conference in Washington, DC.

Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.

'New Delhi and Washington are now on the same page, on dealing with growing Chinese assertiveness, across the entire Indo-Pacific region,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, Chancellor, Central University of Jammu.

'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.

'If the Bangladesh-China relationship strengthens further, it can only be to India's detriment,' notes Vice Admiral Premvir Das.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said retired Indian Navy Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha has clarified that the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was on an official visit on INS Viraat and not on a vacation.

Modi's attack on the late prime minister comes on the heels of his allegation that Rajiv Gandhi died as a 'brashtachari no 1'.

'India does not wish to remain silent in improving its strategic space so that its leverage to counter China's expansionist designs is maintained, besides enabling it to play a responsible role from a position of strength for peace and stability in Asia,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.

'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).

'The minister said we should stop fishing near the shore and start going for deep sea fishing.'

'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.'

An international tribunal in the Hague has ruled in favour of the Philippines.

In anticipation of a verdict to be delivered by the International Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Tuesday, China has orchestrated a worldwide campaign to defuse its findings.

China has taken a position of non-acceptance and non-participation on the jurisdiction by the International Court of Arbitration in a case the Philippines has brought against China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea, Abraham Denmark, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia, told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.

On his recent visit to China, the President made eminently sensible suggestions to improve relations except that they can't work in the present atmosphere.

Amid mounting tensions with the United States in the disputed South China Sea, China on Thursday said it is building a second aircraft carrier and hinted at plans to make a third one to enhance its blue water capabilities.

"We often thought of terrorism as a peripheral problem for this region. The barbaric terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and on the Russian aircraft is a stark reminder that its shadow stretches across our societies and our world, both in recruitment and choice of targets," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia Summit.

'It will make good sense for military men on that side of the table to be confronted by our own.'

Pakistan Maritime Security Agency on Saturday apprehended 18 fishermen from Gujarat along with their three boats near Jakhau port off the state coast, an office-bearer of a fishermen association claimed.

The Chinese navy has kicked off 10-day military exercises in the disputed South China Sea amid heightened tensions in the region, especially with the United States.

He stressed the need for strengthening mutual trust and confidence while seeking solutions to outstanding issues.

'It is a pattern of behaviour of the Chinese that whenever a Chinese leader visits India or an Indian leader visits China, some incidents take place.' 'When Modi visits China, we should look out for some similar demonstration by the Chinese.'

Describing the boundary talks with China as "positive", National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Friday said India has inalienable positions and the government will protect vital national interests.

PM Modi addressed the Sri Lanka Parliament on Friday.

Contradicting statements have been made about who really blew up the Pakistan terror boat

Coast Guard Deputy Director General K R Nautiyal alleged that the facts presented in the media were not factual