'$600B investment': White House Press Secy Karoline Leavitt unveils massive US-EU trade deal details
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Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
US, China and Russia: Navigating the superpower trilemma
Today, Indian foreign policy discourse is mired in an important debate. Two key assumptions govern this debate: that New Delhi's ties with the US arguably constitute its most important relationship in the 21st century, and that any negotiations with Beijing are a signal of weakness. India-US relations are undergoing a tense phase. The tensions have primarily been instigated by US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on India, and an additional, 'unspecified penalty' for continuing to buy energy resources from Russia. His social media comments have gone so far as to refer to both India and Russia as 'dead economies.' Naturally, this has called into question the time-tested nature of the partnership in the face of the 'China challenge'. With the US-China equation changing, India has to balance ties with both as well as work towards its own national interests Speaking of China, after a long period of severed dialogue, postures on both sides have slightly relaxed, though the road to stability vis-à-vis the border issue, or even China's backing of Pakistan, is long and winding. Nonetheless, communication and negotiation between the two neighbours is underway, and is perhaps a welcome break from the silent-but-violent treatment. Besides the volatility in New Delhi's ties with the two superpowers, there exists a bilateral dynamic between the US and China, which vitally impacts India. An intense back-and-forth of escalating tariffs ensued between the two economic giants earlier this year. Yet, Trump's recent statements seem to suggest that a trade deal with Beijing is in the works. So how does that affect India? So far, India has believed that Trump's continued dissatisfaction with Beijing will be a core aspect of mutual convergence between itself and the US. This definitely was the case under the Joe Biden administration. But if anything is certain about Trump, it is that nothing, indeed, is certain. So, the US and China may not be entering a friendly phase, but they sure are inching toward some semblance of stability. The dynamics of this fateful triangle require that India think in its national interests— sustained economic growth and security of its territory from both external and internal threats. And as PM Modi himself remarked in an interview in 2023, '[The] foremost guiding principle in foreign affairs is our country's national interest.' This begs the question: How should New Delhi balance the nuances of its ties with the US and China and the repercussions of their own thaw, while working to achieve its national interests? One way is not to believe that negotiations with China signal weakness. This anxiety is likely to play up as New Delhi and Beijing negotiate. Most recently, India has eased tourism rules, while China has opened up access for Indians to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. To a great degree, India's geographical, economic and military constraints require that communication with Beijing continue for sustainable security to be achieved. This is not to say that India should give up its confident posture, or discontinue investments in de-risking or border security. It is also not a call for it to shed its affinity for the US. But the steps toward a thaw with Beijing — high-level political conversations, ministerial-level dialogues, and working mechanism consultations on the border — are necessary. And at a time when Trump seems to be prepared to meet the 'China challenge' alone, India must figure its own way out to do the same. Second, is to evaluate costs when it comes to fulfilling its energy requirements through purchases from Russia. The affordability of such purchases, and the historic nature of ties with Moscow (especially in defence), make it a vital partner to New Delhi. However, Trump is prioritising reciprocal access to the Indian market over having a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific. And in a world where the US is vastly more powerful than India — or in most aspects, even China — much of what Trump says, goes. So the question is, where is the common ground between India not shedding its friendship with Russia, not risking insurmountable tariffs from the US, and not enabling China's unchecked regional power? The intertwined interests of economic growth and stable security seem orthogonal in this situation. But it is important to face facts. If it wasn't buying oil from Russia, India would still get the tariff slap. If there was great openness in the Indian dairy and agricultural markets, which Trump consistently demands, there would still be an 'unspecified penalty' for trading with Russia. So, the acknowledgement that there is no absolute win-win, is essential. It boils down to assessing what is more harmful — not making any adjustments to the trade numbers with Russia, or the US. It is also important to acknowledge the trade-offs — if there is a significant reduction in the imports of oil and/or defence equipment from Russia, and the US becomes the preferred alternative source of imports, Moscow may become unabashed in its support for China in its disputes with India. If trade with Russia continues as is, India shall face agonistic tariffs under Donald Trump and an overall lack of support in regional geopolitics. It is indeed true that India's tariffs continue to remain high, market openness is low, and domestic innovation and production capability face challenges. Hence, is the first step to addressing the above mentioned dilemma to take difficult steps towards phased openness? Most likely. It may assuage Trump's concerns about the US's trade deficit, without creating many troubles in India-Russia relations. Finally, the worrisome trend of self-reliance across the globe is leaving fewer alternatives for India to replace its dependencies on the US, China, or Russia. Where it gets affordable imports, it faces controversial dilemmas. Where it sees a strong partner, it faces chiding and deriding. So, moving forward, even as the willingness to negotiate diplomatically must continue, India must invest in its own trajectory toward economic and military modernisation. Illustration credit: Illustration by Chad Crowe (USA) Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Ukraine hits military targets and pipeline in Russia
Ukraine said Saturday it hit military targets and a gas pipeline in drone attacks in Russia, where local authorities said three people were killed and two others wounded. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the parliament session in Kyiv, Ukraine Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadym Sarakhan)(AP) Ukraine's SBU security service said the strikes, carried out Friday night by long-distance drones, hit a military airfield in the southwestern town of Primorsko-Akhtarsk. They caused a fire in an areas where Iranian-built Shahed drones -- relied on by Russia to attack Ukraine -- were stored, the SBU said. It said the strikes also hit a company, Elektropribor, in Russia's southern Penza region, which it said "works for the Russian military-industrial complex", making military digital networks, aviation devices, armoured vehicles and ships. The governor for the Penza region, Oleg Melnichenko, said on Telegram that one woman had been killed and two other people were wounded in that attack. Russia's defence ministry said its air-defence systems had destroyed 112 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory -- 34 over the Rostov region -- in a nearly nine-hour period, from Friday night to Saturday morning. An elderly man was killed inside a house that caught fire due to falling drone debris in the Samara region, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev posted on Telegram. In the Rostov region, a guard at an industrial facility was killed after a drone attack and a fire in one of the site's buildings, acting Rostov governor Yuri Sliusar said. "The military repelled a massive air attack during the night," destroying drones over seven districts, Sliusar posted on Telegram. Heavy use of drones Ukraine has regularly used drones to hit targets inside Russia as it fights back against Moscow's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022. Russia, too, has increasingly deployed the unmanned aerial devices as part of its offensive. An AFP analysis published on Friday showed that Russia's forces in July launched an unprecedented number of drones, 6,297 of them. The figure included decoy drones sent into Ukraine's skies in efforts to saturate the country's air-defence systems. In Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drone attacks Friday night wounded three people, governor Sergiy Lysak wrote on Telegram. Several buildings, homes and cars were damaged, he said. Russian forces have claimed advances in Dnipropetrovsk, recently announcing the capture of two villages there, part of Moscow's accelerated capture of territory in July, according to AFP's analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Kyiv denies any Russian presence in the Dnipropetrovsk area. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire in the more than three-year conflict, said Friday that he wanted peace but that his demands for ending Moscow's military offensive were "unchanged". Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders. "The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness," he wrote on X.
India.com
4 hours ago
- India.com
Schengen visa of 29 European countries to get digital; will greatly benefit Indians as...
London: The Schengen visa of 29 countries of Europe is going to be completely digital as the European Union (EU) is preparing to do away with the traditional Schengen visa sticker. A secure digital barcode will be imprinted in its place. The foreign ministers of the European Union had decided last year to transfer the visa application process for travel to the Schengen area to the online platform. After this, a new change has been made. However, this is not the only change that travellers going to Europe will see. Apart from this, many changes are going to be made to the visa. What is the use of the 2D barcode? The European Union is moving towards digital innovation in the form of a secure 2D barcode. This is one of the biggest reforms made in the Schengen visa system in decades. This move will speed up the process and provide a completely digital travel experience. On reaching the border, passengers will now scan the barcode, which will be directly linked to the centralized EU visa system. This will give immigration officials information about the validity of the visa and personal data. What benefit will Indian travellers get? The European Union had issued 70,000 digital Schengen visas as a test to the players and staff participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. After its success, it is now being fully implemented. People coming to Europe on a Schengen visa will have to submit their biometrics in person for the first time. This process will be fast and seamless for those who travel regularly to Europe. Indian citizens travelling to Europe are going to get many benefits from the change in the Schengen visa. The most important of these is that the digital visa will facilitate entry through biometric e-gate access. This will greatly reduce the need for paperwork. Things will be much easier, especially for those who travel to Europe regularly. What is the Schengen Visa? Schengen is a short-term visa, which allows travel within the Schengen area for up to 90 days. As such, it is quite popular among people who love to travel. The Schengen area includes 29 European countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
