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An Indian Army contingent has arrived at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for the 21st edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas with US forces, running from September 1–14. The drills focus on heliborne operations, mountain warfare, unmanned aerial systems, and joint tactical exercises to enhance multi-domain readiness and UN peacekeeping capabilities, Firstpost reported.

The exercise takes place amid US-India trade tensions following President Trump’s proposed 50 percent tariff on Indian goods. Defense officials stress that despite these disputes, the India-US strategic partnership, especially in defense cooperation, remains strong. The Indian contingent, from the Madras Regiment, is training alongside US troops from the Arctic Wolves Brigade Combat Team.

According to Firstpost, the Ministry of External Affairs highlighted the collaboration on social media, emphasizing continued military preparedness.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to host a virtual BRICS summit on September 8 to discuss the impact of US tariffs on Brazilian goods, including a 50 percent tariff on key products such as orange juice, while some items like airplanes are exempt. The meeting aims to foster a coordinated response among BRICS nations without framing it as an anti-US forum, Firstpost reported.

The summit coincides with broader diplomatic engagements involving China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, reflecting shifting global trade and geopolitical dynamics. The outcomes could influence future economic policies and strengthen cooperation among BRICS countries.

President Donald Trump has criticised India for what he called a “one-sided” trade relationship, accusing New Delhi of exporting heavily to the United States while importing little in return.

Trump claimed India recently offered to eliminate tariffs on US goods but said the move came “too late,” arguing it should have happened years earlier, Al Jazeera reported.

His comments follow Washington’s decision to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on Indian imports, alongside criticism of India’s continued purchases of Russian oil and weapons.

India has not officially responded, though Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal previously insisted the country “will neither bow down nor appear weak” in trade negotiations, according to Al Jazeera.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed their long-standing partnership during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.

Putin hailed Modi as his “dear friend,” while Modi said India and Russia have “always walked shoulder to shoulder,” calling the relationship vital for peace and stability. The leaders discussed cooperation in trade, fertilizers, space, security and culture, according to Reuters.

Modi also reiterated support for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine after recent talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, describing ties with Russia as a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”

India will dispatch teams to observe Myanmar’s general election in December, Reuters reported, signaling New Delhi’s backing for a vote widely criticized as undemocratic.

Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China. According to state media, both discussed border security, trade, and regional stability. India later urged that the elections be “fair and inclusive.”

The polls, scheduled to begin on December 28, will be the first since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021, sparking a nationwide conflict. With opposition parties sidelined and fighting disrupting much of the country, rights groups and Western governments view the planned vote as a move to entrench military rule, according to Reuters.

The global geopolitical stage has been rocked with multiple events, protracted theaters of conflict, and competing interests between different actors. At this time, the rapprochement and de-escalation between the two Asian giants, who have been otherwise seen as competitors and rivals, needs to be studied cautiously. The ties between two of the world’s largest economies went haywire after the clashes along the India-China border during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. It caused loss of lives to both sides, causing fundamental alteration in the ties between the two nations. 

After disengagement from the last friction point, namely the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in 2022, a hope of fragile calm in that region was expected. It needs to be noted that it is not the return of the pre-2020 status quo ante. But there has been an update since last October as both countries are actively pursuing to deescalate their border tensions and resuming some bilateral ties. There have been visits by the officials of both countries, including the Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and National Security Advisors. There is a resumption of flights after a gap of five years, re-opening of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and lifting of import ban on fertilizers, rare earth metals, and tunnel machines are all part of this new deal. 

Whatever transpires in 2024-25 is a tentative, at most a fragile change. After the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to New Delhi in August 2025, where he met Prime Minister Modi, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Doval, all agreed on the modalities of patrolling the borders, relaxation of Visa regimes, and possible opening of trade corridors. It is of some significance that this is the first meeting Prime Minister Modi will have had in seven years; his visit to meet Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.

Nevertheless, all these measures do not indicate the resolution of the inherent conflicts. Border regulation systems are confidence-building measures and not solutions. India continues to raise objections to the CPEC, which passes through Kashmir, and the build-up of Chinese infrastructure along the LAC, among other factors, is bound to keep the mistrust tethered. 

In the Chinese view, the major strategic motivation of this rapprochement is the multifaceted and growing rivalry with the United States. China has expressed this through its foreign policy that is highly oriented toward its east coast, especially with the strained relationships with Taiwan and the South China Sea as well as the technology conflict with the United States. A constantly war-like border of hot troops with India, a country of increasing might, is an expensive and risky strategic distraction. The possibility of an accidental escalation might spell out a disastrous two-front scenario to Beijing, requiring it to divert its military and diplomatic resources. 

Such a Chinese strategic outlook over time has demonstrated as scholar Yun Sun has described, stabilizing relations on one front to free up resources and attention to a more urgent theater. This renewed thaw with India is a sensible de-risking policy, which will help Beijing in reducing the risk of war toward its western flank and redeploy its resources in the central arena of its standoff with the US and its allies. This is also a tactical thrust toward undermining the already existing Western rhetoric of a lone and threatening China, being surrounded by a complete coalition of democratic nations.

To India, the practical effect is a reprieve and a powerful endorsement of its diplomacy. On a pragmatic level, the military and economic burdens of the standoff have been enormous, and the de-escalation of direct tensions enables the government to concentrate on economic recovery and its long-term program of military modernisation. 

On a diplomatic level, the biggest achievement is the endorsement of its valued principle of strategic autonomy. This detente is not an isolated bilateral phenomenon but is directly tied to the changing geopolitical environment, specifically tensions with the United States. It must be noted that the defrosting is occurring against a background of what many consider to be the worst period in Indian relations with the US executive in decades. The imposition of high tariffs on Indian products by the Trump administration in the US has revealed the shortcomings of a relationship that was being marketed as a counterweight to China. 

In this regard, China has already expressed its discontent with the tariffs and underscored the importance of collaboration between the two Asian powerhouses against unilateral bullying. This has given a strategic leverage that Beijing has seized upon. Engaging with China, New Delhi plays to its partners in the Quad that the application is not an unconditional commitment against any one nation but a collaboration founded in mutual interests in the Indo-Pacific. This stance empowers India by demonstrating that it can juggle its complicated relationship with China in its own way, making it an independent and dominant power.

Among the strategic questions that the thaw poses and mostly depends upon is whether China would re-evaluate its Pakistan policy. Islamabad is vacillating once again between Beijing and Washington. On the one hand, it has inaugurated CPEC Phase 2, pursuing higher Chinese investment in infrastructure. 

On the other, it is renewing contacts with Washington, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has overtly solicited US investments and is executing diplomatic overtures to the Trump administration. Pakistan, however, would always be an essential ally to Beijing: a strategic partner, a corridor to the Arabian Sea and a warm client to export arms and finance. China is the major source of Pakistani imports of arms and rollover loans continue to be a major source of fiscal stability in Islamabad. It is due to this factor alone that there can be no likelihood of Beijing weakening its strategic commitment. 

Optics may, however, change. Such a cautious rapprochement with India does not imply that China will give up Pakistan. The most plausible is that of policy dualism, where China is to remain good friends with Islamabad and chooses to accept a limited cooperation dimension with New Delhi. This reflects its longstanding capacity to compartmentalize: advancing economic relations with India at the same time as keeping closer defence relations with Pakistan.

With a relative calm on its northern frontier, India will have time for maneuvering the bumpy roads of Trump’s foreign policy. The US’ strategic interest in India beyond Trump is a strong, independent India capable of anchoring regional stability. A stable border allows India to focus its resources and strategic attention on the broader Indo-Pacific, directly aligning with US goals. Crucially, it proves the US-India relationship is non-transactional and not solely defined by the current geopolitical rejig. Prime Minister Modi’s proposed visit to China and its outcomes are likely to define or redefine the limits and potential of this thaw.

The author is a PhD Candidate at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

India and China are taking steps to restore ties after years of border tensions. Five years after deadly clashes in eastern Ladakh, both countries are easing trade and visa restrictions, resuming flights, and reviving high-level exchanges, Firstpost reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting China for the first time in over seven years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin on August 31–September 1. He will meet President Xi Jinping to strengthen economic cooperation and address lingering border issues.

According to Firstpost, the visit follows recent talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian leaders, resulting in a framework for a “stable, cooperative and forward-looking” relationship. Modi emphasized that stable India-China ties are crucial for regional and global economic stability.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China does not want to be involved in the Nepal-India border dispute, underlining that both sides should resolve the issue on their own.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said so during a meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Amrit Bahadur Rai, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Oli raised the recent agreement reached between India and China to reopen the trade through Lipulekh pass.

Mentioning that the territory belongs to Nepal, PM Oli told President Xi that the Nepali government has expressed serious objection to the issue.

In response, President Xi said that the Lipulekh route has been a traditionally used route.

Secretary Rai, however, said that China has made it clear that it will not take any sides in the Nepal-India border row.

Nepal's Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, has raised a strong objection to the recent agreement between India and China to resume trade through the Lipu Lekh Pass, a disputed territory claimed by Nepal.

PM Oli who is in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025, as well as activities to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, where he emphasized that the Lipu Lekh Pass is part of Nepalese territory.

A statement from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined Oli's position: "Referring to the recent understanding reached between India and China on border trade through Lipu Lekh Pass, the Rt. Hon Prime Minister stated that the territory belongs to Nepal and that the Government of Nepal has lodged a strong objection."

This issue stems from the agreement signed on August 19 during the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India. Both countries agreed to resume trade from Lipu Lekh, a site that remains disputed between Nepal and India. Following the agreement, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately issued diplomatic notes to both nations, expressing its objections.

In 2020, Nepal published a new political map incorporating Kalapani, Lipu Lekh, and Limiyadhura as part of its territory.

It remains unclear how the Chinese side has responded to Prime Minister Oli's statement. Prior to his departure to China for the SCO summit, PM Oli had confirmed that he would raise the Lipu Lekh issue with both India and China. It is unclear yet whether Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on the sidelines of SCO meeting.

In the bilateral meeting, Nepal PM expressed the hope that projects listed under the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) would be advanced, adding that Nepal seeks Chinese support in the areas of fertilizer, petroleum exploration, human resource development, climate resilience and other areas.

Speaking highly of the China-Nepal good-neighborly friendship in the past seven decades, Xi said that the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between the two countries is advancing steadily at present, according to China. China is willing to work with Nepal to carry forward the traditional friendship and facilitate the greater progress of the China-Nepal Strategic Partnership of Cooperation Featuring Ever-lasting Friendship for Development and Prosperity, Xi noted.

Joint efforts should be made to enhance connectivity programs covering port, highway, power grid, aviation, communications and other fields, and cooperation in sectors including industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, new energy, environmental protection, oil and gas, artificial intelligence, education, health, as well as law enforcement and security, should be advanced, he added.

According to Chinese official media, Oli said that Nepal supports the China-proposed Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, and expects China to play a greater role in international affairs.

At least 11 people were killed and one went missing on Saturday after cloudbursts and a landslide struck Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said. The incidents affected Reasi and Ramban districts, south of Srinagar, according to Xinhua.

In Reasi’s Karara village, a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall buried seven family members alive, whose bodies were later recovered. In Ramban’s Rajgad village, four people died and one remains missing following a cloudburst.

These incidents add to the region’s recent monsoon-related disasters. Last week’s heavy rains caused flooding that claimed at least 41 lives and damaged infrastructure across Kashmir, Xinhua reported.

India will not “bow down” to Washington, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said Friday, after the US imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods over its Russian oil purchases. He pledged to boost exports through new markets and government support, Al Jazeera reported.

The tariffs, denounced by New Delhi as “unfair,” have already forced cancellations in sectors like textiles, seafood and jewelry, raising job loss concerns.

Separately, a US appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority with blanket tariffs, though the levies remain in force until at least October 14 pending a Supreme Court appeal.

India and Canada have appointed new high commissioners to each other’s countries, easing tensions after the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver.

Last year, Ottawa expelled India’s envoy over alleged links to the murder, which Delhi denied, and India retaliated by expelling Canadian diplomats. The standoff marked a major low in otherwise cordial ties, BBC reported.

Following a June meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Canadian PM Mark Carney, both countries agreed to reinstate senior diplomats. Canada named Christopher Cooter as envoy to Delhi, while India appointed Dinesh K Patnaik to Ottawa.

While the move signals renewed engagement, differences remain over Canada’s handling of pro-Khalistan groups, a longstanding concern for India. Canada hosts about 770,000 Sikhs, the largest diaspora outside Punjab, according to BBC.

Bangladesh will close three land ports—Chilahati in Nilphamari, Daulatganj in Chuadanga, and Tegamukh in Rangamati—and suspend operations at Balla in Habiganj after a government committee found them inactive and unprofitable due to low trade, Firstpost reported.

Chief Adviser Yunus said many ports were approved for political reasons but saw little activity, imposing unnecessary costs on taxpayers. The committee also noted that Balla’s lack of infrastructure and poor road connectivity on the Indian side made cross-border trade impractical.

According to Firstpost, the decision follows India’s suspension of a transshipment facility that previously allowed Bangladeshi exports via Indian land routes.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a tour of China, Japan and Russia on Thursday, aiming to deepen partnerships as India faces steep US tariffs under President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

His Japan visit will be the highlight, with talks alongside Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on trade, security and investment under the Quad framework. Japan plans to invest up to 10trn yen ($68bn) in India over the next decade, including $8bn from Suzuki Motor.

Discussions are also expected on critical minerals and rare earths, where India has resources but needs technology support. Modi called India and Japan “partners made for each other,” as he pushes to expand “Make in India” and reduce reliance on strained US ties, according to Reuters.

India will increase Russian oil imports by 10–20 percent in September as Moscow offers steeper discounts after refinery outages caused by Ukrainian drone attacks, traders said.

The US has condemned India’s purchases, with President Donald Trump raising tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent this week. New Delhi rejected the criticism, pointing to continued Western trade with Russia.

India currently buys about 1.5m barrels per day of Russian crude, meeting 40 percent of its oil needs and making it Russia’s largest customer, Reuters reported.

At least 30 people have died and many others injured after heavy rains triggered a massive landslide on Tuesday near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir, Al Jazeera reported.

Search and rescue teams, including security forces, disaster relief personnel, and local volunteers, are working to clear debris and locate survivors. The popular Hindu pilgrimage route to the temple has been temporarily suspended.

The landslide adds to the devastating impact of this year’s monsoon rains in the Himalayan region, which have left hundreds dead and missing across India and Pakistan, according to Al Jazeera.