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US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia on Monday, and South Korea's spy chief told lawmakers that 3,000 North Korean troops are in the country receiving training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to battlefields in Ukraine. Austin told reporters Wednesday «What exactly they are doing? Left to be seen. These are things that we need to sort out,» according to a video posted by the Washington Post. If the troops join the war in Ukraine on Russia's side, it will be «a very, very serious issue,» Austin said, adding it would have an impact in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korean intelligence first publicized reports that the Russian navy had taken 1,500 North Korean special warfare troops to Russia last week, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join the invading Russian forces.

Civil Society Organisations are emerging as a powerful mechanism for addressing common challenges in the larger Indo-Pacific region. CUTS International, a prominent public policy research and advocacy group, on Wednesday hosted a webinar titled «Role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the Indo-Pacific. Purushendra Singh, Assistant Director, CUTS International during his welcome remarks set the tone for the discussion by emphasising how CSOs are emerging as a vital mechanism for tackling shared challenges in the broader Indo-Pacific region.

minerals security finance network, which aims to «strengthen cooperation and promote information exchange and co-financing» among participating institutions from the Indo-Pacific region and Europe, according to the US State Department. The network will also «advance diverse, secure and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals», the department said in the announcement made on Monday. The development comes amid China's efforts to control supplies of critical minerals worldwide.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The latest summit of the four-nation Quad, which brought together the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US, ended over the weekend with agreements to extend cooperation in areas varying from fighting cervical cancer and ensuring cybersecurity to joint development of port infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, the creation of an air-logistics network and a group effort to keep chip supplies secure. This reflects a broad agenda, with the well-being of the region’s people at its heart.

Supply Chain Council, set up under an agreement of the 14-member IPEF, will be held in December, the commerce ministry said on Monday. The IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) bloc was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo. Together, they account for 40 per cent of the world's economic output and 28 per cent of trade.

India, were able to protect their key interests, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. The 14-member IPEF bloc was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo. Together, they account for 40 per cent of the world's economic output and 28 per cent of trade. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy. India has joined all the pillars except the trade. Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam are members of the bloc.

Indo-Pacific region following a meeting of its leaders. The summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden in Wilmington, Delaware, included Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The Wilmington Declaration, released after the fourth in-person Quad Summit, stated, «Four years since elevating the Quad to a leader-level format, the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever before and is a force for good that delivers real, positive, and enduring impact for the Indo-Pacific.» «We celebrate the fact that over just four years, Quad countries have built a vital and enduring regional grouping that will buttress the Indo-Pacific for decades to come,» the declaration said.

medical equipment and facilities, and also offered technical cooperation. Addressing the Quad leaders' Cancer Moonshot event in Wilmington, Delaware, Kishida said that such «endeavours will continue going forward.» «Regarding our support for measures against cancers in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan has offered support such as the deployment of equipment and technical cooperation, or support through international organisations and initiatives,» the Japanese PM said in his remarks.

Quad countries on Saturday announced Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific" (MAITRI) to enable Indo-Pacific partners to maximize tools provided through Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) and other initiatives. The Quad countries said they are proud to announce an ambitious expansion of their partnership to deliver trusted technology solutions to the broader Indo-Pacific region. «Anchored by shared values, we seek to uphold the international order based on the rule of law. Together, we represent nearly two billion people and over one-third of global gross domestic product. We reaffirm our steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient,» read the Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement released after the Quad Summit.

Summit of the Future' during the UN General Assembly (UNGA). This visit seeks to enhance diplomatic ties and collaborative efforts between India and the US. Here are key agendas of PM Modi's visit to the states:

Nisha Biswal, the US International Development Finance Corporation's (DFC) Deputy Chief Executive Officer, during her travel to Mumbai and New Delhi from September 10-14, highlighted the DFC's partnership with India to advance key growth and development priorities and work with the nation to solve the world's most critical challenges, the release said. While in India, Biswal announced USD 70 million in new DFC investments to support affordable home loans in India and vaccine manufacturing, it added. She spoke at the US-India Business Council's (USIBC) India Ideas Summit about the DFC's strategic vision for driving long-term growth between both countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

Brunei on Tuesday took a trip of the iconic Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in capital Bandar Seri Begawan boosting the soft power quotient of the growing partnership in the Indo-Pacific region. The Prime Minister was received by Brunei's Minister of Religious Affairs Pehin Dato Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin. Brunei's Minister of Health Dato Dr. Haji Mohammad Isham was also in attendance. A gathering of Indian community members were also present to greet the Prime Minister. The mosque is named after Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the 28th Sultan of Brunei (father of the current Sultan, who also initiated its construction), and was completed in 1958. Earlier upon his arrival, PM Modi inaugurated the new Chancery premises of the High Commission of India in Brunei.

India and Malaysia on Tuesday decided to elevate their ties to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim. The two sides inked a number of pacts, including one on employment and repatriation of workers and another on boosting cooperation in the area of digital technologies. Ibrahim began his three-day visit to India on Monday night. It is his first visit to India as prime minister. The larger focus of the Modi-Ibrahim talks was to expand trade and investment and explore cooperation in new and emerging areas.

₹22,000 crore, over five times its trailing twelve-month sales, which should help meet its guidance of 20-25% revenue growth for FY25. Increasing share of commercial ships, which now account for 25% of order book with the rest coming from defence, has helped improve Cochin Shipyard’s order book position. The company is gaining from its higher focus on the export market, primarily Europe.

French Air and Space Force will participate in India's first multilateral air exercise, Tarang Shakti-2024, which is set to begin at Air Force Station Sulur in Tamil Nadu on August 6. The French contingent will comprise three Rafale fighter jets, one Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, and one A400M, with a total of 160 Air Force personnel, according to French Embassy in India press release. In the press release, the French Embassy in India stated, «Three other nations are participating in the first phase of this exercise, including EU Member States Germany and Spain, which have been partners of the Pacific Skies deployment from Alaska to India.»

India has offered Vietnam a $300 million loan to build up the Southeast Asian country's maritime security, as the two sides say they want to double their trade and investment within five years

commerce and industry ministry is finalising two cabinet notes for the clean economy and fair economy pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) as the inter-ministerial discussions are almost complete. The IPEF is structured around four pillars-trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy. India has joined all the pillars except the one on trade. «We are working on the cabinet notes and the inter-ministerial consultations are almost done. There were some concerns but broadly everyone is on board,» said an official. Last year, the 14 IPEF nations inked a supply chain resilience agreement to reduce dependence on China, and shifting production of critical sectors and key goods to member countries. Pillar III (clean economy) focuses on environmental issues, how to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in various industries, carbon capture utilisation and storage, and collaborative financing mechanisms to facilitate trading and reduce barriers for low-carbon projects.

Donald Trump demanded the self-governed island of Taiwan pay for US protection, dodged the question of whether he would defend the island from Beijing's military action, and accused the island of taking the semiconductor industry away from the United States. “Taiwan should pay us for defence,” Trump said, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. “You know, we're no different than an insurance company." Trump's remarks, made public Tuesday, mark a departure from the stance of President Joe Biden, who has said several times that he would send troops to defend the island, and add uncertainty to Trump's approach to Taiwan at a time his running mate, JD Vance, has called China the “biggest threat” for the United States.

Indian Navy's frontline warships carried out a mega military exercise with the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group of the US in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating the growing strategic congruence between the two sides in the key maritime domain. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is a Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered, aircraft carrier of the US Navy. A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships. The Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group operated alongside forces from the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean on July 12, the US embassy said in a readout.

NATO alliance and friendly countries across the world, in particular those in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said on Monday, on the eve of the crucial NATO summit here. Leaders from 38 different countries have gathered in Washington for a historic summit to mark the 75th anniversary of the first NATO summit. This includes the leaders of all NATO allies as well as NATO partners, including Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. «The president has also strongly encouraged greater partnerships between the NATO alliance and friendly nations around the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as you will see. The president knows that the global threats and challenges that we all face, including from authoritarian actors and terrorist organisations, are inextricably linked,» John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor, told reporters at a news conference here. «He has also encouraged our NATO allies to join him in making significant investments in our mutual defence and deterrence capabilities. When the Biden-Harris administration took office, only nine NATO allies were spending at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence — 2 per cent was the Wales pledge,» he said.

global power, US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said in an interview. The North American country is investing locally and joining hands with allies such as India to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region while competing with China, he said. Pointing to the situation in Ukraine, the diplomat said the war has demonstrated to the world that developments in one region directly affect security elsewhere and partnerships around the world are crucial to addressing interconnected challenges.