While India’s ability to handle the challenges may be constrained by a slowing economy, it would need to manage them through requisite diplomatic skill and finesse.

India must actively engage the island nations in the Western Indian Ocean and enhance the scope and deployment of the Indian Navy and its air aim in these waters.

The India-China defence dialogue assumes significance in the context of the military build-up across the border and the persistence of the security dilemma between the two countries.

China views the Indian military upgrade as a response to China's rise in Asia forgetting that its own aggressive posture and military upgrade since 2006 has provoked the Indian response.

This commentary analyses the implications of the growing Chinese footprint in India’s North West region, particularly in Northern Afghanistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

The Dialogue was featured in prime time on the Chinese State-run TV channel, with the comment of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that it had achieved “positive results”.

The SED should eventually create a greater interface at the sub-national level by including other arenas of cooperation like defence, tourism, sports, and cultural interaction involving a wider exchange at the level of people.