The UK government on Wednesday unveiled plans to deploy Royal Navy warships to the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) later in 2024. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the Littoral Response Group will be deployed to the IOR this year and the Carrier Strike Group in 2025 for joint operation and training with Indian forces. The UK government stated that the move reflects the growing importance of the strategic ties between the two countries.
The 14th Ministerial-level meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum was held in New Delhi on 12 January. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai co-chaired the meeting. Tai raised the issue of India’s import requirements for computers and tablets during the meeting. The two sides also discussed bilateral ties and identified certain areas of cooperation, including critical minerals, customs and trade facilitation, supply chains, and trade in high-tech products.
India has taken serious note of the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, Jane Marriott, and a UK Foreign Office official’s recent visit to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on 10 January. Calling the visit “highly objectionable,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra lodged a complaint with the British High Commissioner in India and said that it is “unacceptable” to violate India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in this way. The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, and will continue to be, an integral part of India.
The India-Maldives High-Level Core Group held its first meeting on Sunday in Male, a statement released by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated. During the meeting, both parties discussed issues relating to bilateral cooperation to determine ways to strengthen ties, including speeding up the implementation of ongoing development cooperation projects. Both sides also discussed finding a mutually acceptable arrangement to facilitate the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the Maldivians.
Sunday marked the 100th day of Israel’s war with Hamas, which, according to the Hamas-controlled Gazan health ministry, has killed nearly 24,000 and displaced 2.2 million Gazans thus far. On 7 October, Hamas kidnapped over 240 people from Israel, including women and children, with more than 100 still being held in Gaza. Reports indicate that much of the Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe, with limited access to food, safe drinking water, and medical supplies.
Russia is preparing to launch a new offensive in the coming weeks as the ground in southern and eastern Ukraine freezes, according to the Institute for the Study of War’s (ISW). The institute reported that the offensive could begin anytime between 12 January and 2 February, after the ground freezes and Ukraine becomes “exhausted” of defending its position. Russian sources suggest that the number of Russian military personnel on the front lines would enable the forces to execute localised tactical manoeuvres but is unlikely to support operationally major “breakthroughs.”