For India’s military, the Taliban is a threat looming large on the horizon. The perception of the Taliban making inroads to India has increased since December 2008, when Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mahsud vowed to fight alongside the Pakistan army if a conflict broke out between India and Pakistan. The verbal threat has since been underlined by the Taliban’s eastward movement inside Pakistan, from its bases in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to the city of Lahore, close to the Indian border in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

During the present world turmoil, the Australian government has announced an aggressive defence policy. The White Paper on defence titled ‘Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030’ envisages a considerable increase in its defence expenditure and a significant military acquisition programme for the Australian Defence Forces (ADF).

On 27 May 2009 Indian Air Force inducted one of the biggest state-of-art platforms in its fleet capable of giving advance warning of an aerial threat. The platform is also capable of gathering electronics and signals intelligence. This is India’s first Airborne Warning and Control Systems commonly known as AWACS. Two more such aerial platforms are on queue to be inducted by 2012.

For less than one million Bhutanese populations, the year 2008 ushered a new era of governance. The year witnessed the melting down a century old monarchy to a democratic constitutional monarchy. A parliamentary democratic government was formed in the nation based on the universal adult franchise. The Himalayan landlocked country drafted a constitution with provisions of 35 articles and 4 schedules, with prior objective to eradicate Bhutan’s backwardness and accelerate the development.

The India-Japan partnership is one of the important thrust areas of Japan’s new foreign policy. In the recent past, except Mori, Koizumi and Abe, other prime ministers have shown little enthusiasm for the improvement of relationship with India. However, that trend seems to be changing.

Among the several congratulatory letters received by Prime Minster Manmohan Singh on his reelection, the message from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy merits attention. While inviting Prime Minster Manmohan Singh to be the Chief Guest at the forthcoming ceremonies marking the National Day of France on July 14, Sarkozy has praised the Indian democratic system and alluded ‘ to the values of liberty, people's sovereignty and respect of diversity in secularism'.