Biden, Modi Discuss Ukraine War After PM’s Visit, Situation in Bangladesh 

This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on August 23, 2024, shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian President press-service / AFP) /
This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on August 23, 2024, shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian President press-service / AFP) /
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Biden, Modi Discuss Ukraine War After PM’s Visit, Situation in Bangladesh 

This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on August 23, 2024, shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian President press-service / AFP) /
This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on August 23, 2024, shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ahead of their meeting, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian President press-service / AFP) /

US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday discussed the Russia-Ukraine war following Modi's visit to Ukraine, along with the situation in Bangladesh where protests led to the ousting of former leader Sheikh Hasina earlier this month.

Modi posted online that he discussed the situation in Ukraine with Biden over the phone and "reiterated India's full support for early return of peace and stability."

He also said the two leaders stressed "the need for early restoration of normalcy, and ensuring the safety and security of minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh."

The White House issued a separate statement, saying Biden commended Modi's recent visit to Poland and Ukraine, and that both leaders expressed "support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law, on the basis of the UN Charter."

Last week, Modi visited Ukraine in the first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history. It came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion.

Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war and offered to help bring peace.

Modi's Ukraine visit followed a visit he made to Russia in July where he embraced President Vladimir Putin on the same day that a deadly Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital.

That visit angered Ukraine and the US State Department said it raised concerns with India about ties with Russia.

Moscow has been a large weapons supplier to India since the Soviet Union days. Washington in recent years has looked to woo New Delhi to counter China's influence.

Modi said the two leaders also discussed the situation in Bangladesh where about 300 people, many of them university and college students, were killed during protests that began in July with students agitating against quotas in government jobs before the events spiraled into demonstrations to oust long-serving former Prime Minister Hasina.

An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was sworn in after Hasina fled to India.



US, Allied Countries Begin Military Exercises in Indonesia

Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
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US, Allied Countries Begin Military Exercises in Indonesia

Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)
Military personnel from Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Britain and the US, among others, take part in the opening ceremony of the Super Garuda Shield joint military exercises, at the Indonesian Naval Aviation Center in Sidoarjo, East Java, Aug. 26, 2024. (AFP)

Thousands of military personnel from Indonesia, the US, and other allied countries began two weeks of exercises Monday, focused on ensuring stability in the Asia-Pacific.

The region, particularly in the South China Sea, has seen tensions rise this year with flashpoints between littoral states claiming sovereignty over disputed islands and waterways.

The annual exercises — known as Super Garuda Shield — started in Sidoarjo, East Java, with Indonesia deploying more than 4,400 troops to the drills.

The Indonesian military said around 1,800 US troops and several hundred from other countries will also take part.

The exercise, first held in 2007, has evolved into a “world-class joint/multinational event designed to enhance our collective capabilities,” said Major General Joseph Harris, the Commander of The Hawaii Air National Guard.

The program includes expert academic exchanges, professional development workshops, a command-and-control exercise, and field training that culminates with a live-fire event, he added.

Training will include staff and cyber exercises, airborne operations, joint strikes, an amphibious exercise, and simulated land operations.

Charles Flynn, commanding general of the US Army Pacific, said in a statement last week that the exercises would show commitment to a safe, stable and secure Indo-Pacific.

The two-week exercise, which will be held until September 6 in multiple locations across the nation, is also joined by participants from Australia, Japan, Britain, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand and France.

Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, the Netherlands, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea are participating in the exercise as observer nations.