China–India relations

Two dozen world leaders are gathering in Russia on Tuesday for the opening of a summit of the BRICS group, an alliance of emerging economies that the Kremlin hopes will challenge Western "hegemony."

President Tayyip Erdogan emphasized that Turkey's potential involvement with BRICS and ASEAN should not be viewed as an alternative to its NATO membership, according to reports from broadcaster NTV and others on Thursday.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of his four-day trip to Russia where he highlighted the importance of the growing nature of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries.

Türkiye's membership may be welcomed news for BRICS in the near future as Ankara applied for full-fledged membership with the economic bloc this week, according to Russian media.

Sputnik said BRICS may view Türkiye's membership positively, as the country boasts the 17th largest economy in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Azerbaijan has submitted a formal application to join the BRICS alliance, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—a move that has been welcomed by Russia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada announced the application during an interview with Anadolu Agency, stating, "Azerbaijan has officially applied to become a member of BRICS."

India has received a new batch of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, India Today reported, citing high-ranking sources.

"According to sources, the batch of S-400 missile systems was delivered by ship and is already in service. Parts of the missile system arrived by air and sea and were quickly deployed to their designated places," the newspaper said.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed during "hand-to-hand' fighting with Chinese troops in a disputed Himalayan region, India's military said, the first deadly clash between the nuclear powers in decades.

Both sides blamed the other for June 15's violence, which followed weeks of rising tensions over their competing territorial claims, with thousands of extra troops deployed.

India's first bullet train project, a $19-billion initiative linking Ahmedabad to Mumbai, was launched on Sept. 14 as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe hailed fast-growing ties between Asia's two biggest democracies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sought yesterday to move past a tense border dispute with India, telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi the two nuclear-armed neighbors should pursue "healthy, stable" relations, according to China's state media.

Bhutan on Aug. 29 welcomed moves by India and China to withdraw troops from a strategic area which it claims as its territory, ending a months-long military stand-off between its giant neighbors.

The tiny Himalayan country of fewer than a million people had been caught in the middle of what some analysts called the worst crisis in India-China relations in decades.