[I]n the years to come, India and China will continue to have monumental modes of disagreement as long as they continue to exist on each other's borders and continue to bear the same desire for regional influence. However, it would appear that the two nations have taken steps to address their disputes and find ways in which to cool the otherwise volatile relationship down, such as the suggested cooperation on places like Afghanistan.

The other wildcard variable to take into account when analyzing what 2019 could potentially have in store for Sino-Indian relations is Trump's trade war with China, which could put India at an even greater advantage over China.

Yet at the same time, India, much like the rest of the world, is beginning to learn that the United States is no longer the reliable partner that many countries thought it once was, and that it cannot rely on Washington to mitigate its concerns against rivals such as China.

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Quetta is the capital of Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and least populated province that is also rich in mineral and fuel resources.

It has seen regular violence in recent years, with attacks claimed by Baloch separatists, Pakistan Taliban and local affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS).

The province has been at the centre of a series of recent attacks that have killed at least 10 people.

Last week, at least four policemen died when their vehicles were targeted by an explosion as they stood guard outside a mosque during evening prayers.

On May 12, Baloch separatist attackers stormed a five-star hotel in the southern port city of Gwadar, killing at least five people, including a Navy soldier.

Pakistani security forces engaged in an hours-long gun battle with the attackers, with the siege ending after three attackers were killed.

Balochistan is seeing a number of new infrastructure projects erected, including the port at Gwadar, as part of the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, a joint venture between the Pakistani and Chinese governments.

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Iran is prepared to deploy 'secret weapons' against American warships, a military official in Tehran said, after the Pentagon sent three destroyers to the Persian Gulf amid a wave of increased tensions between the two states.

Without mincing words, General Morteza Qorbani, an adviser to Iran's military command, cautioned that should Washington "commit the slightest stupidity, we will send these ships to the bottom of the sea along with their crew and planes."

Iran, he promised, would do so "using two missiles or two new secret weapons." He did not specify what type of "secret weapons" he was referring to. [...]

In February, Tehran unveiled and successfully tested its new Hoveizeh long-range cruise missile, which is said to have a range of over 1,350 kilometers.

In the same month, Tehran launched the massive Velayat 97 naval drill, with maneuvers spanning from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to the northern Indian Ocean. During the drill, a midget Ghadir-class submarine fired an anti-ship cruise missile for the first time.

Cooler heads among the US population and the army will not allow hardliners to steer the country into an open war with Iran, a senior military official in Tehran said amid growing tensions in the Persian Gulf.

"We believe rational Americans and their experienced commanders will not let their radical elements lead them into a situation from which it would be very difficult to get out, and that is why they will not enter a war," Brigadier General Hassan Seifi, an assistant to the nation's army chief, told Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

An open letter signed by 76 retired generals, admirals, and ambassadors calls on US President Donald Trump to stop stoking fears of war with Iran and ditch "ineffective" sanctions and threats in favor of "aggressive diplomacy."

In a letter published on Friday by 'War on the Rocks', which specializes in reports on national security and defense issues, former US military top brass made an urgent plea to Trump to avoid further escalation with Iran and turn to diplomacy, rather than setting the stage for confrontation with military reinforcements.