Newsletter 14 July

News in Box

Headlines of the Week

Iran drops India from Chabahar rail project, cites funding delay-The Hindu
Indian forces to acquire Heron drones, Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel
‘Nepali’ Ram to Pakistan’s Krishna temple — the battle of the Hindu gods in India’s Neighborhood
Tungsten Source reported in Jharkhand that will end India’s dependence on China
Kashmir: Prisoner Detained Under Public Safety Act Tests Positive for COVID-19
US Rejects All Major China Claims in South China Sea

Iran drops India from Chabahar rail project, cites funding delay-The Hindu

The development comes as China finalizes a massive 25-year, $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran, which could cloud India’s plans. [read yesterday’s newsletter]

Four years after India and Iran signed an agreement to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan, the Iranian government has decided to proceed with the construction on its own, citing (cosmetic) delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project.
Last week, Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami inaugurated the track-laying process for the 628 km Chabahar-Zahedan line, which will be extended to Zaranj across the border in Afghanistan.
Officials told The Hindu that the entire project would be completed by March 2022, and that Iranian Railways will proceed without India’s assistance, using approximately $400 million from the Iranian National Development Fund.
The Ministry of External Affairs and IRCON declined to comment on the issue.
Each of those possibilities should be watched closely by New Delhi, said former Ambassador to Iran, K.C. Singh.
“[The Iran-China deal] impinges on India’s “strategic ties” with Iran and the use of Chabahar port. Chabahar is India’s first-ever port investment overseas. Strategic link to Afghanistan & Central Asia.
Mask lies to west of Chabahar & right before Straits of Hormuz.
China would thus extends its control along the Pakistan-Iran coast,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, complicating matters further, Iran and China are close to finalizing a 25-year Strategic Partnership which will include Chinese involvement in Chabahar’s duty free zone, an oil refinery nearby, and possibly a larger role in Chabahar port as well.

Trilateral agreement

The railway project, which was being discussed between the Iranian Railways and the state-owned Indian Railways Construction Ltd (IRCON), was meant to be part of India’s commitment to the trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan to build an alternate trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia.
An MoU with the Iranian Rail Ministry with Iranian President Rouhani and Afghanistan President Ghani, IRCON, the Chabahar agreement in May 2016, during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Tehran.
Under the MoU, construction of the Chabahar-Zahedan railway as “part of transit and transportation corridor in trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan”.
IRCON had promised to provide all services, superstructure work and financing for the project (around $1.6 billion).
However, despite several site visits by IRCON engineers, and preparations by Iranian railways, India never began the work, ostensibly due to worries that these could attract U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. had provided a sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port and the rail line to Zahedan, but it has been difficult to find equipment suppliers and partners due to worries they could be targeted by the U.S., said officials.
India has already “zeroed out” its oil imports from Iran due to U.S. sanctions.
Considering that Iran has been an important strategic ally for New Delhi, the deal could hurt India’s prospects in the region, especially at a time when its relations with China have soured further in the aftermath of the recent border standoff.
Iranian officials denied a report that also suggested Chabahar port, where India took, will be leased to China.

However, Iran proposed a tie-up between the Chinese-run Pakistani port at Gwadar and Chabahar last year, and has offered interests to China in the Bandar-e-Jask port 350km away from Chabahar, as well as in the Chabahar duty free zone.

The US – China tussle arriving in Iran would be a new challenge within a challenge for New Delhi, which has over the past few years been balancing its relations with the US and Iran- KABIR TANEJA

The development of Chabahar has often come under duress due to financial, political and diplomatic largess by both India and Iran, and also due to US pressure along with sanctions blocking most legitimate financial highways to and from Iran–KABIR TANEJA

Indian forces to acquire Heron drones, Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel-ANI

Amid border clash with China, India is planning to enhance its surveillance capabilities and firepower by placing orders for Heron surveillance drones and Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel under the emergency financial powers granted by the government.

The Heron unmanned aerial vehicles are already in the Air Force, Navy, and the Army and are being used extensively at the moment by both Army surveillance and Target acquisition batteries and Air Force in the Ladakh sector.

“There is a need for acquisition of Heron UAVs to add to the existing fleet of these drones for meeting the requirements of our Air Force fleet.

We are planning to place orders for these UAVs,” government sources told ANI here without specifying the numbers to be procured.

The Heron has been in service with the three defense wings for several years now and can fly continuously for more than two days at a stretch providing reconnaissance from an altitude of more than 10 km.

The forces are also working towards inducting an armed version of the UAV, as well as upgrading the existing fleet into combat UAVs under the ambitious ‘Project Cheetah’ spearheaded by the Indian Air Force.

On the other hand, the Army is planning to place orders for more Spike anti-tank guided missiles which were received by it last year from Israel under the emergency financial powers granted to the services in the Post-Balakot air strikes scenario.

‘Nepali’ Ram to Pakistan’s Krishna temple — the battle of the Hindu gods in India’s Neighborhood

Nepal PM KP Oli’s comments on Hindu god Ram being Nepali seems to be a last-ditch attempt to save his chair. And a Krishna temple in Islamabad has shaken up Pakistan.

May be he would be able to save Govt or not but it is for sure that it’s an effort to disconnect traditional and emotional attachment between people of two nation.

Two Hindu gods have been roiling up India’s neighborhood this week.
Krishna, stealer of buttermilk and hearts of gopis as well as master strategist of the Mahabharata, has been at the center of a national discussion in Pakistan on whether or not a temple should be built in Islamabad by the 3,000-odd Hindu community there.
And in Nepal, embattled Prime Minister K.P. Oli has claimed, in what seems to be a last-ditch attempt to save his chair, that Ram’s Ayodhya ‘nagri’ is actually a village to the west of Birgunj, a Nepali town that borders India.
“We gave Sita to Prince Ram, but we gave the prince too from Ayodhya, not India,” Oli said at a function in his home Monday, quoted by the Nepali website ‘Setopati’.
Oli then went on to bitterly complain about cultural oppression from India (“facts have been encroached”), going on to deliver what he thinks is the ultimate coup de grâce: “Lord Ram is Nepali, not Indian.”

“Nēpāladēṣa (Nepal) is a shining jewel in the glorious crown named Bhārata”- Bhanubhakta Acharya, Adikavi (“First Poet”) of Nepali language –True Indology

[For details see 3]

In Pakistan, meanwhile, the question of to build or not to build a Hindu temple to Krishna in Islamabad has shaken up the country.
A tiny sliver of the Pakistani elite – who are mostly defined by their ownership of two passports, one of them to a western NATO nation – is crying itself hoarse, re-remembering Jinnah’s significant speech on 11 August 1947, days before Partition, when he exhorted Pakistan’s minorities “to go back to your temples….” because, as he promised, the new country would not distinguish itself between Hindu and Christian and, yes, Muslim.

Tungsten Source reported in Jharkhand that will end India's dependence on China

The first tungsten mine is reported in Jharkhand, which is considered a repository of mineral wealth.
Now the state has found a significant stock of important elements like tungsten which can make India self-sufficient in this matter.
Tungsten deposits have been reported in the Salatua area of Garhwa district.
Geological Survey of India has made the Central Government aware of this stock.
It is currently in G3 stage (its mapping is being done right now).
According to GSI sources, mapping and drilling will be started by the end of this year.
Right now GSI officials are reluctant to say anything about this.
The tungsten reserves are not estimated at this time.
India currently imports 100% tungsten.
Tungsten is found to be 56% in China, 5% in Russia, 3% in Vietnam, and 2% in Mongolia.
The new stock of tungsten will prove to be very effective for the country in the event of reduced trade with China.

Congress 'usurped' land in Mumbai meant for Dalits; was procured through Associated Journals Limited: 'concessions to Parivar' (Gandhi Fam)

The 3,478 square meter of land ‘usurped’ by Congress is located in Bandra East, Mumbai
According to a 2017 estimate, the land is worth Rs 262 crore
Land for SC/ST hostel given away to Associate Journals, a proprietary of Gandhi Family, at throwaway prices
Govt revenue share down 30% from 50%
Construction on 80K sq ft land
‘Reserved’ land changed to ‘commercial’
The incriminating documents have been accessed which show irregularities in a land purchase in Mumbai by Congress.
According to the documents, the grand old party had procured over 3,500 square meters of land, which was meant for a Dalit hostel, at throwaway prices and constructed a commercial property over it decades later.

Kashmir: Prisoner Detained Under Public Safety Act Tests Positive for COVID-19

A high-level committee of the J&K government maintains that the Supreme Court’s guidelines for decongesting jails during the pandemic do not apply to PSA detainees.
A prisoner jailed under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows detention without a trial for up to two years, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Kashmir, raising questions about the health of other PSA prisoners lodged in jails within and beyond Jammu & Kashmir.
The first prisoner to test positive for the COVID-19 virus in J&K is Zahoor Ahmad Bhat of Trehgam, Kupwara, who has been detained under the PSA since 2018.
Sheroz Ahmad, superintendent of Anantnag Jail, said a sample taken from Bhat had been sent for COVID-19 testing on July 6, after he developed a mild fever and cough.
“His report arrived on July 10, showing that he had tested positive for the virus. After this, we took samples of 350 persons, including 200 jail inmates, for COVID-19 testing,” Ahmad told The Wire.
Bhat is the brother of Muhammad Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged in Tihar jail in 1984 and buried there.

International

US Rejects All Major China Claims in South China Sea

Serious escalation. Mike Pompeo’s statement came yesterday.
More on the 3 Major China Claims that US rejected today as tension escalates between the two.
In the South China Sea, we seek to preserve peace and stability, uphold freedom of the seas in a manner consistent with international law, maintain the unimpeded flow of commerce, and oppose any attempt to use coercion or force to settle disputes. We share these deep and abiding interests with our many allies and partners who have long endorsed a rules-based international order.

These shared interests have come under unprecedented threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, bully them out of offshore resources, assert unilateral dominion, and replace international law with “might makes right.” Beijing’s approach has been clear for years. In 2010, then-PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told his ASEAN counterparts that “China is a big country and other countries are small countries and that is just a fact.” The PRC’s predatory world view has no place in the 21st century.
The PRC has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region. Beijing has offered no coherent legal basis for its “Nine-Dashed Line” claim in the South China Sea since formally announcing it in 2009. In a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention – to which the PRC is a state party – rejected the PRC’s maritime claims as having no basis in international law. The Tribunal sided squarely with the Philippines, which brought the arbitration case, on almost all claims.
The PRC cannot lawfully assert a maritime claim – including any Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims derived from Scarborough Reef and the Spratly Islands – vis-a-vis the Philippines in areas that the Tribunal found to be in the Philippines’ EEZ or on its continental shelf.
Beijing’s harassment of Philippine fisheries and offshore energy development within those areas is unlawful, as are any unilateral PRC actions to exploit those resources.
In line with the Tribunal’s legally binding decision, the PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to Mischief Reef or Second Thomas Shoal, both of which fall fully under the Philippines’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction, nor does Beijing have any territorial or maritime claims generated from these features.
As such, the United States rejects any PRC maritime claim in the waters surrounding Vanguard Bank (off Vietnam), Luconia Shoals (off Malaysia), waters in Brunei’s EEZ, and Natuna Besar (off Indonesia). Any PRC action to harass other states’ fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters – or to carry out such activities unilaterally – is unlawful.
The PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to (or derived from) James Shoal, an entirely submerged feature only 50 nautical miles from Malaysia and some 1,000 nautical miles from China’s coast. James Shoal is often cited in PRC propaganda as the “southernmost territory of China.” International law is clear: An underwater feature like James Shoal cannot be claimed by any state and is incapable of generating maritime zones. James Shoal (roughly 20 meters below the surface) is not and never was PRC territory, nor can Beijing assert any lawful maritime rights from it.

As Beijing has failed to put forth a lawful, coherent maritime claim in the South China Sea, the United States rejects any PRC claim to waters beyond a 12-nautical mile territorial sea derived from islands it claims in the Spratly Islands (without prejudice to other states’ sovereignty claims over such islands).
Also comes hours after China sanctions 3 members of Congress today.
The Trump administration on Mon rejected nearly all of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea, in a significant escalation between the world’s two major powers.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described China’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful”.
Pompeo said that shared interests of the US and regional allies around the South China Sea “have come under unprecedented threat from the People’s Republic of China“.
Washington is now rejecting three core claims by Beijing in the region.
Pompeo said that China could not lawfully claim waters around Scarborough Reef and the Spratly Islands, which an international tribunal in 2016 found to be part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The tribunal in The Hague considered most of China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis. China rejected and ignored that ruling.
The US also now rejects any Chinese claim to waters surrounding Vanguard Bank off the coast of Vietnam, Luconia Shoals off Malaysia, waters in Brunei’s exclusive economic zone, and Natuna Besar off Indonesia, Mr Pompeo said.
America has also not recognized Beijing’s claims to James Shoal, an entirely submerged feature only 50 nautical miles from Malaysia but 1,000 nautical miles from China’s coast.
Pompeo said the US would reject any push to impose “might makes right” in the South China Sea or the wider region.
The move breaks precedent with past US policy, where Washington traditionally advocated for a UN role and peaceful resolution for the maritime disputes between China and its neighbor’s.
But now, the US is aligning itself with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.
The US position is restricted to the maritime disputes and not territorial ones.
‘While the US has no claims in the South China Sea, it has steadily increased its military presence in the area, saying it aims ‘to insure freedom of navigation’.

China has rejected and complained about the US presence.

China has never sought to establish a “maritime empire” in the South China Sea like Pompeo alleged, and China has always treated its neighbors on an equal basis and exercised restraint in safeguarding its sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea: Chinese FM

It’s carefully crafted to avoid overstepping the 2016 arbitral award and maintains American neutrality on sovereignty. This should be the first step in a long term campaign to highlight Chinese illegal behavior & support partners.- Greg Poling

The US is the largest manipulator, and its actions have posed the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea, Chinese analysts noted.

Taliban kill 11 in assault on Afghan intelligence compound-AP

Taliban insurgents launched a complex attack on an intelligence compound in northern Afghanistan on Mon that began with a suicide bombing and killed at least 11 intelligence agency personnel, officials said.
The attack took place in Aybak, the capital of the Samangan province. Sediq Azizi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said another 63 people were wounded in the attack and the ensuing clashes.
A suicide bomber struck the compound, followed by two insurgents who opened fire.
Both were killed in the gun battle, Azizi said.
The blast from the initial bombing could be heard miles (kilometers) away and damaged several nearby buildings.
Abdul Khalil Musadiq, a provincial hospital chief, said many of those wounded were civilians, including children.
The Taliban said they were behind the attacks but claimed government forces fired mortar shells in response, hitting civilian homes — a claimed dismissed by the Defense Ministry.
The insurgents have continued to regularly target Afghan security forces despite signing a peace agreement with the U.S. in Feb that was intended to pave the way for an end to decades of war.
On Sun, the Taliban attacked checkpoints in the northern Kunduz province, killing at least 14 Afghan security forces, according to Esmatullah Muradi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

UK set to ban Huawei from 5G, angering China and pleasing Trump

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network on Tue, angering China but delighting U.S. President Donald Trump by signaling that the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker is no longer welcome in the West.

The US has pushed Johnson to reverse his Jan decision to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G, while London has been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception China did not tell the whole truth over the coronavirus.
Now, as Britain prepares to cast off from the European Union, Johnson will risk the ire of the world’s second largest economy by ordering a purge of Huawei equipment which the US says could be used to spy on the West.
The immediate excuse for the about turn in policy is the impact of new U.S. sanctions on chip technology, which London says affects Huawei’s ability to remain a reliable supplier.
“Obviously the context has changed slightly with some of the sanctions that the U.S. has brought in,” Environment Secretary George Eustice told Sky News when asked about Huawei.
In what some have compared to the Cold War antagonism with the Soviet Union, the United States is worried that 5G dominance is a milestone towards Chinese technological supremacy that could define the geopolitics of the 21st century.
5G’s faster data and increased capacity will make it a foundation of industries and driver of economic growth. As the West’s most powerful intelligence power after the United States, Britain is being watched over the Huawei issue by allies.
Telecoms firms already had to cap Huawei’s role in 5G at 35% by 2023. Reducing it to zero over another two to four years is now being discussed, though operators say going too fast could disrupt services and prove costly.

China denies burial to its soldiers killed in Galwan clash to cover up its blunder: Report

It seems China is not willing to recognize the ultimate sacrifice made by its soldiers for the country as the government is pressuring the families of soldiers who died in Galwan face off to not conduct burials and in-person funeral ceremonies, according to a US intelligence assessment.
The bloody brawl between Chinese and Indian troops took place on June 15 in which both sides suffered casualties.
India, without any hesitation, accepted that 20 of its soldiers have been martyred in the clash. They are being hailed as heroes.

According to the US intelligence assessment, China is not accepting that its soldiers have been killed in the showdown in order to cover up an episode that Beijing appears to consider a blunder, reported the US News.

Nation Amid COVID-19

Lockdown to be imposed a complete lockdown in Bihar from July 16 to 31 to curb the spread of COVID-19. Amidst the increasing number of coronavirus cases in Bihar, the state government on Tuesday decided. Taking to Twitter, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi announced that the 15-day lockdown will remain in force at all municipal, district, sub-divisional and block headquarters level.
Bihar coronavirus news: The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Bihar stands at 17,421, while the death toll is 134.
Worst single-day spike of 1,432 COVID-19 cases in Bihar pushes tally to 18,853: Health dept
Eighty-six per cent of total active cases of COVID-19 are in 10 states: Health ministry
From May 2 to May 30, number of active COVID-19 cases was more than recovered cases.
After that, the difference between number of active & recovered cases is rising. Today, number of recovered cases is 1.8 times higher than the active cases: Ministry of Health
In May, the recovery rate was around 26 per cent which rose to 48 per cent by May end & further increased to around 63 per cent by July 12 in the country. Recovery rates in 20 states are higher than the national recovery rate: Ministry of Health
There are 20 states that have a recovery rate which is more than the national average. India’s national average is 63%. Of these states Uttar Pradesh has a recovery rate of 64%, Odisha 67%, Assam 65%, Gujarat 70%, Tamil Nadu has a recovery rate of 65%: Ministry of Health.
86% of the total cases are confined to 10 states. Two of these have 50% of these cases – Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – and eight other states have 36% cases:

For details of covid updates, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_India