Newsletter 10 August

August 10, 2020
 Team

The picture is still in illusion regarding Sino-Indian Standoff even after 72 days, except the increment in deployments, and polarization of some countries, if not world. Nevertheless, Beijing made New Delhi rethink about QUAID. Moreover, China is trying its best to put the pressure over New Delhi, through Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan, indirectly. 

Headlines From Sat to Mon

  1. Sino-Indian Standoff: No development even after 72 days
    • China claims Bhutan land in its ‘bid to pressure India’
    • Enemy number one-India Today Survey
    • China sanctions 11 U.S. officials over HK affairs
    • S. health chief arrived in Taiwan on trip condemned by China
    • New Intelligence Shows China Is Building More Type-075 Assault Carriers- Forbes
  2. PM Modi Inaugurated submarine OFC for Andaman & Nicobar on Mon
  3. PM Modi Sends ₹ 17,100 Cr in to Bank Accounts Of Over 8 Cr Farmers on Sun
  4. On Sun Def Min banned the import of 101 items of military use
  5. Afghan president to signed release of Taliban prisoners, peace talks expected in days

Sino-Indian Standoff: No development even after 72 days

China claims Bhutan land in its ‘bid to pressure India’

 

China’s fresh demand for Bhutan’s territory is part of Beijing’s larger drive to coerce the Himalayan nation into a boundary deal on Beijing’s terms and put more pressure on India.

  • On Sat, the Chinese foreign ministry said the China-Bhutan boundary has never been delimited and there “have been disputes over the eastern, central and western sections for a long time”, cautioning “third party” (read India) to refrain from stepping into the breach.
  • Bhutan totally rejects the claim made by the council member of China.
  • On June 29, China objected to Bhutan’s application for a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary situated in eastern Bhutan, saying it was “disputed” territory.
  • Bhutan got the funds but China’s objection was seen as an attempt to intimidate because it was the first instance of the Chinese making border claims on eastern Bhutan.
  • In response, Bhutan shot off a strongly worded demarche to the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, saying, “Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan.”
  • Sakteng sanctuary is in Trashigang province of Bhutan. Sources here see this move as part of the larger Chinese tactics of putting pressure on India’s smaller neighbors, to punish them for any closeness to India.
  • In 2017, the PLA had intruded into Doklam plateau which is Bhutanese territory, leading Indian forces to show up in strength to prevent China from building a road up to the Jhampheri ridge.
  • The stand-off went on for 72 days before status quo ante was restored. This year, too, there have been reports that China had started building yet another road along Torsa/Amo Chu, apparently aiming for the Siliguri corridor in India.
  • On Fri, the Chinese embassy, responding to PM Narendra Modi’s charge of “expansionism”, said China had sealed boundary agreements with 12 out of its 14 neighbors.
  • The point is almost all of China’s agreements have been done with small countries and on China’s terms.
  • Tenzing Lamsang, editor of The Bhutanese said on Twitter, “There are only two disputed areas raised in 24 boundary talks since 1984 agreed to by both sides with signed minutes (269 sq km in west and 495 sq km in northcentral Bhutan).
  • The Chinese never brought this up in the boundary talks. So there is no dispute in Eastern Bhutan.”
  • “This eastern sector is very much Bhutanese with a large Bhutanese population and traditional dzongs (medieval fortresses) and two Bhutanese districts since time immemorial,” Lamsang said. At the GEF, Bhutan’s response to Chinese objections were placed on record.
  • Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan and at no point during the boundary discussions between Bhutan and China has it featured as a disputed area,” it said.

Enemy number one-India Today Survey

Anti-China sentiments run at an all-time high as MOTN (Mood of the Nation) respondents advocated a strong reply to the neighbor’s adventurism

  • India’s Mood of the Nation poll’s India Today
  • 91% “banning of Chinese apps and denying contracts to Chinese cos was the right approach”
  • 84% “Xi Jinping has betrayed Modi”
  • 67% “ready to pay more for goods not made in China”
  • “Distrust of China has never been this much high.”
  • India’s Mood of the Nation poll: A clear majority wants war with China?
  • “A majority, 59%, believe we should go to war with China, while 34% say we should not. 72% believe India can actually win against China with only 19% believing we can’t or ‘it will end in a stalemate’”
  • 47% of people now hold China’s external aggression as responsible for the India-China border dispute in Ladakh. But, 41% also believe it is the government’s fault, 30% held India’s faulty foreign policy as responsible for the dispute, while 11% believed intelligence failure to be the reason.

Some unverified sources said China is quickly upgrading its 13 airbases adjoining India from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. China has deployed J11, JH7 and drone aircraft at its Kashi airbase adjoining Ladakh, Hotan airbase and Nagari base. MI submitted report to Ministry of Defense & other concern dept.

China sanctions 11 U.S. officials over HK affairs

  • China announced sanctions on 11 U.S. officials Monday in response to U.S. sanctions against officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said Chinese FM’s Spokesperson Zhao Lijian at a daily news briefing.
  • The sanctions, effective from Mon are applied to U.S. officials including Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
  • China urges the U.S. to recognize the situation and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.

U.S. health chief arrived in Taiwan on trip condemned by China

  • S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sun as the highest-level U.S. official to visit in four decades, a trip condemned by China which claims the island as its own, further irritating Sino-U.S. relations.
  • Chinese air force flew J-11 and J-10 fighter aircraft briefly crossed the mid-line of the Taiwan Strait on Mon, slightly before the Azar’s visit and were tracked by Taiwanese missiles, Taiwan’s government said.
  • “It’s a true honor to be here to convey a message of strong support and friendship from President Trump to Taiwan,” Azar told Tsai in the Presidential Office, standing in front of two Taiwanese flags.
  • And as expected, China’s Foreign Ministry on Mon reiterated that China firmly opposes any official interactions between the U.S. government and Taiwan after U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar met the island’s leader Tsai Ing-wen.
  • Beijing, already arguing with Washington over everything from human rights and trade to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, has threatened unspecified countermeasures to Azar’s visit. China considers Taiwan a wayward province, to be brought under its control by force if needed.

New Intelligence Shows China Is Building More Type-075 Assault Carriers- Forbes

  • The Chinese Navy is expanding at an incredible pace, rapidly outstripping almost all other navies.
  • A year ago it had no amphibious assault carriers (termed landing helicopter docks), known as the Type-075 LHD.
  • These large helicopter carriers are often the most powerful ships in many navies, and almost all navies want them. Fast forward a year’s time and they will likely have a fleet of them second in size only to the U.S. Navy.
  • They have already launched two in the past year. And now images have emerged on Chinese-language social media that, perhaps unwittingly, reveal yet another.
  • These 40,000-ton ships are loosely equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s Wasp Class.
  • A ramp opens in the stern to access a well-deck which can be flooded so that smaller boats, such as landing craft, to be carried inside.
  • In Chinese service, like in the U.S., these will be large hovercraft.
  • Though the exact number in unknown but it has been presumed that they could rival the U.S. Navy’s fleet within five years.

PM Modi Inaugurated submarine OFC for Andaman & Nicobar on Mon

  • Small and medium trade enterprises will also benefit from opportunities in e-commerce with the new connectivity in place, and educational institutions will utilize the enhanced bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge sharing.
  • Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises too also benefit from better connectivity.
  • The submarine Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) distance around 2300 km will also connect Port Blair to 8 other small islands, Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.
  • The project has started in Dec 30, 2018 by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in consultation with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) with cost around ₹1,224 crore, completed well within time.
  • The OFC will deliver bandwidth of 2 x 200 Gigabits/s (Gbps) between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2×100 Gbps between Port Blair and the other islands, as well as for strategic and governance reasons.

PM Modi Sends ₹ 17,100 Cr in to Bank Accounts Of Over 8 Cr Farmers on Sun

  • Over 9 crore farmers have registered themselves under the scheme between Dec 2018 and Nov 2019, as per the government. Of these, 7.62 crore (84%) of farmers have received the first installment, under PM-KISAN scheme, which aimed at providing direct support of ₹ 6,000 annually to them.
  • The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore was launched by the PM through a video conference which was attended by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives, and citizens across the country.
  • The Fund aims to catalyze the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centers and processing units.
  • These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their products, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition, the government said.

On Sun Def Min banned the import of 101 items of military use

  • Invoking self-reliant India, Govt banned import of 101 defense equipment is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. said Defense Min Rajnath Singh.
  • The Indian defense companies that will benefit after MoD’s embargo on import of 101 items announced yesterday. Here they are in no particular order: Bharat Forge, L&T, Zen Technologies, Solar Group; Tonbo Imaging; Bharat Dynamics, BEL etc.
  • With effect from Dec 2021, the military will have to buy another 11 types of equipment, including wheeled tanks, light machine guns, assault rifles, and conventional submarines from Indian manufacturers.
  • However, figures suggest as if domestic purchases in these categories are set to go down, not to rise. Between 2015 and 2020, the average purchase each year adds up to about Rs 70,000 crore. Over the next 6-7 years, the annual average would fall to Rs 61,500 crore.

In JnK and LoC

  • A group of terrorists were attempting to infiltrate across LoC in Krishna Ghati Sector of Poonch district today. Indian Army troops detected the terrorists & immediately engaged them resulting in on the spot killing of one terrorist & serious injuries to two: Defense PRO, Jammu.
  • Another BJP member (7th in past two month) in J&K shot at, more party workers quit
  • A BJP functionary out on his morning walk was critically injured in a terrorist attack in central Kashmir’s Budgam on Sun, prompting at least 2 senior office-bearers of the district unit to resign from primary membership of the party for fear of being targeted next.
  • Security forces arrested one person have huge amount in ‘Tiffin Box’ claimed to be distributed among militant in JnK.
  • Intel inputs said that ISI is appointed females as over ground workers in JnK.
  • ISI also running training camps in Afghanistan at some unknown places. 

Four people martyred in Chaman Blast-Pak Radio

  • 4 people were martyred and 12 others injured in a bomb blast at Chaman area of Qillah Abdullah district, Balochistan on Mon.
  • Pak PM Imran Khan, besides other leaders have strongly condemned the Chaman blast and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in it.
  • Chief Minister said ‘terrorists’ want to create law and order issue in Chaman but they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.

Bozkir stresses resolution of Kashmir dispute, key to sustainable peace in South Asia

  • President elect of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir has stressed that resolution of JnK dispute is key to sustainable peace in South Asia.
  • He said while addressing a news conference along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad today, difficult challenges can be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagements.

Nepal objects to Jaishankar’s Buddha statement

Nitish Kumar, CM of Bihar flags non-cooperation from Nepal in flood management at meeting with PM Modi, seeks Centre’s intervention on the matter, a meeting with PM, along 5 other CMs of flood affected states .-PTI

  • Nepal on Sun objected to MEA S. Jaishankar’s statement that the Buddha was one of the “two greatest Indians ever”, forcing India to move swiftly to smother a possible new irritant in the already strained relations.
  • That the Buddha’s birthplace of Lumbini is located in Nepal “remains beyond doubt and controversy and thus cannot be a subject of debate”, Nepal’s foreign office said.
  • Its statement cited how Indian PM Narendra Modi had in 2014 said that “Nepal is the country where the apostle of peace in the world, Buddha, was born”.
  • India’s external affairs ministry responded quickly, saying: “EAM’s (external affairs minister’s) remarks on Sun at the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) event referred to our shared Buddhist heritage. There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal.”
  • Naushad Forbes, co-chairman of Forbes Marshall, had asked him whether there was “a place for moral leadership in India’s foreign policy or is that being Jimmy Carter in 2020 (being impractical and putting principle ahead of interest)?”

Afghan president to signed release of Taliban prisoners, peace talks expected in days

  • A traditional Afghan council concluded on Sun with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan’s warring sides.
  • The withdrawal began earlier this year but roughly 8,600 US soldiers remain in Afghanistan and their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack the US or its allies.
  • The withdrawal of US and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabul’s political leadership and the Taliban.
  • But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease fire.
  • Meanwhile, the Foreign Office of Pak on Sun welcomed the council’s recommendation to release the remaining 400 prisoners.
  • Amrullah Saleh, First Vice President, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, tweeted “It is a bitter decision to release the 400 Talban prisoners but I do it to honor my pledge to Loya Jirga. Now it is to the Taliban to accept the Afghan diversity and pluralism and come to the table. No obstacle is left. I’m mindful of the challenges and uncertainties too“.

DU professor Apoorvanand questioned over Delhi riots, anti-CAA stir

  • On Tue, Apoorvanand tweeted his statement that on Mon he was called by the special cell to appear for the investigation, in connection with the ongoing probe into the north-east Delhi riots that took place in Feb.
  • Gulfisha alias Gul during police interrogation said the police that Prof Apurvanand of Delhi University had conspired in the riots. The team of women with burqas was prepared for the riots.
  • Apart from the 700 cases registered by the local police and the crime branch in the riots, the special cell (anti-terror unit) registered an FIR 59/2020 to probe the larger conspiracy behind the violence that raged from Feb 23-26. As part of the probe, police have arrested many who had led protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. [Read Mar 14th Newsletter]

What he said

“I am surprised if not shocked. I want to put it on record that I was not harassed. The interaction was very polite and courteous. But to even assume that I may have information about the murders and the robbery that took place as part of the riots is wrong. I have been a critic of the new citizenship law but, at the same time, I had also opposed the road blockade during anti-CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) protests. Some of us went to Jafrabad, Khureji and other (protest) sites, asking people not to block roads. In Khureji, we succeeded in advising people to vacate the roads, but we failed in other places. It is on record (social media video recordings) that we had asked people not to block roads. That form of protest has exhausted its life. But it is equally erroneous to say that the protests were themselves a source of violence. In fact the violence was unleashed on them,” he said.

Aamir Khan Landed in Turkey to Begin Shooting For 'Laal Singh Chaddha',

  • A film shooting supposed to be completed in Punjab but now shifted in Turkey, citing the reason of COVID.
  • According to Hindustan Times, Kareena Kapoor Khan too was spotted outdoors, however, it is yet unsure as to when she will begin her schedule for shooting the film.
  • On Sat, HT also published about the Intel inputs as “Turkey’s tentacles in India go deeper than thought, says new Intel warning”, also published in length in Aug 7th newsletter.

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the joblessness rate in India

  • According to data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, India’s overall unemployment rate for the month of July stood at 7.43%, down from nearly 24% during the month of April.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown measures instituted, yielded an unprecedented spike in India’s unemployment rates, particularly during the months of April and May.
  • The CMIE calculates its overall unemployment rate by conducting a survey that includes more than 174,000 households over a four-month period.
  • According to a Credit Suisse analysis dated July 20, agriculture accounts for just 29% of the rural economy.
  • Among its major states, there is still cause for concern in Bihar (12.19%), Andhra Pradesh (8.35%), Rajasthan (15.23%), Telangana (9.05%), and Delhi (20.3%), all of which have recorded rates markedly higher than the national average. [1]

Drugs Worth Rs 1,000 Crores Seized At Nhava Sheva Port Of Navi Mumbai

  • Two accused have been arrested in the case who had allegedly brought these drugs through Afghanistan.
  • “191 kg of drugs, worth Rs 1,000 crores, seized at Nhava Sheva port of Navi Mumbai in a joint operation with customs. Transported inside pipes, drugs were brought through Afghanistan.
  • The accused were produced in the court and they have been remanded in custody for 14 days, and further investigation is underway.

The Production of Rare Earth: Why India Failed?

Data suggest China controls about 90% of global production of rare earth metal (15 Lanthanides +2 Others), while it possesses only 36% of the global reserve of this rare metal. It is because other countries with rare earth mineral reserves do not extract the mineral due to so many reasons.

  • During 2018, China produced 120,000 MT of rare earth oxide which is higher than its reserves.
  • China produced this higher volume by importing rare earth from countries like Canada, the US, and others. During 2018, Australia, the US, Russia, and India produced rare earth metals of 20,000, 15,000, 2600, and 1800 MT respectively.
  • UN COMTRADE data reveals that China exported rare earth worth US$3 billion (S$4 billion) while it imported US$172 Mn (S$234 Mn) in 2017. The US imported US$109 Mn (S$148 Mn), while it exported US$14 Mn (S$19 Mn) of rare earth in 2017. India imported US$9 Mn (S$12 Mn) and exported US$16 Mn (S$22 Mn) worth of rare earth metals in 2017.
  • Though the IREL was set up to develop India’s capacity to produce rare earth subsequently, its focus shifted to other common minerals, (which are comparatively easier to extract) as evident from the fact that the majority of its income is generated from the production and marketing of the other common minerals that are contained in the beach sands such as ilmenite, rutile, sillimanite, and zircon.
  • Regular and cheaper supply of quality rare earth metals from China has reduced the incentive for countries to invest in this sector.
  • After China’s rise as a major supplier of the metal, countries like the US and Australia subsequently dropped their production.
  • It is also largely because rare earth mining and processing is environmentally risky, creating toxic and even radioactive wastes that many countries have tended to avoid or abandon its production.
  • India, which aspires to be a manufacturing hub, should also explore options to expand domestic production in its national interest.
  • There is a need to evolve a mechanism where a larger private industry partnership is welcomed, and international partners identified for technological collaboration.
  • India should invest in a research and development program for the development of environment-friendly and sustainable methods to extract the mineral.
  • If India remains in the same position, it will lose another chance to be self-reliant.
  • This will further affect the production volume of the industry that uses rare earth as their intermediate goods.
  • The import of the mineral will keep on hampering India’s trade balance.
  • Adopting environment-friendly modern technology can help to increase production and eventually reduce the cost of production through the economics of scale. [2]

56 People Injured In Kerala Plane Crash Discharged, Says Air India Express

  • 149 people have been admitted to hospitals, 23 have been discharged, while three are critically injured in the B737 plane crash, in Kozhikode, Kerala on Sat at 7.38 pm.
  • The airline said on Sun that the body of 16 passengers and 2 Pilots, killed in the plane crash have been handed over to their families, and added that authorities were investigating the accident.
  • Black box recovered and brought to Delhi for further investigation.

News from Social Media

  • WSJ reports that Twitter and TikTok have held initial talks about a potential combination. Does that explain why Twitter has been “fact checking” Trump’s tweets while letting China’s wolf-warrior diplomats and state journalists take an increasingly strident tone on its platform?
  • India’s plan to regulate ‘non-personal’ data has jolted U.S. tech giants Amazon, Facebook and Google, and a group representing them is preparing to push back against the proposals, according to sources and a letter seen by Reuters.
  • A government-appointed panel in July recommended setting up a regulator for information that is anonymized or devoid of personal details but critical for companies to build their businesses.
  • The panel proposed a mechanism for firms to share data with other entities – even competitors – saying this would spur the digital ecosystem. The report, if adopted by the government, will form the basis of a new law to regulate such data.

A ship that ran aground off Mauritius is leaking tons of oil into the ocean

  • Ship has started off an environmental catastrophe. According to reports, the ship has begun to crack, increasing risks of more damage.
  • Another 2,500 tons remain aboard the stricken vessel, which ran aground on a reef on July 25 but only started oozing from a crack in the hull in the past week.
  • Experts warn a further rupture could unleash a spill that will be beyond catastrophic for the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which Mauritius, and its economy, relies.

COVID-19 Update

  • India breaches 1,000-death mark in 24 hours, but per-million figure is still a low 32
  • India has the third highest number of deaths in the world at 44,386 as of Monday morning, with the overall case fatality rate around 2%.
  • the number of casualties reported Mon morning (1,007) is exactly 2 per cent of the number of fresh cases reported on 26 July (49,931), mirroring the overall CFR, which is also at 2%.
  • Former President Pranab Mukherjee says he has tested positive for COVID19
  • India’s positivity rate too hit 13% in morning, after a weekend dip brought testing numbers down to 4,77,023 from 7,19,364 a day earlier.
  • In the last 24 hours, 62,064 fresh cases were reported.
  • “India’s Covid-19 recoveries have crossed the historic peak of 1.5 million today.
  1. https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/economy/article/how-the-covid-19-outbreak-has-affected-the-joblessness-rate-in-india-explained-in-4-charts/634284
  2. http://southasiajournal.net/the-production-of-rare-earth-why-india-failed/
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