Newsletter 4 December

Sino-Indian Standoff: Despite the Deadlocked on both Sides, Dragan is creeping slowly

Amid China border conflict, IAF test fires 10 Akash missiles to 'shoot down' enemy fighters

Amid threat from the Chinese Air Force on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the ongoing conflict, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out around 10 test firings of the home-grown Akash air defense missiles to validate different scenarios to shoot down enemy aircraft that may violate the Indian air space during conflicts.
The firings conducted at the Suryalanka test firing range in Andhra Pradesh last week were highly successful as a majority of the Akash missiles fired at the targets scored a direct hit.
The IAF tested the Akash missiles and the Igla shoulder-fired air defense missiles during the exercise.
Interestingly, both these systems are at present deployed along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and other sectors for taking out any enemy aircraft trying to violate the Indian air space.
The Akash, is one of the most successful indigenous weapon systems and would be fulfilling the desire of the defense forces to fight wars with indigenous weapons. The missile was recently upgraded and is being equipped with a seeker which will help it to take down targets with greater ease than before.
The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has been working on the Akash Prime missile system which will make it capable of engaging with targets at very high altitude locations too.
The DRDO also has made modifications to make the system more effective during the ongoing conflict, where the Chinese are deploying their so-called stealth planes like the J-20 fifth-generation fighters.
Due to the integration of the missile system with other systems, the stealth features of the missile have gone up significantly and can surprise enemy fighter jets equipped with anti-radiation missiles.
The Cabinet Committee on Security recently cleared seven squadrons of the missile systems for Rs 5,500 crore for the Air Force.
The force will deploy these missile systems on the borders along with Pakistan and China to maintain a strict vigil against enemy aircraft, drones, and surveillance aircraft.
Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the DRDO and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited

India, China continue to maintain communication for ensuring complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh: MEA

India and China continue to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels for ensuring complete disengagement in all friction points along the LAC in Ladakh and full restoration of peace and tranquility, Ministry of External Affairs said on Thu. MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at the regular media briefing that both sides have agreed to another round of senior commanders meeting.

India summons Canadian ambassador to accuse Trudeau of encouraging ‘extremist activism’

India says it has summoned the Canadian High Commissioner in Delhi to protest against comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the ongoing farmer protests outside the Indian capital.
India’s foreign ministry said the Canadian prime minister’s intervention had “encouraged gatherings of extremist activities in front of our High Commission and Consulates in Canada that raise issues of safety and security”.
“We expect the Canadian Govt to ensure the fullest security of Indian diplomatic personnel and its political leaders to refrain from pronouncements that legitimize extremist activism,” the spokesperson said.

Urged China to ensure lower riparian states aren’t affected: MEA on Chinese hydropower project on Brahmaputra

“Chinese side conveyed to us on several occasions that they’re only undertaking run of river hydropower projects which don’t involve diversion of waters of Brahmaputra,” MEA said in weekly press briefing.
MEA said that the Govt is monitoring the developments in the Brahmaputra. “We’ve urged them to ensure that the interest of downstream states isn’t harmed by activities in upstream areas. Chinese side conveyed to us on several occasions that they’re only undertaking run of river hydropower projects which don’t involve diversion of waters of Brahmaputra.”
MEA added that various issues relating to trans-border Rivers were also discussed with China under the ambit of the institutionalized expert-level mechanism established in 2006 as well as via diplomatic channels.
Amid concerns over China’s major hydropower project on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet, India too plans to construct a multipurpose reservoir in Arunachal Pradesh to offset its impact, a senior official of the Jal Shakti ministry said on Tue.
T S Mehra, Commissioner (Brahmaputra and Barak), in the Jal Shakti ministry said the multi-purpose 10,000 MW hydropower project is under consideration.
“This project will help offset the impact of the hydropower project by China,” he said.
Yarlung Zangbo originates in Tibet. The river is known as Siang when it enters India through Arunachal Pradesh. It is further joined by several tributaries to take shape of the Brahmaputra in Assam.

'Pakistan trying to link the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav with another case'

Giving updates on the trials of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the Srivastava said that Pakistan is trying to link the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav with another case. “In routine consular practice, Shahnawaz Noon, was selected to represent our high commission in a case for the release of an Indian prisoner, Mohd Ismail.
During the proceedings of Ismail’s case, Pak’s Attorney General raised the matter pertaining to Jadhav, though these two cases are not interconnected.
Noon is reported to have made those statements about our CDA which aren’t true and are in contravention of our stand in this case.
It appears that Noon acted under pressure from Pakistani establishment to make such statements for which he has no authorization. He was told that he had no authority to either represent the GoI or Jadhav.”
“Our Mission in Islamabad has written to Mr. Noon reiterating that he has no authority to represent Mr Jadhav and has no basis to suggest that the Indian Cd’A would appear in the court,” Srivastava said.

India affirms strong bilateral ties with Australia

Amid escalating tensions between China and Australia, India on Thu affirmed its strong bilateral ties with Australia, stating that the two nations shared values based on commitments to a rule-based order.
Recently the India-Australia bilateral relationship has been elevated to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the Virtual Summit between the two Prime Ministers on 4 June 2020.”
Citing Australia’s participation in the Malabar Exercise 2020, Srivastava stated that the nation is an important partner in the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative tabled by India, as well as in the post-Covid economic re-balancing through building more resilient supply chains.

US Approves Sale Of $90 Million Worth Military Equipment, Services To India

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the US by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and improve the security of a Major Defense Partner, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the Department of Defense said on Thu.
In a major sales notification to Congress, DSCA said that India continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.
Among the requests made by India include aircraft consumables spares and repair/return parts; Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/ PAD) fire extinguisher cartridges; flare cartridges; Advanced Radar Warning Receiver shipset; 10 Lightweight Night Vision Binocular; 10 AN/AVS-9 Night Vision Goggle; GPS; Electronic Warfare; instruments and lab equipment support. The estimated total amount is USD 90 million.
This sale of spares and services will enable the IAF to sustain a mission-ready status with respect to the C-130J transport.
India will have no difficulty absorbing this additional sustainment support, it said.

Army Chief General Naravane to visit UAE, Saudi Arabia next week

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and the UAE next week for 4 days.
During the visit, the Army Chief would be meeting the military leadership of the two countries.

Our focus is on maritime domain awareness in Indian Ocean Region: Eastern Naval Command chief

Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral AK Jain has said that the focus of the Navy is on maritime domain awareness considering the security threat in the Indian Ocean Region.
“Security threat in the Indian Ocean out at sea has gone up. So our entire focus has been on maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region.
We maintain surveillance with P-8Is, Dornier aircraft and helicopters 24×7. We are getting four more P-8Is,” said Jain at a press conference on Thu.
Regarding COVID-19, he said, “The world, in general, has seen this extraordinary challenge of the pandemic which came as a big surprise and initially nobody knew what this monster is called COVID-19 pandemic.

Centre approves Army Headquarters reorganization, force gets third deputy chief

As part of the reorganization of Army Headquarters, the Govt has approved the creation of a new deputy chief of strategy in the headquarters as per a plan first envisaged during the Doklam crisis with China in 2017.
The Govt has also cleared the creation of the post of Dir Gen Information Warfare in the headquarters who would be dealing with media affairs too. The office would have the Additional Director General (Strategic Communications) under him
The Govt sanction letter for the creation of a new post of Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy) as part of Army headquarters’ reorganization has been issued.
The first officer to assume the new appointment would be the present Dir Gen of Military Operations Lt Gen Paramajit Singh, ANI reported.
The new office of the third deputy chief would reduce the burden on the vice chief of the Army as he would have important officers including the in-charges of military intelligence and military operations.
The new post was envisaged during the Doklam crisis when a need for closer and direct coordination was felt in the headquarters.

In SC, Centre opposes lifetime poll ban on convicted politicians

The law ministry said unlike government servants, “there are no specific service conditions laid down in respect of elected representatives, even though they are categorized as public servants.
Elected representatives are bound by the oath that they have taken, to serve the citizens of their constituency in particular and the country in general”.
Interestingly the PIL has filed by a BJP member, and BJP always advocates for cleanness in politics.

Polling underway for third phase of DDC polls in JnK

Polling underway for third phase of DDC polls in Jammu and Kashmir. There are a total of 305 candidates in the electoral fray including 166 from Kashmir division and 139 from Jammu division for DDC elections in 3^rdphage. A candidate was shot in Kokernag area of Anantnag on Fri. His condition is reportedly stable. Security forces have cordoned off the area. The voter turnout was 25.58% till 11 am.

ED cracks down against PFI, conducts nationwide raids at 26 locations in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thu cracked down against the Popular Front of India (PFI), which has been in the past accused of being involved in terror-funding.
The ED carried out raids across the country at 26 locations – in Delhi and eight other states at the premises of PFI office-bearers in connection with a money laundering case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), TN said.
These include in Kerala (6); Tamil Nadu (5): West Bengal (2); Karnataka (1); Delhi (1); Uttar Pradesh (2); Bihar (2); Maharashtra (1); and Rajasthan (1).
Among the PFI members who have been raided include PFI chairman OMA Salam and national secretary, Nasaruddin Elamaram.
The PFI has condemned the raids and dubbed them as vendetta politics.

India extends anti-dumping duty on steel products from China, US

India has extended anti-dumping duty on imports of cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel of width 600-1250 mm and above 1250 mm of non-bonafide usage, from China, Korea, European Union, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and the US, till Jan 31, 2021.

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 4%, maintains accommodative stance

The Reserve Bank of India on Fri kept the repo rate unchanged at 4% and maintained the policy stance at accommodative and the reverse repo rate also remains steady at 3.35%.
The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) made a unanimous decision to maintain status-quo after a 3-day meeting that began on Dec 2. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the MPC will maintain the accommodative stance “for as long as necessary.”

Gadkari inaugurated 15 NH projects in Nagaland

“Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 15 National Highways projects in Nagaland on Fri. These NH Projects has (have) a length of about 266 km involving cost of about Rs 4,127 crore,” Ministry said.

NEIGHBORHOOD/ WORLD

Bangladesh begins transfer of Rohingyas to island

Bangladesh began transferring hundreds of Rohingya refugees on Thu to a low-lying island in an area prone to cyclones and floods, with rights groups alleging people were being coerced into leaving.
Almost a million Rohingya — most of whom fled a military offensive in neighboring Myanmar in 2017 — live in a vast network of squalid camps in south-eastern Bangladesh.
With many refusing to return, and with violent drug gangs and extremists active on the sites, the Bangladeshi Govt has grown increasingly impatient to clear out the camps.
On Thu more than 20 buses carrying almost a thousand people left the camps in the Cox’s Bazar region, headed for the port city of Chittagong, said Anwar Hossain, regional police chief.

Fearing anti-Govt protests, China re-opens Tibet for tourists amid COVID-19

As the anti-China protests in Tibet gain international attention, China re-opened the region for tourists in March despite the coronavirus pandemic, thus, proclaiming “rapid growth of the regional tourist economy”.
With the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) witnessing 1.88 million domestic and overseas tourists on Oct 9, China has proclaimed the rapid growth of the regional tourist economy, The Taiwan Times stated.
It is important to note that it was due to the Chinese Govt’s re-opening of the region that the first and only case of coronavirus was seen here. The person was from Wuhan.
According to The Taiwan Times, there are many reasons why China is rushing to reopen the tourist sector of the TAR, but one key reason is the security concerns around growing instability in the region.

INDIA: COVID-19

Teams of Central & State govts are working together for vaccine distribution. India has the expertise & capacity in vaccine distribution & fare better compared to other nations: PM, in all party meeting. He also said that Indian scientists are very sure of success in developing COVID-19 vaccine, their confidence very high and shall be available in few weeks.
India reports less than 50k COVID cases for 27th day in a row; 36,594 new infections in last 24 hours