Newsletter 19 January

Sino-Indian Standoff: With India immersed in petty and hyper-partisan politics, China is quietly stepping up expansionism in the Himalayan Borderlands.

India preps for fresh Chinese Military activity in East Ladakh from March, as China’s PLA may ramp up military activity in Ladakh in 2 months-HT

India does hope that the incoming Biden administration will stand by its commitments on China, South China Sea, Taiwan or Indo-Pacific at large but New Delhi is not dependent on the US for handling the PLA on land frontiers.
Many Indian officials believe that China’s will not move out of the contested points in East Ladakh sector till President Xi Jinping delivers his address to mark 100 years of Communist Party of China (AFP)
With Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) frozen in their positions in East Ladakh sector’s polar winter, national security planners expect China to ramp up military activity at the friction points when the snows melt in late March.
There has been no withdrawal of any PLA troops from the contested points and China has used the stand-off to build advanced landing grounds across the Daulet Beg Oldi sector in Tianwendian, humungous shelters to house personnel and a shorter link from Hotan airbase to Karakoram pass.
“There could be military pressure in North of Depsang bulge,” said a senior commander.
According to people familiar with the matter, the dates of the 9^th round of military talks are expected to be decided soon to top the good progress made by both sides in disengagement and de-escalation plan.
This view is in sharp contrast to the view within a section of the Govt, who believe that the PLA is in no mood to move out of the contested points at least till paramount leader Xi Jinping delivers his address to the celebrations to mark 100 years of Chinese Communist Party’s rule. “This is the unfortunate record,” said a senior official.
While the Indian Army is prepared to sit out in East Ladakh for as long as it takes, the Chinese moves may also be influenced by the tone and tenor of the incoming US administration towards Beijing.
Although many believe that the incoming US administration could strike a balance by its de facto recognition of China as the other superpower, this new G-2 factor will hurt former superpowers like Russia.
India, on its part, believes that it is a multi-polar world and New Delhi is not dependent (much to the chagrin of western strategists) on Washington to deal with China to protect its frontiers.
And hence, the strategy of Atmanirbhar Bharat in developing indigenous technologies in areas of drones, fighter aircraft and stand-off weapons with the involvement of the public and private sector.
The onus lies on DRDO and HAL to roll-out the Tejas Mark I A on April 1, 2024, along with a prototype of the twin-engine indigenous fighter or AMCA as the Govt has shot down Mark II project.
The fact is that the US has indeed increased Indian awareness of the Indo-Pacific by providing access to information, the same cannot be said about the Ladakh stand-off.
This approach is contrary to China’s perception that sees India through the prism of the US and as an adversary.
With PLA ramping up border infrastructure all along the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC), India is alive to the distinct possibility that China could open up fronts in Arunachal Pradesh and around the Sikkim-Bhutan-India tri-junction area.
However, after the Galwan flare-up on June 15 and significant casualties on the PLA side, China will engage India with stand-off weapons and not repeat the mistake of engaging Indian Army in hand-to-hand combat in a worst-case scenario.
But there is a downside to such an engagement and China is acutely aware of it.
Much as China would like to teach a lesson to Indian Army as its state media often warns, Beijing is well aware that the political leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the capacity to retaliate like it did on 29-30 Aug 2020 on the south bank of Pangong Tso.
For a country that sees itself as a contender to the superpower slot now occupied by the US, any military loss of face to India will take the wind out of that claim.

China building infrastructure along border areas, said Govt-TOI

“We have seen recent reports on China undertaking construction work along the border areas with India. China has undertaken such infrastructure construction activity in the past several years,” the MEA said.
Reacting to reports based on satellite images of construction activities by China in an area claimed to be Indian Territory, the Govt said Beijing has undertaken infrastructure construction along border areas in the past several years and that Delhi has also built border roads and bridges to improve local connectivity.
The MEA asserted that the Indian Govt “remains committed to the objective of creating infrastructure along the border areas for the improvement of livelihood of its citizens”, including in Arunachal Pradesh.

[As reported yesterday’s]

Since the 80s till today, they (China) are occupying this area and construction of villages is not a new thing. They have already constructed military base between Bisa and Maza which is inside McMahon Line, under Indian territory. There was a wrong policy of Govt during Congress regime. They didn’t construct road up to the border which left a buffer zone of 3-4 km which China occupied. Construction of new villages isn’t a new thing, it’s all inherited from Congress: Tapir Gao, BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh.

GoI has decided to celebrate the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, as 'Parakram Diwas' every year

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the main program that will be organized to mark the birthday celebration of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (on Jan, 23^rd) to be held at Victoria Hall, Kolkata, informed by Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Culture Minister
On Dec 21^st, 2020, PM Modi urged people to mark 125^th birth anniversary celebrations of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a grand manner.

Amit Shah lauds Delhi Police for work during COVID-19 lockdown- ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tue lauded the work by Delhi Police during the COVID-induced lockdown and highlighted that the phase will be inscribed in golden words in its history, while speaking at Delhi Police Headquarters.
The Minister said that around 8,000 police personnel got COVID-infected and 30 succumbed to it.
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said that the police will sign a MoU with Gandhinagar’s National Forensic Sciences University today. Shah held a high-level meeting with the officials of Delhi Police, on Tue

Forex intervention by RBI to touch $93 billion by March: Report

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to spend at least $20 billion more to support the rupee and increase the forex kitty through the reminder of the financial year, taking its overall forex intervention to $93 billion, according to a report.

Centre writes to WhatsApp CEO to withdraw proposed changes to privacy policy - ANI

Govt of India, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has written to Will Cathcart, Global CEO of WhatsApp to withdraw the proposed changes to the Privacy Policy of the Facebook-owned messaging application for Indian users. The CEO has been asked to furnish responses to the Govt’s query regarding the privacy, data transfer and sharing policies, sources said.

Amazon Web Drama Draws the Wrath of India’s Hindu Nationalists-NYT

Artists say officials tied to the country’s ruling party use pressure to stem criticism. Streaming services hoping to tap the Indian market’s potential have been caught in the middle.
Supporters of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pour ink on a poster during a protest against a new Amazon series.
Bollywood once again has fallen into the cross hairs of India’s Hindu nationalist ruling party — and major Western streaming services like Amazon and Netflix increasingly find themselves caught in the middle.
Two separate criminal complaints were filed with the police over the weekend against the makers of “Tandav,” a splashy new big-budget web series on Amazon. The fast-paced political drama, which seems to borrow heavily from India’s political scene, may cut uncomfortably close to current events and the country’s biggest controversies.
The complainants, which include a politician with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have insisted that the government pull the series off the air or take out key scenes. Among other objections, they accused the series of disrespecting Hindu gods, belittling members of individual castes and sullying the office of the Prime Minister.
If the police find merit to the complaints, Amazon and the show’s promoters could wind up in criminal court.

External Affair Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, hosted a lunch-discussion with High Commissioners and Ambassadors of Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Botswana, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Dr Jaishankar says, the conversation covered COVID recovery, vaccines, air travel and digital experiences.

Signing of the India-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on Specified Skilled Workers

Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary and Suzuki Satoshi, Ambassador of Japan to India, signed a MoC between the GoI and GoJ on a Basic Framework for Partnership for Proper Operation of the System Pertaining to “Specified Skilled Worker (SSW)” on 18 Jan 2021 in New Delhi. “It will open the door for talented and skilled Indians to get jobs in Japan as Specified Skilled Worker,” Satoshi said.

Farmers Protest

SC-appointed panel to meet farmers on Jan 21

The Supreme Court had on Jan 12 suspended the pro-reforms farm laws approved by Parliament in Sept 2020 and also appointed a committee to look into farmers’ grievances over the laws.
A member of the committee appointed by the SC to examine the 3 farm laws, which have triggered protests by farmers, said it will meet farmers on Thu, after holding its first round of internal consultations, news agency ANI reported on Tue. The news agency cited Anil Ghanwat, one of the members of the committee, as saying that they will hold talks with farmers’ organizations which want to meet them in person.
“Video conferencing will be held with those who can’t come to us,” Ghanwat said, according to ANI.
“If the government wants to come and speak with us, we welcome it. We will hear the Govt too.
The biggest challenge is to convince the agitating farmers to come and speak with us, we will try our level best,” he added.
The Samyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farm unions leading protests against the laws, has however said its members would not appear before committee.
Farm unions have also said that all members of the top court-appointed committee had previously publicly praised the laws that farmers want to be scrapped.
‘We Just Need Traders to Buy Our Crops at Govt-Mandated Rates’: Farmers from Bundelkhand, UP
As protests against the new farm laws continue, UP’s cultivators demand the opening of 138 mandis already constructed for Rs 625.33 crore under a 2009 package, but then left to rot.

BJP Chief poses questions for Rahul on China, farmers and Covid-19

BJP President J P Nadda on Tue hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his barb on the Modi Govt over national security and also targeted the Congress leader over a host of issues, including agriculture and Covid-19. Gandhi has attacked PM Narendra Modi on the issue of national security after reports that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh.

Taunted by BJP President JP Nadda with a series of questions before his press conference on Tue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shot back: “Who is he? Why should I answer to him?”

Rahul Gandhi releases booklet named ‘Kheti ka khoon’, says 'farm laws designed to destroy Indian agriculture'

Gandhi alleged that the Centre was misinforming the country over the new farm laws and stated that a tragedy was unfolding today, in reference to the farmers’ ongoing agitation.

'China has clear strategic vision, India doesn't': Rahul Gandhi blasts Modi govt over border dispute

Recalling the two recent incidents in Doklam and Ladakh where Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed, Rahul Gandhi said China will make the most out of India’s shortcomings

PSU employees stage protest, demand pending salaries

Hussain said that their families are suffering as they don’t have any other resources to feed them.
Scores of employees working in various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) Tue held a protest demonstration to press for the release of their salaries they said were pending for the last several months.
The employees, who assembled at Press Enclave Lal Chowk Srinagar under the banner of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Sector Employees and Workers Federation, alleged that they are on the verge of starvation as they do not have any resources to feed their families.

NEIGHBORHOOD/ WORLD

China and South Korea signed an MoU on mutual translation & publication of classic works on Mon. Officials expressed hopes for further exchanges and cooperation in other cultural content fields between the two countries, China’s Korean Cultural Center announced on Tue.

Two words that have enraged China

It’s just two words, quite vague in their meaning. But in the last week, their mention in a secret US document has made Beijing’s blood boil.
The Chinese Govt gets angry about a lot of big things.
It gets angry about Hong Kongers organizing elections, despite that right being enshrined in law.
It gets angry about Taiwan asserting its independence, despite the nation never having been ruled by Communist China.
It gets angry at Australia wanting an investigation into COVID-19; despite the rest of the world wanting one too. But it’s seemingly also angry about something very small indeed.
Two words; a mere 11 letters: “Indo Pacific”.
It cropped up in a declassified US report last week. And the mere mention of Indo Pacific makes Beijing bristle.
“It all seems academic, but it has real diplomatic consequences and China wouldn’t be going to such lengths to cut down Indo Pacific if they didn’t feel it was harmful to them,” a China watcher told news.com.au.

COVID-19

China And WHO’s Initial Response To COVID-19 Pandemic Was Slow, Says Independent Panel

An independent review panel has said that China and the WHO could have acted faster to avert the ongoing crisis during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response in its second report said that there were signs early on in the pandemic for WHO to take rapid measures.
The report said, “more timely and stronger warnings of the potential for human-to-human transmission could have been issued by both WHO and national and local authorities”.
The panel further added that further analysis will be undertaken to better understand why the current system to access national preparedness failed to predict actual performance, and what can be done to improve the system.

WHO under scanner since start of pandemic: WHO received a lot of backlashes earlier last year after it failed to declare the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. It also garnered criticism for not announcing earlier that the disease can be transmitted from human to human. The UN health body was accused of siding with China during the pandemic and helping Beijing to cover up the outbreak for some time after the start of the pandemic. However, WHO denied all the allegations.

4,54,049 people have been vaccinated till now. Active cases around 2 lakhs after 7 months and the number is declining. Daily number of deaths less than 140 after 8 months: Health Ministry

0.18% adverse events happened following immunization and 0.002% of people were hospitalized following immunization. These are fairly low and the lowest so far in the world in the first 3 days: Health Ministry

A meeting of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is currently underway to discuss the permission sought by vaccine developer Bharat Biotech to conduct clinical trials of its intranasal vaccine for the Coronavirus.