Newsletter 20 June

June 20, 2020
 Team

This Week (June 20th)

This week has flared up tension between two sides, severely as Sino-Indian Standoff transformed in to fatalities of 20 Indian security personals (official report). Like previous week, Indo-Nepal and Indo- Pak border were also tensed, while very few discussion over COVID crisis.

Headlines of the Week

  1. Situation flared up after fatalities of 21 Indian security personals at LAC.
  2. Mike Pompeo Slams China’s Aggressive Behavior, Uses Galwan Valley Face-off as Reference
  3. Australia hit by massive cyber-attack, Chinese hackers suspected
  4. Trump signs sanctions law over China crackdown of Uighurs
  5. Nepal passed new map which claimed some part of Indian Territory from Upper House too.
  6. Tension over Indo-Pak border is also on the escalation in JnK Region

Situation flared up Drastically after fatalities of 20 Indian security personals at LAC

Major Developments on This Front

  • Colonel Babu was one of the 20 victims, lost their life, report said on June 16th.
  • China just released this step by step account of their version of what happened in Galwan Valley.
  • Ladakh face-off | No outsiders on Indian territory, Narendra Modi tells all-party meeting
  • India issues midnight rebuttal to China on their sovereignty claim on Galvan Valley in Ladakh.
  • PM made clear in ‘strong words’ that while India wants peace, it is capable of giving a befitting reply if instigated.
  • GoI and Indian at various fronts started manifesting their Anguish over China including Social Media
  • PM Called all party meeting on Fri over the situation in Ladakh,
  • 10 Indian soldiers, including four officers, released by China after talks
  • Satellite images suggest Chinese activity at India’s Himalayan border before clash
  • Indian Army engineers have completed construction of a 60-metre bridge over Galwan River in Ladakh that China wanted to stop. This is a bold strategic move to consolidate India’s position across the 255 km long strategic road from Darbuk to Daulat Beg Oldie.

China lays claim to entire Galwan after PM Modi says no Indian posts in anyone’s hand. MAJOR debate breaks out. Clarity needed. Has India ousted or conceded?–Rahul Shivshankar

China released this step by step account of their version of what happened in Galwan Valley. Issued by Chinese MEA. Uploaded moments ago by Chinese Embassy in New Delhi on their website. When will India give a blow by blow account?- Aditya Raj Kaul

Even by Modi’s penchant for springing surprises, his China statement is a stunner. By claiming China hasn’t encroached on Indian Territory, he might be offering China a face-saver to live up to its understanding with India to withdraw its forces from the areas they infiltrated. Or Modi is effectively surrendering Indian claims to the vantage locations that the PLA has occupied since late April. Take Galwan Valley: In a war, PLA — from this strategic valley — could cut through northern Ladakh and physically link up with Pakistan to put India under siege. Brahma Chellaney

A day Later, a clarification issued on Sat through PIB, on various statements made by PM in all party meeting, after 15 hrs

Attempts are being made in some quarters to give a mischievous interpretation to remarks by the Prime Minister at the All-Party Meeting (APM) yesterday.

Prime Minister was clear that India would respond firmly to any attempts to transgress the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In fact, he specifically emphasized that in contrast to the past neglect of such challenges, Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC (“unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain”).

The APM was also informed that this time, Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate. As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions.

The focus of the PM’s remarks in the APM discussions were the events of 15 June at Galwan that led to the loss of lives of 20 Indian military personnel. Prime Minister paid glowing tributes to the velour and patriotism of our armed forces who repulsed the designs of the Chinese there. The Prime Minister’s observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces. The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day.

The words of Prime Minister “Those who tried to transgress our land were taught a befitting lesson by our brave sons of soil”, succinctly summed up the ethos and the values of our armed forces. The Prime Minister further emphasized, “I want to assure you, that our armed forces will leave no stone unturned to protect our borders”.

What is Indian territory is clear from the map of India. This Government is strongly and resolutely committed to that. Insofar as there is some illegal occupation, the APM was briefed in great detail how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq.km has been yielded under circumstances with which this country is well aware. It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC.

At a time when our brave soldiers are defending our borders, it is unfortunate that an unnecessary controversy is being created to lower their morale. However, the predominant sentiment at the All Party Meeting was of unequivocal support to the Government and the armed forces at a time of national crisis. We are confident that the unity of the Indian people will not be undermined by motivated propaganda.

After violent face-off in Galwan Valley, satellite images reveal China diverting course of Galwan river

The satellite pictures showing signs of the landscape of the valley being altered through widening tracks, moving earth and making river crossings were taken by the Earth-imaging company Planet Labs, the Daily Mail reported. ‘Looking at it in Planet, it looks like China is constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river,’ Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies, was quoted as saying. The imagery sighted on Tuesday also showed the machinery along the mountains and in the Galwan River.

China Lays claim to entire Galwan Valley

  • It is being seen as an expansion of its previously known territorial claims in the area.
  • China’s government on Fri said it claimed the entire Galwan valley, the site of the June 15 clash on the border, including to areas that are currently on India’s side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
  • The Foreign Ministry accused India of “unilaterally building roads, bridges and other facilities in the Galwan Valley region” and said “the Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the LAC in the western section of the Sino-Indian border.”
  • The statement suggests Beijing is making a new claim to the LAC in this area, in the view of Indian officials.
  • This area was the site of a clash on June 15 that claimed the lives of at least 20 Indian soldiers in the worst violence on the border since 1967.
  • In the valley, the LAC runs east of the confluence of the Galwan and Shyok rivers. Monday’s clash was reported to have taken place on India’s side of the LAC.
  • India’s constructions, including a bridge across the river that was completed on Friday and is thought to be one of the triggers for the recent clash, are on India’s side of the LAC, in an area in between the Galwan-Shyok confluence and the line.
  • While most Chinese maps show almost all of the Galwan River within Chinese territory, the western edge of the river where it meets the Shyok River has not previously been shown as Chinese territory previously in most maps.
  • By now staking a claim to the entire valley and up to the confluence of the rivers –including on land where India has carried out construction work – Indian officials said China had expanded its claims and was seeking to alter the LAC.
  • While the LAC has not been demarcated and there are differing perceptions in more than a dozen locations along the LAC, this has not been a point of contention previously in the Galwan area, they said.

No outsiders on Indian territory, Narendra Modi tells all-party meeting

  • PM Modi chaired an all-party meeting on Fri.
  • He said
    • No outsider was inside Indian Territory in Ladakh
    • nor had any border post of the Indian Army captured by outside forces,
    • The 20 Indian soldiers who had died in the violent face- off between Indian and Chinese troops had “taught a lesson to those who had cast an eye on our Motherland before laying down their life”.
    • Modi’s closing remarks at the meeting (telecast on Doordarshan) made the point that intensive patrolling due to improve infrastructure and supply lines on the borders had raised the frequency of such clashes.
    • “For the last few years we have prioritized developing infrastructure, easing supply lines and equipment. Because of the new infrastructure especially at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) our capacity for patrolling has increased and because of that we are able to monitor and respond to things. Till now, the movement of those which used to take place without disruption, is now checked by our jawans,”
    • The armed forces are capable of defending the borders, and have been given a free hand. “Our forces are capable of moving in a coordinated fashion across all sectors,” he said.
  • Def Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were also present at the meeting as well as Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla.
  • “Singh answered some questions, especially the ones put by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but denied that any intelligence failure had taken place,” said the Hindu.
  • Among the first political leaders to speak was Congress president Sonia Gandhi who adopted a hard line, saying that the Indian government must assure that status quo ante is restored. She also asked if the violent face off was the result of an intelligence failure. She said the “entire Opposition was willing to make any sacrifice to ensure that Indian troops are battle ready”.

The 10 soldiers had been in Chinese captivity since Monday night’s clash at LAC in Ladakh. Military-level talks will continue.

Later, China has not seized any Indian personnel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told a daily press briefing on Friday in response to a question about the China-India border situation.

  • The Army had issued a statement Thurs saying “it is clarified that no Indian troops are missing in action”. While it did not mention the release, the statement was a clear indication that the soldiers have returned.
  • Sources in the defense and security establishment said the main focus of the high-level talks since Tue had been the release of the Indian soldiers.
  • Latest satellite imagery reveals that massive construction has been done by China in this area.
  • Global Times, quoted the Indian newspaper ‘India Today’ and said 10 Indians are treated well, luckily not among 17, who lost their life due lack of logistic support.

Satellite images suggest Substantial Chinese activity at India's Himalayan border before clash- Reuter (June 18th)

  • Colonel Babu was one of the 20 victims, report said. More Indian troops were rushed in and the confrontation turned into an hours-long brawl eventually involving up to 900 soldiers, the source said. Still no shots were fired on either side.
  • In the days leading up to the Galwan Valley Clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest.
  • The fighting was triggered by a row over two Chinese tents and observation towers that India said had been built on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian government sources in New Delhi and on the Indian side of the border in the Ladakh region said.
  • The satellite image (above) shows possible debris from the observation posts on Tuesday morning on a ridge on India’s side of the LAC. There was no such structure in the image taken a week earlier.
  • The satellite pictures, taken by Earth-imaging Company Planet Labs, it looks like China is constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river,” said Jeffrey Lewis.
  • “There are a ton of vehicles on both sides (of the LAC) – although there appear to be vastly more on the Chinese side. Lewis count 30-40 Indian vehicles and well over 100 vehicles on the Chinese side.”

Post Clash Development

China has repeatedly said that the incident happened because the Indian front-line troops blatantly broke the consensus reached by the military chiefs of both sides: Zhao Lijian, Chinese MEA on Galwan Valley Clash.

“I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our jawans will not be in vain. For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country are the most important…India wants peace but it is capable to give a befitting reply if instigated,” PM Modi said on Wed

The PM started his meeting with chief ministers on the Covid-19 with a two-minute silence as a tribute to the 20 soldiers who were killed in action in Galwan Valley this week. As he spoke, it became clear that the message was aimed not just at reassuring the nation but also delivering a sharp message to Beijing.

A day after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashed with the Chinese troops at LAC in Ladakh, political leaders from across the spectrum condemned China’s transgression and resolved to stand behind the country’s armed forces.

India issues midnight rebuttal to China on their sovereignty claim on Galvan Valley in Ladakh. India reminds China that ‘making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to the understanding’ reached during phone call earlier today between Wang Yi and Jaishankar.

Phone call between External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi

The External Affairs Minister and the State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, had a phone conversation this afternoon of Mon on the developments in Ladakh.

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar spoke with his Chinese counterpart to firmly demand status quo be respected by Chinese side. China releases statement minutes after the phone conversation. India yet to come out with a statement.

  • EAM conveyed the protest of the Govt of India in the strongest terms on the violent face-off in Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020. He recalled that at the meeting of senior Military Commanders held on 6th June, an agreement was reached on de-escalation and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
  • Ground commanders were meeting regularly to implement this consensus throughout the last week. While there was some progress, the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC.
  • While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties.
  • It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo.
  • EAM underlined that this unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship.
  • The need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps. The two sides should scrupulously and sincerely implement the understanding that was reached by the Senior Commanders on 6th Troops of both sides should also abide by the bilateral agreements and protocols. They should strictly respect and observe the Line of Actual Control and should not take any unilateral action to alter it.
  • The State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, on his part, conveyed the Chinese position on recent developments.
  • At the conclusion of the discussion, it was agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner, and both sides would implement the disengagement understanding of 6 June sincerely. Neither side would take any action to escalate matters and instead, ensure peace and tranquility as per bilateral agreements and protocols.

As per Chines Mouthpiece, Global Times, after MEA statement, “India must make sure similar incidents as that on Mon do not happen again. India must also not miscalculate the current situation, and not underestimate China’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territory: Chinese FM Wang Yi told Indian FM China-India Faceoff.

Five different border-management agreements, each signed with great fanfare at summits since 1993 and each hailed as a “breakthrough,” failed to stop China’s encroachments. Yet, faced with China’s latest aggression, India is reposing faith in these very accords for de-escalation.

IAF has pushed a proposal to the government for acquiring 33 new fighter aircraft, including 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs from Russia

“The Air Force has been working on this plan for some time but they have now fast-tracked the process and the proposals expected to be worth over Rs 6,000 crore would be placed before the Defense Ministry for its final approval next week at a high-level meeting,” government sources told ANI here.

India had placed orders for 272 Su-30 fighter jets over a period of 10 to 15 years in different batches and senior officers feel that the number of planes acquired so far would be enough for the service’s heavy-weight aircraft requirement.

[Background of Problem discussed last week]

Related Development

  • Telephone conversation between Prime Minister and H.E. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada on June 16th.
    • The two leaders agreed to continue their mutual consultations in coming days. They agreed that as large economies wedded to democratic values, India and Canada have a natural convergence on many global issues.
  • Members of ‘Voice of North East’ protest against China on Fri, at Teen Murti Chowk. A member says, “We warn China against their aggression in Indian territory. Chinese shouldn’t think that we will remain silent because of our mere facial similarity.”
  • In light of the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 across the globe, The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations has planned to hold an online celebration of the 6th annual International Yoga Day.
  • We’re aware & monitoring the situation between Indian & Chinese forces along LAC Control and Eastern Ladakh. We’ve seen Indian Army statement that 20 Indian soldiers died as a result of the confrontation, we send our deepest condolences on that: White House Press Secretary

The casualties of Indian soldiers in Eastern Ladakh’s Galwan sector have caused irreparable damage to India-China relations. -BBC

On the night of 15 June, it wasn’t only the 21 soldiers who died after falling off the cliff on which the two armies were engaged in a melee.

No ‘Number’ of causalities has issued from Beijing.

Galwan Valley: Image appears to show nail-studded rods used in India-China brawl –BBC

Defense analyst Ajai Shukla, who first tweeted the image, described the use of such weapons as “barbarism”. The absence of firearms in the clash dates back to a 1996 agreement between the two sides that guns and explosives be prohibited along the disputed stretch of the border, to deter escalation.

The image was widely shared on Twitter in India, prompting outrage from many social media users. Neither Chinese nor Indian officials commented on it.

Media reports said troops clashed on ridges at a height of nearly 4,267 m along a steep terrain, with some soldiers falling into the fast-flowing Galwan river in sub-zero temperatures.

What happened exactly: It appears China has bigger plans:

It is taking advantage of an Indian patrolling lacuna to shift the LAC. The lacuna is this: While Chinese border guards have always patrolled right up to their claimed LAC, Indian troops have stayed short of the LAC, walking only up to a line of “patrolling points” (PPs) that are some way short of the LAC. An official who was involved in drawing up the PPs says the aim was to “avoid provoking the Chinese”.

Historical Perspectives

A high-level government body, the China Study Group drew up the first set of PPs in 1975, soon after Indian satellites completed their first survey and metric maps of the border areas became available. That initial line of PPs was moved closer to the LAC after the BPTA was signed in 1993 and finalized in 1995-96 when the current PPs were laid down. But, in most sectors, there remains a gap of a few km between the PP and the LAC.

In 1986, after the PLA occupied Indian Territory in Sumdorong Chu in Arunachal Pradesh, India not just massed forces at the intrusion point but also designated Arunachal Pradesh a full-fledged Indian state. In handling the current crisis, New Delhi must reverse years of subservient behavior towards China. Beijing would have noted that, since the Wuhan summit in 2018, Delhi has avoided criticizing China over Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang Hong Kong, the Belt and Road Initiative and its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. New Delhi rightly upbraided Pakistan’s envoy for detaining two Indian embassy employees in Islamabad. However, the Chinese ambassador to New Delhi has not been summoned even after the barbaric killing of 20 Indian soldiers. It is time to shed the kid gloves.

What happened in Galwan was waiting to happen for a very long time. The only surprise is that it took so long to happen given the increasing number of face-offs between Indian and Chinese soldiers over the last few years. Something had to give, and it did.

The changed dynamics along the LAC will also have repercussions on other aspects of the bilateral relationship. On the economic side, there is bound to be a push back. Already state owned telecom companies have been barred from buying equipment from Chinese companies. Other curbs, not just on investments but also contracts and a range of other products, especially those used in critical infrastructure, are also being seriously considered.

  • In this age of instant communications, this tweet represents everything that is wrong with the GOIs strategic communications. Almost 15 hrs after the PMs remarks a clarification has been issued which should have come within minutes of the -ve narrative that had started developing- sushant sareen
  • Does Modi’s statement signal India is willing to live with China’s forcible change of the status quo in the Galwan Valley and at Lake Pangong? By occupying unoccupied areas, China has put a halt to India’s patrolling of those areas and built positions overlooking Indian defenses.-Brahma Chellaney
  • Every day, as part of its standard playbook for camouflaging aggression, China brands India as the aggressor, even as New Delhi struggles to get its act together. China’s new statement further rewrites history. Also note its peremptory tone: “work with us,” not the two together.- Brahma Chellaney
  • It’s not just the Indian soldiers that fell off the cliff at the border- Shushant Sareen
  • “Remember, I warned that China will use talks with India to buy time to consolidate its hold on newly encroached areas? Satellite imagery shows just that. Within days, it has “altered the landscape” of Galwan Valley by building tracks, a possible dam, etc.”- Brahma Chellaney
  • “Sino-Indian relations can never go back to the old normal. They will reset with greater competitiveness and in ways that neither country had actually intended at the beginning of this crisis.”- Ashley Tellis
  • What India needs to ponder? 1) Why no lessons learnt from narrative disaster post Balakot and Article 370 abrogation? 2) Is the Govt confused between Strategic Messaging and PR? 3) Have the forces across LAC been equipped well to tackle any adversity? 4) Were we in denial? – Aditya Raj Kaul
  • “American intelligence believes 35 Chinese troops died, including one senior officer … [China] considers the casualties among its troops as a humiliation for its armed forces and has not confirmed the numbers for fear of emboldening other adversaries.”- Brahma Chellaney
  • Under its communist dictatorship, China has turned into a thuggish state that respects neither bilateral agreements nor international law. In fact, it uses bilateral accords against other states without itself complying with those agreements. India has yet to grasp this reality. Brahma Chellaney
  • As the Galwan Valley and the surrounding strategic heights were on its side of the LAC and there had been no Chinese intrusions after the 1962 war, India made the costly mistake of leaving unguarded those heights that overlook its defenses and new highway to its most forward base
  • ‘China feels vulnerable about borders, but may not escalate Galwan’ -TOI

Mike Pompeo Slams China's Aggressive Behavior, Uses Galwan Valley Face-off As Reference

  • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized China for its aggressive and expansionist attitude which has created tensions in the South East Asian region and its impacts across the world.

Secretary Pompeo’s remarks came at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit which was held virtually. What is notable is that it came out after his seven-hour meeting with Yang Jiechi ‘helps atmosphere’ – but statements reveal divisions

  • The countries’ top diplomats indicate a wish to prevent a further deterioration in relations
  • But the two sides give differing accounts of the meeting and US efforts may be driven by this year’s election, some observers say
  • Pompeo says way U.S. treats Hong Kong depends on how China does
  • During my meeting with CCP Politburo Member Yang Jiechi, he recommitted to completing and honoring all of the obligations of Phase 1 of the trade deal between our two countries.
  • Pompeo referenced the incident along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley in Ladakh earlier this week, which resulted in the death of at least 20 Indian Army personnel and the detained 10 personnel after over a day. “The PLA has escalated border tensions – we see it today in India, the world’s most popular – populous democracy. And we watch as it militarizes the South China Sea and illegally claims more territory there, threatening vital sea lanes, a promise they broke again,” Pompeo said.
  • During his address, Pompeo mentioned how China has become a world power, attracting investments from businesses and governments from across the world, including himself. However, Pompeo went on to add that over time, the promise waned since the Chines Communist Party took over and has been breaking multiple international agreements whilst suspending democratic values, starting with the autonomy of Hong Kong.
  • He went on to list how China has bullied the World Health Organisation (WHO) and to hide details about coronavirus, which has disrupted the world and has claimed more than 462,000 lives.
  • Pompeo went on to state how China is waging cyber wars against countries, with the latest suspect being Australia, adding debts on countries, forcing them to depend on China.
  • “The Chinese Communist Party decreed an end to freedom in Hong Kong, violating an UN-registered treaty and the rights of its citizens – one of just many international treaties that the Chinese Communist Party has violated.
  • General Secretary Xi has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we have not seen since World War II,” Pompeo said.
  • Pompeo raised how countries in Europe were forced to choose between USA and China, adding extra pressure on them. He added it’s not a choice between the two superpowers, but between “freedom and tyranny.”

Australia hit by massive cyber-attack, Chinese hackers suspected

  • A massive Cyber-Attack hit Australian Government and businesses on Fri, which is reported to be handiwork of a nation-state backed hacking group and China is top on the suspect list, the media reported.
  • In an urgent press conference in Canberra, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the ongoing, large-scale hack was being executed by a “sophisticated, state-based cyber actor“, reports www.news.com.au.
  • “This activity is targeting Australian organizations across a range of sectors, including all levels of government, industry, political organizations, education, health, essential service providers and operators of other critical infrastructure,” Morrison told the media.
  • According to The New Daily, government agencies believe “China is behind cyber-attacks on Australian institutions, including hospitals and state-owned utilities”.
  • The report quoted ABC television as saying that government sources had confirmed the attacker was China, while Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings told The Australian it was “very clear” that the Asian giant was behind the cyber-attack.
  • If this stands true, the hacking would further worsen the relations between the two countries which are already strained around the origin of Covid-19 and sentencing to death of an Australian drug smuggler.
  • Morrison, however, did not name China. “I can only say what I have said. We know it is a sophisticated, state-based cyber actor because of the scale and nature of the targeting and the tradecraft used. Regrettably, this activity is not new. Frequency has been increasing,” he was quoted as saying.
  • According to the Council on Foreign Relations, China, Russia and Iran are the top three states suspected of sponsoring cyber operations.
  • The Australian Cyber Security Centre has been “actively working with targeted organizations to ensure that they have appropriate technical mitigations in place and their defenses are appropriately raised”, according to reports.
  • Defense Minister Linda Reynolds was quoted as saying there was “no doubt that malicious cyber activity is increasing in frequency, scale, in sophistication and in its impact”.

Trump signs sanctions law over China crackdown of Uighurs

Donald Trump has signed into law an act that authorizes sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims. The move is likely to deliver a fresh blow to the already tense US-China ties.

US President Donald Trump on Wed signed into a law an act authorizing sanctions against Chinese officials over the mass detention and surveillance of Uighur Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang province. The new legislation is the most significant action by any country to punish China over its treatment of ethnic minorities.   

“The Act holds

  • “The Act holds accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uyghurs and other minorities in China,” Trump said in a statement.
  • The Uighur Human Rights Act, which passed through Congress with near unanimous support, requires the US administration to identify Chinese officials responsible for the “arbitrary detention, torture and harassment” of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang. The US would then move to freeze any assets held by those officials in its jurisdiction and ban their entry into the country.
  • Already tense ties
  • The sanctions move is likely to deliver a fresh blow to the already tense US-China relations.
  • Nury Turkel, a Uighur rights activist and member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, welcomed the announcement. “It is a great day for American citizens as well as Uyghur and other Turkic people in China who have been subject to ghastly human rights abuses by the Communist Party of China,” he said.
  • But Beijing said the new law “maliciously attacks” China’s policy in the Xinjiang region, and threatened countermeasures. It also urged the US to stop interfering in its internal affairs. China will “resolutely hit back and the US will bear the burden of all subsequent consequences,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thurs.
  • Trump’s signing of the act comes on the same day as excerpts emerged from an explosive memoir of his former national security adviser, John Bolton. In his book, Bolton claims that Trump sought China’s help in his reelection in 2020.
  • Moreover, he claims that Trump was often willing to overlook China’s rights abuses against
  • Uighur Muslims, and even encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping that they “should go ahead with building the camps, which he thought was exactly the right thing to do.”

Nepal's Upper House Now Unanimously Endorses New Map That Includes Indian Territory

On Sat Afternoon, Govt of Nepal issued official statement, “Nepal is confident that our friendly neighbors India & China will resolve, in the spirit of good neighborliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means in favour of bilateral, regional & world peace and stability”

Nepal and China’s ruling communist parties are holding a workshop later on Friday where they are expected to share experience on running the party and government.-Kathmandu Times

  • The meeting is scheduled for Fri’s afternoon in Nepal.
  • “We are preparing for a virtual meeting with the Communist Party of China this afternoon,” said Bishnu Sapkota, press advisor to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal who will make his remarks.
  • The virtual meeting will be held from the party headquarters Dhumbarahi in Kathmandu and other leaders would join from all seven provinces while the CPC’s leaders from Tibet Autonomous Region would also join.
  • Some senior party leaders, however, said they are not aware of such a meeting.
  • “I am not aware of the meeting,” said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, spokesperson for the Nepal Communist Party. “No one has told me about it.”
  • “The Department of Foreign Affairs is not aware of the function,” Bishnu Rijal, deputy chief of the department, told the Post. “Members of the party’s Department of Foreign Affairs are not invited and the list of the participants was prepared by the School Department.”
  • Last year too, weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal, the ruling Nepal Communist Party had organized a two-day symposium in Kathmandu, where scores of senior Communist Party of China leaders had participated

On Thurs, Nepal’s Upper House endorses the New Map Amendment Bill (Coat of Arms) proposal, unanimously; 57 votes in support and 0 votes against or abstained.

  • In a major development, Nepal’s Upper House on Thursday has endorsed the new map of the country that shows territories claimed by India in it. The New Map Amendment Bill (Coat of Arms) proposal was passed unanimously with 57 votes in support and 0 votes against or abstained. The aforesaid map includes Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, Kalapani that are claimed by India as its own territory.
  • Earlier on June 9, its lower house unanimously approved the bill. Apart from the ruling Communist Party, the main opposition party Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties also backed the proposal to consider the constitution amendment bill. Moreover, even as New Delhi has called the act as ‘violate’, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Oli termed it as an issue with ‘big focus’ and claimed that India has stationed forces in Nepal’s territory since 1962, but the area belongs to them.
  • Terming the newly passed Nepalese constitutional amendment as ‘violated’, the MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, on Sat said that India has noted the new development. Reaffirming India’s stance, he said that the ‘artificial enlargement of claims’ was not fact-based or tenable.
  • Defense Minister Rajnath Singh while addressing Uttarakhand Jan Samvad virtual rally stated: “If there is any misunderstanding between India and Nepal, then we will sort it out through dialogue. No power can break it. No bitterness against Nepal can be formed in the mind of Indians. We will sit and sort it through,” he added, opining that the relationship was a spiritual and religious one.
  • Silent protest outside the Chinese embassy in Nepal by civil society groups blaming Beijing of instigating war in South Asia after illegal incursion into Indian territory in Galvan which led to a violent face off. Protesters ask China to stop war mongering immediately.

Human rights abuses

  • China has rounded up at least a million Uighurs in Xinjiang and imprisoned them in what it calls “re-education camps.” An investigation by DW found that most of the detainees were imprisoned due to their religious practices and culture, rather than extremist behavior.
  • The detainees were forced to endure countless hours of indoctrination and language classes. A more recent report found that many were subjected to sham trials in the internment camps and convicted without evidence or due process of any kind.
  • The residents in Xinjiang province are subjected to draconian methods of tracking and arrests, with authorities using high-tech surveillance cameras for facial recognition.

China Lashes Out at U.S.’s Action Against Mass Incarcerations

A new law aimed at punishing Chinese officials involved in mass internments of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang came as John Bolton accused President Trump of supporting Beijing’s crackdown.

China lashed out at the United States on Thursday after President Trump signed into law a bill that would allow him to impose sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the mass incarceration of more than one million Uighurs and members of other largely Muslim minorities in the western region of Xinjiang.

India Elected for 8th Term as Non-Permanent UNSC Member, PM Thanks International Community

  • After India is elected as non-permanent member of UNSC, India’s PR to UN, India’s PR to UN T S Tirumurti said: India will become a member of UNSC at a critical juncture & we are confident that in the COVID19 and post COVID world India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation.
  • India wins the United Nations Security Council elections as a non-permanent member from the Asia-Pacific category. India was standing unopposed from the block for 2021-22 term. India gets 184 votes out of 192. Its 8th time that India has been elected to UNSC.
  • With India formally elected as non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council for a two-year term on Wed, PM Modi said that he was “deeply grateful” for the overwhelming support from the international community.
  • There were five vacant seats in the UNSC, out of which four were filled by the first round of voting on Wed.
  • Along with India, Kenya, Ireland, Mexico and Norway obtained the requisite two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
  • The 10 non-permanent seats are distributed on a regional basis – five for African and Asian States; one for Eastern European States; two for the Latin American and Caribbean States; and two for Western European and other States.

Over Indo-Pak Border

BSF shoots down Pakistani Hexar Copter Drone carrying 1 M4 carbine machine (US Made), 2 filled magazines (60 rounds), 7 Chinese grenades near Kathua International border on Sat’s morning.

  • The Border Security Force shot down a Pakistani drone along the International Border in Kathua district.
  • The patrolling party of the BSF found the drone flying in the Rathua area of Hiranagar sector in Kathua, JnK and shot it down. The drone fell into a field around 5.10 am Sat.
  • “The Pakistani drone was flying inside Indian territory in Rathua area in Hiranagar sector when a BSF patrol shot it down” said a police officer at Kathua police control room.
  • “It is a big development because the Pakistanis have adopted similar modus operandi of what they have been doing in Punjab,” he added.
  • The six copter drone itself weighed around 17.5 kilograms and the consignment weighed around five to six kilograms, said Jamwal.

Of the 49 new recruits who got enrolled into ranks of terrorist tanzims, 27 have been neutralized. It doesn’t give us any pleasure to neutralize these boys but if anybody takes up arms and causes harm to others, we’ll do what we’re doing: GOC 15 Corps Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju on Fri.

  • In other ongoing operation at Shopian 4 more terrorists are reported killed by security forces. With this 5 terrorist are killed in this operation and 3 in Meez Awantipur taking the total to 8 terrorists killed in the last 24 hours in Kashmir. JnK Police, Army and CRPF claimed on Fri.
  • In a joint operation by JnK Police, Army 1 RR and CRPF one terrorist named Imran Nabi of Hizbul has been arrested in Anantnag. One Pistol and other incriminating material recovered from his possession. Further investigation has been taken up.
  • One terrorist killed in Ops launched by Shopian Police along with Army & CRPF. Earlier Ops by Awantipur Police, Army and SF at Pampore in which one terrorist was killed Fri. Other two terrorists shifted to adjoining mosque. Encounter begins between terrorists and security forces in Munand area of Shopian in South Kashmir.
  • Punjab Police arrests two Khalistani operatives Gurmeet Singh and Vikram Singh. One MP5 with two magazines and one 9mm pistol with two magazines recovered. Both were in touch with Pakistan ISI handlers and wanted to plan terror attacks and planned killings.

Pak will use Ladakh standoff to try and sneak in more terrorists to India: J&K DGP

  • The Indian border with Pakistan, including the Line of Control (LoC), needs extra attention in view of the Ladakh development, Singh said at a high-level meeting to review the security in the Union territory.
  • “The border with Pakistan needs extra attention in view of the Ladakh developments,” DGP Singh said, adding, “There are reports that terrorist outfits in Pakistan — JeM, HM, LeT — are joining hands to create mischief in the Union territory.” Directing his officers to take care of vital installations, the DGP said there are greater challenges and the security forces must be prepared in the changed environment. He added that security on highways has been increased.

Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Package-Progress So Far

More than 42 crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 65,454 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package

As part of the Rs 1.70 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, the Government announced free food grains and cash payment to women and poor senior citizens and farmers. The swift implementation of the package is being continuously monitored by central and state governments. More than42crore poor people received financial assistance of Rs 65,454crore under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package.

The progress achieved so far, under various components of PMGKP is as follows:

Rs 17,891 crore front loaded towards payment of the first instalment of PM-KISAN to 8.94 crore beneficiaries.

Rs 10,325 crore credited to 20.65crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders as first installment. Rs. 10,315 crore credited to20.62crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders with second installment. Rs. 10,312 crore credited to20.62 crore (100%) women Jan Dhan account holders with third installment.

Nation Amid COVID-19

PM-CM meeting

PM Modi held a meeting with CMs of states and UT on Tue & Wed and highlighted the efforts taken to dilute the Coronavirus consequent lockdown and the pandemic itself, in his opening remarks. The Prime Minister emphasized that India is one of the countries where deaths due to COVID-19 are the least and that the country had already started preparing back when the pandemic was not even a part of global discussions. PM Modi stressed on the steps taken by the government to dilute the lockdown and informed that since the past few weeks ‘green shoots’ have been visible in the Indian economy.

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