Newsletter 22 September

Sino-Indian Standoff: Things are Just matter of ‘Time’ to Come out

India-China military commanders to meet at least twice more before disengagement commences

Breakthrough proves elusive. Stalemate continues

Details of the talks would be discussed within the Govt and the future course of action decided, it has been learnt.
PLA’s deployment of long-range missiles in Occupied Aksai China is designed to cow down Indian Army.
The outgoing and incoming Indian Ladakh corps commander and the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) South Xinjiang Military District commander along with the head of India’s China division in the ministry of external affairs met at Moldo on Mon as part of an agreement between the foreign ministers of two countries.
Authoritative sources described the nature of talks as “complex” with each side holding its ground but agreeing that India and PLA needed to completely disengage to ensure peace in border areas.
“We will need at least 2 more rounds of talks at the military-diplomatic level before a consensus on disengagement exercise is reached,” said an official.
The road-map to peace on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is disengagement, de-escalation and then de-induction of both the armies with all steps requiring a certain amount of synchronization.
India insisted that China should move back to the positions which existed before April-May 2020 timeframe in the Eastern Ladakh sector, ANI.
The problem is rather serious with PLA deploying huge amount of weapon platforms including intermediate-range ballistic missiles in occupied Aksai Chin to threaten India.
It is quite evident from the satellite imagery that PLA has packed Aksai Chin with heavy weapon platforms and continues to build-up on the airbases in the Western Theatre Command.
Apart from missile silos in Xaidulla, just across the Karakoram Pass, in Xinjiang and Qizil Jilga in Tibet, PLA is playing the psychological warfare game to the hilt in Ladakh with rocket regiments, the surface to air missile batteries and artillery guns deployed.
China has now deployed intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) in Aksai Chin, which it occupied in the mid-1950s. IRBMs generally are nuclear-armed, but China has also built conventional warheads. In a non-nuclear role, IRBMs can scarcely cause massive damage.

After India-China standoff in Doklam, Beijing doubled its air bases, air defenses and heliports near LAC: Report

According to a new report by Stratfor, a leading global geopolitical intelligence platform, China has more than doubled its air bases, air defense positions, and heliports near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the 2017 Doklam crisis, indicating its intent to increase military posturing in border disputes with India in the future.

Post-Doklam India-China standoff, the Chinese started revising their strategy, and PLA is now reassessing, re-examining and reformulating its anti-India strategy.

“China is expanding and upgrading a large number of military facilities along its entire border with India as tensions continue to run high in the wake of the bloody clash in June, followed by the reported exchange of gunfire in late Aug,” the report says.

China has ”started constructing at least 13 entirely new military positions near its borders with India“. This includes 3 air bases, 5 permanent air defense positions and 5 heliports. ”Construction on 4 of those new heliports started only after the onset of the current Ladakh crisis in May,” it says.

Stratfor has warned that “By forcing India to respond in kind, China’s aggressive strategy is leading to a greater concentration of military assets in heavily disputed areas along the border that could raise the risk of potential escalations and sustained conflict.”

‘UN needs to address crisis of confidence’: PM Modi calls for ‘reformed multilateralism’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tue that the original aim with which the United Nations was built still remains incomplete as it needs ‘reformed multilateralism’ to address today’s challenges, while addressing the High-Level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to mark 75 years of the global body.
‘The declaration acknowledges the need for reform in the United Nation itself. You cannot fight today’s challenges with outdated structures,” the Prime Minister said.
Speaking about organization’s like the UN Security Council, he said the UN needs to adapt in order to address contemporary challenges which a structure set up in 1945 may not be able to do.
PM Modi while supporting the reforms undertaken by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “We support ongoing reforms by the Secretary-General…We reiterate our call for reforms of three of the principal organs of the UN. We commit to instill new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council and continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council.”
He said work still needs to be done towards reducing inequality, mitigating conflicts and addressing the threat of climate change.
He also highlighted that India is one of the largest contributors to the UN Peacekeeping Missions.
India has assigned over 200,000 troops in 50 of the 71 peacekeeping missions in the last 60 years.

Pak globally-recognized epicenter of terrorism: India at UN

As the UN member states marked 75^th years of the UN in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, as expected, Pakistan’s FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Mon raked up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during his address to the high-level meeting on UNGA.

Exercising India’s right to reply on Mon, First Secretary in the country’s Permanent Mission to the UN Vidisha Maitra said: “Pakistan is a country which is globally recognized as the epicenter of terrorism, which by its own admission harbor’s and trains terrorists, and hails them as martyrs and consistently persecutes its ethnic and religious minorities”.

“We reject the malicious reference made to the Union Territory of JnK, which is an integral part of India.”

House in Session: Manson Session

Farm bills row: Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh to observe 24-hour fast

In a letter to vice president Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the chairperson of the House, Harivansh wrote about how members of the House ‘indulged in physical violence in the name of democracy,’ on Sun.

Government capitalizes on Opposition's boycott, passes 6 Bills in 3 hours:

Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020
Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020
National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020,
Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020
Bill to remove cereals, edible oils etc from list of essential commodities

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also demanded that the government introduce a bill mandating that private companies and even Food Corporation of India will not purchase farm produce below the minimum support price.

Lok Sabha passes Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020, two other Bills late night, Yesterday

Lok Sabha on Mon passed The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2^nd Amendment) Bill whereby fresh insolvency proceedings will not be initiated at least for
six months starting from Mar 25^thamid the coronavirus pandemic. The Bill was already passed in RS on Sat.
Sending a strong message to farmers across the country on continuation of minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement system, the government on Mon hiked the MSP for buying wheat and five other Rabi crops (winter) by up to 6%.
The MSP of wheat, the biggest crop of Rabi season, has been hiked by Rs 50 to Rs 1,975 per quintal, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Lok Sabha. Besides this, MSPs of lentil (masoor), gram, barley, safflower and mustard/ rapeseed have also been increased.
Lok Sabha on Mon passed The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, that seeks to make it mandatory for office bearers of any NGO to provide their Aadhaar numbers at the time of registration and also bring various other changes.
The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020

Congress, opposition parties boycott Lok Sabha proceedings, seeks withdrawal of farm bills

Security Forces Recovered Arms and Ammunition, Drone’s Dropped From J&K’s Akhnoor

Security forces on Tue recovered a large cache of drone dropped arms and ammunition in Akhnoor border area of J&K’s Jammu district.
Police sources said local police and the army recovered two AK-47 assault rifles, three AK magazines, 90 rounds of AK-47 rifle and one star pistol.
The drone dropping of arms and ammunition from across the border is a new phenomenon which is being adopted by handlers of militancy from across the border.

No restriction on Accessing Any Website in JnK: Centre said in Lok Sabha

18.52 lakh domicile certificates issued till EOD Sept 21^st. The total number of certificates issued include over 497238 in Kashmir division and 1335643 in Jammu division. 111698 were rejected for want of prescribed documents- J&K Govt.

Successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) – conducted by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha: Ministry of Defense

SBI offers up to 2 yrs repayment relief for home & retail loans

State Bank of India will provide relief to home and retail loan borrowers impacted by Covid-19 in the form of either a moratorium of up to 24 months or by rescheduling instalments and extending the tenure by a period equivalent to the moratorium granted.
The moratorium period can be extended by a maximum of 2 years, setting the tone for other banks, especially PSU players.

IIT Guwahati can become pivotal center for engagement with neighboring countries through education: PM Modi

“Guwahati is an important part of the northeast, and it is also the center of India’s Act East Policy.
This region is also the gateway to India’s relation with South East Asia.
The mainstay of relations with these countries has been culture, commerce, connectivity and capacity.
IIT Guwahati can become a pivotal center for the same,” PM said while addressing the convocation of IIT, Guwahati through video-conferencing.

Tesla India R&D center in Bengaluru being secretly planned

Some new evidence has surfaced about the arrival of Tesla in India in one form or another. The company is reportedly considering to set up an R&D center in Bengaluru.
Tesla held a meeting with Karnataka government on 10 Sept 2020, as per a new report from The Economic Times.
The state government is seeking an investment from the world’s no.1 electric car company.
Tesla has shown interest in setting up a research and innovation center in the Indian Silicon Valley, and a follow-up meeting may take place by next week.

NEIGHBORHOOD/WORLD

China sharply expands mass labor program in Tibet

China is pushing growing numbers of Tibetan rural laborers off the land and into recently built military-style training centers where they are turned into factory workers, mirroring a program in the western Xinjiang region that rights groups have branded coercive labor.

Nepal stops distribution of textbook with new map

Cabinet cites inaccuracies in education ministry publication, reports The Kathmandu Post.

India has already termed as untenable the “artificial enlargement” of the territorial claims by Nepal after its Parliament unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas which India maintains belongs to it.

Pompeo Welcomes Rejection Of China's 'Unlawful' Maritime Claims In South China Sea At UN

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Mon welcomed the rejection of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea at the United Nations by the United Kingdom, Germany and France. He said that China must abide by all international norms.

This statement comes after in a joint note was submitted to the UN last week by the 3 European countries, saying that China’s claims in the South China Sea do not adhere to international law and with provisions under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China claims most of the sea, often invoking its so-called nine-dash line to justify its alleged historic rights to the key waterway that is also contested by the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei. It rejected a 2016 UN-backed tribunal’s ruling that its claims were without legal basis. (ANI)

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tells Beijing to ''back-off'' after the rise in airspace ''incursion'' by the Chinese jets.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media warned “If the US and the island of Taiwan take further actions, the Chinese mainland will increase pressure on them in political, economic, diplomatic and military aspects”.

INDIA COVID UPDATE

India’s Covid tally races past 55 lakh; recovery rate at 80.86%

India’s Covid-19 infection tally crossed 55 lakh on Tue, while a record 101468 patients recovered in a day, taking their number to 4497867 and pushing the recovery rate to 80.86%.

The caseload surged to 5562663, with 75083 new infections being reported in a span of 24 hrs while the death toll climbed to 88935 as the virus claimed 1053 more lives.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a record number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus registered across the world over the past week — almost 2 million infections — which marks the highest number in a single week so far.

“From 14 through 20 Sept, there were almost 2 million new cases of COVID-19, which represents a 6% increase compared to the previous week, and the highest number of reported cases in a single week since the beginning of the epidemic.

India trials for Russia’s ‘Sputnik-V’ vaccine could start in next few weeks: Dr Reddy’s Lab