[ NATIONAL ]

EAM Jaishankar held talks with Rajapaksas today as Sri Lanka’s crisis persists

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will on Mon meet the Sri Lankan leadership, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, even as the country battles a grave economic crisis with help, including from India that recently extended $2.4 billion. During his visit, he will also attend the BIMSTEC meeting. He will be in Sri Lanka from Mar 28 -30. This follows the visits to India by the Sri Lanka Finance Minister in Dec 2021 earlier this month and that of Sri Lanka Foreign Min in Feb 2022. MEA stated that the bilateral meetings and interactions which EAM will have in Lanka highlight the priority that Lanka occupies for India.

Jaishankar concluded his the Maldives visit on Sun: takes stock of projects, signs key pacts

External Affairs Minister held discussions on regional security and maritime safety issues with Foreign minister Abdulla Shahid at the Addu City in the island nation. As India looks to bolster its ties with two key neighbors in the Indian Ocean to counter China’s influence, Jaishankar, during his visit to the Maldives, signed pacts on health and education besides discussing regional security and maritime safety issues with Foreign minister Abdulla Shahid at the Addu City late on Sat.

Nepal PM Deuba to meet Modi in Delhi on 2 April, neighbors to aim at upgrading ties post map row

During a 3-day visit to India next month, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will hold talks with PM Narendra Modi at a bilateral meeting on 2 April. Both sides are expected to review the India-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950, even as New Delhi will be looking at boosting connectivity, keeping in mind China’s growing inroads there. During the visit, Nepal is expected to raise the issue of reviewing the 1950 India-Nepal Friendship Treaty, and Delhi is likely to vow for more connectivity projects.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expected to visit India

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to visit India, a visit that comes amid global geopolitical turmoil amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the first such high-level visit from Russia to India since Feb 24 when the invasion started. On the agenda will be many things, including trading under the rupee-ruble mechanism. New Delhi has been engaged by both sides in the situation even as it has been able to display its strategic autonomy. At the UN, India has abstained from votes on Ukraine-Russia resolutions, whether it’s West-backed resolutions as it has been calling for direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Later this year PM Modi is expected to travel to Russia for the annual India Russia summit. Lavrov’s expected travel comes even as India and US will be holding 2+2 foreign and defense ministers meet in the 2^nd week of April.

Israel PM Naftali Bennett tests positive for Covid-19 days before India visit

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has tested positive for Covid-19 days ahead of a scheduled visit to India to mark the 30^th anniversary of diplomatic relations and to take forward the bilateral strategic alliance. Bennett is scheduled to visit India during Apr 3-5, which would be his 1^st visit as PM. There is no official word on whether his Covid-19 status will affect the schedule.  The two leaders met on the margins of the COP26 in Glasgow last Nov and spoke on the telephone in Aug 2021.

DRDO successfully tests Army version of medium-range surface to air missile

Defense Research and Development Organisation conducted two successful flight tests of the Indian Army version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on Sun. as part of the live firing trials against high-speed aerial targets. The missiles intercepted the aerial targets and destroyed them completely, registering direct hits at both ranges. The first launch was to intercept a medium-altitude long-range target and the second launch was for proving the capability of a low altitude short-range target. This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army.

Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs, UK, will pay an official visit to India on Mar 31, 2022. She’ll hold bilateral consultations with EAM Dr S Jaishankar on bilateral, regional & global issues of mutual interest. This would be second visit of the UK Foreign Secretary to India since the Virtual Summit and would provide an opportunity to assess the progress on the Roadmap 2030 launched during the Virtual Summit.

States can declare a community minority, Centre tells Supreme Court

ANI – The Central government while putting the onus on States has told the Supreme Court that certain States, where Hindus or other communities are less in number, can declare them as minorities within their territories, to enable them to set up and administer their institutions. The plea had sought direction to the Centre to lay down guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level saying the Hindus are in minority in 10 states and are not able to avail the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.

Centre asks security forces to crack down on Maoist

Telegraph India (“Our Special Correspondent” -“IB official”)- The Union home ministry has asked security forces on Sat to crack down on the urban network of Maoist strategists and their supporters across the country. The official said the ministry had directed security forces to simultaneously launch an all-out offensive against underground rebels and crackdown on their urban network. The CRPF, the country’s primary counter-Maoist force, is said to have been coordinating with state police forces to launch operations to identify and arrest overground Maoist supporters in several cities. The Centre was planning to set up a special force on a par with the Greyhounds for Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. It will be funded entirely by the Centre.

J&K: 2 Lashkar terrorists arrested, Chinese pistol among arms recovered

The Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the Indian Army on Mon arrested 2 terrorists, Waseem Ahmed Ganai and Iqbal Ashraf Sheikh belonging to the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba from Budgam. Several incriminating materials, arms, and ammunition including a Chinese pistol, 12 pistol rounds, and 32 AK-47 rounds were recovered from the possession, the police officials said. On Sat, a special police officer (SPO) and his brother were killed by the terrorists in Chadbugh in the same town.

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Chinese FM Wangi concluded his three-day official visit to Nepal on Sunday

The visit of Chinese FM Wang Yi to Nepal comes at a time when relations between the two countries are experiencing a downturn, due to growing suspicion about the Chinese investments in the country and reportedly encroaching the Nepali’s land in the border area. He met Nepal President, opposition leaders, including former PM KP Sharma Oli during his Kathmandu visit.

Increased US activity in the South China Sea raises the risk of conflict, Chinese scholars warn

The study by a Beijing think tank says the US has almost doubled the number of exercises involving carrier groups and stepped up other activities. Many of the drills, including dozens with US allies, are aimed at China, the report says. The risk of military conflict in the South China Sea is rising after the US significantly intensified operations over the past year, a Chinese think tank has warned. In 2021, US amphibious landing and carrier strike groups conducted 12 exercises in the South China Sea, almost double the previous year’s total, on top of at least 22 sorties by strategic bombers and 11 transits by nuclear submarines, according to an “incomplete report” on US military activities in the disputed waters. A study by the Beijing-based SCS Probing Initiative claimed that there had been 1,200 reconnaissance flights, while spy ships operated in the waters for a total of 419 sea days.

The US adds Chinese telecom companies to the national security threat list

The US on Fri added China Telecom (Americans) Corp and China Mobile International USA to its list of communications equipment and service providers as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting US communications networks. The US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau also added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab to its list of communications equipment and service providers deemed a threat to national security, according to Global times citing FCC’s press release.

Coronavirus: Shanghai lockdowns split China’s financial hub as authorities move to control risk

China’s financial hub Shanghai started a two-part coronavirus lockdown on Mon, restricting a zone on the eastern bank of the Huangpu River that includes the Pudong New Area, a 1,200 sq km area that is home to about 5.7 million people. For the next four days, these residents will be confined to their neighborhoods and all public transport – including buses, metro lines, taxis, and ferries, as well as privately owned vehicles – is barred from traveling between Pudong and Puxi. Deliveries and other transport essential to community needs will operate as normal. On Mon, China logged 1,219 local confirmed cases and 4,996 local asymptomatic infections

After PM Imran, a no-trust motion submitted against Punjab CM Buzdar

After Prime Minister Imran Khan, the opposition on Mon turned its guns towards Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and submitted a no-confidence motion against him in the Punjab Assembly. A delegation of senior lawmakers submitted the no-trust motion against Buzdar with Punjab Assembly Secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti. The secretary confirmed that the motion had been submitted, adding that it would be presented to the assembly speaker according to the rules and regulations. The opposition parties have also decided to bring out a no-confidence motion against the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mehmood Khan. Opposition parties have become active in KPK and members of the assembly are daily holding meetings. The opposition leaders are claiming that 45 members of PTI are supporting them. They are saying that after the success of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the center the no-confidence motion in KPK will be also successful. The provincial ministers are sure that the no-confidence motion in the province will be a failure. The total number of KPK assemble members is 145, out of that 95 are PTI members, the remaining 50 belong to different opposition parties. For the success of a no-confidence motion more than 70 votes are needed.

Four Sri Lankan ministers receive EAM Jaishankar at the airport

Mr. Jaishankar will also interact with prominent members of the Opposition, Tamil, and Muslim political parties, ahead of his participation in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

Over the last few months, India and Sri Lanka have been engaging intensely and at high levels, discussing possible Indian assistance to help Sri Lanka cope with an unprecedented economic meltdown, marked by a severe dollar crunch and persisting shortages of essential supplies in the import-reliant island nation.  

• The Indian official was received at the airport by four Sri Lankan Ministers, leading the country’s energy, highways, tourism, and aviation sectors.
• Sri Lanka has also sought more assistance from China, as well as the International Monetary Fund.

India has repeatedly asserted that it would stand by Sri Lanka in times of need, although some sections within Sri Lanka voice skepticism over New Delhi “targeting strategic projects” in return for its emergency financial assistance.

Since Jan, India and Sri Lanka have inked several key agreements including-

• the joint development of the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farms in the east, and
• for setting up renewable power projects in the north and east of Sri Lanka,
• involving the National Thermal Power Corporation and
• private investment from the Adani Group.

India and Sri Lanka are discussing further collaboration in the spheres of defense, religion, culture, tourism, and technology, according to Sri Lanka’s former Foreign Secretary.

“This is a very difficult time for Sri Lanka and India, keeping to their neighborhood first policy, has come forward to support Sri Lanka,” he said.  

• On Sun, Jaishankar arrived in Colombo for a bilateral visit.
• He will also attend the BIMSTEC meeting, where he will be from March 28 to 30.
• This follows the visits to India by Sri Lanka Fin Min Basil Rajapaksa in Dec 2021 earlier this month and that of Foreign Min G L Peiris in Feb 2022.
• According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the bilateral meetings and interactions which EAM will have in Sri Lanka highlight the priority that Sri Lanka occupies for India.
• Both Maldives and Sri Lanka are India’s key maritime neighbors in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ and Neighbourhood First.
• The EAM’s visit is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its close and friendly relations with the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be attending the 5^th BIMSTEC Summit on Mar 30, 2022, virtually. The summit meeting, which is being held in hybrid mode, will be hosted by Sri Lanka, the current BIMSTEC chair.

Indian Navy engages in a week-long Advanced Light Helicopter training in Lanka

A week-long training by the Indian Navy’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) for the training of Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) pilots and Sri Lanka Navy ships for shipborne helicopter operations is now being conducted, the Indian High Commission said. The ALH arrived at SLAF base Katunayake on March 23 to train SLAF pilots to get familiarised with it and provide co-pilot experience as envisioned by the then Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Karambir Singh in 2019, the High Commission added.

Jaishankar concluded the Maldives visit on Sun: takes stock of projects, signs key pacts

As India looks to bolster its ties with two key neighbors in the Indian Ocean to counter China’s influence, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during his visit to the Maldives, signed pacts on health and education besides discussing regional security and maritime safety issues with Foreign minister Abdulla Shahid at the Addu City late on Sat.

Following the bilateral talks, Jaishankar said: “I return to the Maldives after more than a year and the time in between, despite Covid, has witnessed fast-paced progress in our relationship. … our cooperation has witnessed and withstood the arc and anguish of the pandemic.”

He added that they had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral partnerships and also took stock of ongoing projects and initiatives across different sectors.

Calling the development partnership the “central pillar of the relationship”, the Minister said, while noting that the support ranges upwards of $2.6 billion in terms of grants, concessional loans, budgetary support, and capacity building and training assistance.”

After the meeting, Maldives Foreign Minister Shahid said, “You’ve made history, Minister Jaishankar….fortifying and building on the long-standing ties is one of the top foreign policy priorities of President Solih’s administration.”

• Shahid further said that the Maldives welcomes India’s “Neighbourhood First Policy” under which the island nation has gained immense socio-economic benefits
• He added that they, too, remain committed to their “India First Policy”.
• Shahid’s words come at a time when the Opposition party in the Maldives, led by former President Abdulla Yameen, had spearheaded an anti-India campaign.
• Jaishankar meets Home Minister of Maldives, Imran Abdulla, discussed capacity building and training cooperation in law enforcement.

Addu– a city in the southernmost atoll of the Indian Ocean archipelago, Jaishankar said that India is supporting projects in different sectors — infrastructure, tourism, fish processing, and health.

Addu is a stronghold of the Maldivian National Party and former President Mohamed Nasheed, a vocal supporter of closer ties with India, who is Speaker of the—Parliament (Majlis).

• Talking about their discussions on strategic issues, Jaishankar said: “I think that the threat of transnational crimes, terrorism, and drug trafficking is indeed very serious.”
• He added that the National College of Policing and Law Enforcement, which will be inaugurated on Sun, is India’s largest grant-funded project in the Maldives.
• He also formally handed over the Coastal Radar System which is already operational and is a big step in enhancing maritime security.
• Jaishankar informed that the iconic Greater Male Connectivity Project holds the potential of actually transforming the transport landscape of the capital.

Listing the development initiatives, Jaishankar said that the Hanimaadhoo Airport Redevelopment Project, the expansion of facilities of MIFCO, the cricket stadium, and the social housing projects have all seen great momentum in implementation in the past year.

• The two countries also signed a pact connecting the Higher Education Network of the Maldives and the National Knowledge Network of India, enabling access to digital libraries.

• An agreement for reciprocal recognition of Covid vaccination certificates that will help facilitate easier travel between the Maldives and India was also signed.
• Jaishankar also spoke about the “steady growth” in the number of tourists visiting the island nation, saying that India may have been the top source of visitors in 2020 and 2021.
• Applauding both the govt and the people for their efforts in the realm of climate change, Jaishankar said that India was ready to share its capabilities with the Maldives.
• Jaishankar and Maldives’s President Ibrahim Solih inaugurates a police training academy and a drug rehabilitation center built using Indian financial assistance at Addu.
• The EAM arrived in the island nation on Sat ahead of his trip to Sri Lanka on Mar 28.
• Jaishankar’s 5-day visit is part of India’s attempt to proactively reach out with projects and initiatives to counter China’s influence.

The Maldives visit comes at a time of protests there that the govt has “sold out” to India.

• Dubbed the “India Out” campaign, the protests have received active backing from Yameen, especially since his release from house arrest after he was exonerated from corruption charges.
• During his tenure, the hardliner Yameen’s open preference for Saudi Arabia and China and his hostility towards India became a part of the wider geopolitical battle between New Delhi and Beijing.
• He hopes to make a comeback at the next election and has made this his main political platform.

With a friendly govt in Male since 2017, India has been well-positioned to build back influence in the country, vital along with Sri Lanka, to Delhi’s strategic interests in a region where China is also engaged in establishing its presence.

Nepal PM Deuba to meet Modi in Delhi on 2 April, neighbors to aim at upgrading ties post map row

ThePrint -During a 3-day maiden visit to India next month, since assuming charge in 2021, Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a bilateral meeting on 2 April. Both sides are expected to review the India-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950, even as New Delhi will be looking at boosting connectivity, keeping in mind China’s growing inroads there.

He has previously served four times as prime minister of Nepal. He last visited India as Nepal’s PM in 2017.

(sources)- The much-awaited bilateral meeting, Nepal is expected to raise the issue of reviewing the India-Nepal Friendship Treaty of 1950 — a long-pending demand by Kathmandu — to “even out the bilateral ties”, as well as take them to the “next level of strategic partnership”.

• The decision to review the treaty was taken jointly by both countries during PM Modi’s first visit to Nepal after taking charge in August 2014.
• However, since then there has been no progress in the matter.
• The issue took a backseat subsequently with the Madhesi agitation of 2015, even as Nepal went through political turmoil domestically that continued till last year.

Ties between India and Nepal took a descent in 2020 when Kathmandu (under former PM, KPS Oli), unilaterally changed Nepal’s political map by including some disputed areas — Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura — with India as part of their territory.

• India has since rejected the map.
• (sources)- the border issue will feature prominently during the talks.
• Both sides may agree to finally activate the foreign secretary-level talks mechanism to kickstart the process of settling the border issue.

The two countries have institutionalized home secretary-level meetings and established the Joint Working Group on Border Management and Border District Coordination Committees.

• In Nov 2021, Modi and Deuba had met in Glasgow, UK, on the sidelines of the COP26 summit and vowed to strengthen ties between the two.
• In July 2021, when Deuba came to power as Nepal PM for the 5^th time, India was one of the first countries to congratulate him.
• During his India trip, Deuba will also be visiting Varanasi in light of the religious connection between both countries’ Hindu and Buddhist communities.
• There, he will be called on by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Connectivity projects, US and China

• As Nepal looks toward a higher growth trajectory post the coming in of Deuba, who is expected to bring political stability.
• It is hoping to rely on India to give a further push to the development of connectivity projects there.
• (source)- For New Delhi, this visit is expected to give India the necessary legroom it needs to announce more connectivity projects over and above the existing ones.

This is of huge importance to New Delhi because China has started making heavy inroads there even as Beijing has promised several key connectivity projects there under its Belt and Road Initiative, to which Nepal is a signatory.

• India has been developing connectivity projects in Nepal, including cross-border railway links, electrification projects, and several roads and bridges.
• However, Nepal has been upset at the slower pace of these projects and would want New Delhi to expedite those.
• During his first visit to Kathmandu in 2014, Modi had pushed for the decade-old Indo-Nepal Pancheshwar Dam project on the Mahakali river.
• However, the project again got stuck as issues regarding the detailed project report remained unresolved.

Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi met Deuba on Sat- During the visit, both sides signed 9 agreements on the development of projects, including a cross-border railway connection, a power grid project, and trade and commerce among others. This comes in the wake of Nepal giving the green signal to the USA’s Millennium Challenge Corporation — under which it is to receive financial aid for building infrastructure and improving national highways — earlier this month, which has upset China.  

‘Deuba in stronger position’ –According to Ranjit Rae, former Indian ambassador to Nepal, both sides are likely to begin discussions on the boundary. “Deuba, in a much stronger position now, is hoping to get our support for the coalition,” he said. 

Rae, author of the book Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties, added: “I hope we push for the Pancheshwar DPR to be completed in the next 3 months. They will probably want to expedite work on the Birganj Kathmandu railway study.” 

[ NEIGHBORHOOD ]

Chinese FM Wangi concluded his three-day official visit to Nepal on Sunday

Nepal Foreign Ministry said in a release: Earlier this morning, State Councilor Wang Yi paid a courtesy call on the President Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari. Various matters of Nepal-China relations were discussed on the occasion. State Councilor Wang also met with former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-UML K P Sharma Oli, and former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN-Maoist Centre Hon. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda, on separate occasions.

The meetings came amid a volatile political situation in Nepal which recently saw the contentious Millennium Challenge Corporation grant by the USA being ratified by the parliament, even as China raised public concerns.

• The meetings come on the last day of the Chinese FM’s 3-day visit to Nepal which began on Fri.
• Wang had met with PM Sher Bahadur Deuba earlier on Sat and handed over Pokhara Regional International Airport to Nepal.
• On Sat, a total of 9 agreements were signed between Nepal and China after the delegation-level talks between Nepali Foreign Minister
• Nepal FM, Narayan Khadka, and Wang Yi on Sat in wide-ranging areas including economic and technical cooperation, protocols on bilateral trade, and ongoing Chinese projects in Nepal.
• However, none of the agreements related to the BRI.

The visit of Chinese FM Wang Yi to Nepal comes at a time when relations between the two countries are experiencing a downturn, due to growing suspicion about the Chinese investments in the country.

Wang’s Nepal visit will also culminate the slew of trips that the Chinese Foreign Minister has made to the South Asian countries since he arrived in Pakistan on March 21 to attend the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) summit as a “special guest”.

China warns Nepal of external interference threat in US grant wake

SCMP– Wang has warned Nepal of “external interference” threatening the core interests of both countries, a month after Kathmandu ratified a US aid grant branded by Beijing as “coercive diplomacy”.

In talks with his Nepali counterpart, Wang repeated Beijing’s position of “non-intervention” and respect for the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of all countries.

“China will work with Nepal to safeguard the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and … resist unilateralism and oppose power politics, and contribute to regional peace and stability,” the foreign ministry quoted Wang as saying.

In Kathmandu, Wang said the core interests of the two neighbors could be undermined.

Wang Yi’s trip is a reminder to Nepal not to be drawn into becoming an anti-China front, observer says