Posts

Showing posts from September 4, 2020

Chinese Embassy in US criticises move to impose new restriction on diplomats

Hindustan Times Dated: September 04, 2020 Chinese Embassy in the US has criticised the State Department’s decision to impose further restrictions on the Chinese diplomats in the country saying this has “grossly trampled” on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. “With the excuse of reciprocity, the US imposed yet another unjustified restriction and barrier on Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel on September 2. This has grossly trampled on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and China is firmly opposed to it,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement. The Embassy said it also runs counter to the “self-proclaimed values” of openness and freedom of the US side. “China has always supported and provided necessary facilitation for foreign diplomatic and consular personnel, including those from the US, to perform their official duties in China,” the Chinese Embassy said while adding that we urge the US side to “correct it

Indian Army changes posture at LAC after China’s failed midnight attempt

  Hindustan Times  Dated: September 04, 2020 The Indian Army has changed its posture from border management to securing the border on the 1,597 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh after People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) aggression in the Chushul sector followed by additional induction of troops and support elements, people familiar with the matter said. The PLA Air Force activity has gone up in the occupied Aksai Chin area with positions being militarily strengthened. “The Indian Army is now in a secure border mode to pre-empt any Chinese PLA transgressions in vulnerable areas of Ladakh. The repositioning of Indian forces has been done to take the Chinese aggression into account in the area and to ensure that all positions are defended,” said a senior official. The Indian Army has also matched the PLA’s pumping of troops into the sector by deploying additional specialised forces such as the Special Frontier Force that was raised to counter China after the 1962 war. SFF soldiers ha

Explained: Failed Pakistan bid to taint India at UN Security Council

The Indian Express Dated: September 04, 2020 On Wednesday, five permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, UK, France, Germany, and Belgium —  blocked an attempt by Pakistan  to list two Indians under a UN Security Council regime targeting international terrorism. Late in the evening India time, T S Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, posted on Twitter: “Pakistan’s blatant attempt to politicize 1267 special procedure on terrorism by giving it a religious colour, has been thwarted by UN Security Council. We thank all those Council members who have blocked Pakistan’s designs.” How did the matter come up before the UNSC’s 1267 sanctions sub-committee? Pakistan has been trying for a year now to get four Indians, who had been working in Afghanistan, sanctioned under the UN’s 1267 regime. It moved separate proposals against them between September and November 2019, an extraordinarily bad year for India-Pakistan relations over three

India proposes G-20 principles on cross-border movement

The Indian Express Dated: September 04, 2020 As Saudi Arabia hosted the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting with focus on cross-border movement amid the  pandemic , India on Thursday proposed development of voluntary ‘G-20 Principles on Coordinated Cross-Border Movement of People’. A Ministry of External Affairs statement said, “External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar proposed development of voluntary ‘G-20 Principles on Coordinated Cross-Border Movement of People’ with three elements: a) Standardisation of testing procedures and universal acceptability of test results; b) Standardisation of ‘Quarantine procedures’; c) Standardisation of ‘movement and transit’ protocols.” He also called on governments around the world to ensure that interests of foreign students are protected and movement of stranded seafarers back to their home country is facilitated. The virtual meeting was convened in the backdrop of the pandemic. The discussions centred on strengthening international cooperation across

China Defence Minister seeks Rajnath meet, Jaishankar says talks only option

  The Indian Express Dated: September 04, 2020 With  Indian troops occupying heights in the Chushul sector  for area domination and New Delhi telling Beijing that negotiations can now be the only way forward to resolve the border crisis in Ladakh, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe has sought a meeting Friday with Defence Minister  Rajnath Singh  on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering of Defence Ministers in Moscow. Sources told  The Indian Express  Thursday night that South Block has given the go-ahead for Singh’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, hoping it leads to “early and complete disengagement” as well as de-escalation along the  Line of Actual Control . The Indian and Chinese embassies in Moscow, sources said, are in touch to schedule the meeting Friday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, responding to questions Thursday on his book ‘The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World’, too underlined: “I am totally convinced that the solutio

Army, IAF chiefs visit forward areas, CDS Rawat warns of two-front threat

The Indian Express Dated: September 04, 2020 On the day Army chief General MM Naravane reached forward areas in eastern Ladakh to review operational preparedness, Chief of Defence Staff  General Bipin Rawat  warned of the two-front threat from  China  and Pakistan, but said  Indian armed forces were fully prepared to deal with it . Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) conclave Thursday, General Rawat said China and Pakistan have been collaborating militarily, economically and diplomatically. “Chinese economic cooperation with Pakistan, in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, along with continued military, economic and diplomatic support mandate high levels of preparation by us,” he said. “This also poses the threat of coordinated action along the northern and western fronts, which we have to consider in our defence planning”. He said the armed forces have planned for the two-front threat. “We have devised strategies to deal with the primary front,” he said, and