Happy Media

 Hindustan Times October 21, 2020 The challenge for the Indo-Pacific is getting more acute by the day. For all the efforts that China has made to ensure that the term Indo-Pacific gets a decent burial, it has failed miserably in ensuring such an outcome. From Australia, Japan, and India to the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) member-states, the Indo-Pacific narrative is today widely accepted and reflected in foreign policy outlooks. The idea is a structural imperative now for all regional stakeholders and this has been made possible due to China’s behaviour. The only thing left now for Beijing is to mobilise regional states through fear-mongering, something it is adept at. This was what China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, tried to do during his trip last week to Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, and Singapore. Calling on Asian countries to remain vigilant over the United States (US)’ plans in the region, Wang described Washington’s Indo-P...

 Hindustan Times October 21, 2020 The education ministry, after consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs, is considering making it mandatory for Indian universities to obtain prior permission from the government before signing any memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with educational institutions of countries that share land borders with India. The proposal was mooted by the education ministry after an August 9 review of China-funded Confucius Centres attached to universities here and also MoUs signed between Indian and Chinese universities. The Confucius program is financed by the Office of Chinese Language Council International which has been linked to China’s United Front Work Department (UFWD) now headed by President Xi Jinping. Ostensibly meant to teach Chinese language and culture, the Confucius program has been accused of promoting China’s viewpoint and act as a vehicle for propaganda. Several countries including Australia and the US have previously had issues with t...

 Hindustan Times October 21, 2020 In a thinly-veiled reference to Pakistan, India said the principle of self-determination continues to be “deliberately misinterpreted and misused” by a particular nation, even though it was not established by the United Nations(UN) to be used as a justification for undermining the territorial integrity of any member state.“ Since the principle of self-determination, as considered on the agreed agenda of this committee, continues to be deliberately misinterpreted and misused by a particular delegation, it is pertinent to highlight once again that the United Nations has established the principle as a vehicle for the worthy cause of decolonization of the 17 Non Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) on the agenda of this committee, and not as a justification for undermining the territorial integrity of any member state,” India said in a statement on ‘NSGTs and decolonization.’ India said it strongly believes that pursuing a pragmatic approach towards deco...

 The Telegraph October 20, 2020 India has all but lost the ONGC Videsh Ltd-discovered Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf after Iran decided to prefer domestic companies over foreign firms for the development of the field, sources said. ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had in 2008 discovered a giant gas field in the Farsi offshore exploration block. OVL and its partners had offered to invest up to $11 billion for the development of the discovery, which was later named Farzad-B. After sitting over OVL’s proposal for years, the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) informed the firm in February this year about its intention to conclude the contract for Farzad-B development with an Iranian company, sources said. OVL, however, continued its engagements with NIOC over the development of the field and sought terms and conditions of the proposed contract for its evaluation, they said, adding that Iran has so far not responded t...