VIF Information Alerts - 23 Feb 2018

India likely to trigger another showdown with China as officials continue to provoke: observers
Published: Global Times
23 Feb 2018

Indian officials' recent provocative remarks, as well as a surreptitious visit to controversial border regions, are likely to plunge their country into another showdown with China like last year's Doklam standoff, Chinese observers warned on Thursday.
India's former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on Wednesday accused China of wanting to "split" India and Bhutan over the Doklam standoff for political gains, while asserting the need for an integrated approach in managing the country's borders, said Indian News Agency Press Trust of India. Click here to read [2]

India’s abuse of trade remedies against Chinese products will end up entrapping itself
Published: Global Times
22 Feb 2018

The first two months of 2018 have turned out to be a peak period for India to pursue trade remedy actions against China, its top trading partner, as the South Asian nation continues moving in a backward direction that'll only end up hobbling its ambitions to rival China.
India has decided to launch a sunset or expiry review of the existing anti-dumping duty imposed on its flat base steel wheel imports from China, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement on its website on February 13. Click here to read [3]

China scare spreads to New Zealand
Published: Asia Times
22 Feb 2018

New Zealand has joined the debate over China’s spreading influence in the South Pacific, with a prominent critic of Beijing’s policies complaining of several break-ins at her home and office and a threatening letter.
Professor Anne-Marie Brady, an academic at New Zealand’s Christ Church-based University of Canterbury and the Wilson Center in Washington DC, related the incidents while she was giving testimony at an Australian parliamentary inquiry into foreign interference mainly Chinese, in that country’s political system. Click here to read [4]

S Arabia, Turkey, China blocked US-led motion to put Pak on FATF watchlist
Published: The News
22 Feb 2018

Saudi Arabia joined Turkey and China in a move to block a US-led attempt this week to place Pakistan on an international terror-financing watch list, top US daily WSJ reported Thursday.
A US effort to reverse the decision on the motion was under way Wednesday at a meeting in Paris of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a secretive international body that monitors countries’ efforts to fight terror financing and money-laundering, officials involved in the process told the Wall Street Journal. Click here to read [5]

China denies holding talks with Baloch militants to protect CPEC
Published: The Times of India
22 Feb 2018

China on Thursday refuted a report that it is secretly holding talks with Baloch militants in Pakistan for more than five years to protect its $60 billion CPEC, and hoped that Pakistan will step up security for the ambitious project.
"I have never heard the report mentioned by you," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a media briefing, when asked about the report by British newspaper Financial Times. Click here to read [6]

Trump not satisfied with progress in Pakistan: White House
Published: The Tribune
23 Feb 2018

US President Donald Trump is “not satisfied” with the progress made by Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, the White House said on Friday. The White House said that for the first time, the US is holding Pakistan accountable for its actions.
“I know that we have restored some clarity in our relationship with Pakistan. For the first time we’re holding Pakistan accountable for its actions,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters during a press conference. Click here to read [7]

Maldives rejects UN offer of mediation
Published: Business Standard
23 Feb 2018

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has rejected an offer of mediation by Secretary General Antonio Guterres, a United Nations spokesperson said today. "The Secretary-General is following the situation in the Maldives closely and with concern.
He offered to the President UN mediation but the President conveyed that mediation was not wanted at this stage," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson of the UN Secretary General. Click here to read [8]

Nepal to hold presidential election on March 13
Published: The Statesman
23 Feb 2018

Nepal will hold its presidential election on March 13, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Friday. The election body set the date for the election after EC officials held separate meetings with political party leaders including Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Thursday, according to the Commission spokesman Navaraj Dhakal. Click here to read [9]

Why India needs to strengthen its nuclear deterrent?
Published: The Economic Times
22 Feb 2018

While China has opposed the recently announced US Nuclear Posture Review of 2018 it has not been remiss in developing its nuclear arsenal both quantitatively and qualitatively. Towards the end of January China tested a DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs). This was a quantum jump from the three warheads of the earlier version DF-5B missile. Click here to read [10]

Government scraps single-engine fighter plan
Published: The Economic Times
23 Feb 2018

The government has scrapped its two-year-old plan to produce 114 single-engine fighters with foreign collaboration under the “Make in India” framework, at an estimated cost of Rs 1.15 lakh crore (almost $18 billion), amid the political slugfest between BJP and Congress over the Rs 59,000 crore contract for 36 French Rafale jets. Click here to read [11]

Bangladesh fears exodus of Bengalis from Assam
Published: The Hindu
21 Feb 2018

The ongoing process of compiling the National Register of Citizens in Assam may trigger an exodus of Bengalis and create one more Rohingya-like refugee crisis for Bangladesh, senior officials of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government said here on Wednesday.
Addressing visiting Indian journalists, they said the process in Assam is threatening India-Bangladesh ties and will be exploited by anti-India elements and Islamic fundamentalists who are challenging the Awami League rule. Click here to read [12]

Centre to settle Naga issue within a few months: PM Narendra Modi
Published: The Economic Times
23 Feb 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said within a few months the government would settle the Naga problem in a respectable way, “honouring the political rights of the Nagas”.

“This will strengthen democracy. We are having parleys with different groups and organisations,” Modi said, addressing an election rally at Tuensang in Nagaland on Thursday. Click here to read [13]