VIF Information Alerts - 26 Feb 2018

China's ocean observatory in Maldives sparks fresh security concerns
Published: The Times of India
26 Feb 2018

A Joint Ocean Observation Station which China is looking to establish in the Maldives could prove to be another security challenge for the Indian government with the Maldivian opposition leaders claiming that the observatory will also have a military application with provision even for a submarine base.

The observatory location in Makunudhoo, the westernmost atoll in the north (not far from India), will allow the Chinese a vantage point of an important Indian Ocean shipping route through which many merchant and other ships pass, said political sources in Male. It will be uncomfortably close to Indian waters and test red lines with regard to ties with Maldives. Click here to read... [2]

China will scrap limit on presidential terms, meaning Xi Jinping can stay on
Published: South China Morning Post
25 Feb 2018

China will remove the constitutional restriction on the maximum number of terms the president and vice-president can serve, Xinhua reported on Sunday, paving the way for President Xi Jinping to stay on beyond 2023. The official news agency said the ruling Communist Party had proposed removing the line that the president and vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms” from the constitution. Click here to read... [3]

In breaking of ice, Foreign Secy Vijay Gokhale visits China; Pakistan on table
Published: The Indian Express
25 Feb 2018

In the first stand-alone visit by the Indian Foreign Secretary to China after the Doklam crisis was resolved, Vijay Gokhale quietly paid a visit to Beijing on Friday, with the two sides agreeing on a roadmap for the coming year, including discussions on visits by respective foreign ministers and other officials.

Sources said that the brief for Gokhale, a fluent Mandarin speaker who had played a key role in the disengagement at Doklam, was to lay the ground for normalising India-China ties, which have been strained recently, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to Qingdao in China in June this year for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. Click here to read... [4]

Aussie mateship ‘stronger than ever’ as Trump supports joint Navy exercises
Published: The Australian
24 Feb 2018

Donald Trump has declared he would ‘love’ Australia’s Navy to conduct join freedom of navigation exercises alongside the US Navy through disputed regions of the South China Sea, a move which would anger Beijing. He warned that China was ‘tough’ and ‘getting stronger’ and said the US needed to step up its efforts to stop Beijing from ‘killing the United States’ on trade.Click here to read... [5]

As China Puts Pressure on Taiwan, Signs of a U.S. Pushback
Published: The New York Times
22 Feb 2018

As China ratchets up pressure on Taiwan, the self-governing island it claims as its territory, the United States is cautiously starting to push back.

In recent months, Chinese strategic bombers have been conducting “island encirclement” flights, escorted by fighter jets. The Chinese government has discouraged tourism to Taiwan and imports of goods like fish over the past year and a half, hurting its its economy. And China persuaded the island’s most important remaining diplomatic ally, Panama, to switch diplomatic recognition last summer from Taipei to Beijing. Click here to read... [6]

China's two-child policy may exacerbate gender inequality
Published: Science Daily
23 Feb 2018

Since China ended its one-child policy allowing all families to have up to two children, an additional 90 million women have become eligible to have a second child. But new sociology research suggests the new universal two-child policy could be negatively affecting women's status and gender equality. Click here to read... [7]

Leaders Mark Start of Work on Afghan Section of TAPI Pipeline
Published: Gandhara
23 Feb 208

Leaders and senior officials from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and India have inaugurated the start of work on the Afghan part of a multibillion-dollar pipeline project that they hope will meet the region's energy needs. The Afghan and Turkmen presidents, Ashraf Ghani and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, were joined by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and India's Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar in Afghanistan's western city of Herat for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Afghan section of the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) natural-gas pipeline. Click here to read... [8]

Afghan Govt to Close Taliban Qatar Office
Published: Tolo News
23 Feb 2018

Kabul has started discussions with Qatar government to close the Taliban’s office in Doha as it has had “no positive consequence in terms of facilitating the peace talks with the group in Afghanistan”, a senior Afghan government official said. There is no need to keep the office open, said Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the National Security Advisor to President Ashraf Ghani. Click here to read... [9]

Nepal govt begins informal talks with Madhesh-based parties
Published: ANI News
24 Feb 2018

Nepal's newly formed government has started informal talks with Madhesh-based parties whose demands of constitution amendment has remained on board ever since they raised it at the time of its' promulgation in 2015.

"Informal talks with some of the RJP-N (Rastriya Janata Party- Nepal) leaders have taken place and the formal talks with the RJP-N are yet to be made. With the completion of the elections we have clarified our line of a constitutional amendment to be our bottom line," Keshav Jha, the General Secretary of the RJP-N told in an interview with ANI. Click here to read... [10]

India, Sri Lanka to exchange information to check smuggling
Published: New Indian Express
23 Feb 2018

India and Sri Lanka have decided to regularly exchange information to check smuggling between the two countries, according to an official statement issued today. They have resolved to strengthen cooperation in preventing the smuggling of gold, drugs, fake Indian currency notes (FICN), wildlife, and other contraband across the India-Sri Lanka route, and to address trade-related issues such as "country of origin" frauds that impact the revenue of both the countries, it said. Click here to read... [11]

Bhutan, China to hold boundary talks next month
Published: The Indian Express
24 Feb 2018

Bhutan and China will hold the 25th round of their boundary talks in Thimphu next month. The teams will be led by Bhutanese Foreign Minister Lyonpo Damcho Dorji and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou. The boundary talks were cancelled last year in the wake of the Doklam crisis, when Indian and Chinese troops faced off in the remote Himalayan plateau for 73 days in territory claimed by both Bhutan and China. The standoff ended in August with troops from both sides withdrawing to their previous positions and China removing road-building equipment. Click here to read... [12]

Generals Prep $15M of New Fencing For Border With Bangladesh
Published: The Irrawaddy
23 Feb 2018

The Upper House of Parliament on Thursday heard the Home Affairs Ministry’s 20 billion kyats ($15 million) plan to raise several more kilometers of fencing along Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh and carry out other related work. Home Affairs Deputy Minister Major General Aung Soe told the Upper House session that the money would come from the president’s emergency fund and be handed over to the Ministry of Defense to carry out the work in Rakhine State. He asked the session to make record of the project, which it did. Click here to read... [13]

Military exercise ‘Shantidoot’ returns to Bangladesh
Published: BDNEWS
24 Feb 2018

The Bangladesh Army is going to co-host the multi-country military exercise ‘Shantidoot’ again with the cooperation of the US Pacific Command from Feb 26 to Mar 12. The exercise helps countries militaries prepare for the UN peace operations.

“Bangladesh is honoured to be the host country,” Brigadier General Md Tofael Ahmed, Chief Instructor (CI), Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT), where the exercise will take place, said at a media briefing on Saturday. Click here to read... [14]

CRPF to get high-end drones to tackle Maoists, militants
Published: The Tribune
25 Feb 2018

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is all set to purchase 25 high-end drones to equip itself to better conduct anti-Maoist operations and deal with militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

The tendering process for the procurement of the drones has started and they are expected to be introduced by the CRPF — the country’s largest paramilitary force — in the next three-four months, a Deputy Inspector General-rank officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. Click here to read... [15]

Dispute in ranks, troubled times for Maoists: Arrested rebel ‘Tech Ramanna’ to cops
Published: Hindustan Times
24 Feb 2018

The Maoist top leadership’s prime concern these days is disputes between senior and junior cadre, according to one of the oldest CPI(Maoist) functionaries who was arrested with his wife earlier this month. These disputes are leading to loss of discipline among cadre in Dandakaranya, a forest area between the borders of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharastra and Odisha that Maoists call free zone, rebel leader “Tech Ramanna” has told the police during questioning. Click here to read... [16]

Suspected Naxal movement near Udupi
Published: The Times of India
24 Feb 2018

A group of five to six people, alleged to be Naxals, knocked on the door of a woman’s house at Jadkal Bridge on the way from Onse to Kollur and demanded food at 1.30am on Thursday. Laxmi Mogaveera, the woman peeped out of her window and saw the six people were carrying rifles. She got scared and did not open the door. The persons locked the door from outside and went away.

Confirming the incident, Superintendent of Police Laxman Nimbargi said, “A few men knocked the door of the house at Jadkal and asked for food. The old lady living in the house only saw them from the window and could not identify their dress. As she did not interact with them, we cannot confirm if they were Naxals. However four camps of the the Anti Naxal Force at Jeddinagadde(Amasebailu), Shankarnaryana, Hebri and Karkala have started combing operation and we will keep a watch in and around these areas.” Click here to read... [17]

Now journalist part of Canadian PM delegation who had protested PM Modi’s visit to country in 2015: Report
Published: Greater Kashmir
23 Feb 2018

“In April 2015, pictures of Saini holding banners that said, ‘Modi is a Terrorist’, ‘Modi you are not welcome in Canada’ and ‘India out of Khalistan’ with Air India One in the background had gone viral during Modi’s state visit to Canada. Saini also attended a formal event hosted by High Commissioner of Canada in India, Nadir Patel, in New Delhi Thursday. He is also expected to be part of the media delegation when Trudeau meets Modi on Friday,” the report said. Click here to read... [18]