VIF Information Alerts - 1st october 2018

China Cancels High-Level Security Talks With the U.S.

Published: The New York Times
30 Sep 2018

China canceled an important annual security meeting planned for mid-October with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Beijing, saying a senior Chinese military officer would not be available to meet him, an American official said on Sunday.

The decision to withdraw from the high-level encounter, known as the diplomatic and security dialogue, was the latest sign of bad blood between China and the United States, and capped a week of tit-for-tat actions by both nations as they settled into a newly chilly relationship.Click here to read.... [2]

Xi inspects military, stresses training, war preparedness

Published: Xinhua
29 Sep 2018

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed efforts to strengthen the military training and war preparedness of the armed forces and improve its capability to win wars. Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks Thursday while inspecting the 79th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).Click here to read.... [3]

Fearing debt trap, Pak rethinks pet Chinese ‘Silk Road’ projects

Published: The Tribune
01 Oct 2018

After lengthy delays, an $8.2 billion revamp of a colonial-era rail line snaking from the Arabian Sea to the foothills of the Hindu Kush has become a test of Pakistan’s ability to rethink signature Chinese “Silk Road” projects due to debt concerns. The rail mega project linking the coastal metropolis of Karachi to the northwestern city of Peshawar is China’s biggest Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project in Pakistan, but Islamabad has balked at the cost and financing terms.Click here to read.... [4]

Govt to offer Riyadh stakes in Reko Diq, power plants

Published: The Express Tribune
30 Sep 2018

Pakistan is likely to offer Riyadh stakes in Reko Diq mines and LNG-fired power plants in return for oil on deferred payment and cash assistance, setting the pitch for a new strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.

According to sources in the commerce ministry, Pakistan is open to Saudi Arabian investment in Reko Diq gold and copper mines, and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) could be signed during the five-day visit of a Saudi delegation to Islamabad, starting today (Sunday).Click here to read.... [5]

UN, India to step up cooperation in counter-terrorism, terror financing: UN chief

Published: The Hindu
30 Sep 2018

India is an “important partner” of the United Nations in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said, and there are plans to step up cooperation between the two on strengthening capacity in combating terror financing.

Mr. Guterres, who will begin a three-day visit to India on Monday, said the planning and implementation of acts of terrorism transcend borders and it is the responsibility of all the States to take action to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism.Click here to read.... [6]

China suggests to work with India in Maldives after poll shocker

Published: The Economic Times
29 Oct 2018

China has reached out to India after pro-Beijing Abdulla Yameen lost in Maldives by suggesting that India and China may work jointly in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation and even went on to suggest that the incumbent president lost due to his high-handed policies. State-run Global Times has published a series of articles since Monday on Maldives poll results, which according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry has confused Beijing.

In one of the articles titled ‘China, India should cooperate in Maldives’, the Global Times suggested that India and China can do joint projects in Maldives and Indian companies can utilise Chinese facilities in Maldives.Click here to read.... [7]