VIF Information Alerts - 04 November 2019

ASEAN central to Act East policy, Pacific outlook: PM
Published: The Tribune

03 Nov 2019

India today reiterated centrality of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its Act East policy and convergence of views with its Indo-Pacific outlook, while leaders of the 10-nation grouping noted commonality with India’s maritime initiative AGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).Click here to read... [2]

World's largest trade deal RCEP faces delay as India pushes back against China
Published: The Guardian

03 Nov 2019

The world’s largest trade deal is unlikely to be signed this year, with a draft statement from south-east Asian leaders suggesting it will be delayed until 2020, despite China’s desire to bring it into operation as soon as possible as a counterweight to its debilitating tariff war with the US.Click here to read... [3]

India’s border move will trigger new dispute
Published: Global Times

03 Nov 2019

India officially divided its state of Jammu and Kashmir Thursday into two new union territories to be ruled directly by the central government in New Delhi. The so-called Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and of Ladakh have placed part of Chinese territory under India's administration, triggering new border disputes with China. How will this India's unilateral move affect China-India ties? How will it influence regional stability and security? Two experts shared their views on these issues with the Global Times.Click here to read... [4]

LeT, Jaish continue to be threat to India; Pakistan allowed terror activists to contests polls: US
Published: The Economic Times

03 Nov 2019

The US has said the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) continued to be a threat to India and slammed Pakistan for allowing candidates affiliated with the LeT front organisations to contest the country's last general elections.
The US State Department's 'Country Reports on Terrorism 2018', published on Friday, also said the Pakistani authorities have failed to uniformly implement the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan on money laundering and counter-terrorism and the UN sanctions related to designated entities and individuals such as terror group LeT and its affiliates, which continued to make use of economic resources and raise funds.Click here to read... [5]

New Indian map: PoK in UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan in Ladakh
Published: The Week

02 Nov 2019

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in the UT of Ladakh in the fresh maps released by the government on Saturday following the bifurcation. In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs also released the new map of India depicting the two UTs with PoK 'capital' Muzaffarabad within the geographical boundary of the country.Click here to read... [6]