Author: Arif ArifArman

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, held a bilateral meeting with his Czech counterpart, Petr Fiala, and reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries. The leaders held discussions covering various sectors, including new and emerging technologies, automobiles, climate change, and defence in Gandhinagar. “Deepening India-Czech partnership! PM @narendramodi held a fruitful meeting with PM @P_Fiala of the Czech Republic in Gandhinagar. The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations and held discussions covering various sectors, including new and emerging technologies, automobiles, climate change, and defense,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X. Earlier in the day, speaking at the Vibrant…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India and the Czech Republic expressed satisfaction with the development of their bilateral relationship and affirmed commitment to further strengthen cooperation in various areas including science, innovation, defence, health and green energy. In a joint statement on Wednesday, the two countries expressed commitment to deeper engagement within the Indo-Pacific region based on an open, free inclusive and rules-based approach with respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and recognizing the promotion of effective rules-based multilateralism as a way to achieve global prosperity and commitments of the UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. The two countries said they are…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Lauding the historical ties between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Union Minister of State (MoS) V Muraleedharan said that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two nations is a model for any country to engage with India. The MoS for External Affairs further said that Vibrant Gujarat has shown the crucial role, the state of Gujarat is playing in the growth of India. Speaking to ANI, Muraleedharan said, “The presence of the UAE President and many dignitaries across the world show the importance of Vibrant Gujarat as well as the role Gujarat is playing…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) on Tuesday announced it will be a “partner organisation with the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 and lead a delegation of over 35 Fortune American companies. These companies have plans to increase their investments in Gujarat, USISPF said. “USISPF is honoured to lead a delegation comprising over 35 Fortune American companies, including Salesforce, Abbott, Blackstone, HSBC, UPS, Micron, Cisco, SHRM and others,” the forum said in a statement. The focus areas include leveraging India’s burgeoning momentum in the hi-tech manufacturing space, particularly in avenues of semiconductors and chip manufacturing, as well as…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The recent podcast by Michael Rubin, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, with Shukri Hilowle for the Brown Pundits has reignited the debate surrounding the Khalistan movement in North America. Rubin asserted that this movement, advocating for an independent Sikh homeland, lacks organic legitimacy within India and is instead manipulated by external forces, primarily Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Pakistan’s Shadow: A Puzzling Connection Rubin’s claim stems from observations of seemingly coordinated activities and suspicious economic backing of some proponents in Canada. He argues that this movement, far from being a grassroots campaign, exploits the open arms…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China threatened new trade measures against Taiwan on Tuesday, piling on pressure ahead of weekend elections, as Taipei complained of more Chinese balloons and the ruling party’s presidential candidate warned against “fake peace” with Beijing. Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place against a backdrop of a ramped up war of words between Taiwan and China, which views the island as its own territory despite the strong objections of the Taiwanese government. Taiwan’s government has accused China of an unprecedented campaign of election interference, using everything from military activity to trade sanctions to sway the vote towards…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: From November 28 to 30, Prague hosted the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) conference, which followed similar inter-ministerial meetings in Washington DC and London. It was hailed throughout the democratic world as one of the largest and most successful gathering of governments to promote freedom of religion or belief and denounce its violations. As reported on the website of the U.S. Department of State, IRFBA gathers 37 countries, with others in process of joining and five participating as “friends.” The United Nations attends IRFBA meetings as an “observer” through the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Taiwanese armed forces have detected 13 Chinese military aircraft, five vessels and two balloons near the island nation over the past day, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Saturday. “13 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 06:00 (UTC+8) today. 1 of the detected aircraft (WZ-7 UAV RECCE) had entered Taiwan’s SW ADIZ … Two PRC’s balloons were detected at 12:04 [04:04 GMT] and 13:05 [05:05 GMT] yesterday after crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait at the location 33 nautical miles northwest and 51 miles west of Hsinchu respectively,” the defense…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amidst the tumultuous landscape of Balochistan, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a formidable force in 2023 by persistently engaging in armed operations to bring down the occupying Pak Army personnel as well as its collaborators, achieving significant victories throughout the year. The operations have resulted in the defeat of enemy forces that were routed on several fronts by the highly trained fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army. During these operations in 2023, the BLA executed 247 attacks on the enemy forces including 9 special operations and two self-sacrificing operations. These actions led to the elimination of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China is exploring ways to boost educational exchanges with Central Asian states. Such efforts appear designed to reinforce Chinese business activity in the region. China’s Deputy Education Minister Sun Yao recently visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Astana, discussions focused on the creation of a Kazakh-Chinese scientific research center at Al-FarabiNational University, one of Kazakhstan’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning. Officials also announced an expansion of an educational exchange program, as well as plans to increase Chinese-language instruction at Kazakh universities and develop dual-degree programs. In Uzbekistan, Sun’s talks likewise focused on increasing Chinese language instruction, as well…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) need to pay back a record amount of maturing local bonds in 2024, testing the limits of a central government programme to help them refinance their debt and avoid default. The country’s LGFVs – companies that borrow on behalf of provinces and cities to finance mainly infrastructure projects, such as roads and ports – have 4.65 trillion yuan (S$869 billion) worth of bonds due over the next 12 months, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. This is the highest amount on record and is roughly 13 per cent more than what came due in…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: In 2023, Mexico became the United States’ top trading partner, surpassing China. Just as the Mexican and American economies integrate, though, so have the Mexican and Chinese economies, with China now the former’s fastest-growing foreign investor. This has worried Washington, including members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, who see in Beijing’s investments an attempt to take advantage of a permissive North American trade deal. Put simply, while some view Mexico-U.S. integration as reflecting a success in decoupling from China, others believe that the Asian giant is trying to better its relationship with the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s foreign minister says it is documenting its experiences with China’s alleged attempts to interfere in elections next week and will publish its analysis soon after the vote. Taiwan’s government has pointed to military and economic pressure as well as Chinese-subsidised trips to China for local Taiwanese officials, as evidence of Beijing’s alleged interference ahead of the Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary election. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has called Taiwan’s elections a “purely an internal Chinese matter” and that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is trying to call any kind of interactions between the two sides of…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected three more Chinese balloons flying across the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, and one of those flew over the island, the second day in a row it has reported such activity. The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue in February 2023 when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray. Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Regional experts believe China’s recent efforts to mediate between the Myanmar junta and ethnic rebels on its northern border are motivated mainly by self-interest but unlikely to have a significant impact on the conflict. China’s goals in convening the peace talk between the military and the Three Brotherhood Alliance, conducted most recently in Kunming on December 20, is two-fold, according to the experts: to eliminate cyberfraud operations victimizing Chinese citizens and to stabilize trade across the China-Myanmar border. ‘So, the economic interest or the border trade is being affected, that is for sure,’ Yun Sun, director of the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck unveiled an ambitious vision for Gelephu Mindfulness City that holds promising potential to significantly bolster Bhutan-India relations, as reported by The Bhutan Live. On December 17, Bhutan celebrated its 116th National Day, and in a historic announcement, the Bhutan King unveiled an ambitious vision that could redefine the country’s economic landscape. The centrepiece of this vision is the Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (SAR), set to emerge as a pivotal economic hub in South Asia. Moreover, as a proposed economic corridor linking South Asia with Southeast Asia, it aligns with India’s…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Nepal has entrusted Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN) with the construction of the 900 megawatt Upper Karnali hydropower project along with the GMR group, which was earlier awarded the construction of this major hydroelectric project. Earlier in 2014, GMR and SJVN signed the Project Development Agreement (PDA) for the construction of the Upper Karnali and Arun-III hydropower projects. Over a decade, the progress in Arun-III has been significant, while Upper Karnali has remained on the backburner. Now, the government of Nepal has brought in SJVN for the construction of the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, which is expected…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chip machine manufacturer ASML on Monday said the Dutch government had partially revoked an export license for the shipment of some chip-making equipment to China, following US export restrictions. The Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said shipments included certain lithography systems. “A licence for the shipment of NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i lithography systems in 2023 has recently been partially revoked by the Dutch government, impacting a small number of customers in China,” the company said. ASML dominates the market for lithography systems, which use lasers to help create chip circuitry. The company said it does not expect the revocation or the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Taiwan’s relations with China must be decided by the will of the people and peace must be based on “dignity”, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Monday after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, said “reunification” with the island is inevitable. China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically governed Taiwan, which on Jan. 13 holds presidential and parliamentary elections. Xi’s comments, in a New Year’s Eve address, struck a stronger tone than the previous year where he said only that people on either side of the Taiwan Strait are “members of one and the…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Ahead of presidential elections in Taiwan that are slated to be held on January 13, President Xi Jinping on Sunday in his year-end address asserted that Taiwan will be reunified with China, Fox News reported. It reported that the tensions between China and Taiwan remain high, Xi has repeatedly affirmed China’s stance that Taiwan is a part of China and that it must be reunified, by force if necessary. “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China’s government called the frontrunner for Taiwan’s next president “confrontational” and a destroyer of peace after he spoke at a presidential debate and said the island’s sovereignty and independence belong to its people. The Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections are happening at a time of fraught relations between Beijing and Taipei. China has been ramping up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over democratically-governed Taiwan. China has taken particular exception to current Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Party (DPP) and leading in opinion polls by varying margins, saying he is…

Srikanth Kondapalli: 2023 did not provide any succour to a China that was straining to come out of the Covid pandemic, neither on the domestic front nor on the external front. China itself was mostly responsible for it. Its economic restructuring toward “medium-high” growth and political restructuring toward an over-centralised authority are not yielding results domestically. Nor was China able to enhance its global standing despite dishing out slogans like “community of common destiny”. To be sure, China has not run out of steam. But the juggernaut is slowing down. The China rise story over the last 40 years has…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Hong Kong should end its ban on Japanese seafood imports as the Fukushima nuclear waste water discharge had not caused contamination and doing so will show it can make decisions separately from mainland China under “one country, two systems”, Japan’s top diplomat in the city has said. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Japanese Consul General Kenichi Okada said the city had already taken a different approach from the mainland by applying a more narrow ban on only 10 prefectures. “Mainland China banned all seafood imports from Japan, while Hong Kong banned imports from only 10 prefectures,”…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday urged Chinese ambassadors to forge a “diplomatic iron army” loyal to the Communist Party, reviving the abrasive “Wolf Warrior” rhetoric propagated by some diplomats as a sign of China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy. “Dare to be good at struggle and to become defenders of the national interest. It is necessary to resolutely safeguard the interests of national sovereignty, security and development with a posture of readiness and a firm will to defy strong powers,” Xi told Chinese overseas envoys gathered in Beijing, state broadcaster CCTV reported. His remarks harked back to a…