Author: Arif ArifArman

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…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Hong Kong government has hit back at claims by 24 countries that local and mainland Chinese authorities have continuously attacked press freedom in the city, saying the joint statement was an attempt at slander. In a rebuttal issued on Friday night, city authorities said the statement from the Media Freedom Coalition, which was signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and 20 other countries, had “fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears” against the government’s efforts to safeguard press freedom. “The law enforcement agencies of the [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] have been taking law enforcement…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Against the backdrop of mounting geopolitical tensions and growing unease over China’s assertiveness, the Philippines is taking strategic steps to bolster its defence capabilities, Voice of America reported. The Philippines’ decision to enhance its military collaboration with the United States, particularly the expansion of US military presence at key locations, is a calculated response to the evolving regional dynamics and concerns about China’s expansionist ambitions. The move, under the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), signifies the Philippines’ proactive stance in navigating the complex geopolitical landscape of the Asia-Pacific region. Naval Base Camilo Osias, a seemingly inconspicuous military facility…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: China abruptly ousted nine military figures from its national parliament without explanation, as a major purge of personnel in the upper echelons of the nation’s defense universe casts its net wider. The nation’s top legislative body revoked the lawmakers’ membership during a Friday meeting, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Their ouster adds to a series of recent removals that are raising questions about how such turmoil will affect the smooth operations of China’s military. Five of those cut came from the nation’s secretive Rocket Force, including former commander Li Yuchao who was earlier reported to be subject…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: A sweeping purge of Chinese generals has weakened the People’s Liberation Army, exposing deep-rooted corruption that could take more time to fix and slow Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s military modernization drive amid geopolitical tensions, analysts say. China’s top lawmakers senior military officers from the national legislative body on Friday, state media reported, a step that typically precedes further punishment for wayward cadres. Many of these were from the Rocket Force – a key arm of the PLA overseeing tactical and nuclear missiles. The purges are a setback for Xi who has pumped billions into buying and developing equipment…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Qatari Court on Thursday commuted the death penalty sentence of eight ex-Indian naval officers it had arrested last year in the Dahra Global case, Ministry of External Affairs said in a press statement. The sentence has now been reduced to jail terms. Describing the judgement, Ministry of External Affairs said, “We have noted the verdict today of the Court of Appeal of Qatar in the Dahra Global case, in which the sentences have been reduced.” The MEA also said that the detailed judgement in the case is awaited and are in close touch with the legal team…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. During the meeting, President Putin invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia, saying it will give them an opportunity to discuss all current issues and talk about the outlook for the development of bilateral relations. “We will be glad to see our friend, Mr. Prime Minister Modi in Russia,” Putin told Jaishankar at Kremlin. “We will be able to discuss all current issues, talk about the outlook for the development of Russian-Indian relations. We have a very large amount of work…

INTERNATIONAL DESK: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday highlighted ongoing development in India and asserted that the Indian government’s efforts are aimed at making India a successful and developed country in the next 25 years. “You can see our effort is to ensure that in the next 25 years, we are successful and become a developed country. A developed country doesn’t just mean a developed economy, it is also a country which is aware, conscious and proud of its traditions, heritage and culture,” he said. While interacting with the Indologists in St Petersburg, EAM Jaishankar added, “Today when you…