SCA MORNING PRESS CLIPS
Prepared for the U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
TO: | SCA & Staff |
DATE: | Tuesday, August 20, 2024 6:30 AM ET |
Afghanistan
U.S., Philippines reach new deal to assist Afghan allies (Washington Post)
Washington Post [8/19/2024 5:40 PM, Dan Lamothe, Ellen Nakashima and Michael Birnbaum, 54755K, Neutral]
The U.S. and Philippine governments have reached a deal to create a new pathway to the United States for Afghan allies who assisted the American war effort, relying on temporarily relocating some of them to Southeast Asia as they await approval for U.S. visas and resettlement, U.S. and Philippine officials said.The agreement was announced Monday evening, days after the third anniversary of the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, following President Joe Biden’s order that April to fully withdraw U.S. troops. The ensuing crisis remains a low point of the Biden administration and a persistent electoral cudgel for Republicans.It was not immediately clear where the Afghans initially approved for transport to the Philippines are now. Tens of thousands of Afghans who are potentially eligible for U.S. visas are spread across the globe, often settling temporarily wherever they can get approval.In the three years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the new government has reimposed strict religious controls, curtailing almost all rights for women and girls, while hunting and killing those who helped Americans. Human rights workers have warned that such revenge killings are a persistent problem.The new plan will be part of Operation Enduring Welcome, the Biden administration’s effort to resettle Afghan allies. It calls for the Philippine government to process about 300 Afghans for resettlement as they await approval of special immigrant visas and resettlement in the United States, U.S. officials briefed on the matter said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.U.S. officials anticipate that the program could be extended and possibly expanded after the initial few hundred Afghans move through the Philippines, effectively turning the island nation into another temporary “way station” for Afghans as they await resettlement in the United States.“We’re going to continue to have ongoing discussions with the Philippines, and we’re really hoping that we can show we are good partners in this project,” a senior State Department official said.The temporary nature of the arrangement is a key detail for the government in Manila, U.S. officials said, with the expectation that Afghans would remain for no more than a few months. Those moving through the Philippines have undergone vetting and received initial approval from U.S. officials. The U.S. government will provide the Afghans involved with food, housing, security, medical services and transportation at a facility outside Manila. In recent days, the senior State Department official said, land has been cleared for a soccer field for the Afghans — and an eight-foot python that was discovered was quickly relocated.The Biden administration has resettled more than 160,000 Afghans in the United States since 2021, a figure that includes both those who directly supported the U.S. government and their spouses and children, the senior State Department official said. They made it to the United States through several different pathways, including Qatar and Albania, officials said.The expanded effort comes three years after a U.S.-led evacuation mission in Kabul airlifted 124,000 people to safety from a single runway in 17 days, but it was marked by scenes of desperation and tragedy. Tens of thousands of people eligible for relocation were left behind. An Islamic State suicide bombing at the outskirts of the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. troops and more than 170 Afghans, and an errant U.S. drone strike a few days later killed seven children and three adult civilians.U.S. officials said that Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan were among the senior U.S. leaders who helped close the deal with Manila. Biden raised the issue on several occasions, most recently during a meeting in the Oval Office on April 11, a senior administration official said.Harris, now the Democratic nominee for president, suggested the idea to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on a visit to Manila in November 2022, a few months after he took office. She raised the proposal with him again in May 2023 when he visited Washington and in a November 2023 meeting in San Francisco, the senior administration official said.Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who leads #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations assisting the resettlement of Afghans, said Harris’s engagement was key.“My understanding is that this thing was sort of stalled, and she got it reinvigorated,” VanDiver said. “I think that it’s really notable that three years into this, we’re still doing this.”The Philippine ambassador to the United States, Jose Manuel Romualdez, called the agreement “very significant” and suggested it could be extended “if it’s something that we think is successful.” It grows out of a long humanitarian tradition dating to World War II, he said.It was then, he said, between the late 1930s and 1941, that the commonwealth’s first president, Manuel Quezon, welcomed more than 1,200 Jewish refugees, most from Europe, to the Philippines. Not even the United States then was accepting Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, Romualdez noted.During the Vietnam War, Marcos’s father, then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., opened a center in northern Luzon to process 30,000 Vietnamese people fleeing their country, Romualdez said.“We’re doing what we can to contribute in our small way into helping people who are displaced,” he said. “I think the majority of people [in the Philippines] know that this is a good thing to do.”The deal comes amid a backdrop of strengthened diplomatic and military ties between Washington and Manila. Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced plans to deepen defense cooperation and contribute $500 million to modernize the Philippine armed forces.The nations have a mutual-defense treaty and have grown closer since 2022, when Marcos Jr. took office, succeeding a populist, and drove Manila’s foreign policy sharply toward Washington. He has visited the United States four times, most recently in April.“The fact that we’re able to do this at this point really reflects where we are in the U.S. bilateral relationship with the Philippines and how strong and good the partnership is right now,” a second senior State Department official said.This was a “big ask” of Manila, the second official said, given domestic fears that what was framed as a temporary program could become permanent. The Philippines has for decades battled Islamist insurgencies, especially in its south.U.S. officials assured their counterparts in Manila that the processing would be done swiftly and securely. The Afghans have provided “faithful, invaluable service” to the U.S. government in Afghanistan, officials said. They have gone through pre-travel security checks and medical screening at consulates and embassies around the world, the officials said.“This does show how deep the trust and partnership is at the moment, extending beyond just the military components of the alliance to a willingness to cooperate politically, economically and diplomatically,” said Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.In the last year alone, officials noted, the two allies have strengthened people-to-people ties; a U.S. presidential trade mission resulted in $1 billion in investments in the Philippines; and Washington helped broker a trilateral summit with Japan and the Philippines to foster economic growth, including by launching an economic corridor on Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines.But Manila is also mindful of China’s rising challenge, both economically and militarily. Numerous strains between the Philippines and China have emerged in recent years, including a confrontation in June in which Chinese coast guard personnel rammed their ships into Philippine vessels and then boarded them. On Monday, Chinese and Philippine vessels collided again, this time near Sabina Shoal. Philippines agrees to host a US visa processing center for Afghans resettling in America (AP)
AP [8/19/2024 9:51 PM, Jim Gomez, 31180K, Neutral]
The Philippines has agreed to a request by the United States to temporarily host a U.S. immigrant visa processing center for a limited number of Afghan nationals aspiring to resettle in America, the treaty allies announced Tuesday.
The Philippine government’s approval of the request, which initially faced local concerns over potential security and legal issues, reflects how relations between Manila and Washington have deepened under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in 2022.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said the agreement was undergoing final domestic procedures before it takes effect. It did not provide other details, including how many Afghans would be allowed to temporarily stay in the Philippines at any time while their special immigrant visas for resettlement to the U.S. are being completed.
"The U.S. government is supporting necessary services for those Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical and transportation to complete visa processing," the Philippine foreign affairs department said in a statement.
The U.S. thanked the Philippines in a statement by the State Department "for supporting Afghan allies of the United States" and added that it "appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines."
The Afghan nationals to be considered for resettlement primarily worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan or were deemed eligible for U.S. special immigrant visas but were left behind when Washington withdrew from the country as Taliban militants took back power in a chaotic period in 2021.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken first relayed the request to his Philippine counterpart in 2022, and President Joe Biden discussed the request when Marcos visited the United States last year, Philippine officials said.
Marcos said last year that he was told by American officials that a maximum of 1,000 Afghan nationals would be allowed to stay in the Philippines at any one time while their special immigrant visas are being processed.
He said at the time there were difficult legal and logistical issues to address for the program to run as hoped.
Some Filipino officials have expressed fears the Afghan nationals could become targets of attacks while in the Philippines. Others raised legal questions about an arrangement where U.S. authorities would have a say in vetting who could enter the Philippines.
One prospective problem is what to do with Afghan nationals whose U.S. special visa immigrant application is indefinitely stalled or rejected, Marcos said and expressed concern that thousands of Afghan nationals could be stranded in the country while awaiting relocation to the U.S.
Marcos has rekindled relations with the U.S. since winning the presidency with a landslide margin two years ago.
In February last year, he allowed an expansion of the American military presence under a 2014 defense agreement in a decision that China warned would allow American forces to gain a staging ground to intervene in the South China Sea and Taiwan issues and threaten regional stability. Pakistan
A shootout on Pakistan’s frontier with Afghanistan kills 5 militants and 3 Pakistani soldiers (AP)
AP [8/19/2024 12:13 PM, Staff, 31180K, Negative]
Pakistani security forces killed five militants in a remote northwestern area on Monday when they tried to sneak in from neighboring Afghanistan, the military said.
Three soldiers were also killed in the exchange of fire in Bajur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan has long urged Afghanistan to ensure effective border management. Islamabad often accuses Kabul of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the frontier, which the Afghan Taliban government denies.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence in recent years, mostly blamed on the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The group is allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.
The military’s statement did not say whether the militants in Monday’s shootout were with the TTP. Pakistan: Gunfight with militants near Afghan border kills 3 troops (VOA)
VOA [8/19/2024 2:47 PM, Ayaz Gul, 4032K, Negative]
Pakistan reported Monday that at least three soldiers had been killed in clashes with militants attempting to cross over from Afghanistan.
A military statement said that Pakistani forces had intercepted the predawn infiltration attempt in the Bajaur border district and "effectively engaged and thwarted" it. The ensuing intense gunfight also killed five assailants and wounded several others, it added.
The reported militant casualties could not be immediately confirmed by independent sources, nor were there any claims of responsibility for the attempted incursion.However, the military blamed fugitive militants associated with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a globally designated terrorist organization, for carrying out the attack from their bases on the Afghan side of the border.
"Pakistan has consistently been asking [the] interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border," the military stated, referring to the neighboring country’s de facto Taliban rulers.
The statement renewed Islamabad’s call for Kabul to "fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij (official reference to TTP in local language) for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan."
Taliban authorities deny the Pakistani allegations, asserting they have secured and "firmly" control the entire Afghan territory.
"Afghanistan is not a threat to any country," Taliban-run state TV quoted Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy government spokesperson, as saying Monday.
"The Islamic Emirate has made it clear that it does not allow the territory of Afghanistan to be used against the security of any other nation," Fitrat stated, using the official title of their government, which is not recognized by any country.
Pakistan has reported a dramatic surge in TTP attacks in the country since the Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul three years ago. The violence has killed and wounded several thousand civilians and security forces, according to official and independent reports.
The rise in militancy has strained relations between the two countries, sharing a nearly 2,600-kilometer (1,616-mile) border.
The United Nations has backed Islamabad’s complaints and, in a security assessment released last month, described TTP as "the largest terrorist group" in Afghanistan.
The report stated that up to 6,500 TTP militants operate on Afghan soil with the growing support of the Taliban government to launch cross-border attacks in Pakistan. The U.N. noted that the militants are being equipped and trained in al-Qaida-run training camps in Afghanistan.
The de facto Kabul authorities dismissed the U.N. findings as propaganda at the time. Pakistan Says Mpox Patient Not Carrying Dangerous New Variant (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/19/2024 12:42 PM, Ismail Dilawar, 1985K, Neutral]
Pakistan’s first mpox infection this year is an older, milder variant called clade II, according to Irshad Roghani, a public health director in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The country conducted genetic sequencing to determine the variant of the latest case after the World Health Organization last week declared a global health emergency over the spread of a mutated strain of mpox named clade I.
Pakistan started screening travelers to the country following health authorities confirming the latest infection on August 13 in a 34-year-old Pakistani male who arrived from Saudi Arabia.
Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, the prime minister’s coordinator on national health, on Saturday said scanners have been put in place at all airports and at border crossings with Afghanistan, China, India and Iran to report suspected infections as part of efforts to prevent the virus from spreading in the country. One case of clade 2 mpox detected in Pakistan, new strain not detected (Reuters)
Reuters [8/19/2024 1:16 PM, Asif Shahzad, 42991K, Neutral]
One case of the mpox virus has been detected in Pakistan of the clade 2 variety, the country’s ministry of health said on Monday, adding that no cases of the clade 1b strain of the disease have been diagnosed.Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it seems to spread more easily though routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent."As of now, there have been no reported cases of clade I in Pakistan," said Sajid Hussain Shah, spokesman for the ministry of national health services.The World Health Organization declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.The WHO last week sounded its highest level of alert over the outbreak in Africa after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries. There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in DR Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023.Global health officials on last week confirmed an infection with the new strain of mpox in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent. The WHO did not urge any travel restrictions to curb the spread of mpox.The disease presents with flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can kill, and children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications. A magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattles Pakistan and Kashmir (AP)
AP [8/20/2024 12:49 AM, Staff, 456K, Neutral]
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and the Himalayan region of Kashmir early Tuesday, panicking residents. There were no immediate reports of damage, officials said.
The epicenter of the quake was in southwestern Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region that is divided between neighboring India and Pakistan, both of which claim it in its entirety.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, the depth of the tremors was 20 kilometers (12 miles). Shaking was felt across much of Pakistan, including Islamabad, some areas in the eastern Punjab northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces bordering Afghanistan.
A magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005 killed thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir. Heavy rains hit Pakistan’s south; monsoon’s death toll tops 209 (AP)
AP [8/19/2024 1:04 PM, Munir Ahmed, 4032K, Negative]
Flash floods triggered by monsoon rains swept through streets in southern Pakistan and blocked a key highway in the north, officials said Monday, as the death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 209 since July 1.
Fourteen people died across Punjab province in the past 24 hours, said Irfan Ali, an official at the provincial disaster management authority. Most of the other deaths have occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces.
Pakistan’s annual monsoon season runs from July through September. Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavier rains in recent years. In 2022, climate-induced downpours inundated one-third of the country, killing 1,739 people and causing $30 billion in damage.
Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official with the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said the latest spell of heavy rains will continue this week in parts of the country. The downpour in southern Pakistan has flooded streets in Sukkur district of Sindh province.
Authorities said efforts were underway to clear the key Karakorum highway in the north of landslides. Flash floods have also damaged some bridges in the north, disrupting traffic.
The government advised tourists to avoid affected areas.
More than 2,200 homes have been damaged across Pakistan since July 1, when the monsoon rains began, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Neighboring Afghanistan also has had rains and flood-related damage since May, with more than 80 people killed. On Sunday, three people died when their vehicle was washed away by floods in Ghazni, according to provincial police. Pakistan suffers internet slowdown as government denies setting up a national firewall (AP)
AP [8/19/2024 1:25 PM, Babar Dogar, 31180K, Neutral]
People in Pakistan reported much slower internet over the past several days with some experts on Monday estimating its speed falling to less than half its usual capacity at times.
The problem has affected millions of users, disrupting businesses and drawing nationwide complaints, while authorities have denied allegations that the installation of a national firewall was behind the slowdown.
Since February, users have been either unable to use social media or allowed limited access following a governmental crackdown before the Feb. 8 parliamentary election. However, internet speed has now noticeably slowed down.Users are unable to quickly send emails or use the messaging service WhatsApp, with businesspeople and doctors saying it has negatively affected their daily work, particularly receiving statements and medical reports.
Pakistan Software House Association, which represents companies specializing in information technology, said in a statement this week that the disruptions could cause a loss of $300 million to the country’s already fragile economy. The association also accused the government of "hastily implementing a national firewall," leading to the slow connection.
Shahzad Arshad, an internet service provider in the eastern city of Lahore, said that businesses are suffering because they can’t contact international clients or are having trouble sending and receiving files.
Chaudhry Arif, who runs a software company in the capital, Islamabad, said the internet speed was from 40% to 80% slower than the previous week, with no signs of improvement.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Technology Shiza Fatima said the government wasn’t behind the slow internet and that no new restrictions have been placed. She said phones were slow to connect to cyberspace in some cases because of the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs.
Several people rejected Fatima’s explanation.
Umayr Hassan, a software engineer, said authorities should clearly state if connections will remain unstable due to security measures. "There should be some clarity by the government ... some logical explanation, not saying the use of VPNs."
The minister said authorities are "tirelessly trying" to find the root of the problem while acknowledging that the government was upgrading its system to improve cybersecurity.
Fareeha Aziz, a digital rights activist, wants the government to explain what caused the slow connection. "The government says it is not behind the slowdown of the internet. Then who did it?" she asked.
Pakistan has 110 million internet users, nearly half the country’s population.
Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan heavily use social networks to campaign against the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after a no-confidence vote in Parliament in 2022. Khan is in prison facing a slew of legal charges and the country has been in turmoil ever since. India
Modi Will Visit Ukraine for First Time Since Russia’s Invasion (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg [8/19/2024 7:31 PM, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, 27296K, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kyiv on Friday in an attempt to balance ties with Washington and Moscow, but has ruled out a role mediating an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.The South Asian nation has, however, agreed to relay messages between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the people said, asking not to be named as discussions are private. Indian officials have called for dialog and diplomacy to end the war that began with Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Modi’s visit to Ukraine comes weeks after he visited Russia, a longtime India ally, sparking frustration in Washington. President Joe Biden’s administration has made closer ties with India a cornerstone of its foreign policy. American officials expressed concern about the Russia visit in a series of meetings and phone calls with their Indian counterparts in July, Bloomberg News has reported.“The meeting will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of relations including agriculture, economy, defense, pharmaceutical and people to people ties,” said Tanmaya Lal, a top official in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “Defense is one of the main pillars of the multifaceted relationship between India and Ukraine.” Modi’s reluctance to broker an end to the war is partly because of India’s dependence on Russia for cheap oil and weapons. New Delhi has refrained from criticizing Moscow over the invasion, now well into its third year, and has increased its purchase of Russian oil to record levels. The South Asian nation shares hostile borders with Pakistan and China.Modi’s Kyiv visit will be restricted to a few hours because of security concerns. The conflict entered a new phase recently when Ukraine wrested Russian territory for the first time since the invasion.‘Negotiated Settlement’From Ukraine’s vantage point, it’s important for Zelenskiy to meet with Modi to discuss India’s role in restoring peace to the region, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified. India has been central to Zelenskiy’s ambition to win over key nations from the so-called Global South, an effort that has stumbled this year. India was among nations at a June summit meeting in Switzerland not to sign a final statement, a blow to Ukraine’s bid to broaden support in its war to fend off Russia’s invading forces.“We have consistently maintained the way forward is a negotiated settlement,” said Lal, replying to a question whether India will mediate to end the war.The meeting with Modi is unlikely to yield any major announcements, though several agreements including in agriculture and defense are in the works, people familiar with the agenda said. Before reaching Ukraine, Modi will also visit Poland, a first by an Indian leader in over four decades.India is the biggest importer of equipment and weapon systems, a tag Modi wants to reverse by boosting homemade defense manufacturing.Ukraine’s state-owned Zorya-Mashproekt is in talks with Indian private sector companies to jointly manufacture gas turbines used by warships, people familiar with the negotiations said. The two countries are also discussing manufacturing aircraft and aero-engines in India. India’s Modi will visit Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s criticism for meeting Putin in Moscow (AP)
AP [8/19/2024 9:57 AM, Sheikh Saaliq, 31180K, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine this week and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the two countries announced Monday, weeks after he met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Modi will visit Ukraine on Zelenskyy’s invitation on Friday, Tanmaya Lal, a senior official at the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a briefing in New Delhi. He said the visit will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss cooperation in defense, economic and business ties, science and technology and other sectors.
Ukraine’s Presidential Office also announced Modi’s trip, saying it’s his first visit during which two leaders will sign multiple cooperation documents and discuss "matters of bilateral and multilateral cooperation."
Modi’s trip to Ukraine comes a month after Zelenskyy criticized his two-day visit to Moscow in July, when he met with Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people.
Zelenskyy had described the meeting as a "huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day." He also chided Modi for hugging Putin during their meeting.
Modi did not address the strikes directly during his trip, but alluded to the bloodshed while speaking about his meeting with Putin.
"Be it war, a struggle or a terrorist attack, every person who believes in humanity, when there is loss of life, he is pained," Modi said then. "When innocent children are killed, when we see innocent children dying, then the heart pains. And that pain is very horrible."
India has avoided condemning Russia’s invasion and instead has urged Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
"The conflict is ongoing and we believe that the resolution to this conflict can only come through dialogue and diplomacy," Lal said on Monday. He said "India has consistently advocated for diplomacy and dialogue to reach a negotiated settlement."
Under Modi, New Delhi is seeking to deepen its relationship with the West while also keeping ties with Moscow, a major defense supplier for India. He has carefully avoided rubbing Moscow the wrong way given the countries’ partnership dating back to the Cold War.
India has also become a key buyer of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies that shut most Western markets off to Russian exports. India now gets more than 40% of its oil imports from Russia, according to analysts.
The U.S. has also raised concerns over India’s relationship with Russia, especially at a time when Washington has been seeking to strengthen ties with New Delhi as a counterweight to China.
At the time of Modi’s Moscow visit, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan had cautioned New Delhi that "a bet on Russia as a long-term, reliable partner is not a good bet." The U.S. was also concerned with the timing of Modi’s visit as it came in the middle of the NATO Summit being held in Washington, where the West moved to bolster Ukraine.
Modi and Zelenskyy last met in June on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting in Italy. The two leaders have also spoken several times by phone since the start of the war.
Ukraine is interested in strengthening trade and economic ties with India, particularly agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade, the Ukrainian president said earlier this year.
Bilateral trade between India and Ukraine countries has grown significantly in the last 25 years, reaching $3.3 billion in 2021-2022 financial year, according to India’s foreign ministry.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India has also provided almost 100 tons of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighboring countries. India’s Modi to visit Ukraine on Aug. 23, weeks after rebuking Putin (Reuters)
Reuters [8/19/2024 11:02 AM, YP Rajesh, 60154K, Neutral]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on Friday to boost ties with Kyiv, weeks after a trip to Moscow in which he rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war with its neighbour.
Announcing the Aug. 23 trip, India’s foreign ministry said it would be a "landmark and historic" visit, the first by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago.
Indian analysts said the visit would aim to control damage from Modi’s trip last month to Moscow, which coincided with a lethal strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, embarrassing Modi and drawing criticism from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
New Delhi, however, said it has substantive and independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine and that the visit builds on continuing interactions between India and Ukraine.
"This is not a zero-sum game ... these are independent, broad ties," Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West) in the Indian foreign ministry, told reporters.
"This is an important visit that is expected to catalyze our ties in a whole range of sectors," Lal said, listing economic and business links, agriculture, infrastructure, health and education, pharmaceuticals, defence and culture.
Lal said the conflict in Ukraine would also be discussed, and reiterated that New Delhi was willing to provide any support it can in pursuit of peace.
"Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties. And it can only be a negotiated settlement," he said.
Zelenskiy’s office said he and Modi would discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation and that a "number of documents" were expected to be signed.
MODI REBUKED PUTIN IN MOSCOW
During Modi’s trip to Moscow on July 8-9, old friends India and Russia sought to boost bilateral trade and cooperation in areas ranging from nuclear energy to medicine.
But the visit coincided with the strike on the hospital in Ukraine’s capital, prompting Modi to use emotive language to deliver an implicit rebuke to Putin at their summit.
Modi told Putin the death of innocent children was painful and terrifying, and that Moscow and Kyiv should resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi’s visit also coincided with the July 9-10 NATO summit in Washington at which the allies sought to bolster Ukraine and counter Russia.
The United States said it raised concerns with India about its ties with Russia but also said the relationship gives New Delhi an ability to urge Putin to end the war.
Top Indian diplomats have since held regular talks with their Ukrainian counterparts, and Modi met Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Italy in June. They have also spoken several times by phone since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine has pitched for New Delhi to help rebuild its economy, inviting investment from Indian companies at a January business summit in India.
India has traditionally had close economic and defence ties with Moscow and refrained from criticising Russia over its invasion. It has increased purchases of Russian oil to record levels, saying it must protect its own national interest first.
The prospect of India mediating to help end the war in Ukraine has been raised in diplomatic circles from time to time but New Delhi has appeared cagey, saying only that it is willing to offer any support to resolve the conflict peacefully. India, Malaysia look to reset ties hit after Delhi’s Kashmir move (Reuters)
Reuters [8/20/2024 4:39 AM, Krishna N. Das, 5.2M, Neutral]
India and Malaysia will boost cooperation in areas such as semiconductor, financial technology and defence production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday after meeting his Malaysian counterpart, as the two countries look to reset ties.Relations soured around late 2019 following some remarks by largely Muslim Malaysia’s then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad against New Delhi removing the autonomy of India’s only Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.That had also hit India’s purchases of Malaysian palm oil."We have decided that we will elevate our cooperation to the level of ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’," Modi said, without specifying what that will imply but noting that Malaysia had invested $5 billion in India in the past year."In areas which require new and modern technology like semiconductor, fintech, defence industry, AI and quantum technology, we will increase cooperation."He said the two countries have also been conducting bilateral trade in their rupee and ringgit currencies. India has been trying to boost the acceptability of the rupee as sanctions on countries like Russia exposes it to its heavy reliance on the dollar.Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country would reinvigorate relations with India in all fields. "There are so many areas that we need to explore further," he said. Both Anwar and Modi didn’t take questions from the media.
Doctor’s Alleged Rape and Killing Reawakens Fury Over Sexual Violence in India (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street Journal [8/19/2024 9:50 AM, Vibhuti Agarwal, 810K, Neutral]
The alleged rape and killing of a trainee doctor in an Indian hospital has prompted protests by physicians and dredged up memories of the fatal gang rape that led to toughened punishments for sexual violence but which campaigners say failed to alter attitudes toward women.
Doctors across the country have protested, staged walk outs or refused to treat non-urgent cases since the 31-year-old’s body was found in a seminar hall of a hospital where she worked in Kolkata, West Bengal, on Aug. 9. Police said they have arrested a volunteer at the state-run hospital in connection with the attack, but haven’t named the suspect.
In the days after the incident, violence broke out at the hospital when a group of about 100 people vandalized the building, and clashed with protesting doctors and the police, according to local doctors and footage shown on Indian television. On Monday, sit-in demonstrations at other hospitals, marches, including in India’s capital New Delhi, and strikes by medical professionals continued around the country.
Sattama Samanta, a 30-year-old oncologist at a medical college in Kolkata, said the incident had shaken her confidence and made her scared to return to work because of a lack of safety during late-night and early-morning shifts.“We work round the clock. Our workplace is our second home,” said Samanta, who vowed to remain on strike until she was assured of her safety at work. “If the cost of taking care of others is to bleed myself, I would rather stay away.”
Doctors and campaigners say the attack has underlined how little has changed in India for women in the wake of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012. That incident led to extensive protests, worldwide condemnation and wide-scale changes to the law, including the introduction of the death penalty as the maximum punishment for rape.
Four men were convicted in the case and given death sentences for what the court said were the “rarest of the rare” crimes. A teenage boy also found guilty was released in 2015, after spending three years in a reform house. A fifth adult suspect was found dead in his jail cell in 2013 during the trial.
Activists say the legal changes spurred by the case, such as making voyeurism, stalking, acid attacks and human trafficking specific offenses for the first time, haven’t deterred violence against women or shifted societal attitudes toward them.“The legal regime is in place but the issue of crime against women continues to be rampant, pervasive and commonplace,” Vrinda Grover, a lawyer at India’s Supreme Court said.
Indian society needs to address the bigger problem of deep-rooted inequality and discrimination against women within Indian families, culture and tradition, Grover added.“We will have to decide as a society whether we are willing to dismantle patriarchy in all its manifestations,” she said.
Vineet Kumar Goyal, commissioner of Kolkata police said at a news conference last week that an autopsy on the victim had confirmed rape.
In a petition to the local court, the parents of the victim, whose name hasn’t been disclosed in accordance with Indian laws governing sexual violence, said they suspected their daughter was gang-raped, according to interviews they gave to local media. They couldn’t be reached for comment.
The case has now been transferred from local police to the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s main investigative agency. A hearing in the matter is listed to take place at India’s top court on Tuesday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for stricter action against the perpetrators of such attacks a few days after it took place, but hasn’t referred to the incident directly.“As a society, we will have to think seriously about the atrocities against women that are happening,” Modi said in his national address on Aug. 15, the country’s Independence Day. “There is outrage against this in the country. I can feel this outrage. The country, society, and state governments will have to take this seriously.” India’s top court creates task force on workplace safety after doctor was raped and killed (AP)
AP [8/20/2024 3:01 AM, Sheikh Saaliq, 456K, Neutral]
India’s top court on Tuesday set up a national task force of doctors who will make recommendations on safety of health care workers at their workplaces, days after the rape and killing of a trainee doctor that sparked outrage and nationwide protests.
The Supreme Court said the doctors’ panel will frame guidelines for ensuring safety and protection of medical professionals and health care workers across the country.“Protecting safety of doctors and women doctors is a matter of national interest and principle of equality. The nation cannot await another rape for it to take some steps,” Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud said.
Doctors and medics across India have been holding protests, candlelight marches and even temporarily refused care for non-emergency patients since Aug. 9 when the killing in the eastern city of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. The doctors say the assault highlights the vulnerability of health care workers in hospitals and medical campuses across India.
The court also asked the federal agency investigating the killing to submit a report on Thursday on the status of its investigation. A police volunteer has been arrested and charged with the crime, but the family of the victim alleges it was a gang rape and more people were involved.
The suspension of work by doctors has affected thousands of patients across India. They are demanding more stringent laws to protect them from violence, including making any attack on on-duty medics an offense without the possibility of bail.
The rape and killing of the 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata city’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital has also focused rage on the chronic issue of violence against women.
Thousands of people, particularly women, have marched in the streets of Kolkata and other Indian cities demanding justice for the doctor. They say women in India continue to face rising violence despite tough laws that were implemented following the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi in 2012.
That attack had inspired lawmakers to order harsher penalties for such crimes and set up fast-track courts dedicated to rape cases. The government also introduced the death penalty for repeat offenders.
Despite tougher legislation, sexual violence against women has remained a widespread problem in India.
In 2022, police recorded 31,516 reports of rape — a 20% jump from 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. India’s top court sets up doctors’ panel on workplace safety after rape, murder (Reuters)
Reuters [8/20/2024 3:04 AM, Sakshi Dayal, 5.2M, Neutral]
India’s Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday the setting up of a national task force of doctors to make recommendations on safety at their workplace, days after the rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor sparked nationwide protests.
The court also asked the federal police to submit a report on Thursday on the status of its investigation into the Aug. 9 murder of the trainee doctor at a state-run hospital in the eastern city of Kolkata.
Doctors across the country have held protests and refused to see non-emergency patients following the crime as part of their action demanding a safer workplace and a swift criminal probe.
A police volunteer has been arrested and charged with the crime. Women activists say the incident has highlighted how women in India continue to suffer from sexual violence despite tougher laws brought in after the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi. Global Trade Needs a China Alternative. India Needs Better Ports. (New York Times)
New York Times [8/20/2024 12:01 AM, Peter S. Goodman and Hari Kumar, 831K, Neutral]
The Rishiri Galaxy, a Panamian-flagged tanker one and a half times the length of a football field, sat tethered to the dock on a muggy day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port on the west coast of India. Freshly arrived from the Persian Gulf, it bore industrial chemicals — raw materials for Indian factories that make pharmaceuticals, auto parts, cosmetics, construction materials and scores of other modern concoctions.
At a second terminal nearby, overhead cranes plucked shipping containers off another vessel operated by Maersk, the Danish shipping conglomerate, setting them onto the beds of trucks. The trucks would haul this cargo — electronics from South Korea, palm oil from Indonesia, machinery from Europe — to warehouses throughout the world’s most populous country.
Roughly one of every four shipping containers passing through India is loaded or unloaded here, on the docks jutting into the Arabian Sea just south of Mumbai. The flow of containers has roughly tripled over the past two decades, reaching the equivalent of 6.4 million 20-foot boxes last year. Yet by the standards of the world’s largest ports — many of them in China — it remains a small operation.
India is now pursuing an aggressive campaign to catch up, readying plans for new ports while expanding existing docks. Whether those designs come to fruition and how quickly could shape the results of one of India’s grandest aspirations: swelling into a full-fledged manufacturing and export colossus.
That prospect is increasingly imaginable as multinational retailers that have long leaned heavily on factories in China to make their goods seek alternative venues, spooked by trade hostilities between Washington and Beijing and the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic. That effort is intensifying as businesses absorb the expectation that trade relations between the world’s two largest economies will remain unsettled regardless who wins the U.S. presidential election in November. Many major brands are exploring factories in India.“The world doesn’t want total dependence on China,” said Unmesh Sharad Wagh, chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority. “Definitely, the best alternative is India. Now, people are shifting their base to India.”
Major retailers like Walmart are expanding their sites to India. But whether this trend endures, producing a sustained increase in additional factory orders along with critically needed manufacturing jobs, may hinge on whether India’s ports are able to do their part.
At the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, in Navi Mumbai, construction crews are doubling the size of one of the five terminals, adding two berths.
The major action is aimed at Vadhvan, an industrial area 100 miles up the coast. There, the port authority is proceeding with plans to construct an enormous facility that will have capacity to move 20 million 20-foot containers per year, roughly triple the size of the existing Navi Mumbai port.
The project, estimated to cost more than $9 billion, is to be built in two phases, with completion in 2035. It recently gained the approval of India’s cabinet.
The key to the new port is its deep water, which can accommodate the world’s largest container ships, those large enough to hold as many as 24,000 boxes. The rest of India’s ports can handle ships carrying up to 18,000 containers.
That limitation constrains the flow of trade. Roughly 25 percent of the container cargo between India and Europe or East Asia is routed through ports in Singapore, Dubai or Colombo, Sri Lanka, where their shipments are transferred to and from smaller vessels that are able to dock in India — the equivalent of having to change planes in Chicago or Atlanta, rather than catching a nonstop flight.
As a result, Indian shippers are spending roughly $200 extra per 20-foot container, and the journeys are taking an additional three days, Mr. Wagh said. A three-day gap in delivery time undermines India’s competitiveness as a place to make goods.
The Vadhvan port is aimed at reducing such costs and speeding delivery time, Mr. Wagh said. “We should not be depending on the smaller vessels,” he said. “Our port should be ready for our future growth.”
Another port in the southern Indian state of Kerala is being engineered to accommodate the largest container vessels, relying heavily on automation. It recently received its first container ship to test its operations and is expected to open late this year. That facility — delayed for years by the opposition of local communities — is a project of the Adani Group, a central element of the commercial empire amassed by the billionaire magnate Gautam Adani.
Mr. Adani has long enjoyed close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in June began his third term. Mr. Modi is a weakened figure following national polls that forced his Hindu nationalist party to forge a governing coalition to maintain power, but is expected to continue his drive to spend aggressively on infrastructure.
Some argue that the expansions underway are already keeping pace with India’s growing exports.“Port capacity is going up everywhere,” said Shashi Kiran Shetty, founder and chairman of Allcargo Group, one of India’s largest logistics companies. “We probably can handle another 25 or 30 percent increase in demand.”He noted the expansion of capacity in recent years at a major container port in Mundra.
Recent months have seen chaos at some ports on India’s west coast, with outbound cargo piling up, as ocean carriers bypass some destinations to focus their vessels on major routes linking East Asia to Europe and North America.
Much of the disruption is the result of ships avoiding the Suez Canal to evade attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Ships are instead traveling the long way around Africa. Given the extra distance, shipping companies need extra vessels to maintain weekly schedules. They have diverted some ships that would normally call at Indian ports.
Another source of concern is the possibility of dockworker strikes at India’s 12 largest ports amid an impasse in contract negotiations.
In the longer term, those dependent on trade in India call for more aggressive action to deepen the channels at existing ports — a costly and complicated process.“Dredging has to be done at Indian ports,” said Dushyant Mulani, chairman of the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India, which represents trucking firms, customs brokers and other companies. “China definitely has an edge over India.”
Like port overseers on every shore, Mr. Wagh, who runs the port authority in Navi Mumbai, is frustrated by the parts of his business that he does not control: congested and bumpy highways that slow the movement of cargo, for instance, and a train system that has traditionally prioritized the moving of passengers.
Rail authorities are nearing completion of a dedicated rail corridor to move freight between Mumbai and New Delhi. That will allow the double-stacking of containers, while permitting trains to double their speed, effectively quadrupling the system’s capacity.
The national government is also overseeing the construction of highways.
The question is how long those efforts will take to finish, and whether they can keep pace with growing volumes of cargo. The demands will be even greater if India emerges as a viable alternative to industry in China.“Rail and road both have to move faster,” Mr. Wagh said. India economic report card triggers debate over China investment (Nikkei Asia)
Nikkei Asia [8/19/2024 10:07 PM, Kiran Sharma, 2042K, Neutral]
India’s key economic report card is triggering fresh debate about whether Delhi should ease rules limiting investment from China to boost its own fortunes, or stay focused on trade with the world’s No. 2 economy.The annual review of India’s economy and growth prospects came just before the neighbors’ top diplomats held talks in late July aimed at resolving diplomatic tensions, including longstanding border disputes.The report encourages foreign direct investment (FDI) from China for the first time since Delhi’s move in 2020 to restrict investment from its land neighbors, two months before a Himalayan border clash left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead. The policy shift was widely seen as targeting Chinese entities in the aftermath of the violence.But India’s economy and its links to the global supply chain could benefit from taking advantage of Western-led "China plus one" policies to move sourcing and manufacturing beyond China, the review said."Choosing FDI as a strategy to benefit from a China plus one approach appears more advantageous" than relying on trade, said the July 22 report by India’s chief economic adviser, V. Anantha Nageswaran. "As the U.S. and Europe shift their immediate sourcing away from China, it is more effective to have Chinese companies invest in India and then export the products to these markets rather than importing from China, adding minimal value, and then re-exporting them," it added.Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to back the strategy shift during a news briefing, but Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal later threw cold water on the nonbinding report’s proposal."There is no rethinking at present to support Chinese investments in the country," he told reporters.The April 2020 rules restricted the ability of India’s neighbors to invest in the country by requiring prior government approval. Since then, India has signed off on just a quarter of some 435 FDI applications from China, according to local media reports."There seems to be differences within the government’s own ministries on the issue of FDI from China," said V. Upadhyay, a senior economist and former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.India and China’s two-way trade, meanwhile, stood at about $118.4 billion in the financial year that ended in March, up 4% from the previous year. But it is tilted heavily in favor of China, with India’s exports worth just $16.7 billion in the latest period while imports of Chinese goods including electronics, machinery and chemicals stood at $101.7 billion, resulting in an $85 billion trade deficit, according to Indian government data.Any easing of the FDI policy should be limited to sectors that could propel India’s own economic growth, such as high-end technology including electric vehicles and batteries, said Raj Kumar Sharma, a senior research fellow at security and foreign policy think tank NatStrat."The smart way is to regulate [the Chinese investment] according to our own national security concerns and allow in those sectors where it can help our economy," the analyst said. "This may also involve forming joint ventures with China in order to increase manufacturing in India and lower imports from China."No country in the world has slapped a blanket ban on Chinese FDI, Sharma said, including India’s partners in the Quad security alliance -- Australia, Japan and the U.S."The geo-economic trend in the West is not completely anti-China," he added.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s trip to China last month to reset frosty ties "could be a sign of the wider sentiment among the Western economies and we should take note of that," Sharma said.Others questioned the proposal to shift focus to Chinese investment.That "risks undermining India’s long-term economic security and strategic autonomy," Ajay Srivastava, co-founder of the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said in a research note. "It is crucial for India to develop policies that genuinely support local industry and create meaningful employment opportunities for its population," he added.India’s trade with China is on the rise and it relies heavily on that relationship, especially in its manufacturing sector, including key components for producing pharmaceuticals."To become an export hub, India needs both capital and cheap goods and resources. China could be one of the sources to realize this goal," said Shamshad Ahmad Khan, assistant professor of international relations at BITS Pilani Dubai Campus."In the long run, an economic interdependence with China will also be beneficial politically. ...There might emerge a constituency in China which would not like to increase tension along the [border] to avoid an economic fallout."July 25 talks between Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Laos, focused on resolving issues linked to the Line of Actual Control, the two countries’ de-facto 3,500-kilometer border.Resolving border tensions could bolster economic and diplomatic ties, but China "cannot be avoided when it comes to trade," Upadhyay said. "Vietnam also has territorial disputes with China, yet it is allowing direct investments from China." Indian port workers to go on strike to demand better wages, benefits (Reuters)
Reuters [8/19/2024 8:04 AM, Praveen Paramasivam, 5.2M, Neutral]
A group of Indian port workers’ unions has called for a strike from Aug. 28 to demand immediate settlement of pay revisions and pension benefits, according to a note signed by its members.
A strike by India’s port workers could exacerbate the existing congestion issues at Asian and European ports, leading to further delayed shipments, which have a global impact on trade and commerce.
The shipping ministry formed a bipartite wage negotiation committee in March 2021, and the workers submitted their demands six months later, ahead of the expiration of the previous agreement in December of that year, according to the note.
Although the wage negotiation committee met seven times, it failed to meet the port workers’ demands, the note said.
The workers’ group agreed to call for a strike after a meeting this month in Thoothukudi, a port city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Around 20,000 workers are part of the group of port workers’ unions, and all of them would join the strike, said Sathya Narayanan, a senior union member who sits on the board of the V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in Thoothukudi.
The immediate impact of the strike might not be grave, but if it goes on for more than two to three days, the ramifications would be severe, he said on Monday.
The government and port management should consider demands such as pay scale revisions, payment of arrears and protection of exiting benefits to help avoid the strike, the workers’ group said in the note.
India’s federal shipping ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The annual cargo handling capacity of major Indian ports such as Chennai, Cochin and Mumbai totalled 1.62 billion metric tons, according to the shipping ministry.
In the fiscal year to March 31, 2024, India exported goods worth $437 billion, with imports estimated at $677 billion. West must stop trying to pull India into the liberal democracy camp (Nikkei Asia – opinion)
Nikkei Asia [8/19/2024 4:05 PM, Masahiro Matsumura, 2042K, Negative]
As NATO leaders met at a summit in Washington in July, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making a state visit to Moscow, where a public embrace with Vladimir Putin betrayed his strong personal relations with the Russian president. Modi was bestowed by Putin with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, Russia’s highest civilian honor.Modi did not squarely criticize Putin over the protracted war in Ukraine, merely suggesting a settlement through negotiation in reference to civilian casualties from a humanitarian perspective. Instead, Russia will continue to be one of India’s high-end arms suppliers and use the country as a major loophole for the indirect exportation of oil and other goods under U.S.-led trade sanctions.All of this raised eyebrows across the U.S.-led liberal democracies that have confronted authoritarian Russia.India is the world’s most populated and established democracy and participates in the Quad, a strategic security dialogue with Australia, Japan and the U.S. In these meetings, India appears to stand with the West and against authoritarian China. Unsurprisingly, some optimists even see the Quad’s potential to become the cornerstone of an Indo-Pacific NATO.Look more closely, however, and India is not a U.S. ally and is the weakest leg of the Quad. The U.S. has separate security alliances with Australia and Japan, forming a quasi-alliance among the three. More specifically, the Quad is not a military alliance, but merely a defense-diplomatic alignment for promoting practical policy coordination in various non-traditional security areas, as well as joint naval exercises, with Exercise Malabar in 2007 serving as an early precedent. Obviously, India does not share sufficiently strong military-security interests for an alliance with the other three, but only democratic creeds and institutions.Certainly, the Quad is an important soft-balancing tool against China. India sees its great utility, particularly because India has undergone a protracted armed standoff with China due to territorial disputes at its northern borders. In addition, India has faced China’s rapid move to becoming a nuclear weapon superpower and its emerging naval presence in the Indian Ocean.But India has never been willing to form an alliance or quasi-alliance with the U.S., Japan, and/or Australia. Instead, along with its attendance at Quad summits and an outreach session of the 2023 G7 Summit, India also has been committed to memberships of the BRICS (and its New Development Bank), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Also, it has to be remembered that India has never sided with the West in criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and imposing economic sanctions on the country.Evidently, India is sticking to its longtime non-aligned policy line, consistently taking opportunities to maximize its freedom in external policy and enhance its national interests.More specifically, India not only rejects a Chinese regional hegemony but also pursues a transformation from the U.S.-led West’s hegemony in world politics to a multipolar world.From New Delhi’s perspective, therefore, there is no contradiction, at least in principle, to concurrently align itself with the U.S. and its allies to soft-balance against China, and with the BRICS and major Global South countries to transform the existing international economic order to its advantage. By doing so, New Delhi aims to turn the international distribution of power to its favor through a shift toward a multipolar world, while safeguarding adequate national security.Evidently, contrary to the naive creedal approach, "democracy" cannot be a magic word that allows Western liberal democracies to pull India into its camp.Due to Imperial Britain’s colonial legacy, India enjoys built-in democratic political institutions at both federal and state levels, especially regular free and secret ballots. Yet in reality, today’s India is in thrall to rising Hindi nationalism, the dearth of religious freedom, and the persistent caste system that ironically maintains socio-political stability through historically fixed inequality.Indian understandings on "democracy" tilt toward political institutions but lack adequate societal practice of individual liberties, which are essential for liberal democracy. This is natural because, due to the British colonial legacy, the English language has happened to be the common technical communication tool in the extraordinary multi-lingual subcontinent -- this despite Indians not sharing Western historical, politico-cultural backgrounds and the original semantics.Overall, "democratic" India is located in between in the continuum of liberal democracy and authoritarianism, but a little closer to the former. This effectively means the current mainstream policy discourse about "democratic" India has already turned out to be flawed and ineffective propaganda. India is not a liberal democracy and is not willing to be one. Nor does it have the potential to be one, at least in the foreseeable future.Hence, the U.S.-led West should not expect to pull India into the camp of liberal democracy. Instead, it has to prevent India from siding with China. This is of paramount importance now India seems to have a casting vote in shaping the evolving world order. NSB
Bangladesh’s Summit reviewing cross-border power deals after India rule change (Reuters)
Reuters [8/19/2024 11:33 PM, Sudarshan Varadhan, 5.2M, Neutral]
Bangladesh’s Summit Group plans to renegotiate preliminary deals to import renewable power from India after a recent rule change by New Delhi allowed generators that exclusively export their electricity to sell locally, the utility’s chairman said.
India amended its power export rules less than a week after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh early this month amid deadly protests, enabling Adani Power (ADAN.NS) to connect its Godda coal-fired plant - the only generating station under contract to export all its output - to India’s domestic grid.
"After the policy change, my partners in India might be more willing to sell in India. Our company will be investing in transmission in Bangladesh and we will have to assume more risks," Summit Group Chairman Aziz Khan told Reuters.
The conglomerate, which operates over a dozen fossil fuel-based power generation plants, signed preliminary deals with Indian partners including Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd last year to construct and source supply from 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable projects.
A spokesman for Tata Power declined to comment on Summit’s plans.
Green power imports are crucial for slashing emissions in Bangladesh, which gets nearly 99% of its electricity from fossil fuels. Land scarcity in the densely-populated country of over 170 million has constrained higher solar additions.
Summit Power International, the Singapore-based holding company for Summit Group’s power generation assets, is exploring options including delaying investments until there is more policy clarity, and renegotiating financial terms to account for higher risks, Khan said.
"Such quick changes in policies are always a matter of concern as they have long-term implications," Khan said, referring to India’s rule change.
Summit’s plans to import clean electricity via India from 700 megawatts of hydro power plants it planned to build in Bhutan and Nepal as a part of $3 billion in regional clean power investments also face uncertainty due to a new government in Bangladesh, Khan said.
No final decisions on the cross-border investments have been taken yet, Khan said, adding that the company would continue to invest within Bangladesh.
Khan said the new Bangladesh government’s decision to suspend a law allowing awards of power supply contracts without tenders also contributed to his decision to review projects. Back to class after Bangladesh’s student-led revolution (Agence France-Presse)
Agence France-Presse [8/19/2024 5:44 AM, Staff, 85570K, Neutral]
After weeks of deadly student-led protests in Bangladesh toppled the autocratic premier, among the first things children at a school in the capital Dhaka did when they returned to class was honour their slain friend.
Shafiq Uddin Ahmed Ahnaf, 17, was on the frontlines of the demonstrations this month when he was shot and killed.
While much remains politically uncertain in Bangladesh, two weeks after then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India, the reopening of schools on Sunday was a sign of daily life returning to normal.
Many of the 450 people who were killed -- most by police fire -- in the weeks of protests leading up to Hasina’s August 5 ouster were students like Ahnaf.
And on Sunday, the first day back in class since the unrest, the slain boy’s classmates honoured him by placing a bouquet on the desk he once occupied, Dhaka media reported.
Mazeda Begum, principal at another public school in Dhaka, said students were keen to return to the classroom "after going through the month-long trauma".
Begum is planning a cultural programme "so that they can get back their mental strength".- ‘Brave’ -
Her colleague, English teacher Riah Hyder, cancelled her holiday to be there for the resumption of classes.
"This is the most important thing for us -- that students have come back to school," she said.
Many students said they had been inspired by the "courage" of the protesters.
"I’m proud of them because they were brave enough to protest against the malpractice," said 16-year-old schoolgirl Mahiba Hossain Rahee.
Rahee, her hair in neat pigtails and dressed in a blue uniform, said she had spent "sleepless nights thinking about the people of my country" during the protests.
"Those days were really bad," she told AFP, adding she hoped her country would change for the better.
"We don’t want any more blood to shed," she said. "We want a happy nation."- ‘Newborn’ nation -
Tenth-grade schoolgirl Naifa Tahin spent weeks holed up in her house in the capital Dhaka, but said returning to class felt like a homecoming.
The 16-year-old said she was excited to be back learning, seeing her friends -- and expressed hope for a better future for their country.
"For the past few weeks, we were not able to come back to school and attend classes and not see my classmates. In my mind there was a kind of restlessness working," she said.
"So being finally back... feels very nice," Tahin added. "It feels like I’m back at home."
Bangladesh’s interim leader, 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, returned from Europe to take up the monumental task of steering democratic reforms in the country riven by institutional decay.
"Right now, all we can do is stay patient," Tahin said.
"Our country is under construction because it’s kind of a newborn baby." Yunus Should Prioritize Probe Into Enforced Disappearances Under Hasina’s Rule (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/19/2024 11:14 AM, Mubashar Hasan, 1156K, Neutral]
A student-led people’s uprising forced Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5. Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, whom Hasina persistently harassed, is now heading an interim government as the chief adviser.
Despite initial chaos and violence on the streets, the new government has started to assert control and authority over the country. The protesting students and opposition parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have extended their support to Yunus’ interim government.
At his oath-taking ceremony, Yunus described the day as one of "our pride" as Bangladesh had won "independence for the second time." It was in 1971 that Bangladesh became an independent country, free from Pakistan. Yunus was describing Hasina’s ouster as heralding the country’s second independence.
"We have to protect this independence," he said.
His statement resonated with the wider public. For the past 15 years, Hasina’s rule was marked by severe repression of freedom of speech, systematization of state-led enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killing of political opponents and critics, and widespread vote rigging.
During the peak of the recent student protests, hundreds of civilians, including at least 32 children, and 44 policemen were killed in addition to several thousands of people being injured by police action. Internet was shut off for a week and telecommunication was heavily disrupted.Reports from the ground paint a gruesome picture of Hasina’s crackdown on the protests. State forces were seen shooting protestors from helicopters. Snipers also shot protesters, and indiscriminate arrests were made at night to propagate a sense of terror among the public. Yet the people, including girls and women, persisted with their protests till Hasina stepped down.
People now have high expectations of the Yunus administration. To that end, it must establish a national commission for investigating enforced disappearances in Bangladesh.
Over 700 Bangladeshis were forcefully disappeared under Sheikh Hasina’s rule. Some of them returned home, others did not.
In Bangladesh, enforced disappearance by the state refers to a process where a person has been detained by state forces, who however do not acknowledge that they are holding the person captive, thus making the whole process illegal.
Following the fall of Hasina’s government, three Bangladeshis former Brigadier General Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Supreme Court lawyer Ahmad Bin Kashem, and Indigenous activist Michael Chakma all of who were forcefully disappeared, were released.
Azmi and Arman were released after eight years from a secret illegal black site run by the Hasina regime; Chakma was released after five years. All three said they were held in grave-like conditions, where there was no sun or light and most of the time their hands were cuffed and eyes blindfolded.
The release of three prisoners confirms the allegations of human rights organizations that Hasina’s government used enforced disappearance, a crime against humanity, as a systematic tool to quell opposition and critics. During the student protests, some of the student leaders were forcefully disappeared but for a shorter period, and they were released promptly.
A key source of peoples’ anger against Hasina was premised upon her use of enforced disappearance to silence criticism. Therefore, Yunus’ government must start the process of addressing this state atrocity.
The proposed national commission could take inspiration from a similar commission established by Argentina to investigate thousands of forcefully disappeared Argentines from 1976-1983. Argentina’s National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons first assembled a team of researchers, who produced a report investigating perpetrators, including those who bore command responsibilities and carried out operations entailing kidnapping, torture, and illegal detention. The findings of that commission were published in a report titled Nunca Mas (Never Again) and provided justification to initiate trials against military generals in Argentina.
Yunus’s government could follow the example of Argentina and establish a commission of researchers to investigate each victim of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh.
The victims who are alive and free now and the family members of those who never returned have the right to know what happened to them. They have the right to know who had command responsibility for the torture and killings, how many black sites exist in Bangladesh, which forces were involved in these disappearances, etc.
The findings should result in a specialist tribunal to try those state officials who committed these grave crimes against humanity.
Despite his popularity, Yunus’ administration does not have a public mandate to run the country. He needs to oversee a peaceful transition of power by organizing free and fair elections. The opposition BNP is already exerting gentle pressure on the government to hold elections within the next six months. However, others believe that the interim administration should rule a bit longer, and carry out some reforms within the state institutions, before handing over power to an elected and political government.
Yunus’s time to bring in change is limited. Consequently, he should at least start the process of establishing the commission for the disappeared people, ensuring that it would operate independently in a manner that no government that follows his administration could interfere with this process. Central Asia
Prison Term Of Kazakh Ex-President’s Nephew Replaced By Suspended Sentence (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/19/2024 12:53 PM, Staff, 1530K, Neutral]
A court in Kazakhstan’s eastern city of Oskemen has replaced a six-year prison sentence given to a nephew of Kazakhstan’s former strongman President Nursultan Nazarbaev with a suspended sentence.Court No. 2 in the capital of the East Kazakhstan region ruled on August 16 that Qairat Satybaldy, 52, must be released with a suspended 40-month sentence, stressing that the once extremely powerful businessman and politician had returned all the money he was accused of embezzling to the State Treasury.At a hearing prior to the ruling, Satybaldy offered his apologies to the Kazakh government and people for his crimes.The court’s ruling came less than two years after Satybaldy was sentenced to six years in prison by a court in Astana after he pleaded guilty to all charges following indictments for fraud and embezzlement.Satybaldy was arrested in March 2022 while trying to board a plane heading to Turkey. The probe launched against him was one of a series of investigations targeting relatives and allies of Nazarbaev.Kazakhstan’s Anti-Corruption Agency accused Satybaldy of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from state companies Kazakhtelecom and Transport Service Center.The agency said at the time that $500 million had been returned to the State Treasury and that 29 percent of Kazakhtelecom’s shares that had been controlled by Satybaldy were placed back under state control.After unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, the Kazakh regime began to quietly target Nazarbaev, his family, and other allies -- many of whom held powerful or influential posts in government, security agencies, and profitable energy companies.President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, whom Nazarbaev handpicked as his successor after stepping down in 2019, distanced himself from the former leader after the January unrest, which was fueled by Kazakhs’ pent up frustration with cronyism and corruption.Toqaev stripped Nazarbaev of the sweeping powers he had retained as the head of the Security Council after resigning.Just days after the protests, two of Nazarbaev’s sons-in-law were pushed out of top jobs at two major oil and gas companies.Another son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, resigned as chairman of the country’s main business lobby group, while Nazarbaev’s eldest daughter, Darigha, was apparently forced to give up her parliamentary seat.Authorities also launched probes against leaders of a company linked to Nazarbaev’s youngest daughter, Aliya. 331 Swiss International passengers get stranded 20 hours in Kazakhstan after plan goes off runway (FOX Business)
FOX Business [8/19/2024 9:01 AM, Pilar Arias, 17701K, Negative]
Hundreds of air passengers had to wait nearly a day to carry on with their travels after their plane got stuck in the mud attempting to take off after a "stopover" in Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Swiss International Air Lines Flight 161’s intended travel route was from Tokyo to Zurich. Instead, it stopped at Astana International Airport due to a medical incident, the airline confirmed to FOX Business.
"The passenger concerned was handed over to medical personnel on site," Swiss International Air Lines said in a statement.
When the Boeing 777 prepared to take off again, Astana’s taxiway was closed, which meant the pilots had to try to turn the plane around 180 degrees while still on the runway.
"The aircraft’s nose wheel got caught in the grass," according to one user on X. Post pictures show the plane stuck in mud. It was towed back onto the runway before being checked for any damage.
As for the passengers, Austrian Airlines stepped in to help its "sister airline," the company confirmed to FOX Business.
"Austrian Airlines sent a Boeing 777-200 aircraft to the Kazakh capital Astana to transport the passengers of SWISS to Vienna," a statement reads. The 331 passengers took off 20 hours after their first plane landed in Kazakhstan.
After that, Swiss International Air Lines dispatched another 777 to take them from Vienna to Zurich.
Both Austrian and Swiss International Air Lines are part of Lufthansa group.
"We thank all our passengers for their understanding and patience in this exceptional and unforeseen situation," Swiss told Business Insider. "We apologize once again for any inconvenience caused. A big thank you also goes to all the employees involved for their tireless and outstanding efforts."
No passengers were injured, and the plane that got stuck was cleared to return to flying after being checked out by airline technical specialists in consultation with Boeing, local and Swiss authorities.
A new Swiss International Air Lines crew will transfer the aircraft to Zurich as soon as possible, the airline said.
Back in April, a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles had a "rough landing" at Los Angeles International Airport.
The Boeing 747-8 was caught on camera by LA-based Airline Videos Live, bouncing off the runway and attempting to land again before taking off, circling around the airport and then finally landing safely after its second attempt.
Days prior, a Swiss International Air Lines flight traveling from New York City to Zurich had to abort takeoff, averting a "potentially dangerous situation," the airline confirmed.
Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR.
"Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a potentially dangerous situation was quickly de-escalated," Swiss International Air Lines said in a statement to FOX Business. Mudslides, Floods Damage Hundreds Of Homes In Kyrgyz Resort Region (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/19/2024 6:06 AM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
Mudslides and floods caused by heavy rains damaged hundreds of houses in towns and villages around Kyrgyzstan’s resort region of Issyk-Kul on August 18. Bekmamat Abdyrakhmanov of the Emergencies Ministry told RFE/RL on August 19 that dozens of buildings in spa complexes near the Lake of Issyk-Kul were also damaged. A state of emergency was introduced in the Issyk-Kul and Ton districts. Rescue teams are working on cleaning up roads and areas affected by the mass mudslides and floods. Since spring this year, mudslides and floods caused by heavy rains have killed 25 people in the Central Asian nation. Noted Tajik Journalist Ahmad Ibrohim Reportedly Arrested (Radio Free Europe)
Radio Free Europe [8/19/2024 6:05 AM, Staff, 1530K, Negative]
Several sources close to law enforcement in Tajikistan told RFE/RL over the weekend that police in the Central Asian nation’s southern city of Kulob had arrested noted journalist Ahmad Ibrohim on bribe-related charges. According to the sources, the 62-year-old editor-in-chief of the Paik (Message) independent newspaper was arrested on August 12 after he allegedly offered a bribe to an official in exchange for re-registration of his media outlet. Tajik officials are yet to announce the arrest. In recent years, several Tajik journalists, rights activists, and opposition politicians have been handed lengthy prison terms on charges seen by rights groups as trumped-up and politically motivated. Indo-Pacific
India-Japan 2+2: Setting the Stage for the Post-Kishida Phase (The Diplomat)
The Diplomat [8/19/2024 10:51 AM, Titli Basu, 1156K, Neutral]
The Indo-Pacific has remained center stage in Tokyo’s strategic outreach in recent weeks be it aligning with key allies in the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Quad and East Asia Summit or pushing the geoeconomic agenda with the launch of the Crisis Response Network under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). After a series of crucial 2+2 meetings, including with the United States and Philippines, and a defense trilateral with the U.S. and South Korea, the next stop for Japanese ministers is Delhi.
The India-Japan 2+2 on August 20 is of pivotal importance. It will allow New Delhi to sharpen its understanding of not only Tokyo’s regional threat assessment but also the undercurrents in domestic politics, and set the stage for a post-Kishida phase.
Dilemma of Domestic Politics
While the U.S. elections in November remain front and center in many strategic discussions, domestic developments in Tokyo are also uncertain. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s domestic political base has crumbled. Power dynamics within the kingmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) guaranteed him a rocky ride.
In sharp contrast to Kishida’s leadership in international platforms, be it the G-7 or engaging Europe through NATO, his political future in Japan was on thin ice with abysmal approval ratings. His government moved from one crisis to another the Unification Church revelations to the slush fund scandal. With setbacks in recent by-elections, the LDP is sensing a real possibility of losing ground in the general elections in 2025. Hence a new leadership to reinstate public confidence is the need of the hour.
While Kishida repeatedly delayed speculations over snap elections in the past few months, his exit became imminent as the LDP, now with a dissolved factional chessboard, heads for a presidential election in September. Ultimately, Kishida decided not even to compete for re-election, instead bowing out entirely to pre-empt any electoral damage for his party. That guarantees Japan will have a new prime minister this fall.
With Kishida bowing out, the political ambition of other LDP figures will be put to the test. Former Defense Minister Ishiba Shigeru, Digital Minister Kono Taro, former foreign minister and current secretary-general of the LDP Motegi Toshimitsu, former Economic Security Minister Kobayashi Takayuki, and female front runners including current Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae as well as Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko present potent alternatives in the LDP election.
The next government in Japan will face colossal challenges including a weak yen, scaling up the defense budget to 2 percent of GDP while shelving commensurate tax hikes, and more importantly navigating the demographic dilemma and its profound impact on national security. All of this will take determined political leadership and policy stability. Japan’s partners including India will be watching closely for signs that Kishida’s successor is up to the task.
The China Conversation
As tensions simmer in the key subtheaters of the Indo-Pacific, one of the key focuses at the 2+2 in Delhi will be coordinating China strategy. While Japan’s revised National Security Strategy of 2022 identified China as the "greatest strategic challenge," 2023 witnessed the return of the narrative of a "mutually beneficial" China-Japan relationship "based on common strategic interests" in the political space as well as the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Bluebook. This created some contradictions in Japan’s China policy.
As Tokyo falls behind Washington and some of its European partners, including France and Germany, in opening up high-level exchanges with Beijing, some argue that "structural stagnation" in bilateral relations is eroding opportunities to gain practical insights, affecting a balanced China strategy. Some have even argued that while Tokyo is not in a position to endorse China’s "global initiatives," it can show goodwill under certain conditions. We have seen this before in the case of Japan lending support to the Belt and Road Initiative by pursuing third country projects.
On the other hand, fast altering realities in Northeast Asia including the recent firming up of the Russia-North Korea axis, alongside the China-Russia "strategic alliance" as framed by Japanese defense white papers is raising "grave concerns" for defense planners in Tokyo. Averting the emergence of a Sino-centric regional order has led to serious conversations on deterrence as grey-zone operations intensify in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. The recent restructuring of the command-and-control structure of the alliance on both the Japanese and U.S. sides, reinforcing cross-domain operations, is aimed at better preparedness.
Culling out the geoeconomic trends, Tokyo’s robust economic security laws are largely aligned with Washington in terms of tightening export control on sensitive technologies. However, growing e-commerce trade as well as economic integration involving China via mega free trade agreements is a reality. Tokyo is adapting to the new realities with not just a "China Plus One" but "China for China" strategy as well. Tokyo’s economic interaction with Beijing is driven by the goal of easing dependence given rising labor costs and tense politics around supply chain, and Japan will not seek to fully decouple.
The Bangladesh Bang
At the 2+2 ministerial, South Asian geopolitics will also be high on the agenda. Unrest in Bangladesh will reverberate.
Both India and Japan hold Bangladesh, with its strategic location in Bay of Bengal, as a central piece in their "Neighborhood First" and "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" policies, respectively. But as an immediate neighbor, New Delhi approaches the recent developments in Bangladesh with utmost caution and through the prism of national security. The trend of political volatility across this region including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, and now Bangladesh does not auger well for India’s security. Rebuilding political trust with Bangladesh will be a time-consuming process. Meanwhile, Tokyo would be keen on economic stability given its investments and infrastructure projects.
For India and Japan, Bangladesh hosts key showcase projects where both pursued mutual strategic interests by reimagining connectivity, pushing a "triple I" strategy of infrastructure, investment, and industrial value chains. However, given the developing crisis in Bangladesh, one of the talking points at the 2+2 will be the future trajectory of the recently launched Northeast India-Bay of Bengal Industrial Value Chain corridor project, which links Tokyo’s Big-B project in Bangladesh with India’s Northeast Road Connectivity Improvement projects, and seeks to develop an economic corridor connecting Matarbari deep sea port through Chattogram and Dhaka to Northeast India.
Third country cooperation is always a challenge given the interplay of geopolitics alongside domestic politics as witnessed in the case of Sri Lanka as well. Additionally, soft infrastructure hurdles including non-tariff barriers, advancing trade facilitation, and cross-border customs logistics also complicates the process.
Defense Technology
While India-Japan maritime security cooperation stands on firmer footing, progress on technology cooperation needs greater attention at a time when Tokyo is making incremental changes to its policies, including the 2023 revision of Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and the 2024 revised Implementation Guidelines; the recent launch of the Basic Policy on AI by Japan’s Defense Ministry; and the setting up of a DARPA-style research institute that will develop new breakthrough technologies.
International joint development is front and center in Japan’s 2024 Defense White Paper. Japan has made progress on the joint development of next-generation fighter jets with the U.K. and Italy as well as cooperative development of Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) with the U.S.; signed the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Arrangement with Australia; and delivered air surveillance radar systems to the Philippines. India needs to plug into these conversations and tap newer opportunities opening up in Japan while navigating the challenges of cost competitiveness, technology transfer, and export controls.
Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) and its Indian counterpart, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), have made some progress in cooperative research in the area of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and robotics. In addition, a new deal will see Japan’s NEC supply naval ship antennas to India. Still, India and Japan have to move beyond the experience of difficult negotiations regarding Utility Seaplane Mark 2 (US-2) amphibian aircraft, and focus on co-development and co-production in the future.
Post-Kishida Leadership
As Kishida leaves the stage, the primacy of India will continue in Japan’s Indo-Pacific outlook given its strategic geography, demographic profile, and economic clout. A rising India, one of the potent voices of the Global South, will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the basic direction of global politics in the next decade.
Kishida’s decision to launch Japan’s New FOIP policy from Delhi in March 2023, building on the legacy of Abe Shinzo’s historic speech, "Confluence of the Two Seas," in the Indian Parliament demonstrates India’s primacy in Japan’s strategic thinking. The 2+2 ministerial meeting will be a force multiplier in setting the stage for Japan’s next leader to further consolidate the foundation of this strategic partnership as a net positive asset in the Indo-Pacific. Twitter
Afghanistan
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers, 4 retweets, 18 likes]
The Remarks of IEA-MoFA Deputy Spokesperson regarding the recent comments by Pakistan’s Special Representative, Asif Durani. The recent comments made by Pakistan’s Special Representative, Mr. Asif Durrani, concerning Afghanistan’s security and economic situation are both
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers, 1 like]
provocative and misaligned with the ground realities, seemingly aimed at misleading the public perception regarding Afghanistan. In fact, the issues and concerns he attributed to Afghanistan are more likely to be present in Pakistan.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers]
Afghanistan is now a safe and stable country, focused on achieving economic self-sufficiency by utilising its own resources rather than being reliant on foreign loans and aid. The Afghan government has successfully neutralised the ISIS-KP, insurgent group, within Afghanistan.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers, 1 like]
However, addressing ISIS-kp hideouts along the theoretical Durand Line could lead to the complete elimination of this threat. It’s worth noting that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) issue is an internal matter of Pakistan, requiring a domestic solution.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers, 1 retweet, 1 like]
The Afghan government has already shown its goodwill to by taking tangible actions to foster positive relations. Thereafter, Pakistan’s effective agencies should adopt rational and pragmatic approaches to address this issue.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad@HafizZiaAhmad
[8/20/2024 2:34 AM, 97.9K followers, 1 retweet, 2 likes]
Mr. Durrani should know that it is the responsibility of diplomats to ensure that provocative media statements do not jeopardise the relations of the two countries.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/20/2024 12:00 AM, 229.2K followers, 13 retweets, 58 likes]
Imagine living in a country where it’s illegal to send your daughters to school. Welcome to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, where Sharia is enforced in its purest form.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:31 PM, 229.2K followers, 84 retweets, 174 likes]
This letter, written by my 15-year-old niece Hamida Totakhil in Kabul who is now denied the right to go to school, captures the emotional weight of what millions of girls in Afghanistan face under the Taliban. She wrote it in Pashto, but let me translate her words:
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:34 PM, 229.2K followers, 6 retweets, 34 likes]
I can’t find the words to describe the pain I’m enduring. The hopes I’ve held, the feelings deep within my heart—I don’t know how to express them because I lack both the words and the strength to do so.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:35 PM, 229.2K followers, 4 retweets, 33 likes]
Reflecting on my life, past, present, and future, the tree of my hopes and desires, which I have nurtured for years in the garden of my life, is now facing relentless storms and difficulties and has been ravaged by powerful storms.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:35 PM, 229.2K followers, 4 retweets, 33 likes]
Brutal and unyielding forces are destroying this once beautiful, vibrant tree, leaving it withered and dry. They have stolen our sun, our light, and our bright future, turning what was once a beautiful day into a terrifying, dark, and fearful night.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT[8/19/2024 4:36 PM, 229.2K followers, 4 retweets, 34 likes]
Yet, I still cling to the hope that even a small glimpse of light might find its way to me. With just a little light, I would try to turn this dark night into a bright day. But sadly, there’s no sign of that light anywhere. Everything around us is shrouded in darkness.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:37 PM, 229.2K followers, 5 retweets, 36 likes]
We are trapped in this darkness, with no escape in sight. We are stuck in such a dark place that we don’t know where to go. We are lost, uncertain of our path or where we might end up. It feels like we’re facing a future that is both dark and unknown.
Habib Khan@HabibKhanT
[8/19/2024 4:37 PM, 229.2K followers, 8 retweets, 48 likes]
So, my only hope, my only message, as an Afghan daughter, as an Afghan girl, as an Afghan sister, is to call on those responsible: please, let us study. #LetHerLearn
Heather Barr@heatherbarr1
[8/19/2024 8:08 AM, 62.8K followers, 24 retweets, 42 likes]
29 UN special procedures mandate holders say "there should be no move to normalize" the Taliban absent major steps to end human rights violations, especially against women and girls. https://ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/afghanistan/sr/20240814-stm-sr-afghanistan-3-year-full-joint.pdf
Nilofar Ayoubi@NilofarAyoubi
[8/19/2024 11:42 PM, 66.8K followers, 16 retweets, 75 likes]
An Afghan woman has been sentenced to be executed by stoning death while Miss @GeenyadaM fan-girling on the Taliban. While her visit to Afghanistan and her content creation about our country and culture are highly appreciated, what is not welcomed and, in fact, appalling, is the picture she’s painting of the Taliban!
Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office@amnestysasia
[8/19/2024 11:19 AM, 90.9K followers, 27 retweets, 57 likes]
#Afghanistan- Read our global petition demanding the international community to:
1. Take unified and stronger actions to urgently establish a robust accountability mechanism to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights abuses.
2. Use all forms of leverage to pressure the Taliban to respect and protect the rights of women and girls, end gender persecution and enable the space for women’s meaningful participation in social, political and cultural spheres.
3. Take concrete measures towards addressing the practice of corporal punishment by the Taliban and support the establishment of competent, independent and impartial formal justice mechanism to enable access to justice to Afghanistan population, including women.
Take action and sign our petition today: https://amnesty.org/en/petition/break-the-silence-end-human-rights-violations-in-afghanistan/… #EndImpunity Pakistan
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[8/19/2024 12:06 PM, 3.1M followers, 7 retweets, 19 likes]
Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a review meeting on Chinese investment in Pakistan.
Government of Pakistan@GovtofPakistan
[8/19/2024 9:07 AM, 3.1M followers, 14 retweets, 62 likes]
Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting regarding the review of ongoing projects of Information Technology, digitization and steps to increase IT exports. India
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/19/2024 11:50 AM, 101.2M followers, 3.1K retweets, 20K likes]
Delighted to meet Japanese Foreign Minister @Kamikawa_Yoko and Defense Minister @kihara_minoru ahead of the 3rd India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting. Took stock of the progress made in India-Japan defense and security ties. Reaffirmed the role India-Japan partnership plays in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/19/2024 11:48 AM, 101.2M followers, 4K retweets, 34K likes]
Pleased to welcome Nepal’s Foreign Minister @Arzuranadeuba. India and Nepal share close civilizational ties and a progressive and multifaceted partnership. Looking forward to continued momentum in our development partnership.
Narendra Modi@narendramodi
[8/19/2024 4:14 AM, 101.2M followers, 12K retweets, 100K likes]
Here are glimpses from a special Raksha Bandhan celebration at 7, LKM.
President of India@rashtrapatibhvn
[8/19/2024 8:53 AM, 25.3M followers, 254 retweets, 2.8K likes]
Officer Trainees of Indian Foreign Service called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President said that it is responsibility of Indian Foreign Service officers to not only secure our interests, but also to shape the global agenda, with the overarching strategic objective of achieving ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[8/19/2024 1:15 PM, 3.2M followers, 219 retweets, 1.6K likes]
Delighted to meet journalists from 23 Indo-Pacific countries visiting India under the Quad familiarization visit. Spoke to them about how Quad has been increasingly becoming instrumental in the Indo-Pacific region through an expansive agenda, including maritime security, resilient supply chains, climate action, technology collaboration and quick disaster response. Appreciate their interest on how Quad can support the aspirations of Global South.
Dr. S. Jaishankar@DrSJaishankar
[8/19/2024 5:12 AM, 3.2M followers, 412 retweets, 3.3K likes]
Pleased to welcome FM @Arzuranadeuba of Nepal on her first official visit abroad. Discussed the multifaceted India Nepal cooperation including in energy, trade, connectivity and infrastructure development. Glad to note that Nepal will be exporting close to 1000 MW of electricity to India, a new milestone. Our Neighbourhood First policy and unique people-to-people & cultural connect propels our relationship forward.
Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba@Arzuranadeuba
[8/19/2024 11:26 AM, 2.6K followers, 179 retweets, 963 likes]
Had a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister of India, Shri @narendramodi today in New Delhi. We discussed the multifaceted diversity of Nepal-India relations. I hope this visit and our high-level meetings will elevate the historical ties between our two countries to new heights. I also handed over an invitation from Rt. Hon Prime Minister @kpsharmaoli to PM Modi ji for a state visit to Nepal.
Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba@Arzuranadeuba
[8/19/2024 9:05 AM, 2.6K followers, 102 retweets, 538 likes]
Thanks to the Government of India for additional approval of 251 MW of power export from 12 hydropower projects in Nepal to India during the wet season months on mid-term basis . With this quantum, I am delighted to mention that the Government of India has granted approval for the total hydropower export of 941 MW from Nepal to India so far. I am confident that power sector cooperation between the two countries will take more heights in the future.
Richard Rossow@RichardRossow
[8/19/2024 8:34 AM, 29.6K followers, 11 retweets, 19 likes]
India’s FDI inflows starting to perk up. $51b equity inflow in the last 12 months, up 23%. https://rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?yr=2024&mon=8 NSB
Awami League@albd1971
[8/19/2024 6:29 AM, 645.4K followers, 71 retweets, 196 likes]
Brutal killing and arson haunt the citizens of Jhenaidah: Killers and arsonists are abusing the tag of “revolutionaries” to seek impunity Using the cover of the so-called uprising, at around 4:00 pm on August 5, armed cadres of @bdbnp78 and @BJI_Official embarked on a notorious mission: butchering #AwamiLeague leaders, looting and burning down their houses and businesses. The mob set fire to the AL district office and locked some activists inside. The fate of those trapped inside is still not ascertained. This video laid bare calculated arson in only one district but similar attacks were unleashed across the county. Ironically not all acts of terror are documented even. Will @Yunus_Centre-led regime hold them accountable?? @UN has pointed out that all incidents of #violence and killings need to be investigated. Since #August5, at least 250 lives have perished and the majority belong to grassroots activists of Awami League. @UNHCR_BGD @UN_HRC @UNHumanRights @amnesty @hrw @antonioguterres
Tshering Tobgay@tsheringtobgay
[8/19/2024 7:53 AM, 99.6K followers, 57 retweets, 672 likes]
I took the opportunity to offer my prayers on the final day of the 9-day Mahapuran at Devi Panchayan Mandir in Thimphu. Always grateful to our revered Pundits and Hindu community for continually conducting such rituals for the welfare and prosperity of our country and people.
The President’s Office, Maldives@presidencymv
[8/19/2024 3:39 AM, 109.5K followers, 151 retweets, 168 likes]
First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed attends the opening ceremony of the "Maldives Travel Conference 2024 - Women’s Edition” The conference will focus on the challenges faced by women in the tourism industry and determine ways to overcome these challenges.
Embassy of Nepal, Washington, D.C.@nepalembassyusa
[8/19/2024 8:26 PM, 3.4K followers, 2 retweets, 15 likes]
Charge d’ Affaires, a.i. Kumar Raj Kharel welcomed the Nepali delegation led by Secretary of the Government of Nepal Ram Krishna Subedi at US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) headquarters in Washington, D.C. on 19th August 2024.
Embassy of Nepal, Washington, D.C.@nepalembassyusa
[8/19/2024 8:26 PM, 3.4K followers]
CDA Kharel and Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer at the USTDA Ellie Collinson made remarks welcoming the delegation.
MFA SriLanka@MFA_SriLanka
[8/19/2024 4:56 AM, 38.4K followers, 12 retweets, 9 likes]
Foreign Ministry to host inaugural Central Asia Forum: A Gateway to New Horizons #DiplomacyLk #lka
Namal Rajapaksa@RajapaksaNamal
[8/19/2024 10:04 AM, 437.4K followers, 1 retweet, 15 likes]
Attend the 249th ‘Ama Dam Sisila’ Dhamma Sermon today, delivered by Most Ven. Bandaragama Chandrarathana Thero at Parama Nagala Chitta Vivekaramaya alongside Hon. @PresRajapaksa. Central Asia
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz[8/19/2024 8:44 AM, 197K followers, 13 retweets, 51 likes] President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev met with foreign investors from #China, #SaudiArabia, #Germany, #Russia and #Spain, who are involved in ongoing projects in the Republic of #Karakalpakstan. These projects span various sectors, including energy, heating, mining, chemicals, building materials, and other industries.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Press-service@president_uz
[8/19/2024 7:47 AM, 197K followers, 4 retweets, 18 likes]
President Shavkat #Mirziyoyev is visiting the Republic of #Karakalpakstan today. His first stop was the #Nukus Electroapparat plant, where he was briefed on a new project focused on solar panel production. This initiative, developed in partnership with the Republic of #Korea, is intended to advance the use of alternative energy sources in the country.
Bakhtiyor Saidov@FM_Saidov
[8/19/2024 3:09 AM, 4K followers, 3 retweets, 11 likes]
Welcomed @AirProducts Chairman, President, and CEO Mr. Seifi Ghasemi today @UzbekMFA. @GovUz is strongly committed to making an energy-efficient economy and bringing the best global experience and technologies. #Uzbekistan has become among the top-5 investment destinations for AirProducts globally with one of the world’s most technologically advanced energy production plants. During our meeting, we focused on the timely implementation of joint projects.{End of Report} To subscribe to the SCA Morning Press Clips, please email SCA-PressOfficers@state.gov. Please do not reply directly to this email.