India and the World

China’s seven new islets in South China Sea set off alarm bells

- by India Writes Network

The pace and scale of expansion of building seven new islets by China has set the alarm bells ringing in the region. Recent reports show how China has been piling sands onto the reefs for the past one year and made progress by creating seven new islets.

In June, China had announced that its plan to create islands would soon be completed. China has built port facilities, military buildings and an airstrip on the islands, according to a report in New York Times. The new islands give China access to harness the portion of seas for its own use that have been out of reach in the past. This move of China has also raised concerns about the marine ecosystem which is getting damaged due to the building of these islands by China.

The Fiery Cross Reef, which is one of the most strategically important island to China, was acquired by Beijing after a confrontation with Vietnam in 1988. Twenty seven years later, this has become the most important of the seven newly created positions of China in the South China Sea. The rise in number of troops in Fiery Cross is said to have gained momentum in the recent past and the island has been equipped with an airstrip estimated to be around 3300 metres that can accommodate a wide range of Chinese combat and transport planes, along with a harbour big enough to accommodate the largest of the ships in China.

Read More

India, Bangladesh land-swap: New hope, new identity for 51,000 people

- by India Writes Network

It was literally freedom at midnight. Ending nearly seven decades of living in limbo and darkness of statelessness, it was time for thousands of people living on tiny islands of land to celebrate as India and Bangladesh swapped enclaves, bringing to an end the 68-year-old boundary dispute.

The formal swapping of enclaves promises to usher in a new life of hope and dignity for around 51,000 people living in 162 enclaves across both countries. Both countries have exchanged 162 enclaves, with 51 from the Indian side and 111 from the Bangladesh side. It is estimated that there are more than 37,000 people in the Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and more than 14,000 people in Bangladeshi enclaves in India. The people in these enclaves have been deprived of education, healthcare, citizenship, electricity. In terms of the area to be exchanged between both countries as per the agreement is 17,160.63 acres returned to Bangladesh and 2267.68 acres returned to India.

Read More

Two Indians abducted in Libya freed

- by India Writes Network

In an early success in the hostage crisis, two of the four Indian teachers kidnapped in Libya by Islamic State militants have been freed and brought back safely to the University of Sirte.

The released Indians included Laxmikant and Vijay Kumar, residents of Karnataka.

“Four Indians abducted in Libya – I am happy we have been able to secure the release of Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar. Trying for other two,” India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
“Welcome news from Libya,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, the official spokesman of the ministry of external affairs.

“I hope that the other two are also released soon,” said Vijaylakshmi, whose brother Lakshmikanth was rescued.

The two Indians who continue to be in captivity are both residents of Andhra Pradesh — Gopikrishna Tiruveedula, a professor in computer science, and his colleague Balram.

Read More

India-China ties: Forging a new idiom of major powers relations

- by Manish Chand

It’s a transformational moment in the history of India-China relations, marked by an infusion of fresh energy, dynamism and creativity in the way the two neighbours engage with each other. This is the first time the leaders of the two Asian giants have visited each other’s country within nine months, signalling their resolve to proactively cooperate in fashioning an emerging Asian century. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 14-16 visit to three cities in China – Xian, Beijing and Shanghai – was unique in many ways and cohered multiple strands of variegated relationship between the two Asian juggernauts that comprise one-third of the world’s population and boast of a collective GDP of over $12 trillion.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit to China consolidated the momentum generated by President Xi Jinping’s maiden visit to India in September 2014. Put together, these twin visits, and initiatives taken during the tenure of the previous government in Delhi, crystallize the emerging alphabet of India-China relations: A for Asia; B for Business; C for Culture; and D for Diplomacy and Development. This new vocabulary and semantics is set to script afresh new pathways of cooperation between the two neighbours, which are often portrayed as rivals and competitors in the Asian hemisphere, but are incrementally forging an ambitious and all-encompassing cooperative partnership straddling diverse areas.

Read More

Gurdaspur terrorists came from Pakistan: India

- by India Writes Network

It’s a disclosure that’s going to test the so-called Ufa spirit, which essentially means not letting terror attacks derail the course of dialogue to resolve issues between India and Pakistan. In a matter-of-fact manner, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament on July 30 that the terrorists who targeted Gurdaspur came from Pakistan, and warned of “a befitting reply”.

It’s not clear what form this befitting reply take, but for now going by the latest signals and messaging, New Delhi seems to have taken a measured view not to allow the Gurdaspur incident to deflect it from the planned meeting of the National Security Advisers of the two countries. The NSA-level meeting, which will focus on terror-related issues, was the key outcome of the July 11 meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city of Ufa.

Read More

Obama cheer-leads for US investments into India

- by India Writes Network

The US is upbeat about prospects of doing more business with India. India figures among the top priority investment destinations for US investments abroad, a US official said. “In terms of the US-India partnership, ..the president is very enthusiastic about the prospect of increased collaboration, increased economic growth for American companies, and investments in India,” said press secretary Eric Schultz.

The US’ enthusiasm about pouring more money into India, Asia’s third largest economy, should bring a lot of cheer to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has actively rooted for more US investments to shore up the Indian economy and bolster the country’s infrastructure. During Mr Modi’s visit to the US in September 2014, US corporates had pledged around $39 billion investment in India. Nearly 10 months later, this enthusiasm has not translated into investment. But one hopes that the latest signal coming from the Obama administration will prod US companies to fast-track their India investment plans.

Read More

Islamic State gets ambitious, plans to target India: Report

- by India Writes Network

In a recent revelation by an internal recruitment document of ISIL, it showed the group was preparing to attack India and draw the United States into a war. The group also plans to unite the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban into a single army.

The Islamic State’s members adhere to an extremist interpretation of Sunni Islam and consider themselves the only true believers. The group’s blinkered ideology espouses that the rest of the world comprises non-believers who want to destroy Islam, thereby justifying attacks against other Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The group raises several million dollars by robbing, looting and extortion. They also possess weapons from machine guns to rocket launchers and even surface-to-air missile systems. The Islamic State controls many areas of Syria and Iraq, while its main agenda is to establish a caliphate governed in accordance with Islamic law or Sharia by God’s deputy.

Read More

Is Mullah Omar dead? Guessing game on, again

- by India Writes Network

Is the one-eyed Mullah Omar, the architect of the first Taliban government in 1996 and the world’s most hunted terrorist leaders, dead? There have been speculation off and on, but this time there is an added gravitas about the claims made about the Taliban leader’s death.

In a startling revelation, sources in the Afghan government and intelligence agencies have told BBC that it has received reports that the Taliban supreme leader died more than two years back, but are waiting for further details.

A spokesperson for the Taliban said the group would issue a statement on the matter soon.

The Afghan government is probing new reports about the Taliban leader’s death. “As soon as we get any more authentication… we’re going to let the media and the people of Afghanistan know about that,” Sayed Zafar Hashemi, a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said.

Mullah Omar, popularly known as the one-eyed leader who lost his eye in one of his many battles, led the Taliban to victory in the aftermath of the withdrawal of Soviet Union from Afghanistan. In 1996 Taliban claimed to be the legitimate government in Afghanistan and he led the government.

Read More