(Current Affairs) India and The World | June: 2016

India & The World

Pentagon warned India of increased Chinese military presence (Free Available)
Defence Minister to visit UAE and Oman to deepen security and defence cooperation (Free Available)
India and Sri Lanka looking for permanent solution to fishermen issue (Free Available)
Pakistan says bilateral dialogue could resume soon (Free Available)
Nepal accuses India of destabilising political situation (Free Available)
New problems in strained Indo-Nepal relationship (Free Available)
First agreement under the Indo-U.S. Civil nuclear deal could be signed during PM visit (Free Available)
Next Malabar exercise in east of Japan (Free Available)
Unfazed by China placing a technical hold India is ready with other cases (Free Available)
India and Pakistan foreign secretary meet first time after Pathankot attack (Free Available)
Foreign secretary of Pak and India to meet at the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference (Free Available)
India cancelled visa for Dolkum Isa (Free Available)
External affairs ministry exploring legal options in Mallya case (Only for Online Coaching Members)
After J-e-M snub by China, India allows China declared terrorist (Only for Online Coaching Members)
External affairs minister wants China to cooperate in Masood Azhar issue (Only for Online Coaching Members)
Breakthrough in establishing a hotline between India and China military is close (Only for Online Coaching Members)
US defence secretary visit send important message to neighbours (Only for Online Coaching Members)
Iran assures India that they can be relied upon (Only for Online Coaching Members)
India sought changes in the U.N. Procedures (Only for Online Coaching Members)

Pentagon warned India of increased Chinese military presence

China has increased defence capabilities and deployed more troops along the Indian border, the Pentagon has said, as it warned of increasing Chinese military presence including bases in various parts of the world, particularly Pakistan.
“We have noticed an increase in capability and force posture by the Chinese military in areas close to the border with India,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia told reporters.
The Defence Department also warned of China’s increasing military presence including bases in various parts of the world, in particular Pakistan — with which it has a “longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests”
The Pentagon in its report expressed its concerns about Chinese military build-up near the Indian border.Tensions remain along disputed portions of the Sino-Indian border, where both sides patrol with armed forces.
“After a five-day military standoff in September 2015 at Burtse in Northern Ladakh, China and India held a senior-level flag-officer meeting, agreed to maintain peace, and retreated to positions mutually acceptable to both sides,” it said.
The Pentagon also said that the defence capabilities possessed by the U.S,. Russia and India are among the main factors driving China to modernise its nuclear force and bolster its strategic strike capabilities.
It said that China insists that the new generation of mobile missiles are intended to ensure the viability of its strategic deterrent in the face of continued advances in the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, Russian capabilities.

Defence Minister to visit UAE and Oman to deepen security and defence cooperation

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will leave for Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to deepen security and defence cooperation with a region which has traditionally been viewed only as politically important.
“While political ties with the region has been deepening over the years, security and defence cooperation were the missing pieces in the relationship. It had been low key,” Govt said.
As India’s strategic interests stretched to the Middle East and beyond, the thinking in India too had changed. The big thing that happened in the recent past is the evacuation of Indian nationals from Yemen under Operation Rahat.
It gave a sense of what our forces have to face. Yemen made it very clear that we need to focus on structures and processes in these countries.”
Mr. Parrikar’s trip to the UAE would be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Defence Minister and the idea was to take forward the understanding reached during Mr. Modi’s visit last year.
Oman is India’s strongest defence partner in the Gulf and both sides have extensive defence and security ties in place. Oman has been hosting Indian warships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden.

India and Sri Lanka looking for permanent solution to fishermen issue

Seeking a permanent solution to the issue of frequent arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy, India reiterated the need to build a dedicated mechanism.
PM Modi stressed the need to develop a mechanism and find a permanent solution to the issue of fishermen straying into each other’s waters, following a meeting here between PM Modi and the visiting President of Sri Lanka MaithripalaSirisena.
The Ministry of External Affairs informed that Sri Lanka currently holds 34 Indian fishermen and 96 Indian fishing boats in custody.
Creation of a dedicated mechanism has been in the making for several years but has not moved ahead. Mr. Modi and Mr. Sirisena reviewed a number of bilateral issues during their talks but the free trade agreement between the two countries which has been discussed earlier was not taken up.
Mr. Sirisena is in India to attend the Vaicharik Mahakumbh in Ujjain, an inter-faith event which will take place on the sidelines of the SimhasthaKumbh.
He will also visit Sanchi, where he will unveil a bust of Buddhist revivalist AnagarikaDharmapala.
Mr. Sirisena’s visit is likely to provide an opportunity for India to deepen ties with Sri Lanka, especially in view of the growing Chinese influence over Colombo.

Pakistan says bilateral dialogue could resume soon

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit expressed the hope that the bilateral dialogue stalled by the Pathankot airbase attack would resume soon.
“Although we do not have a date I expect good things to happen sooner than later,” he said, when asked how optimistic he was.
“I feel we do have problems. We all understand that and in order to overcome those, we need to talk to each other. As agreed to between the two countries last December we should resume the dialogue process,” he said.

Nepal accuses India of destabilising political situation

A day after Nepal cancelled the visit of its President to India and recalled its ambassador, problem in bilateral ties is due to battle of nerves during which Kathmandu accused New Delhi of backing a plot to topple the government.
Nepal govt claims that the plot to break the ruling alliance, led by Mr. Oli, received support from India.
The crisis was triggered on May 3-4 when the former Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist), invited Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the Nepali Congress (NC), to form a combine and replace the government of Mr. Oli with a national unity government.
Nepal accused India of facilitating Mr. Prachanda’s sudden rebellion. Mr. Prachanda’s UCPN-Maoist is an alliance partner of Mr. Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). The shaky coalition continues as of now.
However, India has rejected Kathmandu’s charges. The govt says the setbacks are due to Mr. Oli’s “petulant and un-diplomatic behaviour.

New problems in strained Indo-Nepal relationship

The political crisis in Nepal deepened as Kathmandu recalled its ambassador to India hours after cancelling President Bidhya Devi Bhandari’s visit to the Simhastha Kumbh at Ujjain.
Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay told that the decision was taken after a Cabinet meeting during which his role in the latest political crisis came under criticism.Mr. Upadhyay had “counselled against the cancellation of the President’s visit.”
There is a lack of trust between the governments and I am being recalled to Kathmandu owing to a major misunderstanding between the two governments,” he said, after a telephone conversation.

First agreement under the Indo-U.S. Civil nuclear deal could be signed during PM visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a dinner hosted by the U.S –India Business Council (USIBC) on June 7 that will bring together around 400 CEOs, investors and business leaders during his two-day visit to the U.S capital.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to address a joint session of the U.S Congress on June 8, and will also attend an event of the Indian community.
Details of the Prime Minister’s address to the joint session of the Congress and the community event that will also have several U.S lawmakers participating, will be finalised after Mr Modi’s schedule on the Capitol is final.
Curiously, India has not formally announced the PM’s visit yet, which is taking place at the behest of President Barack Obama.
The photo-op of the visit could the signing of the first commercial agreement under the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear deal, between the Westinghouse Electric and the Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd(NPCIL), to build six nuclear reactors in Gujarat.

Next Malabar exercise in east of Japan

In a move that is sure to raise eyebrows in Beijing, four Indian warships will join the navies of the United States and Japan in the second half of June for the next edition of Malabar exercises east of Okinawa, a Japanese island.
Last December, India and the U.S announced formal expansion of the bilateral exercises into a trilateral format with the edition of Japan.
Two stealth frigates, a guided missile corvette and a fleet replenishment tanker of the Indian Navy would take part in the exercises.
In September 2007, the navies of Australia, Japan and Singapore joined India and the U.S. in the Malabar exercises which forced China to issue a demarche to New Delhi. This is also not the first time these exercises will be held near Okinawa.
Australia has repeatedly expressed interest in joining Malabar on a permanent basis and the United States had been pushing its inclusion, but India has so far resisted the move so as not to antagonise China.

Unfazed by China placing a technical hold India is ready with other cases

Unfazed by China placing a “technical hold” on classifying Jaish-e-Mohammad founder Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the sanctions committee of the United Nations, India is ready with cases of other JeM individuals.
India believes that China, by siding with ally Pakistan, is turning a multilateral issue into a bilateral one given that the JeM is known to have interests beyond South Asia and was listed as a terrorist group by the U.N. in 2001.
“The Chinese don’t look good by siding with the Pakistanis on the issue. After all, we are talking about designating individuals. It is not a government-to-government issue at all.
Also, the Indian action to designate Azhar as a terrorist was co-sponsored by the United States, the United Kingdom and France, revealing that Delhi was not alone in its efforts.
A “technical hold” on designating Azhar was placed by the Chinese earlier this month.
Simultaneously, India is engaging China on Azhar by talking to Pakistan at the just-concluded Foreign Secretary-level interaction in Delhi. China had publicly suggested that India hold direct talks with Pakistan on the issue.
A “technical hold” in the 15-member sanctions committee remains valid for six months following which a decision to block or proceed with the proposed action must be conveyed to the secretariat.

India and Pakistan foreign secretary meet first time after Pathankot attack

The much-anticipated talks between the Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretaries on Tuesday failed to make headway on the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, with both sides trading allegations.
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed that Pakistan cannot be in denial on the impact of terrorism on the bilateral relationship. Terrorist groups based in Pakistan targeting India must not be allowed to operate with impunity
The Pakistan delegation, led by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, alleged that Indian intelligence agencies were responsible for the unrest in Balochistan, and Mr. Jaishankar “firmly rebutted” the charge.
The meeting between Mr. Chaudhry and Mr. Jaishankar was the first after the January 2 Pathankot attack.

Foreign secretary of Pak and India to meet at the ‘Heart of Asia’ conference

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry will meet Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar for bilateral talks with their delegations on the sidelines of the Afghan donor ‘Heart of Asia’ conference.
Officials of both countries confirmed that the initiative for the meeting came from the Indian side.
In a statement issued in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Mr. Chaudhry would hold “bilateral meetings with other leading delegations attending the [‘Heart of Asia’] meeting.”
The bilateral meeting might include discussions on the Pathankot airbase attack and a possible visit by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Pakistan to probe the plot behind the attack.

India cancelled visa for Dolkum Isa

In an about-turn, India cancelled the visa issued to the exiled Uighur-Chinese leader Dolkun Isa, even as the Citizen Power for China, the Washington DC-based organisers of the Dharmshalaevent told that the event may not take place in the way planned.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the glitches of the electronic visa system of the Ministry of Home Affairs is the reason for cancellation of visa.
China criticised the Indian move to grant him a visa to attend the conference, despite an Interpol Red Corner notice against him, Isa said that he believed “India had bowed to Chinese pressure.”
Mr Isa, heading the World Uighur Congress, was designated a “terrorist” by Beijing and has faced travel curbs under Chinese pressure.