Iran and Russia continue their negotiations within the framework of the Joint Defence Cooperation Commission….Reports Asian Lite News
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has said Russia is one of Iran’s main partners in defence sector, Iran Press news website reported.
By lifting the UN arms embargo on Iran, Tehran and Moscow could improve cooperation in the sector, Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying.
Iran and Russia continue their negotiations within the framework of the Joint Defence Cooperation Commission.
With the removal of bans, Iran is able to purchase any military equipment and weapons without legal restrictions from “friendly countries,” he said.
Moscow, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Russian President Vladimir Putin (Sputnik via Xinhua/IANS)
Khatibzadeh noted that any US attempt to impose unilateral sanctions on Iran in this regard is a violation of international law and doomed to failure, Xinhua news agency reported.
Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the UN arms embargo against Iran expired on Sunday. However, the US administration imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran threatening other countries to avoid arms deals with the Islamic republic.
Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga’s visit to Vietnam and Indonesia could feed into the emergence a new balance of power in the region, experiencing intense rivalry, between China and the US…writes ATUL ANEJA
Just a few days after foreign ministers of the Indo-Pacific Quad comprising India, Australia, Japan and the United States met in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has sped to Vietnam and Indonesia — two major middle powers, whose role would be pivotal in constraining Chinas regional footprint.
China would be following the visit with considerable anxiety, as Suga’s dialogue in Hanoi and Jakarta could help further fortify, if not expand the Quad security core at a later stage. Suga’s visit could feed into the emergence a new balance of power in the region, experiencing intense rivalry, between China and the US.
The Prime Minister’s trip is likely to add another layer, and in some ways amplify some of the talking points which have been recently flagged by senior US officials who have been prowling the region, following the Trump administration’s open spat with China following the Covid-19 pandemic. Japan and the US are security allies, who are in constant dialogue with each other, sharing in-depth intelligence in areas of common interest, including China and the Indo-Pacific region.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga with President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong
Ahead of Suga’s visit, senior US officials, intent on walling Beijing’s growing influence on the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), had already shaped the ground for Suga’s dialogue with his interlocutors.
Less than a month ago, the US assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs and the Vietnamese vice minister of foreign affairs had exchanged notes online on “bilateral security cooperation at the eleventh US-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defence Dialogue.” The list of topics that were flagged included security cooperation, defence trade, maritime security and peacekeeping. Vietnam, the first stop of the Prime Minister’s visit, is currently the rotating head of ASEAN, which is China’s top trading partner. Despite a strong economic relationship, Beijing and Hanoi, which went to war in 1979, share a historic distrust of each other.
Speaking in Tokyo on Friday, Suga said he wants his trip to Southeast Asia “to show our nation and the world that Japan will play a leading role in the region’s peace and prosperity,” Nikkei Asia reported. Following their talks Suga and his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, agreed to cooperate on the “free and open Indo-Pacific” initiative. Addressing a joint press conference on Monday, Suga said Vietnam, is a pivot and an important partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific. The two countries were also close to an agreement on export of Japanese military hardware to Vietnam.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga with Indonesian President Joko Widodo
During the second leg of his visit to Indonesia, the Japanese Prime Minister is expected to probe the level and extent to which Indonesia, known for its traditional aversion for alliances, is open to joint participation in enhancing security of the Indo-Pacific.
As Suga lands in Jakarta, US defence secretary Mark Esper is hosting the Indonesian defence minister Prabowo Subianto, signalling that Japan and US, key members of the Indo-Pacific Quad, would likely be seeking an Indonesian pivot in their direction.
“His visit to Washington is particularly significant because over the past two decades Mr. Subianto has reportedly been twice denied entry to the United States for alleged human rights violations. Washington now seems to be willing to look the other way on questions pertaining to Subianto’s past to advance closer bilateral defence cooperation with Indonesia,” wrote Kuni Miyake, special adviser to Suga’s cabinet, in The Japan Times.
Why is cultivating Indonesia so important? On account of its unique oceanic geography, Indonesia, would be central for imposing unbearable pressure on China, in case of a regional blow out. The Indonesian archipelago hosts at least four major choke points, which can be leveraged to counter Beijing, as some of them are critical for China’s seaborne trade.
Foremost among these channels is the Malacca strait– the crucial and shortest trade link between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This strait is a narrow, 890 km stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The vast majority of China’s oil imports, from the Gulf, Venezuela and Angola, passes through this route, which is also the lifeline for Japan and South Korea–the other major industrial economies of the region.
Indonesia also hosts the Sunda strait — the channel between the islands of Sumatra and Java. It is an important waterway for ships travelling along the Cape route in Africa to East Asia. Australian vessels setting course to destination in Southeast or East Asia, also make active use of this passage.
The third channel, the Lombok strait, also a part of the Indonesian archipelago, is deep and wide. It is therefore ideal for transiting huge oil tankers and other monster ships with 100,000 dead weight tonnage or more.
The Ombai-Wetar Straits, also in Indonesia, play a unique military role. Because they are extremely deep, they provide undetected passage for submarines traveling between the Pacific and Indian Ocean. Consequently, there is considerable interest in these straits among the strategic communities of the Indo-Pacific countries, who are wary of the transit of Chinese submarines from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean.
Recent frictions between Indonesia and China may offer new opportunities for Japan and the Indo-Pacific Quad to bond. Indonesia and China’s growing differences are centred around Beijing’s claim over the nine-dash line, a vaguely defined alignment, which China says marks its maritime border in the South China Sea. China cites historical reasons to stake its claims, along a line whose specific coordinates have not been spelled out.
In Jakarta’s view, maritime borders are defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With Indonesia’s undisputed Natuna islands as the reference point, Jakarta argues that UNCLOS allows the extension of Indonesia oceanic boundaries in areas, which fall within China’s erroneous claim line.
In Karachi in Sindh province, headed by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Sindh Police in a major show of defiance against the Pakistan Army have threatened to go on leave after they were pressurised to arrest PML(N) Vice President Marayam Nawaz’s husband Safdar Awan…reports AARTI TIKOO SINGH
Qamar Javed Bajwa. (Photo: Twitter/@iamCOAS)
In a major show of open defiance against Pakistan Army, police officers in Karachi have threatened to go on mass leave after the Sindh Police chief was allegedly kidnapped and coerced to act against PML(N) Vice President Marayam Nawaz Sharif.
Sources in Islamabad said that Pakistan is rapidly slipping into a civil war-like situation with the ongoing tussle between the opposition parties and the Army.
Sources said that Sindh IGP Mushtaq Mahar and at least two additional inspector generals, seven deputy inspector generals and six senior superintendents of Sindh Police on Tuesday applied for leave in order to “come out of the shock” caused by the “episode of registration of FIR against Capt (R) Safdar”.
The Sindh Police on Monday had arrested Safdar Awan, the husband of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and the son-in-law of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, from a hotel in Karachi.
The arrest came just hours after the PML(N) Vice President criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government at a massive rally of People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) — an alliance of 11 opposition political parties which have joined hands to challenge the Imran Khan government backed by the Pakistan Army. He was later released on bail.
Maryam Nawaz. (Photo: Twitter/@MaryamNSharif)
Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered an inquiry into Safdar Awan’s arrest after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari questioned the Army and the ISI about the incident in a tweet.
Pakistani media quoted Bilawal alleging that the Sindh Police chief was abducted by Pakistan Army and its intelligence wing for a few hours before Safdar Awan was arrested. Bilawal insinuated that Pakistan military had pressurised the Sindh Police to act against Safdar Awan.
The Dawn newspaper reported that a purported voice message by PML(N) leader and former Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair was shared by a journalist in which Zubair alleged that the Sindh Inspector General of Police, Mushtaq Mahar, was kidnapped and forced to register an FIR against Maryam, her husband Safdar and 200 others for violating the sanctity of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum.
The leave applications submitted by Sindh Police officers to IGP Mahar said that it had become hard for them to “discharge duties in a professional manner” due to the stress caused by Safdar’s arrest.
“The recent episode of registration of FIR against Capt (R) Safdar in which the police high command has not only been ridiculed and mishandled, but all ranks of Sindh Police have been demoralised and shocked. In such stressful situation, it is quite difficult for me to discharge my duty in a professional manner,” the letters read.
All the letters were identical.
However, the tense situation in the province forced IGP Mahar to defer his own leave as he ordered his officers to set aside their leave applications for 10 days.
In a tweet, the Sindh police said the decision was taken “in the larger national interest” and pending the conclusion of the inquiry into how the arrest of PML(N) leader Safdar unfolded.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi arrived in the UK on Wednesday as part of a Europe tour to meet key leaders in the region.
The prime minister’s office announced his arrival through the official twitter handle.
Prior to his UK trip, Al-Kadhimi had meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
During these visits, Al-Kadhimi discussed Iraq’s main challenges such as the fight against terrorism and the interference of foreign powers in its internal affairs.
Kadhimi, who was appointed prime minister in May, has roots in the UK, according to Arab News. He fled Iraq in the 1980s headed to Iran, and then he stayed for a short period in Germany, before settling for many years in the UK and obtaining British citizenship.
Britain too is a part of a US-led international coalition tasked with helping Iraqi security forces in the fight against Daesh. The US-led coalition also provides military equipment and training for Iraqi forces.
According to the company, the flights, the price of which will start at $149 for a one-way ticket, will cover the distance between Tel Aviv to Dubai in three to four hours…reports Asian Lite News
Arkia, Israel’s second-largest airline, has announced direct flight services to Dubai, which will begin from January 3, 2021.
The announcement on Tuesday is the first made by an Israeli airline for direct commercial flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the US-brokers normalization deal signed between the two countries on September 15, The Times of Israel reported.
According to the company, the flights, the price of which will start at $149 for a one-way ticket, will cover the distance between Tel Aviv to Dubai in three to four hours.
In a statement, Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz said: “The decision to start a flight line to Dubai was made after increasing requests from our customers, private business clients and many requests from groups organizing conferences.”
Besides Dubai, the airline was also Sharjah, another major city in the UAE, as well as Bahrain.
Also on Tuesday, Etihad Airways Flight EY9607, the first commercial shuttle from the UAE to Israel, landed at the Ben-Gurion International Airport outside of Tel Aviv, The Times of Israel reported.
The flight came a day after the two countries agreed to enable 28 weekly direct flights between their territories.
The flight arrived without passengers but later ferried an Israeli travel and tourism delegation to Abu Dhabi.
On Tuesday, a senior UAE delegation made a landmark visit to Israel, saying it wished to facilitate the reciprocal opening of embassies in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi “as soon as possible”.
The government will set up a museum to showcase history of the raid and atrocities committed by the raiders supported by the Pakistan army…reports Sumit Kumar Singh
India will observe October 22 — the day of the raid in 1947 in Jammu and Kashmir — as the ‘Black Day’ to protest against Pakistan’s role in instigating violence and terror in the valley.
On October 22, 1947, Pakistani invaders illegally entered into Jammu and Kashmir and plundered and committed atrocities.
“The ‘lashkars’ (militia) of tribal men armed with axes, swords and guns and backed by the Pakistan Army attacked Kashmir where they butchered men, children and turned women into their slaves,” said a senior government officer adding that they destroyed culture of the valley.
The government will set up a museum to showcase history of the raid and atrocities committed by the raiders supported by the Pakistan army.
#Exclusive#Breaking | For the 1st time in the history of Kashmir, residents in Kashmir have put up hoardings in different areas of Srinagar to commemorate the ‘Black Day’ – Oct 22, 1947 when Pakistani Tribes & Militia invaded Kashmir.
“An exhibition and a two-day symposium have also been planned on October 22 in Srinagar,” the officer said.
How Pakistan planned raids?
The Pakistan Army had directed every Pathan tribe to enlist at least one lashkar of 1,000 tribesmen. They then told lashkars to concentrate at Bannu, Wanna, Peshawar, Kohat, Thal and Nowshera. The Pakistan brigade commanders at these places provided ammunition and arms and essential clothing.
Back then, the entire force was commanded by Major General Akbar Khan, code named “Tariq”. Each lashkar was provided with a Major, a Captain and ten junior commissioned officers. A minimum of four guides per company were attached before leaving Muzaffarabad.
Six lashkars advanced along the main road from Muzaffarabad to Srinagar through Domel, Uri and Baramulla, with the specific task of capturing the aerodrome and subsequently advancing to the Banihal Pass.
Two lashkars were told to advance from the Hajipir Pass directly to Gulmarg. A similar force of two lashkars were told to advance from Tithwal through the Nastachhun Pass to capture Sopore, Handwara and Bandipur.
Ten lashkars were asked to operate in Poonch, Bhimbar and Rawalkot area with the intention of capturing Poonch, Rajouri and then advancing to Jammu.
Further, 7 Infantry Division of the Pakistan Army concentrated in the area Murree-Abbottabad by the last light of October 21, 1947 and was ordered to be ready to move immediately into the Jammu and Kashmir territory to backup the tribal lashkars and consolidate their hold on the valley.
India will observe Oct 22 as ‘Black Day’.
One Infantry brigade was also held in readiness at Sialkot to move to Jammu.
Pakistani Soldiers were sent in driblets and regular troops were mixed with invaders, an expedient which delayed but did not halt Indian advance in Kashmir.
On October 26, invaders entered Baramulla and began soul stirring atrocities. “Young women were abducted and carried off without distinction of colour, cast or creed. Each raider tried to grab as much wealth or as many girls as he could,” recalls a former Indian Army officer.
The inhabitants for their safety left all their possessions behind and took refuge in hills. The deserted streets lay silent, echoing only the rattles of the raiders’ nailed boots as they threaded their way between the corpses strewn around.
Baramulla was completely destroyed and looted by the barbaric Pakistani invaders.
The princely State of Jammu and Kashmir was under attack by the tribal raiders supported by the troops of the newly formed Pakistani Army.
Witnessing the atrocities, Maharaja Hari Singh appealed to the Indian government for help and Kashmir formally acceded to India.
It was on October 27, 1947, the first Infantry contingent of the Indian Army, the troops of the 1 Sikh landed at Srinagar Airfield and fought a battle to liberate Kashmir from the intruders.
The Foreign Ministers of the warring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan will separately meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday…reports Asian Lite News
Amid the ongoing military conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Foreign Ministers of the warring countries of Armenia and Azerbaijan will separately meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, according to media reports.
In a statement to The Hill news website on Tuesday, Elin Suleymanov, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the US, said that Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov will meet Pompeo on Friday, adding that the invitation came from the State Department.
Suleymanov told The Hill that the meeting with Pompeo is expected to “address the stalled political negotiations over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh”.
“The issue is not the ceasefire, the issue is the resumption of substantive talks based on international law,” he added.
Meanwhile, Grigor Hovhannissian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the US also told The Hill that preparations were underway for Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s visit to Washington.
The envoy added that Yerevan was pushing the US to halt military assistance to Azerbaijan and sanction Turkey for its support of Baku.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the meeting will also include representatives from France and Russia.
According to US government documents as seen by Politico news, Bayramov will first meet Pompeo on Friday morning, while Mnatsakanyan meeting will take place shortly after.
On Sunday, Azerbaijan and Armenia traded accusations of violating the second ceasefire which came into force, just hours earlier in the day, aimed at halting the fighting in the disputed region.
The accusations came despite the two warring countries welcoming the truce.
Following trilateral negotiations between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia that lasted for over two hours in Moscow, the first ceasefire was enforced in the region on October 11.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but mostly governed by the Republic of Artsakh, a de facto independent state with an Armenian ethnic majority.
The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, April 2016 and in July tjis year.
Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the region in 1988-94, eventually declaring a ceasefire.
The MoU concerns mainly developing the game in the two countries and exchanging technical and administrative experiences for the next three years….reports Asian Lite News
The UAE Football Association, UAEFA, renewed the memorandum of understanding, MoU, with the Japanese Football Association, which concerns mainly developing the game in the two countries and exchanging technical and administrative experiences for the next three years.
The MoU renewal ceremony, which took place on Tueday via video call, was witnessed by Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, President of the UAE Football Association, Kozo Tashima, President of the Japanese Football Association, JFA, as well as Mohammed Abdullah Hazzam Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of the UAE Football Association, and Kiyotaka Suhara, Secretary-General of the Japan Football Association.
Sheikh Rashid Al Nuaimi said, “We have a long relationship with the Japan Football Association, characterised by a lot of respect and professionalism, and we are looking forward to renewing the MoU that the Football Association had previously signed, which would improve and expand areas of cooperation.”
In turn, Kozo Tashima, President of JFA, expressed his great happiness at the renewal of this memorandum, which is the nucleus of the joint work between the two Associations spanning long years, and which adds a lot of professionalism in the work between the two countries.
The memorandum of understanding, after its renewal for a period of 3 years, includes several areas, most notably technical areas, coaching education, physical training programs, referees’ education, camps, administrative, media and marketing programs, youth development programs and friendly matches.
Through this fund, the UAE, the US International Development Finance Corporation, and Israel will mobilise more than $3 billion in private sector-led investment and development initiatives…reports Asian Lite News
The United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and Israel, have announced the establishment of the Abraham Fund, which fulfils a commitment made in the Abraham Accords.
Through this fund, the UAE, the US International Development Finance Corporation, and Israel will mobilise more than $3 billion in private sector-led investment and development initiatives to promote regional economic cooperation and prosperity in the Middle East and beyond. The partners welcome participation from other countries to advance these objectives.
This initiative is an integral part of the historic peace accord signed by the UAE and Israel with the United States’ support, and demonstrates the benefits of peace by improving the lives of the region’s peoples. It is a manifestation of the new spirit of friendship and cooperation between the three countries, as well their common will to advance the region.
The countries will trilaterally open a development office based in Israel to identify and initiate strategic projects with a high developmental impact, including those that catalyse economic growth, improve standards of living, and create high-value, quality jobs.
The Abraham Fund will bolster regional trade, enable strategic infrastructure projects, and increase energy security through the provision of reliable and affordable access to electricity. The fund also aims to improve agricultural productivity and facilitate reliable and efficient access to clean water in the region.
“The Abraham Fund will tackle challenges facing the region and increase economic opportunity for everyone,” said Adam Boehler, CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation. “We are excited to take this historic partnership to the next level to promote shared prosperity.”
Currently, the travel ban is imposed on 34 countries, after the government added France, Argentina, Afghanistan and Yemen to the list, and removed Singapore….reports Asian Lite News
.Authorities at the Kuwait International Airport have submitted a proposal to end the travel ban and enforce a mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it was reported.
Saleh Al Fadaghi, the airport’s Director of Operations, said that if the proposal was accepted, it would require the coordination of three governmental entities: the General Administration of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior, Gulf News reported on Monday.
The new proposal comes after authorities realized that many expats were quarantining for 14 days in neighbouring Gulf countries before coming to Kuwait, which according to the official has posed as an obstacle to many.
This is not the first proposal that the airport had presented to the government.
Last month, a similar proposal was submitted that called on the government to allow travellers arriving from the 34 banned countries to quarantine in facilities in Kuwait instead of abroad.
Nationals from the barred countries are able to enter Kuwait but are required to quarantine 14 days in a non-banned country before arriving in Kuwait.
It has been over two months since Kuwait enforced a travel ban on a number of countries the government has deemed as “high risk”, Gulf News reported.
The travel ban was first announced on August 1, hours after the Kuwait airport resumed commercial travel, and originally included 31 countries.
Currently, the travel ban is imposed on 34 countries, after the government added France, Argentina, Afghanistan and Yemen to the list, and removed Singapore.
