Category: India News

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pradeep Dutta with details. pic.twitter.com/nf0minUj1F

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) October 21, 2020

“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.

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.

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Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister Tien Chung-kwang said that with the government’s New Southbound Policy, India is a good place for Taiwanese businesses to build production bases, given its democracy, ample human resources and strategically important location….reports ATUL ANEJA

Taiwan has launched its “new southbound policy”, which is looking at setting up large scale production bases in India, in tune with a surge in the New Delhi-Taipei engagement.

India and Taiwan, a global hi-tech heavyweight, are rediscovering each other after China threatened the two with war. India’s tighter ideological bonds with fellow democracies and its sharper strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific region, following the Covid-19 pandemic, is adding fresh ballast to growing New Delhi-Taipei ties.

With the government’s New Southbound Policy, India is a good place for Taiwanese businesses to build production bases, given its democracy, ample human resources and strategically important location, Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister Tien Chung-kwang said on Friday as quoted by Taipei Times.

Resentment over China has been rising in India, not just because of a decades-long border conflict, but also because of China’s aggressive expansion in South Asia, its bullying of other countries and its dissemination of Covid 19, Tien said on Friday in Taipei on the sidelines of a Taiwan-India Parliamentary Friendship Association event. “The wind is beginning to blow” in Indian society, he observed, pointing out that Taiwan’s success in containing the pandemic and medical aid, in sharp contrast with China, has not gone unnoticed in India.

With ties with China souring following the border standoff in Ladakh, Indian elites are showing visible inclination to pivot towards Taiwan as a strategic source of hi-technology and investments.

India’s new representative to Taiwan, Gourangalal Das, said at the event that Taiwan’s unique position in global supply chains can be leveraged to serve India’s aspiration to emerge as the next key global manufacturing hub, at a time when new supply chains following the pandemic are emerging.

With an eye on decoupling from China, trade ministers from India, Australia and Japan, last month, decided to study establishment of new supply chains that do not include China.

Das highlighted that India’s start-up ecosystem, focusing on software can fuse with Taiwan’s strengths in hardware.

Besides, smart agriculture, precision medicine, skills training and industrial automation offer great opportunities for collaboration.

Analysts say that India and Taiwan can also partner each other in the development of new energy vehicles. On Friday, Taiwan’s electronics giant Foxconn Technology and local carmaker Yulon Group were teaming up to supply components and services for 10 per cent of the world’s electric cars between 2025-2027.

Taiwanese academics are also pointing to the possibility of a trilateral partnership in key areas, which also includes the United States. The warming ties between Taiwan, India and the US herald new opportunities for Taiwanese businesses, especially in the electronics industry, Taiwan Asean Studies Center director Kristy Hsu was quoted as saying at the event.

Separately, in an interview with India Today on October 15, Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu signalled Taiwan’s readiness to look at the Indo-Pacific Quad initiative led by India, Australia, Japan and the United States.

Taiwan has traditionally had good relationships with the US, Japan and Australia – which are involved in the dialogue – while ties with India are “getting better and better,” he said.

“Therefore, we certainly hope that Taiwan can start thinking about how we can work with all these countries that are taking part in the Quad discussions”.

Taiwan’s leadership is taking to social media to reach out directly to Indian citizenry, signalling a well-timed soft-power push. On October 14, President Tsai Ing-wen took to Twitter to appreciate support of Indian netizens for backing Taiwan during tensions with China in the Taiwan strait.

“#Namaste to our friends from #India!” Tsai tweeted. “Your warm regards remind me of fond memories from time spent in your incredible country, your architectural marvels, vibrant culture & kind people are truly unforgettable.” She also shared her pictures that had been taken during her previous visit to the Taj Mahal. A day later she was in full flow in praise of Indian cuisine. ” #Taiwan is lucky to be home to many Indian restaurants, & Taiwanese people love them. I always go for chana masala and naan, while #chai always takes me back to my travels in #India, and memories of a vibrant, diverse & colourful country. What are your favourite Indian dishes?” she tweeted.