Friday, July 3, 2020

Lots have happened.

The last 48 hours have been interesting :-

 * France commits military support to India.
 * US and Germany block China's move in the UN Security Council which blamed India for the
    Karachi terror attack.
 * India deviates from 'One China Policy' for the first time by mentioning the new Hong Kong
    Security Law in the UNHRC.
 * US praises India's move to ban Tik Tok for 'furthering national security against Chinese spying'.
 * UK offers residence for 5 years to 2.6 million people of Hong Kong after which they will be
    granted citizenship.
 * US bans Huawei for links to the Communist Party of China.

- Things are definitely heating up and it doesn't look like the West is interested in firing at China only
   from India's shoulders.
- Also, nice to see that India kick-started this by being the first to stand up to the Chinese threat after
  decades of fear mongering by the western analysts.
- Not restricted to the past 48 hours, but Russia's deflection of Chinese complaints against the early
  delivery of S-400 missiles to India is a massive diplomatic reality shock for China.
- And the best development during the last week of Jun 2020. Russia will deliver S-400 Missile
  Defence Systems a year early to India, despite strong objections from Beijing. China has been
  pressurising Moscow against the early shipments. Genuinely surprised with this, given how
  pragmatic Russia has been in recent years in balancing its ties with different allies.

Shows two things :-
  * Russo-Indian co-operation has moved well beyond the old Cold War alliance.
  * China's influence on Russia is vastly exaggerated.

If not Russia, then who is standing in China's corner of the ring, other than Pakistan and N Korea?

US has in Guam, an island which could well serve as a launch pad for future aerial attacks on the Chinese mainland.

Myanmar has called out China for arming terror groups and asks the world to help.

And finally, Australia is increasing its defence spending by up to 40% over the next 10 years.

QUAD is finally doing what it was supposed to.

  *              *               *

                               MODI IN LADAKH

In a clear message to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the era of expansionism is over, this is the age of development and that India's enemies have seen the "fire and fury" of its armed forces on his visit to Ladakh, this morning. Here are the 10 developments in this big story :-

    (a) In photos, PM Modi sat in a camouflaged tent as he as he spoke to hundreds of soldiers seated
         at a distance from each other. Later, he delivered an address against the backdrop of the Zanskar
         mountains.
    (b) He was in Nimu, at a height of 11,000 ft. He reached there early in the morning by chopper
          from Leh, along with the CDS and the COAS.
    (c) "Interacting with our brave armed forces personnel at Nimu", the PM posted, sharing a photo
          on his Instagram account. He'd picked a place where a large number of soldiers could
          assemble safely.
    (d) Personnel of the Army, Air Force and ITBP were present for the interaction. He also visited
          a hospital where several soldiers wounded in the clash are recovering.
    (e) The RM was to travel to Leh yesterday but his trip was cancelled. "The PM going to Ladakh,
          meeting with soldiers and encouraging them has definitely strengthened their morale", the RM
          posted on Twitter.
    (f)  A rattled China reacted to the visit. "India and China are in communication and negotiations
          on lowering the temperatures through military and diplomatic channels. No party should
          engage in any action that may escalate the situation at this point", a Chinese Foreign Ministry
          spokesperson was quoted by the ANI.
    (g) After weeks of simmering tension at the LAC, 20 soldiers including a Colonel were killed in
          the 15 Jun skirmish at the Galwan valley. Army sources say the Chinese suffered 45 casualties.
    (h) India gave a fitting response to China on Ladakh, the PM had said last week in his monthly
          address "Mann ki Baat". He had accentuated upon the valour of our soldiers.
    (j)  The visit was also a strong message to the opposition Congress and other critics of the
          government in handling the China crisis.
    (k) In almost daily tweets, RaGa has been demanding answers on Chinese incursions at the LAC.


Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. A wet day!

Attended the webinar at 1400 hrs. Maman had gotten emotional.
  

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