Year: 2020

Taiwan Strait saw 18 China military planes including some fighter jets in an unusually large show of force on Friday as a U.S. envoy held a day of closed-door meetings on the self-governing island claimed by China.   Under Secretary of State Keith Krach, who handles the economic growth, energy and the environment portfolio, held talks with Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice Premier. He also met with business leaders over lunch and was to dine with President Tsai Ing-wen later on Friday. In response to Krach’s visit, the…

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in a welcome move, has banned imports of several defence items in order to move decidedly in the direction of self-reliance in defence. PM Modi has taken a personal interest in the matter and in a major decision India has jettisoned its old policy of a blanket ban on export of arms (only non-lethal materials like tents, clothing etc were kosher earlier).   Major steps are also in the pipeline to re-organise the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and make it more efficient. Moving to…

Yoshihide Suga won the leadership race of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Monday and in all likelihood is set to win a parliamentary vote later this week and replace outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.   Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, said last month he would quit because of ill health, ending a nearly eight-year term.   The 71-year-old Suga is Abe’s trusted aide, won 377 votes out of 534 votes cast, and 535 possible votes, in the LDP election by the party’s members of parliament and representatives of its…

The Narendra Modi government, it is learnt, is looking into reports that a Chinese data firm that pioneers in “hybrid warfare” and is linked to the country’s administration tracked over 10,000 Indian nationals, including leading personalities like PM Modi and interim Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, as well as their families.   Sources in the defence and security establishment said that the government has taken note of a report on published Monday in a news paper as part of an international expose, that suggests China may be employing hybrid warfare —…

As per the sources, Chinese troops were laying a network of optical fibre cables south of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, suggesting they were digging in for the long haul despite high-level talks aimed at resolving a standoff there. Such cables, which would provide forward troops with secure lines of communication to bases in the rear, have recently been spotted to the south of Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, a senior government official said.   Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops backed by tanks and aircraft are locked in an uneasy…

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched a state-wide campaign, ‘My Family, My Responsibility’, to tackle the coronavirus pandemic amid further relaxation of lockdown curbs. Thackeray said the crisis is likely to become more severe in the coming days as the state continues to be the worst-affected due to the viral disease with more than one million Covid-19 cases.   According to a report, Thackeray said the Coronavirus pandemic is not showing any sign of a respite and the transmission has also reached rural Maharashtra as well. However, the statistics show…

The COVID-19 vaccine will be ready by the end of this year, even after pausing its trials due to a possible serious neurological problem in one patient, said AstraZeneca Plc. CEO, Pascal Soriot. The company is developing the vaccine with the University of Oxford.   Speaking at an online conference, Soriot sought to reassure investors after the company and its partner confirmed earlier this week that they had temporarily stopped giving patients the experimental shot.   The trial was halted after a person in the UK who was participating in it…

The Indian and Chinese militaries accused each other of open fire during a confrontation late on Monday evening near Chushul, close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.   The face-off took place a few kilometres south of Helmet Top, a dominating hill feature that India occupied on August 30 to prevent the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from illegally seizing it. In that operation, an Indian soldier of the Special Frontier Force was killed and another seriously injured.   Sources say, the Monday incident was triggered when PLA…

BSF Director General Rakesh Asthana has said, The role of the Border Security Force (BSF) has become more important as “our neighbouring countries” are planning against India, in an apparent reference to Sino-India border situation in Ladakh and frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan.   Asthana concluded his three-day tour with a visit to Forward Defence Locations along the Line of Control in the twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch where he took stock of the prevailing situation, a BSF release said tonight.   Without naming China and Pakistan, the BSF chief…