StratNews Global

NEW DELHI: Having taken over the reins of a deeply polarised nation, Joe Biden has his job cut out. Tackling the pandemic that has killed over 400,000 Americans so far, the highest in any country, and the adverse economic fallout will be his immediate focus, says Nirupama Menon Rao, former Indian foreign secretary. As far as ties with India are concerned, policy makers here should not lose sleep that there has been a change in U.S. administration as the bilateral relationship is already on a forward trajectory, she told StratNews Global Editor Surya Gangadharan. The strategic value of the ties will ensure issues like Kashmir won't become obstacles; if concerns are expressed, they will be away from the public arena, said Rao, who has also served as India's ambassador to the United States. 

Podcast Producer : Manas R.Tarai

In the biggest push yet to ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector, the  government has cleared a ₹48,000-crore deal to buy 83 Light Combat  Aircraft (LCA) Tejas from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It’s  billed as a game changer for the domestic aerospace industry, including  small enterprises. In this episode of ‘Simply Nitin’, StratNews Global  Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale gives a lowdown on more indigenous  Defence projects in the offing and how India’s quest for self-reliance  in this crucial sector is poised.

#Indian #IAF #Tejas 

Podcast Producer : Manas R. Tarai

New Delhi: The Trump administration, on January 12, declassified a ten-page document on its Indo-Pacific strategy, including 'accelerating India’s rise,' blocking China from establishing 'illiberal spheres of influence,' and maintaining 'U.S. strategic primacy' in the region. The document and strategy, approved in February 2018, has an original 'Declassify On' date of December 31, 2042.

On 'Talking Point', Ambassador Kanwal Sibal, India's Former Foreign Secretary and Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd.), India's Former Chief of the Naval Staff discuss the U.S.' Indo-Pacific strategy, what policy threads the Biden administration is likely to pick up in constraining an aggressive Chinese Communist Party (CCP), how Beijing will react and what all of this means for India. The panelists are in discussion with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

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More on the same topic:

https://stratnewsglobal.com/usa/us-will-pursue-its-interests-in-ior-says-declassified-document/

https://stratnewsglobal.com/top-story/first-time-u-s-has-said-it-will-protect-taipei-warned-china-of-high-price-taiwan-mp-wang-ting-yu/

Podcast Producer : Manas R. Tarai 

On talking to the Taliban, Dr Paliwal argued, "it can't  afford to be seen as talking to India. This is a compulsion that any  Taliban leader, whether a military shura or political shura leader,  sitting in Quetta, in Doha will very clearly say, that look, if we start  talking to the Indians openly, we will have a lot of questions and a  lot of costs from the ISI, from Pakistan. That is a compulsion that they  have not really been able to liberate themselves out of. So, I would  see the Taliban openly talking to India as the ultimate litmus test of  their foreign policy independence. If Mullah Baradar comes and says,  officially, we want to talk to India, and will be open to respecting  India's red lines in Afghanistan, sensitivities, its interest, that is  the day, I would say, yes, the movement has matured out of the influence  that it has been under, of the Pakistani security establishment. And  that is one reason, that's one thing which I don't foresee happening at  least for now."

Podcast Producer: Manas R. Tarai

With just days to go before Joe Biden takes charge as U.S. President, China is on a diplomatic overreach. Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a six-day visit to four ASEAN countries earlier this week. His first stop was Myanmar, which is a neighbour to both China and India. His visit comes less than three months after India’s foreign secretary and army chief’s joint trip. In Myanmar, Wang Yi made it a point to mention he was the first foreign minister to come calling after the Myanmar elections, which shows the importance China attaches to bilateral ties.

High-level visits from India and China shows Myanmar is keen on balancing its ties with its two big neighbours, says Moe Thuzar, Coordinator, Myanmar Studies Programme at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. With China keen that projects under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor be expedited, Thuzar told StratNews Global that the situation emerging out of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic will play a key role on how big infrastructure projects China and Myanmar negotiated will proceed.

One feature emerging quite strongly in Myanmar is increasing attention paid to having more transparent and inclusive consultations to have more socially responsible investment, she added. Listen in for more.

Podcast producer: Manas R. Tarai

New Delhi: The U.S. White House declassifying the Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific is "very important and significant since it was supposed to be classified for 30 years, says Taiwan Member of Parliament Wang Ting-yu. "It reveals a layered strategy clearly" and "warns China if it dares to do something stupid(forcibly unify Taiwan), the price will be too high and they can't afford it," the co-chair of Taiwan's Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committee says, adding, "This is the first time, the United States has announced so directly and clearly that they will protect Taiwan."    

On the Trump administration releasing the document with days to go for the Biden transition, he points out "This document is not a single party decision. It's bipartisan. It's the United States' national strategy. So, it won't be ended when the Trump administration finishes. This is a long term and continuing strategy for The United States and its allies."  On outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's decision on the weekend to drop restrictions barring U.S. and Taiwanese officials meeting, Mr Wang says, "this announcement is a kind of conclusion of the past three years and efforts." 

On a step-up in relations with India, especially post the Ladakh standoff with China, the Taiwan MP says, "we appreciate and cherish the friendship," adding, "post COVID-19, we need to reorganize world manufacturing. We used to put all manufacturing in China. Just imagine Japan, Taiwan plus India, how strong, we will be...and we can invite others including Vietnam and Malaysia to join."

Podcast Producer: Manas R.Tarai

NEW DELHI: Against the backdrop of political turmoil in Nepal, a former Indian ambassador to Kathmandu has offered a grim prognosis of India's eastern neighbor. Ranjit Rae, in an exclusive conversation with StratNews Global's Parul Chandra, noted that Prime Minister Oli had dissolved Parliament simply because he had lost support within his own party and needed to save his prime ministership. 

Although the dissolution has been challenged in Nepal's Supreme Court, the former diplomat questioned Oli's conduct while noting that the Nepalese Constitution has stringent norms in place before such a step can be taken. He also described as controversial the PM’s decision to announce election dates, saying it should’ve been done by the Election Commission. He also wondered why elections couldn't be held earlier. 

Prolonged political instability in Nepal, he fears, will make Nepal vulnerable to forces inimical to it as well as India. He’s also worried about China’s increasing and very visible interference in Nepal’s domestic politics and particularly within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP). His advice to Indian policymakers dealing with Nepal---factor this in policy-making and come up with a new paradigm to deal with it.

Podcast producer : Manas R.Tarai

NEW DELHI: Majority Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing through what is seen as a largely unworkable ultimatum to Vice President Mike Pence, demanding he invoke the 25th amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office. This is a curtain-raiser to an expected vote to impeach the President for the second time in just over a year. "If a majority or at least a fair number of Republicans, who are still not on board and are on Trump's team, do not agree to the Democrats resolution for impeachment, then it's very likely that removal or impeachment may not actually happen," says academic and author Dr Ayesha Ray. "The House of Representatives would have to pass the impeachment motion by simple majority but the Senate would have to approve by a two-thirds majority (of those seated)," she added. If all 100 senators were seated at the time of trial, 17 Republicans would have to join Democrats to obtain a conviction. Separately, the Associate Professor at King's College, Pennsylvania's Department of Political Science pointed to constitutional experts and American media reports saying "an additional vote will be required in the Senate" to bar Trump from running for President or any other political office again.  Though Dr Ray accepted there "is a very tight window (till Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20) to remove or impeach Trump," she said, "this is a President who has aided and abetted an insurrection against the United States, a direct assault on American democracy. His followers used the speech he gave at the rally outside the Capitol and followed up by launching the violent attack and invading the building. That's nothing short of an insurrection and a domestic terrorist attack."  Speaking to StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi, Dr Ray also explained groups like the Boogaloo Bois, Proud Boys and QAnon as "a patchwork of far right, white supremacist, militant, extremist groups and conspiracy theorists harking back to the days of the Ku Klux Klan," though she is pointed out, "obviously, not every Trump supporter is a part of them." But, Dr Ray also warned of a "FBI report of armed group militias who are preparing to launch simultaneous attacks on the state capitols between the 16th and 20th (of January). The report says there could be a rebellion, a much larger uprising, if it's all coordinated and if there are multiple attacks. And so right now, they have to focus on preventing that." #Trump #US #QAnon

Podcast Pinvokesroducer : Manas ranjan Tarai

2020 began with China being the focus of international scrutiny and condemnation for the pandemic. By the end of the year, it claimed to have managed well enough for its economy to grow. On its international standing, China lost a lot of ground, says Jorge Guajardo, who has served six years in Beijing as Mexico’s Ambassador. China is seen for what it is—a country that doesn’t respect truth, a country that doesn’t respect international agreements and it doesn’t have a long history of putting common good ahead of its own, Guajardo, who’s now a senior director at McLarty Associates, told StratNews Global. Chinese leaders invoke nationalism to hide lack of democracy and authoritarian rule; Xi Jinping is doing a lot of damage to China’s image in the long term, he added. In this podcast, Ambassador Guajardo also shared his views on the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s vaccine diplomacy and how the United States under Joe Biden’s presidency would deal with the Communist state. Listen in for more.

Podcast Producer : Manas R. Tarai

After the detection of a highly infectious strain of the Coronavirus in the UK, many countries have suspended flight services to and from Britain. This strain is said to be 50 to 70 per cent more infectious than the earlier ones and there have been 17 structural changes to the virus, which could infect children who were generally not affected till now, says Dr K Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India. It won’t affect the efficacy of vaccines as those being produced now largely target the spike protein of the virus; so as long as the virus has spike protein, even with minor alterations, it shouldn’t be a problem, he told StratNews Global. Vaccinating people against Covid-19 in India will be a challenge as this will be for the first time that adult vaccination will be carried out in such a massive scale, he added. While choosing a vaccine, what are the factors that should be kept in mind? Efficacy and safety come first, then logistics and, finally, the cost, said Dr Reddy. Vaccines that have severe cold chain requirements may not work well in India where logistics could be an issue in vast areas of the country, he added. Listen in for more.

Podcast Producer : Manas R.Tarai