Diplomacy

Amid souring China ties and South China Sea churn, PM Modi to visit Vietnam

- by Manish Chand

Amid China’s hardening posture on the South China Sea ruling by an international tribunal, senior officials of India and Vietnam have held strategic talks in New Delhi to bolster their military and economic relations, which could pave the way for a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Hanoi early next month.
The volatile situation around the South China Sea in the wake of The Hague tribunal’s ruling rejecting Beijing’s “historic claims” over the disputed water body and the so-called nine-dash line figured prominently in discussions.
The discussions in New Delhi saw a striking convergence of perspectives between the two countries on the South China Sea issue.
The visit by PM Modi to Hanoi will take place at a time when the India-China relations are under strain following China’s stalling of India’s bid for the NSG membership and India denying extension of visas to three Chinese journalists working for state-run Xinhua news agency. Mr Modi’s visit to Hanoi, as and when it happens, will be closely watched in Beijing, which has resented growing proximity between New Delhi and Hanoi, and sees India as engaged in a containment game with the US, Japan, Australia and friendly ASEAN countries.

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China’s Growing Influence in the Caribbean

- by India Writes Network

In June 2013, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Trinidad and Tobago, the then Prime Minister of the Caribbean nation, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, in a fawning speech, had lauded President Xi’s vision saying, “We see in your China Dream a splendid opportunity for China to become a model for the world.”1 Like a royalty holding court, President Xi thereafter hosted the leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica in Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago, where he announced soft loans and investments worth US$ 3 billion as well as grants of up to $8 million for the region.2 President Xi’s visit was an effective and a graphic demonstration of China’s growing influence and outreach in the English-speaking Caribbean region, coming at a time when the United States (US) had been somewhat less forthcoming with financial grants for the region.

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China’s defence minister warns of possible ‘people’s war’ over South China Sea

- by India Writes Network

Stung by the ruling of an international tribunal rejecting its claims over the South China Sea, China has upped the stakes, with its defence minister warning of a possible “people’s war at sea” and exhorting the nation to be prepared for it.
China’s Defence Minister Chang Wanquan has asked the military, police and general population to be ready to defend the country’s territorial integrity in case of a direct confrontation in the South China Sea – a veiled reference to the US military build-up around the disputed islands.
The minister’s comments indicate China’s hardening position and the growing tide of nationalism over the South China Sea issue in the aftermath of the ruling by the Hague tribunal rejecting its historic claims over the disputed maritime region. The comments are seen as a message to the US, which has been sending warships and military planes close to the South China Sea islands as a possible hedge against China’s military assertion. Beijing has slammed the US’ provocative behaviour in the wake of the tribunal’s ruling.

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Food crunch for Indian workers in Saudi Arabia: Indian minister sent to Jeddah

- by India Writes Network

In an unprecedented crisis, around 10,000 Indian workers, most of whom worked with Saudi construction companies, are stranded in Saudi Arabia without food and money, with the Indian government working overtime to alleviate their suffering. Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (retd) V.K. Singh is set to leave for Jeddah tonight (August 2) to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.
The pitiable plight of hungry and penniless Indian workers in Saudi Arabia has come as a shock to the Modi government, which has made diaspora outreach and welfare a key plank of its foreign policy. The food crisis afflicting Indian workers in Saudi Arabia has erupted barely four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Saudi Arabia and was assured by the top Saudi leadership about the welfare of the Indian community, including migrant workers, in the Arab world’s largest economy. Mr Modi interacted with the Indian workers as well as the well-heeled Indian community in two separate outreach events in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is home to around 3 million Indians, the largest expatriate population in the Gulf powerhouse.

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Decoding Hague tribunal’s award on South China Sea

- by India Writes Network

In the immediate aftermath of the arbitration award, all sides are trying to calm the situation which, however, remains combustible with, potentially, disastrous consequences. The attention is to analyse each and every word of the principal protagonists to parse the intentions behind them. Apart from the involvement of the Coast Guards in support of the respective fishing boats which is a daily occurrence, several key countries have been exploring – and, eventually exploiting – hydrocarbon reserves within the NDL area. Militarisation of the existing infrastructure in the Spratlys and the Paracels, especially on the part of the Chinese, can completely alter the existing balance of power in the region.

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