16-06-2021 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
Year after Galwan clash: Indian
Army develops military infra,
deploys around 60K troops
New Delhi : A year after the Galwan
valley clash in eastern Ladakh, China is
still sitting at the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) while India has geared up for a long
grind. Indian and Chinese military delegates
have had 11 rounds of talks to resolve
the border disputes at the friction points.
The only thing that has happened is that
both the countries have agreed to resolve
the dispute peacefully.
The Indian Army has focused on being
better prepared to face Chinese belligerence
in Ladakh over the last year, as a final
resolution seems far off. India has
enhanced military infrastructure, increased
troop deployment to 50,000 to 60,000
troops, and constructed better roads to
improve connectivity for quick force
mobilisation.
The force continues to be on high alert
with its enhanced troop deployment of over
50,000 men on the ground in Ladakh for
the last one year, including during the
harsh winter when the temperature dips to
minus 40-degree Celsius.
Last month, Indian Army chief General
M.M. Naravane had said that the troops are
on high alert along the LAC, keeping a
watch on the activities of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army.
Naravane said that India wants the status
quo ante of April 2020 to be restored.
He also stated that India has made it clear
to China that de-escalation will only be
considered once disengagement is completed
to the mutual satisfaction of both
sides. He said that Indian troops are on
high alert and deployments have not
thinned after the disengagement in
Pangong River. The Army chief maintained
that China has deployed around
50,000 to 60,000 troops in eastern Ladakh
in immediate depth so India has also made
mirror deployment in depth. Even after 11
rounds of military talks at the Corps
Commander level to find a resolution,
there is still no breakthrough despite the
disengagement in Pangong. Indian and
Chinese forces have met to resolve the border
disputes at the other friction areas like
Hot Springs, Gogra and the 900 sq km
Depsang plains.
Naravane also said that Indian is currently
concentrating on resolving the outstanding
problems at other friction points
like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang. He
had pointed out that India's stand during
the disengagement agreement in the
Pangong Lake area remained the same that
the status quo ante of April 2020 must be
restored. The army chief also stated that
trust levels between the two countries are
low, but pointed out that the trust deficit
should not hinder the negotiation process.
In the Galwan valley, where a bloody clash
between the forces of the two nations left
20 Indian four Chinese soldiers dead on
June 15 last year, including Commanding
Officer Col Santosh Babu, the troops had
concentrated at just 1.5 km apart.
Following the clash, the Patrol Point 14
became a 'no patrol zone' and both sides
pulled back by 1.5 km each and the area
turned into a buffer zone. India had objected
to China's observation post near Patrol
Point 14 that had led to the clash.
The clash had sparked a war-like situation.
By the end of August last year, there
was a further build up across the broder
and the Pangong Lake had turned into a
battle zone, as India occupied the key
mountain tops at the Kailash Range overlooking
the southern bank of the lake.
Currently, no patrolling is being done till
Patrol Point 14. It is necessary to maintain
strict vigil through various surveillance
methods to keep a check on Chinese activities
as they continue to be present in big
numbers, not too far away from the contentious
point. Further, China has also been
enhancing its surveillance capabilities. It
has developed an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) with plateau operation capabilities
and has planned to deploy it along the Line
of Actual Control with India in the Kailash
mountain range, sources said.
China has also enhanced troops, artillery
and armour in three sectors of the LAC --
western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand,
Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim,
Arunachal).
16-06-2021 to 30-06-2021
3
Bodies of migrants recovered
after boat capsize in Yemen
Aden : The bodies of scores of migrants were recovered after their
boat capsized off
the waters of
Yemen, a government
official said.
"The boat that
was carrying nearly
200 migrants on
board capsized two
days ago, leaving
scores of bodies
floating off the
waters of Ras al-
Ara area in the
southern province of Lahj," the official told Xinhua news agency on
Monday.
He confirmed that most of the migrants came from the Horn of
Africa and died as a result of the accident. Local Yemeni authorities,
including the coast guards troops, are still working to retrieve more
bodies, according to the official.
The region has recorded several tragic accidents as a result of
overturning of overloaded smuggling boats.
In most of the cases, desperate East African migrants attempted to
cross the dangerous route to reach the Middle East, mainly Saudi
Arabia, via war-torn Yemen. According to the International
Organization for Migration, 5,100 immigrants have arrived in Yemen
so far this year, compared to 35,000 in 2020 and 127,000 in 2019
before the coronavirus outbreak that reduced the demand for labour
in Gulf states.
Pakistan's Covid tally reaches 943,027
Islamabad :
Pakistan's overall
Covid-19 caseload has
reached 943,027 after
an additional 838 people
tested positive for
the virus, the National
Command and
Operation Centre
(NCOC) said on
Tuesday. According to
the NCOC, the country
has recorded 880,316 recoveries so far, reports Xinhua news
agency.
There are 40,929 active cases are under treatment across the country,
including 2,611 who are in critical condition.
According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 59 people on
Monday, increasing the death toll to 21,782.
Pakistan's Punjab province and Sindh province are the worst-hit
regions of the country with 344,196 and 328,663 infections, respectively.
Biz concerns exist, but knowledge sharing will
boost investment interest: Aussie official
New Delhi : Knowledge among
investors of both Australia and India
regarding the commercial interests and
regulatory framework in both the country
would help improve the trade and
investment relations between the two
countries, said Catherine Gallagher,
Minister Commercial, Australian High
Commission New Delhi and Head of
Austrade South Asia.
Observing that there has been a lingering
perception over an adverse business
environment in India, the Official
told IANS that the perception seems to
be changing now with the reform agenda
picking pace in India.
She also said that Australian Trade
and Investment Commission has been
passing on communicating to the
Australian businesses on the changing
scenario in India in a bid to drive them
to invest in India.
Gallagher was of the view that the
recently launched Australia India
Business Exchange (AIBX) would play
a major role in making business communities
in both the countries aware of
the opportunities available to them and
the regulatory environment.
"I think there is a perception that
doing business with India can be difficulty
and they can have issues. But now
we have also seen and what we are
pushing in our communication to our
Australian businesses, the length at
which India has moved forwards and
moved up in the ease of doing business
and also the regular reform and the pace
at which India has been changing," the
official told IANS.
She noted that more work needs to be
done to highlight the reform agenda
undertaken in India. The AIBX would
play a major role in sharing information
to the business entities in both the countries.
AIBX is a four-year programme
and significant progress is expected to
be made in the upcoming Australian
financial year starting July largely in
healthcare and medical sector. In the
past couple of months, a lot of progress
has been made in terms of the exchange.
She said: "We are currently looking at a
lot of work for the demand study report
on critical minerals."
Gallagher also said that Australian
companies can play a significant role in
terms of skill and technology sharing
with India liberalising its mining sector.
Other areas where Australia can
share its expertise with India include
infrastructure, water and rail technology
among others, she said.
"We are doing a lot of work in water,
also in rail technology really exploring
the opportunity to work more closely
around critical minerals demand."
With a view to provide prospective
investors an in-depth knowledge on the
opportunities available in both the countries
and the existing environment, she
said the AIBX website goes sector by
sector in terms of its approach, as every
sector its own dynamics and regulatory
issues. Talking of the sector-specific
studies being undertaken, she said: "We
have a health sector report being commissioned.
We have just put up online an e-commerce
market report. We have an infrastructure
report being commissioned
and an alcohol and wine report that is
being commissioned."
All these reports would provide the
required insight to prospective
investors, she said.
She also expressed hopes that
offline, person-to-person meetings
would soon start to boost the relations
between the trading community and
investors of both the communities.
Inviting Indian investors to Australia,
Gallagher noted that the Australian has
been doing "incredibly well" in the face
of the pandemic and the business environment
there is conducive for new
businesses. With several India companies
already present there, she said:
"Any new player would be in good
company."