Is China’s Influence Declining Globally

May 15, 2023May 20, 2023 ARUL LOUISWorld 0

China’s Influence at the world body – a barometer of its global clout – measured by a recent secret electoral vote has shown a downward drift even as it maintains an iron grip on power at the UN Security Council because of its veto powers. China went head-to-head against India in elections at the 53-member UN Economic and Social Council for the UN Statistical Commission: India polled 46 votes, while China came in third with 19 votes, behind South Korea with 23.

And, in a second round of balloting for the second seat on the commission for the Asia Pacific region, China tied with South Korea with 25 votes each, and Seoul got the seat in a draw of lots. It was a big change for China pushing its goal of global dominance.

The difference between New Delhi and Beijing is stark in a changed situation where China’s largesse increasingly looks like a usurious power play while India is leading the efforts to restructure the crushing debts of the developing countries.

Beijing poured hundreds of billions of dollars into its web of One Belt One Road initiative across the world and the bills are coming due to the recipients.

As the president of the G20, India has positioned itself as the voice of the Global South, while avoiding strident anti-imperialist/anti-neocolonial rhetoric, and this has put India on the opposite side to China, which probably is the biggest direct lender, although other countries and multinational institutions are also in the ranks of lenders.

At the G20 finance ministers meeting in February, India pushed proposals for the big lenders — especially China — to take a “haircut” – write off portions of loans – to give relief to the debtor nations as they struggle from the economic crisis from the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war.

At the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings in Washington this month, India again took centrestage as a co-chair with the heads of those organisations of the Global Sovereign Debt Restructuring Roundtable to find a solution to the debt crisis.

As global polarisation accelerates, China is the leading force on one side of the divide, and in a choice between India and China, especially if the ballot is secret, the preference appears to be to the sort of neutral country.

To counter China’s attempts to get elected to international bodies, especially in leadership positions, the foreign ministers of the Quad, made up of India, the US, Japan and Australia, declared their commitment last month to “independent” candidates.

After their meeting, they said in a joint statement, “We will support meritorious and independent candidates for elections in the UN and in international forums to maintain the integrity and impartiality of the international system”.

While China’s grip may loosen in anonymous elections, in open voting it still can use its position as a lender to advantage as it did at the UN Human Rights Council last October when a proposal to discuss China’s alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang Province was voted down.

It has a steely hold on the most important body of the UN, the Security Council where it can wield its veto as a permanent member or like any member on its committees like the ones for terrorism sanctions.

China has blocked several times attempts to designate Pakistan-based operatives behind attacks on India as global terrorists, which would place them under international sanctions.

But it has had to relent in some cases under international pressure. Beijing agreed in January to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Deputy Chief Abdul Rehman Makki after having blocked it earlier.

In 2019, China lifted its block on Masood Azhar of the Jaish-e-Mohamme (JeM).

But it continues to block adding to the international terrorist list LeT leaders Sajid Mir and Shahid Mahmood, and JeM leader Abdul Rauf Azhar.

In the long range, Beijing can also block the expansion of the Security Council’s permanent membership, although it is already facing pressure from the African nations, a constituency it has sought to cultivate.

Organisationally, China uses the power of the purse for influence. It is the second largest contributor to the UN’s budget sending $438 million last year.

It gets it a measure of deference from UN officials.

The former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet admitted that she had been under “tremendous pressure” over a report on China’s human rights violations against the Uyghurs. She published the report only on her last day in office after delaying its release for several years.

UNSC Is Not Inclusive If That Excludes World’s Largest Democracy

May 8, 2023 ARUL LOUISIndia, World 0

A UN Security Council (UNSC) that denies permanent membership to the world’s largest democracy cannot be considered inclusive and the first step to “future-proof” the world organisation would be to reform the Security Council, according to India.

“The reform of the UNSC is the fundamental starting step towards ‘Futureproofing Trust for Sustaining Peace’,” India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj said on Wednesday.

“Is the UNSC in its present form — which denies permanent representation to entire continents of Africa, Latin America and the world’s largest democracy — can it be deemed to be ‘inclusive’,” she asked at an open debate at the Council.

If the Council “is to continue to engender trust and confidence” in its ability to lead the world, it must better represent the developing countries, Kamboj said.

With the interminable inter-governmental negotiation, as the reform process is called, set to meet on Thursday, she asked if it can be credible and effective without a time frame to conclude the discussions, she asked.

The open debate on “future-proofing” the UN to ensure its credibility and effectiveness, was convened by Switzerland, which is holding the Council presidency for the first time.

Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis who presided over the meeting said that “we have to admit that we have not sufficiently taken account the frustrations and changes taking place on both sides of our planet” with the UN.

He said that it was necessary “to consider how this Council can strengthen the foundations of a broader peace architecture, which “must be inclusive and include those whom the population has designated as democratically legitimate”.

In addition to the Council, Kamboj said: “Multilateral institutions must be made more accountable to their membership, they must be open and welcoming to a diversity of viewpoints, particularly from the global South.”

Drawing attention to India’s role as the president of the G20 — the group of major developed and emerging economies — Kamboj said that New Delhi “is committed to forging consensus through the G20 process in the effort to find solutions to global challenges”. (IANS)

Gandhi’s Trusteeship Doctrine Through Human-Centric Global Development

March 1, 2023 ARUL LOUISIndia 0

United Nations– India is practicing Mahatma Gandhi’s doctrine of trusteeship in the contemporary world by following “a human-centric global development approach, not a self-centered model”, according to India’s Permanent Representative Ruchira Kamboj.

Speaking on Thursday at a roundtable here on Gandhian Trusteeship, she said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would carry this through during India’s Presidency of the G20, the group of the major industrialized and emerging economies.

She said that according to him India will be the voice of the developing South “whose voices are frequently ignored” and share “India’s experiences, lessons learned and growth models during our G20 Presidency”.

India is guided by the concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, the “world being one large interconnected family”, and has emerged as the “first responder” to the crises around the world showing “altruism of the highest kind” as during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She listed India’s most recent responses to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and to the crises in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Mozambique, among other countries.

She said that India’s slogan for G20, “One earth, one family, one future”, simply means, “ee may be different nations, but humanity is one”.

The roundtable on Gandhian principles took place as the General Assembly was voting next door on a resolution on the Ukraine-Russia war.

“What I find very, very powerful is that we are talking about peace about non-violence” while the Assembly was seized with the Ukraine crisis.

Norway’s Deputy Permanent Representative Trine Heimerback said that in today’s world Gandhi’s doctrine of trusteeship means “multilateral cooperation and global solutions for global challenges”.

This approach operationalizes the trusteeship doctrine through efforts to realise UN’s sustainable development goals, she said.

The goals are “all about responsibility, equitable trusteeship for a planet and for the common good of humanity, and when countries use their comparative advantages to advance SDG agenda, so much can still be achieved”, she said.

Dean of the University of Peace Jaun Carlos Sainz-Borgo said that as a Latino from the Caribbean, the idea of using the tools of peace to fight against a colonial power made an impression on him.

Recalling his introduction to Gandhi from the 1982 movie starring Ben Kingsley, which he followed up by reading books, he said that popular media can be an important way to communicate ideas to a broader section of people.

The movie “really opened my eyes to the complexities of the role (of Gandhi), even though (there was) the oversimplification of a movie, especially a Hollywood movie”, he said.

“But as an educator and as a representative of a university, it is very important to really take into consideration that we cannot neglect any platform for education. You know, sometimes the type of tools they can make, really open up the interest of many people that you wouldn’t address otherwise.”

Joel Rosenthal, the president of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, recalled Gandhi’s terse letter to the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “all rights to be deserved and preserved come from duties well done”.

“That’s basically all Gandhi had to say, in terms of his advice to the drafters,” he said.

“Today, empathy and mutuality are losing out due to identity politics, blood and soil nationalism in winner-take-all economics”, but “a return to the idea of human flourishing, echoing Gandhi might help turn the tide”, he added. (IANS)

India Continues As World’s Fastest-Growing Economy With 5.8% Growth Rate

January 30, 2023February 9, 2023 ARUL LOUISMoney, India 0

United Nations– India will remain the fastest-growing major economy recording a growth of 5.8 per cent this year, while the rest of the world will grow by a paltry 1.9 per cent, the UN said on Thursday.

The UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report sliced off 0.2 per cent from the 6 per cent gross domestic product growth projection made last May without affecting India’s rank as the country faces headwinds from the global economy.

Overall, the report said: “Growth in India is expected to remain strong at 5.8 per cent, albeit slightly lower than the estimated 6.4 per cent in 2022, as higher interest rates and a global slowdown weigh on investment and exports.” Next year, the UN expects India’s economy to grow by 6.7 per cent.

The WESP gave a positive picture of India’s jobs scene, noting that its “unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 6.4 per cent in India, as the economy added jobs both in urban and rural areas in 2022”. For the world, the WESP forecast is 1.9 per cent this year and rising to 2.7 per cent next year.

In New Delhi, India’s President Droupadi Murmu credited India’s economic performance to “its leadership. India has been among the fastest-growing major economies because of the timely and proactive interventions of the government. The ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, in particular, has evoked great response among the people at large,” Murmu said in her Republic Day speech.

China, which came in second, is projected to grow by 4.8 per cent this year and 4.5 next year, after a 3% growth in 2022. The US economy, which grew by 2.9% this year is projected to grow by 0.4% this year and 1.7 per cent the next.

For South Asia as a whole, the report said the region’s “economic outlook has significantly deteriorated due to high food and energy prices, monetary tightening and fiscal vulnerabilities” and it forecast a 4.8 percent growth year and 5.9 percent next year.

This was buoyed by India as the report said: “The prospects are more challenging for other economies in the region. Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka sought financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2022.”

Rashid attributed the Indian economy’s growth to three factors: falling unemployment that signals strong domestic demand; easing of inflation, and lower import bills.

He said that the “unemployment rate has come down significantly in the last four years” to 6.4 per cent and “that means the domestic demand has been pretty strong”.

The WESP said that this occurred because “the economy added jobs both in urban and rural areas in 2022”.

“The inflation pressure also has eased quite significantly,” Rashid said with the year-on-year inflation rate to be 5.5 per cent this year and 5 per cent next year.

“That means that the central bank would not have to be aggressive over monetary tightening,” he said.

India has also benefitted to from lower imports, especially energy import cost that has been lower than in previous years, he added.

“I think this is a sustainable growth rate for India, given India also has a significant number of people living in poverty. So this would be a great boost if India can sustain this growth rate in the near term,” Rashid said.

He also pointed to two risk factors for India’s economy mainly emanating from the global situation.

One is from higher interest rates that would raise the debt servicing cost which has exceeded 20 per cent of the budget, he said.

“That is a significantly high debt servicing cost and that would probably have some drag on the growth prospect,” he said.

The second risk is from global external demands falling.

If Europe and the US go into a very slow growth mode resulting in lower global exports, the world economy may suffer, Rashid said.

“But on the balance, we believe that Indian economy is on a strong footing given the strong domestic demand in the near term,” he said.

This was buoyed by India as the report said, “The prospects are more challenging for other economies in the region. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sought financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2022.”

Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have gone to the International Monetary Fund for help. Rashid said, “We call for greater international support in this difficult time for countries, especially countries that are facing significant challenges with debt burden and again we call for more meaningful restructuring of debt.”

“It might be more prudent and may make more economic sense to re-profile the debt, reschedule the debt, (the) external debt burden,” he said. But he said that the assistance should not go into consumption, but into investment in “productive capacity (that) can be very important driver of both short-term recovery and long-term resilience”.

Indian American Scientist Named Primary Contributor To Invention Of Moderna’s Covid Vaccine

November 16, 2021 ARUL LOUISHealth, Profile, Science 0

An Indian American scientist has been identified by Moderna as the primary contributor to its Covid-19 vaccine. A filing by the company for its patent application for the coronavirus vaccine using the revolutionary RNA technique listed Pune-educated bioinformatics scientist Mihir Metkar as the “first named inventor,” a designation that usually recognizes the primary contributor to the invention.

He is also listed as one of the inventors in two other Covid-19 vaccine patent applications by Moderna to the U.S. Patent Office. Moderna is of the new class of vaccines that use what is called messenger RNA (mRNA) that cause the body to create some proteins similar to that in the Covid-19 virus and trigger the body’s immune system to make antibodies that will fight the coronavirus if it invades the body. (Conventional vaccines use either dead viruses or parts of them or a modified version of the gene of a different virus.)

Metkar’s identification as the “first named inventor” is in the document filed by Moderna to dispute the U.S. government’s National Institutes of Health assertion that its scientists should also be credited as inventors of the vaccine, which was developed in collaboration with it and with $1.53 billion provided by the administration of former President Donald Trump under the Operation Warp Speed program to quickly produce vaccines.

Vladimir Presnyak and Guillaume Stewart-Jones are listed after him in the original application for the patent. Metkar received his MSc degree from the Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology at the Savitribai Phule Pune University and worked at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune as a project assistant before coming to the United States, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He did his Ph.D. at the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and worked there as a post-doctoral fellow, before joining Moderna in 2018, the profile said. In a separate patent filing, Moderna listed Sunny Himansu, who has an MBBS degree, as one of the two inventors of the Betacoronavirus Vaccine.

Moderna’s vaccine is one of the two main vaccines in the U.S. and about 164 million doses of it have been given so far in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control. In addition, millions of people have been vaccinated in Europe and elsewhere with the Moderna vaccine.

The other main vaccine used in the U.S. is the Pfizer-Biontech, which was developed in Germany and uses mRNA. A third vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is also used in the U.S. It was developed by J&J’s Jansen Pharmaceutical, whose global head of research and development is Mathai Mammen.

The patent document naming Metkar as the “first named inventor” was filed on behalf of Moderna by an intellectual property law firm asserting that the three NIH scientists who collaborated with them should not be considered co-inventors as the NIH has asked.

If the NIH scientists are recognized as co-inventors, the NIH and the government may be entitled to receive a share of royalties from the use of the patents and also be able to allow others to make the vaccine.

An NGO, Public Citizen, has pointed out in a letter to the head of the NIH that co-ownership of the patent “can empower the U.S. government to authorize” other manufacturers around the world to use some of the patents to make the vaccine. The group said that with “huge gaps in global vaccine access” the need for the government to exercise control over the vaccine technology “only grows more urgent.”

India Joins Allies To Push For UNSC Reforms

September 29, 2021 ARUL LOUISGlobal 0

United Nations– India and its three allies in the quest for Security Council reform have called for a determined push for the adoption of a text for conducting the negotiations and to set a time-frame for the changes.The foreign ministers of the G4 group “expressed their strong determination to work towards launching text-based negotiations without further delay in the IGN (Intergovernmental Negotiations), on the basis of a single document, with a view to its adoption in the General Assembly,” according to their joint statement issued after a meeting on Wednesday.

They also “decided to intensify dialogue with all interested Member States, including other reform-minded countries and groups, in order to seek concrete outcomes in a definite time-frame,” the statement said. The reform process known as the Intergovernmental Negotiaitons (IGN) has been crippled by its failure to adopt a negotiating text on which to base the discussions and proceed.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Ministers Carlos Alberto Franco Franca of Brazil, Heiko Maas of Germany and Motegi Toshimitsu of Japan met on the sidelines of the high-level meeting of the Assembly to evaluate the progress of the negotiations for reforms and map out future strategy.

The four countries work together for reforming the Security Council and support each other for permanent seats on a reformed body. A small group of countries known as United for Consensus (UfC) has blocked the IGN from adopting a negotiating text so the reform process can proceed. The UfC is led by Italy and includes Pakistan.

The Security Council last underwent changes in 1965 and since then the membership of the UN has increased from 117 to 193 with many of the new members coming from Africa, where the UN has most peacekeeping operations. The four ministers “expressed their strong support to the Common African Position (CAP) as enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration” of the African Union.

The documents call for expanding the Council to give African nations two permanent seats.

The ministers said that it was essential “to reform the Security Council through an expansion of both categories, permanent and non-permanent seats, to enable the Security Council to better deal with the ever-complex and evolving challenges to the maintenance of international peace and security, and thereby to carry out its duties more effectively.”

The permanent membership of the Council is stuck at five — giving the leaders of the winning side in World War II a grip on its agenda — often leading to its immobilisation because of their veto powers. (IANS)

Biden, Harris Pledge To Work With Asians On Immigration Reforms

August 10, 2021 ARUL LOUISImmigration 0

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have pledged to work with the Asian community on immigration reforms, according to the White House. Last weekday, the two leaders told representatives of the Asian, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community that they supported providing a path to citizenship for essential workers, farm labour, people from nations like Nepal and Myanmar who are given temporary protection status against deportation because of unsettled conditions in their home countries, and those who were brought to the US illegally when they were children.

Biden and Harris said they backed achieving this by using the budget process known to get the necessary legislation for it through the Senate, where the Democrats do not have the 60 votes needed for passing a separate law for it.

But their plan for urgent action through the budget process does not seem to cover the several thousands of Indian children who came to the country legally and followed the immigration rules and are threatened with deportation as soon as they turn 21 even while their parents are still legally waiting for their green cards or permanent immigrant status.

The White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Thursday, July 5, announced the new comprehensive immigration bill that US President Joe Biden has proposed, and about the administration’s move on ‘documented dreamers’ including children of H1B visa holders.

Neil Makhija, the executive director of Indian American Impact, told reporters that he “raised issues of immigration, voting rights and specifically green card backlog in context of explaining how country caps are remnants of exclusionary laws in the past, particularly enacted in the 20s.”

Asked at her briefing about the protection for these children, Biden’s spokesperson Jen Psaki said that helping them was not in the current legislative effort through the budget legislation. “It’s not in the current, I think it’s not in the current discussions, but it is something the President would like to address.”

Psaki added that it is something that Biden “has proposed addressing in a comprehensive immigration bill”, and supports giving these children protection.

While the parents stay here on their H1-B or H4 visas and wait for green cards, their children will not be eligible to continue on their H-4 visas as soon as they turn 21 and can be deported.

This affects Indians because the wait for green cards is more than decade, a period long enough for many children to turn 21.

Ironically, if they had come in illegally or failed to follow the immigration laws, they would have received special consideration from the Democrats who give priority to illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal has reported quoting a State Department official that 100,000 green cards meant for those eligible because of their work status will go to waste if they are not distributed by the end of September.

Most of those affected will be Indians working in the tech sector “who have been waiting to become permanent residents in the US and are watching a prime opportunity to win a green card slip away”, the newspaper said.

The Journal said that this was because the government was not able to handle the green card applications because of backlogs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the green cards not handed out by the end of next month will expire.

The newspaper pointed out that the the Democrats are trying to make six million people illegally in the country eligible for green cards through their $3.5-million budget package they are trying to get Congress to pass.

The loss of the 100,000 green cards would affect those who came to the country legally and have abided by the immigration laws. (IANS)

S. Jaishankar Discusses Covid Vaccines, Terrorism At UN

June 3, 2021June 3, 2021 ARUL LOUISGlobal 0

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has offered India’s support to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his re-election during a meeting in New York at which they discussed a range of issues from Covid-19 vaccines to terrorism.In a tweet after the meeting May 25, Jaishankar said that he told Guterres that India “values” his leadership and conveyed its support for his election to a second term. The global crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic featured prominently in their discussions.

Jaishankar tweeted that they emphasized the importance of finding “urgent and effective global vaccine solutions” and the critical need to ramp up the vaccine supply chain to “ensure greater production and fairer distribution.”With India set to assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council in August, their meeting covered a wide range of issues.In a series of tweets on the meeting, Jaishankar said that they talked about “regional challenges in India’s neighborhood” and “shared our concerns about ensuring that the gains of the last two decades in Afghanistan are adequately protected.”

U.S. President Joe Biden is pulling out the nation’s troops from Afghanistan after a 20-year deployment even as terrorist activities continue raising fears of regional instability.In his tweets Jaishankar said, “Countering terrorism and radicalization remain priorities for the entire region.”Jaishankar said that he “highlighted India’s constructive role” in the Security Council and “conveyed priorities of our presidency in August.” He added, “Maritime security and technology for peacekeeping address the needs of the day.”

A spokesperson for India’s UN Mission said that India planned to hold high-level meetings on those topics during its presidency. Jaishankar also noted that Guterres expressed “appreciation of India’s peacekeeping operations including at Goma, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) recently.”India peacekeepers based in Goma have been involved in rescue operations after the eruption of the Mount Nayargongo volcano displaced several thousand people in the region last week. Several hundred people are also missing following the calamity.

Climate change, a topic that Guterres gives top priority to, also was discussed, Jaishankar tweeted. “Greater resources are essential for larger ambitions (in setting goals for combatting climate change). Financing will determine our seriousness and credibility,” he added.The spokesperson for India’s UN mission said that Jaishankar “apprised the Secretary General of India’s efforts to meet its Paris commitments (on curbing greenhouse emissions), enhance renewable energy goals, as well as its leadership role in the International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.”

Jaishankar “underlined our strong development partnership with Africa, Small States and Small Island Developing States,” the spokesperson said. “The Secretary-General conveyed his appreciation for the consistent role played by Indian peacekeepers in support of international peace and security. Their response in aiding the people of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the volcanic eruption was recognized,” the diplomat added.In the discussion of fighting Covid-19, they felt that “the proposal by India and South Africa for a temporary waiver of vaccine patents “can also contribute to greater production and more equity,” the spokesperson said. The U.S. has agreed to the waiver, but it is facing opposition from several countries including Germany.

Guterres’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that they “discussed a number of issues relating to peace and security” but said he had no further details on those topics. He also said that they discussed the Covid situation and the development of vaccines.Guterres is running for re-election with no credible opposition and in the election India gets two votes, one in the Security Council and another in the General Assembly. A Canadian of Indian descent, Arora Akanksha, has declared she is running for the office, as have at least five others, but lacking a government sponsorship, their candidacy has not so far been accepted officially.

U.S. International Religious Freedom Report: India Encouraged to Consult Religious Communities

May 19, 2021 ARUL LOUISNation India, Religion 0

International Religious Freedom senior official Dan Nadel, speaking at a news conference to announce the annual International Religious Freedom Report at the State Department in Washington, DC, on May 12, 2021, said: “When laws are passed, when initiatives are undertaken that are done without effective consultation with these communities, it creates a sense of disempowerment…the best way to address that is to engage in that direct dialogue between government and civil society, including religious communities.” (Andrew Harnik/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

A senior State Department official dealing with religious freedom said the U.S. is regularly engaging with Indian officials on protecting the rights of minorities and the government has opportunities to address the concerns of civil society groups.Briefing reporters about the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom May 12, Daniel Nadel said: “With respect to India, I think there’s genuine opportunities there for the government to address some of the concerns they hear from Indian civil society through greater dialogue and engagement.

“We do regularly engage with Indian government officials at all levels, encouraging them to uphold human rights obligations and commitments, including the protection of minorities, in keeping with India’s long tradition of democratic values and its history of tolerance.”The report said that among the issues discussed with officials were “the Muslim community’s concerns about the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), difficulties faced by faith-based (religious) NGOs in the wake of amendments to the FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulation Act), and allegations that Muslims spread Covid-19.”

Nadel, the senior official in the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, said that the U.S. encourages the Indian government to consult “religious communities, these outside actors” on passing laws to avoid alienating them.”When laws are passed, when initiatives are undertaken that are done without effective consultation with these communities, it creates a sense of disempowerment; at times, of alienation. And the best way to address that is to engage in that direct dialogue between government and civil society, including religious communities.”

The annual report, which is mandated by Congress, did not grade India nor deliver an overall verdict on the state of religious freedom in the country.It listed incidents involving attacks on minorities taken from reports by the media and religious and civil society groups, and legislative actions.

Releasing the report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “Our promise to the world is that the Biden-Harris administration will protect and defend religious freedom around the world. We will maintain America’s longstanding leadership on this issue.”He acknowledged that “anti-Muslim hatred is still widespread in many countries, and this, too, is a serious problem for the U.S.”

Among the incidents it lists were the protests in February 2020 against the CAA, which it said “became violent in New Delhi after counter-protesters attacked demonstrators. According to reports, religiously motivated attacks resulted in the deaths of 53 persons, most of whom were Muslim, and two security officials.”Another incident it mentions is the Islamic TablighiJamaat organization’s conference last year in New Delhi, which the report said the government and media initially blamed for some of the spread of the novel coronavirus.

But the report also said that “in an online address to the nation on April 26, Mohan Bhagwat, the leader of the RSS, called on Indians not to discriminate against anyone in the fight against Covid-19. In a reference to the March TablighiJamaat conference, he asked people not to target members of a ‘particular community’ (i.e., Muslims) ‘just because of the actions of a few’.”Some of the incidents listed in the report relate to actions taken against Muslim and Christian groups over alleged violation of Covid regulations in holding religious services.

However, the report also listed the deaths of two Christians, P. Jayaraj and his son Bennicks, in police custody after they were arrested for allegedly keeping their shop open in violation of a curfew as if those were religious violence.The report mentions two cases of Hindu women being killed for refusing to convert to Islam and of Christian women “forcibly” converted.It noted Amnesty International India ending operations in the country “after the government froze its bank accounts in response to a FCRA investigation that the NGO says was motivated by its critical reporting against the government.”

Biden Issues High Alert On China; Vows To Deepen India Partnership With India

March 10, 2021 ARUL LOUISNation India, Nation USA 0

Issuing a high alert about the growing dangers to the international system from China, President Joe Biden has called for building alliances with like-minded countries and said the US will deepen its ties with India.

The Interim National Security Guidance he released on Wednesday singled out China as the only “competitor” capable of mounting a sustained challenge with its multifarious capabilities to the international order.

He said in the document that the US will support China’s neighbours and declared, “We will deepen our partnership with India.”

Introducing the document, he said it would “convey my vision for how America will engage with the world” and guide his administration while Washington begins work on a new National Security Strategy.

He sketched a vision of a cooperative of democracies to face China, which “has rapidly become more assertive”.

He called Beijing “the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system”.

To counter this as well as the challenge from Russia, the US will have to “promote a favorable distribution of power to deter and prevent adversaries from directly threatening the United States and our allies, inhibiting access to the global commons, or dominating key regions”, he said.

“We can do none of this work alone. For that reason, we will reinvigorate and modernise our alliances and partnerships around the world,” he said.

“Our democratic alliances enable us to present a common front, produce a unified vision, and pool our strength to promote high standards, establish effective international rules, and hold countries like China to account,” he said.

Envisaging the framework for the alliance of democracies to face the China challenge, he said, “Beyond our core alliances, we will also double down on building partnerships throughout the world, because our strength is multiplied when we combine efforts to address common challenges, share costs, and widen the circle of cooperation.”

Biden drew attention to the risk from China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative that seeks to bring countries around the world, especially developing nations, under its economic dominance.

To counter this Chinese programme, he said, “We will support China’s neighbours and commercial partners in defending their rights to make independent political choices free of coercion or undue foreign influence. We will promote locally-led development to combat the manipulation of local priorities.”

China has set debt traps by making loans to countries for infrastructure projects that they cannot pay back in the long term and then has sought to take control of them.

Biden also said, “Terrorism and violent extremism, both domestic and international, remain significant threats.”

At its core, though, the guidance is his own version of a kinder, gentler America First that seeks to strengthen the US the unparalleled world leader.

“America is back. Diplomacy is back. Alliances are back. But we are not looking back,” he said.

“The United States must lead by the power of our example, and that will require hard work at home — to fortify the founding pillars of our democracy, to truly address systemic racism, and to live up to our promise as a nation of immigrants,” he said.

“Our success will be a beacon to other democracies, whose freedom is intertwined with our own security, prosperity, and way of life.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlined the Biden administration’s foreign policy emphasizing “that American leadership and engagement matter”.

In his address on “Foreign Policy for the American People”, he said, “Whether we like it or not, the world does not organize itself. When the US pulls back, one of two things is likely to happen: either another country tries to take our place, but not in a way that advances our interests and values; or, maybe just as bad, no one steps up, and then we get chaos and all the dangers it creates. Either way, that’s not good for America.”

On the economic front, Blinken echoed one of former President Donald Trump’s constant refrains: “We will fight for every American job and for the rights, protections, and interests of all American workers.” He also portrayed China as the main challenge to the US and world and stressed building alliances to meet it. (IANS)

India ‘Critical Partner’ For US In Meeting Indo-Pacific Challenge: Pentagon

February 24, 2021 ARUL LOUISNation India, Nation USA 0

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin considers India “a critical partner” for meeting the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and gives priority to ties with it, according to Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby.

“The secretary is prioritising this relationship, wants to see it continue to grow and develop and to get stronger,” Kirby said on Wednesday at a news briefing in Washington.

“He looks very much looking forward to working on initiatives to do just that,” Kirby said in reply to a reporter’s question about Austin’s views on relations with India.

Austin considers India “a critical partner, especially when you consider all the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.

Austin spoke last month with India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and “emphasised the Department’s commitment to the US-India Major Defence Partnership, observing that it is built upon shared values and a common interest in ensuring the Indo-Pacific region remains free and open”, the Pentagon said.

President Joe Biden announced the formation of the new strategy task force so that “we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters” during a visit to the Pentagon last week.

“We need to meet the growing challenges posed by China to keep the peace and defend our interests in the Indo-Pacific and globally,” he said. (IANS)

Author: ARUL LOUIS