Tag: Border

Indian anger and Chinese indifference quash hopes of border resolution

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India’s defence minister has accused China of border aggressions that have “eroded the entire basis” of their relationship, as negotiations over the line of actual control (LAC) remain deadlocked.
On Thursday, China’s defence minister, Li Shangfu, landed in Delhi for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. It is the first visit to India by a Chinese minister since 2020, when 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died in clashes along the Himalayan border in Ladakh and the two sides came the closest to war for almost 70 years.
A screengrab from footage recorded in mid-June 2020 showing Chinese and Indian soldiers during an incident where troops clashed on the border in the Galwan Valley. Photograph: Tengku Bahar/AFP/Getty Images
Since then, according to Indian former army officers and defence experts, the situation along the 2,100-mile (3,500km) disputed LAC, remains on a knife-edge. It continues to be militarised on both sides, with 18 rounds of military talks having failed to de-escalate the tension, and many still fear the possibility of large-scale conflict.
India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, told Li during the talks on Thursday that the deployment of large numbers of Chinese troops and the “violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations”. Li, however, called the situation “generally stable” and sought to distance bilateral relations from the border dispute.
Rajnath Singh, right, talking with Li Shangfu, second left, at the SCO summit in New Delhi. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP
Among both India and China watchers, there is not much optimism that Li’s visit will do anything to resolve the tensions. Some reports estimate that India has lost 40% of patrolling points in the region of Ladakh to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The Indian government has denied any loss of territory.
“There is a huge discrepancy in the narrative of both sides,” said Pravin Sawhney, an Indian army veteran and author of The Last War: How AI Will Shape India’s Final Showdown with China. “There cannot be rapprochement between the two sides because it is a fact that the Chinese are sitting on Indian territory.”
The SCO meeting is taking place amid growing concern in China over India’s relationship with the US and a converging of their strategic interests when it comes to China. According to a report in March, India was able to ward off a potential Chinese military border incursion as a result of real-time intelligence and satellite imagery provided by the US about Chinese border positions. It was said to have enabled India to “catch Chinese armed forces off guard” and reportedly enraged Beijing.
Border provocations from China have continued despite strong condemnation from India. In December last year, more than 20 Indian soldiers were injured in a clash with Chinese troops in the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, in what India described as a Chinese attempt to “transgress the border”.

Indian activists protesting against China in New Delhi in December last year after the clashes in Arunachal Pradesh. Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA
In March, China announced it was “renaming” 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh that it claims as part of Tibet. India’s home minister visited the border region that same week, stating that “times when anyone could encroach on Indian land have passed”. Beijing hit back, calling the visit a violation of its territorial sovereignty.
While there has been disengagement in some areas, Indian army officers and defence experts said about 1,500 sq km in Ladakh taken over by the PLA in 2020 remained under Chinese control. Two main areas of contention in Ladakh are Demchok and Depsang, which were previously patrolled by Indian troops but are now occupied by PLA soldiers.
Deependra Singh Hooda, the Indian army’s former chief of the Northern Command, described the situation there as tense.
“Depsang and Demchok areas are tactically important for India; but after so many rounds of talks there is no move forward and there does not seem any inclination from the Chinese side to resolve it quickly,” he said.
“The Chinese are preventing the Indian soldiers access to a large number of patrolling points,” Hooda said. “By sitting in this area, China is denying India access to a fairly large area.”
People living near the border in Ladakh allege that in the disengagement negotiations, New Delhi has ceded land to Beijing by agreeing to the creation of buffer zones – where neither side can patrol – in land that was previously claimed by India, specifically in the disputed Pangong Tso and Chushul areas.
“These buffer zones have been created exclusively in the Indian territory ,” said Konchok Stanzin, a local councillor. “Chinese troops are still patrolling up to their claim line.”
Motorbike riders cross into the Himalayan Sela pass in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
Even officers who have been part of the military negotiations allege there is an intransigence on the Chinese side to defuse the situation. In the latest round of military talks this week before the SCO summit, “no mutually acceptable solution could be reached”, according to the Indian side.
“The PLA officers are generally curt to us during these meetings,” an Indian army officer, who has been part of several negotiations, said on condition of anonymity. “These meetings turn frustrating for us as the Chinese officers speak mostly Mandarin, which we cannot understand. They remain very economical with English.”
The tensions are most visible in the frenzied infrastructure race along the border. China has been building new highways, railway lines, bridges, air strips and sophisticated military bases, modern housing and 5G towers, while India – which historically avoided developing areas near the Chinese border in order to prevent any provocation – has been left behind, with many of its border areas still impoverished.
While India might have passed China in population size, it is nowhere close in terms of its economy and military spending. In 2022, China spent $230bn (£184bn) on the defence budget; three times more than India.
“China has used infrastructure development as an excuse to escalate conflict and make incursions into Indian land,” said Maj Gen Amrit Pal Singh, the retired former head of army operational logistics for Ladakh. “In this kind of situation we have to react so that they cannot take any piece of our land. So India has doubled its focus on infrastructure near the border with China.”
Indian security forces accompanied by a sniffer dog clear an area near the Zojila tunnel. Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA
In January, Rajnath inaugurated 27 infrastructure projects aimed at strengthening the border infrastructure, and India is speeding up the construction of 37,500 miles of roads, 350 miles of bridges, 19 airfields and a few tunnels near, or leading to, the border. It is also strengthening aerial connectivity, with at least four new air strips and about 40 helipads being built in Ladakh.
The scale and speed of this infrastructure push can be seen in an ambitious 8-mile tunnel being built in the Himalayan range, at an altitude of about 3,000 metres, to provide all-weather connectivity to Ladakh. Even as temperatures have dropped in winter, hundreds of workers and engineers have been instructed to work day and night to complete the $1.4bn Zojila tunnel.
“We are building this tunnel as swiftly as possible, keeping in mind that this is important for the defence of our country as there is a looming threat on the border from China,” said Harpal Singh, the head of the project.
Hooda was among those who believed the border situation was nowhere near being resolved. “Both sides are looking at each other with a great deal of suspicion,” he said.
“There is greater aggressiveness in patrolling. Physical clashes are taking place, soldiers are getting injured though no shots are being fired. These local incidents could spiral out of control; that is the big worry.”
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 28, 2023
PM inaugurates 91 FM radio transmitters, to benefit border, aspirational districts

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated 91 FM transmitters spread across 18 states and two union territories, in a move that will boost FM radio connectivity in the border regions and aspirational districts.
With these new transmitters set up in 84 districts, the coverage will further increase by about 35,000 sq km area, benefitting an additional two crore people who did not have access to the medium so far.
“These FM transmitters will play a key role in a range of services be it timely dissemination of information, weather forecast for agriculture or connecting the women self-help groups with new markets,” Modi said.

He said the tech revolution in the country helped radio emerge in a new avatar and brought new listeners to the medium. The prime minister said the government is constantly working for the democratisation of technology.
The expansion takes place two days before the landmark 100th episode of Mann ki Baat, the prime minister’s monthly radio programme.
The 91 new 100 W FM transmitters have been installed in 84 districts with a special focus on enhancing coverage in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
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#inaugurates #radio #transmitters #benefit #border #aspirational #districts

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 28, 2023
China’s border pacts’ violation ‘eroded’ basis of ties: Rajnath to Chinese defence min

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New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday told his Chinese counterpart, General Li Shangfu that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements, officials said.
In their meet, which came a day before the SCO Defence Ministers meet – which India, as the Chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2023, is hosting, the two ministers had frank discussions about developments in the India-China border areas as well as bilateral relations.
During the meet, Rajnath Singh categorically conveyed that development of relations between India and China is premised on prevalence of peace and tranquillity at the borders.

According to the Defence Ministry, he added that all issues at the LAC need to be resolved in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and commitments. He reiterated that violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation.
The repeated attempts by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to violate the Line of Actual Control (LAC), leading to tension in Ladakh, had spurred the institution of the Corps Commander-level meetings.
The 18th round of the Corps Commander-level talks was held on Sunday, but was inconclusive as there was noheadway on the contentious issue of the Depsang Plains and de-escalation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
While the two sides agreed on mutual withdrawals from Pangong Tso, Gogra, and Hot Springs, the Depsang Plains and Demchok remain points of contention and tension.
Beside his Chinese counterpart, Rajnath Singh also met his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Mohammed Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani and the meeting took place in a cordial and warm atmosphere. Both the leaders emphasised on the age-old cultural, linguistic, and civilisational ties between the two countries, including people-to-people connect.

Both the Ministers reviewed the bilateral defence cooperation and exchanged views on regional security issues, including peace and stability in Afghanistan. Further, the two Ministers discussed the development of the International North South Transport corridor to ease logistic problems to Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia.
The Iranian Defence Minister will also attend the SCO meeting on Friday as his country has observer status in the organisation.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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#Chinas #border #pacts #violation #eroded #basis #ties #Rajnath #Chinese #defence #min
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 27, 2023
Biden admin to set up migrant processing centers in Latin America to reduce border strain

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Canada and Spain have agreed to accept referrals from the processing centers, officials said.
News of the centers comes just two weeks before a seismic shake-up in border policy, the lifting of Title 42. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will announce details at a joint press conference Thursday morning at the State Department. The White House will also release a fact sheet about the regional processing centers and other efforts to prepare for the May 11 end of Title 42, the Trump-era border policy that has been used more than 2 million times to expel asylum-seeking migrants on public health grounds.
The processing centers are just one piece of the administration’s multi-pronged response as the White House tries to strike a balance of deterrence with creating additional legal pathways. Officials also announced the expansion of the family reunification parole program to include Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia, a program previously only available to Cubans and Haitians.
“[It’s] a significant plan that is really at a level of ambition and scale that has never been done before,” a senior administration official told reporters. “However, there is far more that we could do if we had the cooperation of Congress. They have really tied our hands, and so we really do appeal to Congress to work with us.”
The White House has been intensely planning for the end of Title 42 since before the New Year, weighing a patchwork of policy solutions. May, already the historically busiest month for migration, is expected to bring one of the greatest policy challenges yet for the White House. And the timing falls at a challenging political moment for President Joe Biden, who just launched his 2024 reelection campaign.
The efforts to expand legal pathways and expedite processing will be paired with deterrence measures — in an effort to build upon the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, which officials tout as a success story in bringing border numbers down. The program for these groups will continue, officials said, including the expulsion to Mexico of those who try to enter the U.S. unlawfully.
In place of Title 42, officials also plan to rely on a new rule that will bar some migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they cross the border illegally or fail to first apply for safe harbor in another country. The administration has been working to finalize and implement the rule — a version of a Trump-era policy often called the “transit ban” — before May 11.
The administration will also expand expedited removal processes under Title 8, officials said Thursday, which would allow the government to remove from the country anyone unable to establish a legal basis — such as an approved asylum claim.

“With this shift from Title 42 to Title 8, it does not mean that the border is open,” a senior administration official said Thursday. “Returning to regular order under Title 8 means that we will once again be able to impose significant consequences on those who fail to avail themselves of the many legal pathways that we have announced today and that already exist.”
The Biden administration has 24,000 agents and officers at the border and is hiring an additional 300 border patrol agents this year. They’re also prepping Custom and Border Protection facilities to include spaces for interviews with asylum officers, immigration judges and for counsel purposes.
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#Biden #admin #set #migrant #processing #centers #Latin #America #reduce #border #strain
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 27, 2023
Spurred border tensions: India’s 2022 military spending rose by 6%

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New York: Spurred by tensions along its borders, India’s defence spending rose by nearly six per cent to $81.4 billion last year, ranking it fourth in military expenditures, according to an analysis by SIPRI, the premier think-tank tracking military spending.
The increase in India’s spending was attributed to “the effects of its border tensions with China and Pakistan” by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute better known by its initials, SIPRI, in the latest edition of its Trends in World Military Expenditure report released this week.
New Delhi’s “expenditure on capital outlays, which funds equipment upgrades for the armed forces and to the military infrastructure along its disputed border with China, amounted to 23 per cent of total military spending in 2022,” it said.

China, the second highest military spender, is estimated to have spent $292 billion last year, the report added.
The military expenditure of Pakistan, which is facing a financial crisis, shrunk to $10.3 billion from $11.3 billion in 2021, according to SIPRI data.
Personnel expenses like salaries and pensions “remained the largest expenditure category in the Indian military budget, accounting for around half of all military spending,” the report said.
India’s military expenditure was $76.6 billion in 2021, according to SIPRI.
Despite the increase, India’s ranking in military expenditures slid from third place in 2021 to fourth because Russia, which had been in fifth place that year, ramped up its spending by 9.2 per cent to $86.4 billion in a year that it invaded Ukraine to displace India, according to the report.

With $877 billion in military spending last year, the US dwarfed all others, accounting for 39 per cent of the global military spending of $2.24 trillion, according to the report.
China’s share of the total military spending was 13 per cent, while India’s share was 3.6 per cent, the report said.
Saudi Arabia, with an increase of 16 per cent from the previous year to $75 billion leapfrogged from the eighth spot to the fifth spot displacing Britain, which spent $68.5 billion, according to the report.
Another Gulf region country Qatar, increased its military spending by 27 per cent to $15.4 billion, while Kuwait showed a decrease of 11 per cent to $8.2 billion, it said.
According to the Trends report, China’s military expenditure has increased for 28 consecutive years, “the longest uninterrupted period of spending growth made by any country in the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database”, but it was showing signs of slowing down.
“The growth rate of 4.2 per cent in 2022 was the second lowest rate of annual growth recorded by China since 1995”, with the lowest rate in the period being 2.6 per cent in 2021, it said.
The spending pattern follows priorities reaffirmed by the Communist Party Congress last year, “which placed a strong focus on boosting China’s arms-industrial base and promoting emerging military technologies, including military applications of artificial intelligence,” according to the report.
Military spending calculated as a share of the GDP was 2.4 per cent for India, an estimated 1.6 per cent for China and 2.6 per cent for Pakistan.
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#Spurred #border #tensions #Indias #military #spending #rose
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 27, 2023
BSF Fires Several Rounds After Drone Spotted Along Border In JK

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SRINAGAR: Border security forces on Saturday fired in air after a suspicious drone like object was seen flying in Ramgarh sector of Samba district on Saturday.
Officials said that on Saturday early morning one suspicious flying object possibly a drone with blinking red and white light was seen flying over BOP Narayanpur. The flying object was seen at a height of approx 600 – 700 metre above the ground level and was spotted by troops of 148 bn who fired about 20 rounds towards the drone, he said.
He said that the said object came from the border side and left towards the Pakistan side. He added that further investigation has been taken up in this regard. (KS)

Previous articleIn 33 Days, 3.7 Lakh Visitors Throng Tulip Garden

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 22, 2023
Assam, Arunachal sign agreement to resolve decades-old border disputes

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New Delhi: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday signed an agreement to settle the long-pending disputes along their over 800 km border.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu signed the agreement in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.
After signing the deal, Shah said that they all have witnessed a historic moment in the northeast to resolve the border dispute between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, pending for decades.

He said that the report of the Local Commission on this dispute kept circling around for decades, but now been accepted by both the states and Thursday’s agreement would prove to be a milestone in the direction of realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a developed, peaceful and conflict-free northeast.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Union Home Secretary and senior officials from the Centre and both the states were also present on the occasion.
Shah said that since 2018, the Centre, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has signed several accords including for Reang refugee settlement in Tripura, and several to end violence in the northeast.
He said that as a result of these peace agreements, so far more than 8,000 armed militants have shunned violence and joined the mainstream. Compared to 2014, there has been a 67 per cent reduction in incidents of violence, 60 per cent reduction in the number of deaths of security forces and 83 per cent reduction in the number of civilian deaths in the northeast, which is a big achievement of the government under the leadership of Prime Minister.
The Modi government has withdrawn AFSPA from many places in the northeast, he added.

Around 70 per cent police stations in Assam, 15 police stations in 6 districts in Manipur, all but 3 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, 7 districts in Nagaland, and entire Tripura and Meghalaya are now free from Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
Shah said that due to the efforts of the Modi government, all-round development is visible in the entire northeast today and this entire region is on the path of progress.
Thursday’s agreement between the two states would end the dispute relating to 123 villages along the border, keeping in view the historical perspective, demographic profile, administrative convenience, proximity to the border, and the aspirations of the residents. Under the agreement, both the state governments have agreed that this agreement would be final with regards to these 123 disputed villages and neither state would make any new claim related to these areas or villages in future.
After the agreement, a detailed survey would be carried out by the Survey of India in presence of representatives of both state governments to determine their boundary.
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#Assam #Arunachal #sign #agreement #resolve #decadesold #border #disputes
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 20, 2023
House Republicans bash Mayorkas over Southern border

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Harsh words were expected at the hearing. For months, Republicans have vocally criticized Mayorkas for his handling of the border and have called for his removal. DHS’ bill would allow the agency to hire another 1,400 personnel to secure the border and earmark over $800 million for new technology to protect the border and fight fentanyl trafficking.
At the center of much of the debate was Mayorkas’ previous comments to Congress that the border is secure. Republicans have charged that he lied under oath when he said that to Congress, though Mayorkas said he interprets “operational control” in a different way.
If it’s seen as preventing all unlawful entries into the United States, as the Secure Fence Act states, then “no administration has ever had operational control,” Mayorkas said during a Senate hearing in late March.
Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said during the hearing that Republicans have acknowledged in the past that the “operational control” definition is “unreachable” or “impossible” to achieve, citing comments made by former committee chairs Peter King and Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
“Republicans are criticizing you for not achieving something that no secretary has ever achieved. It seems like their standard changes dependent on the administration,” Thompson said.
Mayorkas, who has visited the border 16 times since taking the post, emphasized during the hearing that the border situation has been an issue for decades and a bipartisan approach is needed to fix the current crisis.
“If our budget were reduced … it would seriously, gravely harm our ability to apprehend individuals who are attempting to cross our border illegally,” as well as the ability to disrupt drug trafficking, Mayorkas said, adding “this is a challenge that we all have to work together to address. We’re dealing with a broken system and we need reform.”
A DHS spokesperson added in a statement to POLITICO that “instead of pointing fingers and pursuing baseless attacks, Congress should work with the Department and pass legislation to fix our broken immigration system, which has not been updated in over 40 years.”

Democrats attempted to quell the flames by praising Mayorkas for his efforts despite the difficult situation, which several members blamed on the Trump administration.
The Biden administration inherited a DHS that had been “beleaguered by four years of political polarization and mismanagement,” Thompson said. “Among Secretary Mayorkas’ predecessors were so-called leaders, often unqualified and sometimes unlawfully appointed, who did the former president’s bidding.”
Later in the hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was blocked from participating further after she called Mayorkas a “liar” while questioning him.
“While you live in denial and sit over there with this attitude that you’re doing everything right … you are killing Americans with your policies,” she said.
Thompson then interrupted her questioning, asking for her words to be “taken down.”
“We can disagree, but just the fact that we have people watching, you don’t have to call a witness a liar,” he said.
When asked by McCaul if she would modify or withdraw her remarks, Greene stood firm “because the facts show the proof.”
Green, the chair, then interjected: “It’s pretty clear that the rules state you can’t impune someone’s character. Identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable on this committee, and I make the ruling that we strike those words.”
The members then clarified the motion, barring Greene from speaking further.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 19, 2023
Tony Gonzales and a coalition of Hispanic Republicans are warning that a Judiciary border proposal isn’t ready for “prime time.”

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The group warned they won’t let some of their conservative colleagues call the shots on their own.

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#Tony #Gonzales #coalition #Hispanic #Republicans #warning #Judiciary #border #proposal #isnt #ready #prime #time
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
House Republicans will formally kick off their immigration and border work on Wednesday, but are sidestepping a controversial asylum proposal, for now.

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Nearly 100 people have been killed due to the conflict — and the death toll continues to rise.

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#House #Republicans #formally #kick #immigration #border #work #Wednesday #sidestepping #controversial #asylum #proposal
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 17, 2023