VIF Information Alerts - 8 Feb 2018

China to allow Mansarovar Yatra through Natu La
Published: Deccan Herald
08 Feb 2018

China will again allow pilgrims from India to visit Kailash-Mansarovar through Nathu La in Sikkim – a route, which it had shut in June 2017 in the wake of the face-off in Doklam Plateau.

New Delhi and Beijing are in touch to arrange the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in summer this year, as both sides are trying to bring the bilateral ties back on track. The Ministry of External Affairs will soon seek applications from people for the pilgrimage to the holy place in Tibet Autonomous Region. The 'yatra' is likely to take place between June and September this year.Click here to read... [2]

Peru defends China as good trade partner after U.S. warnings
Published: The Asahi Shimbun
07 Feb 2018

Peru's trade minister defended China as a good trade partner on Tuesday, after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Latin American countries against excessive reliance on economic ties with the Asian powerhouse.

Eduardo Ferreyros said Peru's 2010 trade liberalization deal with China had allowed the Andean nation of about 30 million people to post a $2.74 billion trade surplus with Beijing last year.Click here to read... [3]

Pakistan overlooks extremists destabilising Afghanistan or attacking India: US lawmakers
Published: The Economic Times
08 Feb 2018

Pakistan continues to give a pass to extremists who seek to destabilise Afghanistan or attack India, top US lawmakers have said as they backed President Donald Trump's decision to suspend security assistance to the country.

The lawmakers said that the counterterrorism cooperation had been been central to the US-Pakistan relationship, but Islamabad did not fulfil its commitments. Click here to read... [4]

Trump administration designates three Pakistan-based militants as ‘global terrorists’
Published: The Indian Express
08 Feb 2018

The United States on Thursday designated three militants linked to Pakistan-based terror networks ás ‘global terrorists’ and called on the Pakistani government to deny “sanctuary to these dangerous individuals and organizations”.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their connections to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other groups.Click here to read... [5]

Pakistan's Border Action Team deploys battalions along LoC: Intel sources
Published: India Today
07 Feb 2018

The Pakistani Army is deploying several battalions of the Mujahid Force Regiment, which is part of its dreaded Border Action Team (BAT), along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border to infiltrate terrorists and target Indian security forces. According to intelligence sources, battalions 641, 647, 654 and 655 are being deployed.Click here to read... [6]

Code to manage unexpected encounters in the air will help mitigate security threats in South China Sea: Ng Eng Hen
Published: The Straits Times
07 Feb 2018

Singapore hopes that Asean countries will be able to agree on a code to manage unexpected encounters in the air by October this year, a move that it says will help manage security threats arising from territorial disputes in the South China Sea. This code of unexpected encounters (CUES) will reduce the risk of miscalculation and mishaps, and provide measures for de-escalation should they occur, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday (Feb 7).Click here to read... [7]

Defence, security priority areas in Indo-Japan ties: Envoy
Published: Business World
07 Feb 2018

Defence and security are priority areas of cooperation between India and Japan, the Japanese envoy here said today, but stressed that more was yet to be done to demonstrate the strength of the bilateral strategic partnership. Kenji Hiramatsu said that Japan has started discussions with India for future research collaboration to develop Unmanned Ground Vehicles and for Robotics. He said Japan's readiness to provide Indian its state- of-the-art US-2 amphibian aircraft symbolises the "high degree of trust" between the two countries.Click here to read... [8]

Maldives sends envoys to ‘friendly nations’ amid political turmoil, India not on list
Published: The Asian Age
08 Feb 2018

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Wednesday decided to reach out to friendly nations amid power struggle at home and announced envoys’ visit to three countries – China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. An announcement by Yameen’s office said that Members of the Administration’s Cabinet will visit “friendly nations of the Maldives” and “provide updates on the current situation”.Click here to read... [9]

400 security personnel killed in JK, LWE-hit areas in 3 years: Government
Published: The Economic Times
06 Feb 2018

A total of 400 security personnel were killed fighting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoists in Left Wing Extremism-hit areas in the past three years, Union minister Hansraj Ahir said today. Ahir said in Lok Sabha that 572 civilians lost their lives and 199 security forces personnel were killed in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in 2015-17.Click here to read... [10]