VIF Information Alerts - 3rd October 2018

With an eye on Russia, U.S. pledges to use cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO

Published: The Economic Times
03 Oct 2018

The United States is expected to announce in the coming days that it will use offensive and defensive cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO if asked, a senior Pentagon official said, amid concerns about Russia's increasingly assertive use of its cyber capabilities.

The 29-nation NATO alliance recognized cyber as a domain of warfare, along with land, air and sea, in 2014, but has not outlined in detail what that entails.Click here to read.... [2]

Chinese warship in ‘unsafe’ encounter with US destroyer in South China Sea

Published: The Asian Age
02 Oct 2018

The US has accused a Chinese naval ship of conducting "unsafe and unprofessional" manoeuvres when one of its warships entered the waters of the disputed South China Sea. China on Tuesday expressed its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the US warship sailing near the islands and reefs claimed by it in the South China Sea (SCS).

"On September 30, without permission of the Chinese government, the US destroyer Decatur entered neighbouring waters of islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement on Tuesday.Click here to read.... [3]

Pakistan takes U-turn, says Saudi Arabia will not be part of CPEC

Published: Hindustan Times
03 Oct 2018

In a U-turn, Pakistan has announced that its close ally Saudi Arabia would not join the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, days after Islamabad said Riyadh will be the third “strategic partner” of China’s flagship project, the Belt and Road Initiative .

Pakistani minister for planning and development Khusro Bakhtiar told the media on Tuesday that the cash-rich kingdom’s proposed investments would fall under a separate bilateral arrangement, Dawn news reported.Click here to read.... [4]

Pakistan seeks to build oil refinery near Gwadar port: minister

Published: Reuters
02 Oct 2018

Pakistan wants to build an oil refinery near the deep-water port of Gwadar to reduce petroleum product imports, a planning official said on Tuesday as the government hosted a Saudi delegation reported to be considering funding the project. Pakistan is also during the Saudi visit expected to seek financial assistance from its oil-rich ally to avoid another bailout by the International Monetary Fund amid a foreign currency crisis fueled by a widening current accounts deficit.Click here to read.... [5]

Pak minister shares stage with LeT founder Hafiz Saeed ‘on PM’s instructions’

Published: Hindustan Times
01 Oct 2018

Pakistan’s religious affairs minister Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, a member of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, shared the stage with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed at an event in Islamabad that focused on the Kashmir issue. Several pro-Jamaat-ud-Dawah Twitter handles quoted Qadri as saying that he attended the all-party conference organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) on Sunday on the instructions of the prime minister as its agenda represented the “sentiments of the of the whole Pakistani nation”.Click here to read.... [6]

As Chinese influence grows, Japanese warship visits Sri Lanka

Published: Reuters
01 Oct 2018

Japan’s largest warship, the Kaga helicopter carrier, sailed into Sri Lanka’s Colombo harbor this weekend, marking Tokyo’s highest profile salvo in a diplomatic battle with China for influence along the region’s vital commercial sea lanes.

Japan has long provided low-interest loans and aid to Sri Lanka, helping it transform Colombo into a major trans-shipment port tapping the artery of global trade just south of the island that links Europe and the Middle East with Asia. Beijing has, however, emerged as a powerful rival across South Asia and beyond as it implements its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.Click here to read.... [7]

Drugs smuggled out of country via postal route, say DRI officials

Published: Hindustan Times
02 Oct 2018

In a major revelation, the two Indians and one Mexican national who were allegedly caught by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with 10.91 kg of fentanyl hydrochloride, worth around Rs 100 crores, have confessed during interrogation that they had smuggled the chemical out of the country four times in the past six to seven months through a postal route, adding a new dimension to the international smuggling racket.Click here to read.... [8]