VIF Information Alerts - 24 September 2019

Australia PM joins Trump calling for China to drop ‘developing economy’ status
Published: The Indian Express

24 Sep 2019

Global trade rules are “no longer fit for purpose” and must be changed to accommodate China’s new status as a developed economy, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a major foreign policy speech in the United States.
The global community had engaged with China to help it grow but now must demand the world’s second-largest economy bring more transparency to its trade relationships and take a greater share of the responsibility for addressing climate change, Morrison said.Click here to read.... [2]

Joining war on terror was biggest blunder, says Imran
Published: Daily Times

24 Sep 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that Pakistan’s decision to join the US-led war on terror was the biggest blunder in the country’s history. He addressed an event at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) think tank in New York on Monday.
Answering a question regarding former US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ remark that he considered Pakistan to be “the most dangerous” among all countries he had dealt with, Prime Minister Imran said: “I do not think James Mattis fully understands why Pakistan became radicalized.Click here to read.... [3]

PM Lee, Trump renew key defence pact on US use of Singapore air, naval bases
Published: The Jakarta Post

24 Sep 2019

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and US President Donald Trump on Monday (Sept 23) renewed a key defence pact which allows American forces to use Singapore’s air and naval bases, extending it by another 15 years to 2035.
Both leaders lauded the close relationship between Singapore and the United States as they signed an amendment to the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore, a landmark agreement which underpinned America’s security presence in the region for almost 30 years.Click here to read.... [4]

China urges US to continue to engage with Taliban after talks in Beijing as conflict continues in Afghanistan
Published: South China Morning Post

23 Sep 2019

China on Monday called on Washington to continue to engage with the Taliban following talks with the insurgent group in Beijing, after negotiations with the US collapsed earlier this month.
A nine-member Taliban delegation travelled to the Chinese capital and met the country’s special representative for Afghanistan, Deng Xijun, on Sunday, the group’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet.Click here to read.... [5]

Delhi, Dhaka to boost maritime ties
Published: The Hindu

23 Sep 2019

India will join Bangladesh to commemorate 100 years of ‘Bangabandhu’, the founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 2020, and an International Fleet Review in 2021 to mark 50 years of the Liberation of Bangladesh, official sources said. Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh is on a visit to Dhaka where these issues would be discussed along with other maritime and security issues.Click here to read.... [6]