China to use Taiwan as base to isolate India, Japan: US lawmaker
Published: The Economic Times
18 May 2018
China will turn Taiwan into a major nuclear and conventional military base, a move which will allow it to project power into the Indian Ocean and consolidate more control over the disputed South China Sea to "isolate" both India and Japan, a US lawmaker has warned.
Expressing concern over China's growing economic and military power, Richard D Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center told lawmakers yesterday that Beijing had a new strategy for gaining eventual global military access called "debt trap diplomacy".Click here to read...
Pakistan puts off tax concession for Chinese operator of Gwadar Port
Published: The Express Tribune
18 May 2018
The government on Thursday deferred a move to give more sweeping tax concessions to Chinese operators of Gwadar Port and its free zone amid Beijing’s reservations that Islamabad was not honouring the promise of 23-year tax holiday for the port in true spirit. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi put off approval of a summary that the Ministry of Maritime Affairs tabled in the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet for necessary exemptions for Gwadar Port and the Gwadar Free Zone.Click here to read...
'Hafiz Saeed out in open is tremendous concern,' US backs India on 26/11 Mumbai attack
Published: DNA
18 May 2018
The United States State Department said Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saaed and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind is a tremendous concern to Washington. Spokesperson Heather Nauert made the statement while responding to former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's remark on the Mumbai terror attack.
While backing India on the 2008 terror attack, she hailed India and US 'strong' relationship and said, "We have a very strong relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. We have strong people-to-people ties with the Indian population."Click here to read...
Malaysia's Chinese Projects: Mahathir to respect all agreements
South China Morning Post
17 May 2018
Malaysia’s newly installed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday said his government would “respect all agreements” even as it reviewed the viability of Chinese-linked projects in the country.
Responding to a question from This Week in Asia during a press conference, Mahathir said: “As far as the leaders from China and the Chinese are concerned, we have made it clear that we are going to look into all these contracts again because they are very costly for the government and will incur huge debts which we cannot pay.” Click here to read...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosts Islamic summit to back Palestinians, condemn Israel
Published: The New Indian Express
18 May 2018
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday hosts for the second time in half a year a summit of the world's main pan-Islamic group seeking to show solidarity with the Palestinians and condemn Israel after its deadly shootings of Gaza protesters. Erdogan has reacted with unbridled fury to the killing by Israeli forces on Monday of 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border, accusing Israel of "genocide" and being run as an "apartheid state".Click here to read...
Nepal's communists unite to form biggest left party
The Times of India
18 May 2018
The main group of Nepal's Maoist former rebels and the liberal Communist UML party merged on Thursday to form the Himalayan republic's biggest left party in a move likely to upset India but have China rejoicing. Officials said the two constituents of the ruling coalition had formed the Nepal Communist Party, which now heads the nation's first majority government in 19 years.Click here to read...
280 Lankan Tamils, including 29 children, disappeared in one day: ITJP
Published: The Times of India
About 280 Tamils, including 29 children, who had surrendered before the Sri Lankan Army on the final day of the war against the LTTE in 2009, had gone missing in the single largest incident of enforced disappearance in the country's history, according to a rights group report. The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) website has listed 280 names of enforced disappearances of people in Sri Lanka which included at least 29 children, a release from the ITJP said.Click here to read...
