India Archives - Page 36 of 37 - The Singapore Post

“An honorable army doesn’t fight with stones, batons, spikes”

20Jun

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

“An honorable army doesn’t fight with stones, batons, spikes”

As India continues its fight against China over a contested boundary, Former Ladakh Corps Commander Lieutenant General Rakesh Sharma (retd) has said that he is ashamed that India has to deal with an army which fights with sticks, batons and spikes.“Mature nations with professional armies do not act this way,” he said.Lt. General Rakesh Sharma said that over the years, there have been incidents of fist-cuffs and fights and it has been gradually rising.“The level has escalated several notches higher in the past month. What happened on June 15 is one more escalation in the new normal,” he said.“There is lot of anguish in the Indian Army about the loss of lives of the commanding officer and men. The position of a commanding officer is sacrosanct. He is the most important person in the entire m

Indian Foreign Minister talks tough with his Chinese counterpart on Galwan skirmish

20Jun

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Indian Foreign Minister talks tough with his Chinese counterpart on Galwan skirmish

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday conveyed a clear message to Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi that what happened in Galwan was a "pre-mediated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties."This was the first time Jaishankar spoke to Wang since the stand-off began in early May and marked the highest political contact to address the tensions after talks between military commanders failed to break the impasse.In a strong tone, Dr Jaishankar's told Wang Yi that this "unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship." The Indian Foreign Minister further told his counterpart "the need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps."India wants resto...

Pained by academic loss, J&K teachers start community classes for poor students in remote areas

20Jun

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Pained by academic loss, J&K teachers start community classes for poor students in remote areas

Ever since the Coronavirus struck India, all institutions and schools were closed shut. While other states managed to continue educating students online, Jammu and Kashmir with 2G internet networks faced a hard time to educate its children.But in Katainwali village of Baramulla district of Srinagar, some government school teachers have taken it upon themselves to continue schooling through COVID community classes - a unique initiative by local teachers to impart education to the poor students in far-flung areas.At exactly 10 am children in Katainwali village put their school bags on their shoulders and walk to a nearby grassland where a group of government school teachers welcomes them as they sit down to scribble the notes.“We were pained to see the plight of the children, who were missin

China shoots itself in the foot in the Himalayas

20Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

China shoots itself in the foot in the Himalayas

In China, quoting a supposedly independent scholar in a media outlet is a well-worn tactic used by top leaders to get their views across without stating them publicly.So when the official mouthpiece Global Times wrote in a June 17 commentary that India would “pay a heavy price” and “face military pressure on two or even three fronts” if it retaliated for China’s killing of at least 20 Indian soldiers in a Western Himalayan border altercation, the newspaper was speaking Beijing’s mind.The newspaper also wrote somewhat cryptically that “Pakistan is a reliable strategic partner of China and Nepal also has close ties with China, and both of them are key partners under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative”, an insinuation that certain of India’s neighbors could be drawn into a conflict a

Why conventional wisdom giving China the military edge over India may not be true

20Jun

By Yusara AskariNo Comments

Why conventional wisdom giving China the military edge over India may not be true

It was decades ago when India and China went to war in 1962 over the same Himalayan region where at least 20 soldiers were killed on June 15 in a bloody confrontation between the two sides. One month of combat resulted in a Chinese military victory, with Beijing declaring a cease-fire after securing de facto control of Aksai Chin, an area claimed by both countries.The battle claimed the lives of around 700 Chinese troops and double that on the Indian side. But the militaries that face off in the Himalayas in 2020 are far different from those that fought 58 years ago.Conventional wisdom has it that China holds a significant military advantage over India, but recent studies from the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Boston and the Center for a New American Security...

US should back India after China kills at least 20 Indian troops

19Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

US should back India after China kills at least 20 Indian troops

As reports emerged that Chinese troops had killed at least 20 Indian soldiers in the disputed region of Kashmir on the border dividing the world’s two most-populous nations, the list of outrageous actions by China grew even longer.Thanks to the Chinese regime’s increasing aggressiveness, the messy border dispute in one of the most remote and desolate places on Earth has gotten worse.Since the month of May, Chinese forces have been at loggerheads with Indian troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas. But what had been largely restricted to spontaneous fistfights and rock-throwing has now escalated.Odds are that the confrontation between China and India – both nuclear powers – won’t spin out of control. Still, the U.S. ought to take a stand against China’s increasing bul

Decoding the real reasons behind Chinese aggression in South Asia

19Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Decoding the real reasons behind Chinese aggression in South Asia

The Chinese diplomacy and military strategy are largely subservient to its idea of “Century of Humiliation”- the period between 1839 and 1939, when China lost a huge territory to Western colonial powers, Russia and Japan. Although, in the last three decades it has seen unprecedented growth and development, the insecurities in the Chinese assertions are more than evident.The ‘Xi Jingping era’ saw towering Chinese territorial and economic aspirations. The ambitious Belt Road Initiative (BRI), believed to be China’s attempt to assert its strategic footprints across the world, has also revealed the true nature of Chinese hegemonistic goals. The BRI is considered to be Xi’s personal indulgence in taking China and his leadership to the status of a global power never thought of before. This, howe

First deadly India-China clash in 45 years: Five things to know

18Jun

By Nectar GanNo Comments

First deadly India-China clash in 45 years: Five things to know

Weeks of uncertainty and military standoff along the India China border in the western Himalayas took a dangerous turn this week when 20 Indian soldiers were killed on Monday evening in violent clashes.On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country would defend every inch of its territory. "I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not go in vain," Modi said."India wants peace, but is capable of giving a befitting reply if instigated,” he warned.In a phone call on Wednesday with his Chinese counterpart, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar blamed China for the conflict, saying "the Chinese side sought to erect a structure" in an area in the Galwan valley that India considers its territory."The Chinese side took premeditated and

A China-India clash would be Xi Jinping’s grand mistake

18Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

A China-India clash would be Xi Jinping’s grand mistake

President Xi Jinping has moved forward with his plans to impose Beijing’s National security legislation and strip Hong Kong of its separate status given to it by the British. Xi’s action highlights China’s fundamental dishonesty and should give all states a good enough reason to not trust any agreement with the People’s Republic of China given that this was not a simple political deal but a formal Sino-British treaty ratified by both governments in which both agreed to allow Hong Kong to govern itself for 50 years, the basis of the so-called, “One China, Two Systems” policy.The ease of Xi’s take-over of Hong Kong and the lack of meaningful international reaction may have only whetted the Chinese leader’s appetite.The People’s Republic of China has long claimed Taiwan as an integral part of

Killing 20 Indian soldiers, China provokes a nationalist tiger

18Jun

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Killing 20 Indian soldiers, China provokes a nationalist tiger

India is left enraged after China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) beat to death 20 Indian soldiers. The clash occurred after India said that PLA forces attempted to "change the status quo" along the two countries' disputed Line of Actual Control.The violence did not involve an armed engagement, instead, the PLA physically attacked a smaller number of Indian soldiers led by Colonel Santosh Babu. But if, the news reports and analysts are correct, and 20 soldiers, including a regiment commanding officer, were killed, Indian nationalist anger will be unleashed. Considering that both China and India possess nuclear weapons, this concern should not be underestimated.Nor should we forget that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's power flows from this nationalist base. Shaping a foreign policy vision o...