China again engaged in provocative action on August 31, India’s timely action prevented attempts to unilaterally alter status quo: MEA

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

India on Tuesday stated that China had yet again engaged in provocative action on August 31 along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation.

Addressing a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts of the Chinese troops to unilaterally alter the status quo.

Srivastava also highlighted that the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the Line of Control (LAC) has been in clear violation of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquillity on the border. “Such actions are also in complete disregard to the understandings reached between the two Foreign Ministers as also the Special Representatives,” he added.

He stated, “As you aware, India and China have been closely engaged through diplomatic and military channels over the past three months to resolve the situation along the India-China border. It would also be recalled that earlier the two Foreign Ministers and the two Special Representatives had agreed that the situation should be handled in a responsible manner and either side should not take any provocative action or escalate matters and ensure peace and tranquillity as per bilateral agreements and protocol.

The MEA Spokesperson added that the Chinese side has violated this understanding and engaged in provocative military manoeuvres in the late night of August 29-30 in an attempt to change the status quo in the South Bank area of Pangong Lake. “As stated yesterday (Monday) by the Indian Army, the Indian side responded to these provocative actions and took appropriate defensive measures along the LAC in order to safeguard our interests and defend the territorial integrity. Furthermore, yesterday on 31st August, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation, the Chinese troops again engaged in provocative action. Due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo.”

“We have taken up the matter of recent provocative and aggressive actions with the Chinese side through both diplomatic and military channels and have urged them to discipline and control their frontline troops from undertaking such provocative actions. The Indian side is firmly committed to resolving all outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector through peaceful dialogue. In this context, we expect the Chinese side to sincerely abide by the understanding reached earlier and earnestly work with India to resolve the situation and to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” he added.

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No infiltration attempt by Chinese Army along LAC in Ladakh’s Chumar, clarifies Indian Army

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

The Indian Army on Tuesday dismissed reports claiming ‘infiltration attempt by Chinese Army along LAC in Ladakh’s Chumar’ as false. In a statement, the Army clarified that it was routine peacetime activities on China’s side of the LAC and “the same cannot be inferred as an intrusion attempt”.

“Reports of intrusion attempts by PLA in Chumar are NOT true. The activities mentioned in a tweet by a news agency were routine peacetime activities on their side of the LAC and the same cannot be inferred as an intrusion attempt,” read the statement.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Tuesday stated that China had engaged in provocative action on August 31 along the LAC, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation. Addressing a media briefing, he said that due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts of the Chinese troops to unilaterally alter the status quo.

Srivastava also highlighted that the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the Line of Control (LAC) has been in clear violation of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquillity on the border. “Such actions are also in complete disregard to the understandings reached between the two Foreign Ministers as also the Special Representatives,” he added.

He stated, “As you aware, India and China have been closely engaged through diplomatic and military channels over the past three months to resolve the situation along the India-China border. It would also be recalled that earlier the two Foreign Ministers and the two Special Representatives had agreed that the situation should be handled in a responsible manner and either side should not take any provocative action or escalate matters and ensure peace and tranquillity as per bilateral agreements and protocol.

The MEA Spokesperson added that the Chinese side has violated this understanding and engaged in provocative military manoeuvres in the late night of August 29-30 in an attempt to change the status quo in the South Bank area of Pangong Lake. “As stated yesterday (Monday) by the Indian Army, the Indian side responded to these provocative actions and took appropriate defensive measures along the LAC in order to safeguard our interests and defend the territorial integrity. Furthermore, yesterday on 31st August, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation, the Chinese troops again engaged in provocative action. Due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo.”

“We have taken up the matter of recent provocative and aggressive actions with the Chinese side through both diplomatic and military channels and have urged them to discipline and control their frontline troops from undertaking such provocative actions. The Indian side is firmly committed to resolving all outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector through peaceful dialogue. In this context, we expect the Chinese side to sincerely abide by the understanding reached earlier and earnestly work with India to resolve the situation and to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” he added.

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Won’t Ask PM Modi To Reverse What He Has Done In Kashmir: Omar Abdullah

SOURCE: PTI

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah says in a new book that he will neither be “Indian enough for right-wing nationalist politicians” nor “Kashmiri enough for those who don’t see Kashmir’s future as part of India”.

It is therefore best to be true to oneself, Mr Abdullah said in the recently launched “India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders”.

Mr Abdullah was detained when the government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5 last year.

He said his 232-day detention period has made him “bitter”, “resentful” and “angry” but it won’t change his time-tested stand that Jammu and Kashmir “is an integral part of India”.

“Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. As much as I would like to say that my detention and the circumstances of the 5th of August have caused me to shift my thinking on that, it hasn’t,” he said.

“Because the position I’ve taken takes into account all sorts of factors, and I do not believe that Jammu & Kashmir has a future for itself outside of its relationship with India,” Mr Abdullah said in an interview to the authors, Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah.

The book gives readers a snapshot of contemporary Indian politics through interviews of 20 of the country’s most prominent next-generation politicians, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

“I have reconciled myself to the fact that I will never be Indian enough for right-wing nationalist politicians. But then I’ll also not be Kashmiri enough for those who don’t see Kashmir’s future as part of India. And, therefore, it is best to be true to oneself,” Mr Abdullah said.

Nothing, he claimed, justifies “what India did in J&K on the 5th of August, 2019”. Not mincing his words, the 50-year-old politician claimed he believes Jammu and Kashmir has been treated “very, very badly” and “every single promise made has been broken”.

That said, Mr Abdullah is very clear that he won’t ask the government of the day to reverse its position on the revocation of Article 370 and Article 35 A or convert the newly formed Union Territory back into a state.

“…why would I ask Mr Modi to reverse what Mr Modi has done? It’s stupid. It’s pointless. It’s just tokenism. It’s the worst form of politics because all I’d be doing is trying to appease the voters, knowing full well that nothing will come out of it. And I don’t want to do that. I think the politics of appeasement is the worst thing I can do to people here,” he explained.

The National Conference has challenged the Centre’s decisions to scrap provisions of Article 370 that accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir and divide it into two union territories, in the Supreme Court.

Discussing his eight-month detention, which he initially thought would last for “a week or two”, Mr Abdullah said he still struggles to understand why he and other leaders, part of the mainstream, were treated the way they were.

“We put our lives on the line to fight elections in Jammu and Kashmir. And ironically, that was cited as a reason to continue to detain us. One of the clauses in my detention order talks about how I was able to influence people to come out and vote in large numbers in spite of a boycott call and a terror threat,” he alleged.

“I never realised that this was something that could be used against me. Tomorrow, how am I going to convince people to come out and vote? What am I going to tell them?” he asked.

Mr Abdullah was taken into custody soon after the Centre announced it was scrapping Article 370 on August 5, 2019. He was charged under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in February and released on March 24, 2020.

His father, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, was also charged under the PSA and released on March 13 after 221 days in detention. PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti continues to be under detention at her home.

According to Omar Abdullah, he went through the entire spectrum of emotions during his detention period – “from anger to frustration to resentment to bitterness to sort of resigning myself to what had happened, and then going back to being angry about being detained and frustrated about it”.

“So, I mean, the overwhelming feeling that I have come out of detention with is a whole lot of bitterness and anger, which I’m trying to come to terms with. But I think it will be a while until I do,” he added.

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India accuses Pakistan of using social media platforms to spread fake news

SOURCE: ZEE NEWS

India has blamed Pakistan of propagating fake news through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday pointed out that Facebook and Instagram accounts based out of Pakistan were being used to report sites and accounts that criticise Islamabad.

The tweet by India’s Permanent Mission to UN reads: “Malicious propaganda, misinformation, #infodemic, fake news. Call it what you may. Do read this report from the @stanfordio on motivated false propaganda from Pakistan. The truth is out for the world to see.” 

The report published by Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) informed that as many as 103 Facebook Pages, 78 Facebook Groups, 453 Facebook accounts, and 107 Instagram accounts were taken down on August 31, 2020 for engaging in ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour’.

“On August 31, 2020, Facebook suspended 103 Pages, 78 Groups, 453 Facebook accounts, and 107 Instagram accounts for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behaviour. As it notes in its takedown report, Facebook attributed this network to individuals in Pakistan,” the SIO report reads.

Facebook shared a portion of this network on August 28 with the SIO which then conducted its own investigation and brought out its report.

The report showed how a network of Pakistan-based social media accounts posted Pakistani nationalist messages and also criticising the Indian government. It also highlighted how the mass reporting networks operated, with Group and Page administrators mobilising social media users to report accounts that were critical of Islam or the Pakistani military/government.

“Additionally, reporting shows that Pakistani politicians work directly with prominent social media trolls to get pro-Pakistan hashtags trending on Twitter. The repeated invoking of duty towards religion and nation for mass reporting,” the SIO report noted.

Several pages and FB Groups posted Pakistani nationalist content, praising the Pakistan`s intelligence agency ISI and the ruling Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The report noted that in April 2019, Facebook had suspended a network of accounts linked to the InterServices Public Relations wing of the Pakistani military for coordinated group activity.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday wrote a letter to Mark Zuckerberg that it is problematic when Facebook employees on record abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi while still working and managing important positions in Facebook India. It is doubly problematic when the bias of individuals becomes an inherent bias of the platform.

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Statement of the car producer Tatra regarding the Indian MoD´s decision on VAEPL

SOURCE: TATRA PR

Ministry of Defence of India on 24th of August 2020 announced its decision to prohibit further business activities of the company Vectra Advanced Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (VAEPL) related to the entrepreneur Ravinder Kumar Rishi, former shareholder of the Czech company TATRA a.s., which used to own the car producer TATRA until the year 2013.

Current owner of the carmaker, Czech company TATRA TRUCKS a.s. co-owned by Czech entrepreneurs Michal Strnad and René Matera politely asks Indian media to take into account and hopefully inform in their articles and reports, that carmaker TATRA is no longer in wrong hands which is the reality for more than seven years already.

Pavel Lazar, CEO of TATRA TRUCKS, says: “We learned recently about the decision of Ministry of Defence of India to prohibit further business activities of the company VAEPL. On one hand we can be happy that justice in the business world in this particular case prevails. On the other hand it reopened the old wounds which TATRA suffered on the Indian market. Our trucks are superb products uniquely suited for harsh environment and difficult missions. We are sad that the public image of our products is still influenced by the failure of people which used to represent TATRA on the Indian market a long time ago.”

TATRA, the oldest factory with continuous production of transport vehicles, have already payed dearly for what happened. In 2013 Tatra, partly as the consequence of the corruption scandal in India, went nearly bankrupt and was overtaken via auction by the new owners, Czech entrepreneurs Jaroslav Strnad and René Matera. The current owners and management, with great help of the authorities including the Czech ministry of defence and the Czech embassy in India, worked incredibly hard to repair the reputational damage in India and return to this prestigious market. Pavel Lazar adds: “We believe that the proven long-term cooperation with our respected Indian partner, the BEML company, will be beneficial for both Tatra and its Indian clients not only in the military but also in the civil market.”

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India captures Chinese camp in disputed Ladakh as violence erupts again between superpowers

SOURCE: TELEGRAPH UK

Indian troops have captured an important Chinese military post after allegedly fighting off an attempt by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to occupy further Indian territory in the disputed border region of Ladakh.

On Saturday evening, around 500 Chinese troops had tried to cross into Spanggur, a narrow valley near the village of Chushul and three hours of hand-to-hand combat ensued. A senior Indian police source told the Telegraph the attack had been repulsed and a retaliatory special operations battalion seized a Chinese camp in the surrounding hills of Pangong Tso Lake in the early hours of this morning.

It has not commented on the nature of the clash or whether either side suffered any casualties.

Today, the Indian Government accused Beijing of “provocative military movements” three months after Chinese troops annexed 60 square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry denied its troops crossed the disputed Line of Actual Control, which separates the two superpowers, and accused the Indian Army of occupying its territory.

“India’s move has seriously violated China’s territorial sovereignty, severely undermined the peace and stability of the Sino-Indian border area, and rebelled against this. China strongly opposed this,” said Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson for the People’s Liberation Army Western Theatre Command.

“We solemnly request the Indian side to immediately withdraw its illegally crossing troops, strictly control and restrain the front-line troops, earnestly abide by its commitments, and avoid further escalation of the situation.”

A senior Indian police source warned the situation had the potential to escalate, saying its troops had opened “a new front” by pushing Chinese troops back and capturing territory near the village of Chushul.

Military commanders from both nations met along the frontier today in an attempt to resolve the dispute, according to India’s Ministry of Defence.

It reiterated India’s commitment to dialogue but warned it was “also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity”.

“We never had any problem in this place and we hold it pretty strongly,” said Lieutenant General D.S. Hooda, the Indian military’s former northern commander.

“After relative calm, China has suddenly opened a fresh, brand new front. It’s a huge provocation”.

S. Jaishankar, India’s Minister of External Affairs, warned tension between the two countries is at its highest since the two agreed a ceasefire after the Sino-Indian War in 1962.

On June 15, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed, the first fatalities along the LAC in at least 45 years, after Chinese troops used nail-studded bats to attack Indian soldiers.

While sporadic fist-fighting has broken out along the border over the years, weapons had not been previously used, as this was seen as a declaration of war.

Military officials from New Delhi and Beijing have been locked in unsuccessful military talks following this incident.

China is said to be trying to assert its authority in the region in the wake of strengthening India-U.S. ties, which it sees as a threat.

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An Indian ‘quid pro quo’ operation in Ladakh?

SOURCE: INDIA TODAY

Among the many military options available with the Indian Army in its impasse with China is the ‘Quid Pro Quo’, or simply QPQ. This involves the army responding to a PLA intrusion across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by moving into a sector and occupying territory on the Chinese side. In fact, the ‘QPQ’ was being debated by Indian military strategists in the past few days as a possible option/ bargaining chip to force the PLA to withdraw. Was the option exercised over the weekend?

On Monday morning, the army put out an official statement stating that it had ‘thwarted Chinese intentions to alter the ground situation’. Hours later, a statement from the PLA’s Western Theatre Command accused ‘Indian troops on Monday of illegally crossing the LoC again (India calls it the LAC)’ at the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake and near the Reqin Mountain and ‘conducting flagrant violations’.

An editorial in the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, Global Times, said the south bank of the lake, where the confrontation took place, is under China’s control and accused India of ‘trying to turn it into a new disputed area as a bargaining chip in negotiations’. A statement from the Chengdu-based Western Theatre Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, urged the Indian side to ‘immediately withdraw its troops and avoid any escalation in the situation’.

It is not known if the clashes resulted in any casualties, but these statements assume significance in the light of Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat’s August 24 statement. Gen. Rawat had said that “the military option to deal with the Chinese army’s transgressions was there, but would be exercised only if talks at the military and diplomatic level fail”.

In May this year, the PLA transgressed the LAC in at least five places in eastern Ladakh. Over a dozen rounds of talks have failed to break the deadlock. The PLA has so far refused to move back from the Finger 4 area it occupies on the Pangong lake, well behind the Finger 8 area India considers to be the LAC.

Monday’s statement by Army spokesperson Col. Aman Anand said that on the night of August 29/30, PLA troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements in the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo. “Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake, and undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground,” Col. Anand said. The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue but is equally determined to protect its territorial integrity. A brigade commander level flag meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issue, the statement added.

Social media posts on Twitter seemed to indicate the involvement of a covert Indian paramilitary unit, the Special Frontier Force (SFF), in the operation south of Pangong Tso. The SFF operates under the Directorate General of Security (DGS), a wing of India’s external intelligence agency R&AW. The DGS, in fact, predates it and was set up in 1962 after the India-China border war. The unit, also known as Establishment 22 and ‘Vikas’ is officered by the Indian army and recruits its personnel from among the Tibetan diaspora settled in India. Its personnel has participated in India’s various wars, from 1971 to the 1999 Kargil War.

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