After the conflict between China in India broke out in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors, Nepal started claiming that the area near Lipulekh along the Kali Nadi belongs to it.
These days India’s border with Nepal near the Chinese Territory is witnessing shocking and strange activities. Even as the Nepalese parliament approved a new political map showing the Indian territory near Lipulekh as its part, the Nepali Army is building a helipad and has established a camp of tents at the Indo-Nepal border.
The Nepali army has built a helipad and established a camp of tents along the Indo-Nepal border in Dharchula.
“In this temporary looking camp, one can see dozens of Nepali soldiers deployed there. This is something which has happened for the first time in this area,” sources said.
After the conflict between China in India broke out in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors, Nepal started claiming that the area near Lipulekh along the Kali Nadi belongs to it.
India Today TV also managed to get the exclusive footage of the Nepali army buildup in the region which is unprecedented. India Today TV team had reached Dharchula which is adjoining both Nepal and China and as the Chinese borders are 80 km from it. It is in Dharchula from where a road has been built between Dharchula and Lipulekh for travel to Mansarovar in Tibet.
In Dharchula, the Kali Nadi accessed the border between India and Nepal where hundreds of villages are settled and many small bridges have been built for people to travel with ease.
However, due to the lockdown measures imposed on both sides, the travel has been put on hold. The Indian side is guarded by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and its troops can be seen patrolling along the border.
The activities of the Indian Army have also increased and the Border Roads Organisation personnel can be seen continuously working on the newly built road which is critical for military purposes as well.
The Nepali Army also built a post 40 km before Kaalapani at a place called Malabar a week ago and the personnel were dropped there by a helicopter, a local resident told India Today TV.
India-China Border Face-off: Given China’s centrality and India’s insignificant share in global trade, banning trade will barely hurt China while adversely impacting Indian consumers and businesses.
The Indian government has tried to respond to the border dispute with China by training its guns on trade. The idea resonating in Indian streets is that Indians should boycott Chinese goods and thus “teach China a lesson”.
Demonstrators raise slogans as they burn an effigy depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping during a protest against China, in Kolkata, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Rupak De Chowdhuri)
Visuals of Indians breaking and burning their fully functional Chinese appliances such as TVs have been doing the rounds in social media. Union minister Ramdas Athawale has even demanded a ban on restaurants selling Chinese food even though these would be Indian restaurants, employing Indian chefs and using largely Indian agricultural produce to serve such Chinese dishes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b3z6QSQEPpA
While one can understand the outrage that Indians feel when they hear about the brutal deaths of their soldiers, turning a border or defence dispute into a trade one is an ill-advised move.
There are several reasons.
1. Trade deficits are not necessarily bad
One of the main reasons why banning trade has been the first reaction is the notion that having a trade deficit is somehow a “bad” thing. The fact is altogether different. Trade deficits/surpluses are just accounting exercises and having a trade deficit against a country doesn’t make the domestic economy weaker or worse off.
For instance, if one looks at the top 25 countries with whom India trades, it has a trade surplus with the US, the UK and the Netherlands. But that doesn’t mean the Indian economy is stronger or better off than any of these three.
Similarly, it has a trade deficit with the other 22 of them (including China) — regardless of their size and geographic location. This list includes France, Germany, Nigeria, South Africa, UAE, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia among others.
Yet, a trade deficit doesn’t necessarily mean that the Indian economy is worse off than South Africa’s. A trade deficit with China only means that Indians buy more Chinese products than what Chinese from India. But per se that is not a bad thing.
Why? Because it shows that Indian consumers — who made these purchase decisions individually and voluntarily — are now better off than what they would have been had they bought either, say, a Japanese or French or even an Indian alternative.
Essentially, it shows that Indian consumers, as well as the Chinese producers, gained through trading. It is this very process that generates the gains from trade. Both sides are better off than what they would have been without trade.
Of course, running persistent trade deficits across all countries raises two main issues.
One, does a country have the foreign exchange reserves to “buy” the imports. Today, India has more than $500 billion of forex — good enough to cover imports for 12 months.
Two, it also shows that India is not capable of producing for the needs of its own people in the most efficient manner.
At one level, no country is self-sufficient and that is why trade is such a fantastic idea. It allows countries to specialise in what they can do most efficiently and export that good while importing whatever some other country does more efficiently.
So while a persistent trade deficit merits the domestic government — the Indian government in this case — to put in place policies and create the infrastructure that raises competitiveness, it should not “force” or even “nudge” people to move away from trade because doing so will undermine efficiency and come at the cost of the consumer’s benefits.
A member of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) holds a placard during a protest against China, in Ahmedabad, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Amit Dave)
2. Will hurt the Indian poor the most
More often than not, the poorest consumers are the worst-hit in a trade ban of this kind because they are the most price-sensitive. For instance, if Chinese ACs were replaced by either costlier Japanese ACs or less efficient Indian ones, richer Indians may still survive this ban — by buying the costlier option — but a number of poor, who could have otherwise afforded an AC, would either have to forgo buying one because it is now too costly (say a Japanese or European firm) or suffer (as a consumer) by buying a less efficient Indian one.
Similarly, the Chinese products that are in India are already paid for. By banning their sale or avoiding them, Indians will be hurting fellow Indian retailers. Again, this hit would be proportionately more on the poorest retailers because of their relative inability to cope with the unexpected losses.
3. Will punish Indian producers and exporters
Some may argue that trading with China hurts many Indian producers. This is true, but it is also true that trading hurts only the less efficient Indian producers while helping the more efficient Indian producers and businesses.
It is important to note that the list of Indian consumers of Chinese imports does not comprise just those who consume the final finished good from China; several businesses in India import intermediate goods and raw materials, which, in turn, are used to create final goods — both for the domestic Indian market as well as the global market (as Indian exports).
Contrary to popular belief an overwhelming proportion of Chinese imports are in the form of intermediate goods such as electrical machinery, nuclear reactors, fertilisers, optical and photographic measuring equipment organic chemicals etc. Such imports are used to produce final goods which are then either sold in India or exported.
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Explained: Why banning trade with China will hurt India more
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The offer that Zhou made, and Nehru rejected… the lessons from it
A blanket ban on Chinese imports will hurt all these businesses at a time when they are already struggling to survive, apart from hitting India’s ability to produce finished goods.
To recap: Trade deficits are not necessarily bad; they improve the wellbeing of Indian consumers including producers and exporters. In any case, India has trade deficits with most countries so why single out China.
4. Will barely hurt China
Still, some may argue that we want to single out China because it has killed our soldiers at the border and we will now punish it through trade.
Then the question is: Will banning trade hurt China?
The truth is the exact opposite. It will hurt India and Indian far more than it will hurt China.
Let’s look at the facts again. While China accounts for 5% of India’s exports and 14% of India’s imports — in US$ value terms — India’s imports from China (that is, China’s exports) are just 3% of China’s total exports. More importantly, China’s imports from India are less than 1% of its total imports.
The point is that if India and China stop trading then — on the face of it — China would lose only 3% of its exports and less than 1% of its imports, while India will lose 5% of its exports and 14% of its imports.
Moreover, if one takes the notion of not letting China profit from the Indian purchasing power strictly, then Indians should also avoid buying all products that use Chinese goods and labour. So, forget the several obvious Chinese brands and products, Indian consumers would have to go about figuring out if China gains any money from, say, the iPhones that are sold in India. Or if the steel used in a European gadget is Chinese or not.
The trouble is this is a near-impossible task not just because of China’s centrality in global trade and global value chains but also because even teams of bureaucrats will find it tough to map Chinese involvement in all our trade on a real-time basis.
On the whole, it is much easier for China to replace India than for India to replace China.
A damaged poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping lies on the ground during a protest against China in Ahmedabad, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Amit Dave)
Here’s some food for thought: /What if Xi Jinping and the political establishment in China do the same thing to India? What if they decided to abruptly ban all trade and forbid all private investment via any route into India?/
Of course, India would survive, but at a huge cost to common Indians while depriving many Indian businesses (the start-ups with billion-dollar valuations) of Chinese funding.
Why? Because in the short to medium term, it would be both difficult and costly to replace Chinese products. Imagine diverting all our imports from China to Japan and Germany. We will only increase our total trade deficit.
If on the other hand, we decide to use Indian products, that too would cost us more — albeit just internally.
5. India will lose policy credibility
It has also been suggested that India should renege on existing contracts with China. Again, while in the short-term this may assuage hurt sentiments, it would be hugely detrimental for a country such as India which has been trying to attract foreign investment.
One of the first things an investor — especially foreign — tracks is the policy credibility and certainty. If policies can be changed overnight, if taxes can be slapped with retrospective effect, or if the government itself reneges on contracts, no investor will invest. Or, if they do, they will demand higher returns for the increased risk.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says the Chinese attack in Galwan, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, was pre-planned.
New Delhi: Unrelenting in his attacks on the centre over the Ladakh clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, Rahul Gandhi tweeted today that it is “crystal clear” that the government was “fast asleep” and jawans paid the price. He posted the fresh charge hours before an all-party meeting on the India-China that his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to attend.
“It’s now crystal clear that:
1. The Chinese attack in Galwan was pre-planned.
2. GOI was fast asleep and denied the problem.
3. The price was paid by our martyred Jawans,” the Congress leader tweeted, sharing a report quoting junior defence minister Shripad Naik as saying the attack was planned.
In an interview to news agency ANI, Mr Naik had said: “It is a matter of national security, there will be no compromise. We will not allow others to take our land. I pay tribute to all jawans who lost lives. The nation is proud of them that they made the supreme sacrifice. It won’t go in vain. It was pre-planned by China and Indian forces will give a befitting reply.”
The minister also said: “We were in talks with Chinese officials. Soldiers of both sides have demarche 2.5 KM. It is sad that China has attacked our soldiers in our territory and their soldiers have also been killed.”
Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had posted that soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom”. He was fact-checked by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said soldiers always carry arms but the rules of engagement do not allow use firearms during face-offs.
Indian soldiers were assaulted with iron rods and clubs wrapped in barbed wire laced with nails in the fight with the Chinese in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Actual Control. Many were thrown off a steep ridge and some of the soldiers fell into the river Galwan.
Mr Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi the incident would have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship and China must take corrective steps. But both ministers agreed that “neither side would take any action to escalate matters.”
New Delhi: Even as the Indian Air Force (IAF) moved its assets including fighter aircraft to forward bases and airfields in view of the ongoing dispute with China, its chief RKS Bhadauria was on a two-day hush-hush visit to the Leh and Srinagar airbases, which would be the most critical for any operations to be carried out by the force in the Eastern Ladakh area. The visit assumes significance as it came soon after the top security brass of the country reviewed the situation and military options after the Chinese Army killed 20 Indian soldiers in a premeditated attack in the Galwan Valley area after making an attempt to unilaterally change the status of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The Air Force chief was on a two-day visit where he checked the operational readiness of all the platforms that have been moved to the area in view of the Chinese aggression along the LAC in the Eastern Ladakh where more than 10,000 troops have been amassed by China,” government sources told ANI.
In the first leg of his visit, he was in Leh on June 17 and from there he went to the Srinagar airbase on June 18. Both these bases are closest to the Eastern Ladakh area and most suited to carry out any fighter aircraft operations in the mountainous terrain and also have a clear edge over the Chinese, the sources said.
When asked to confirm the visit by the Air Force chief to Leh and Srinagar, IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Indranil Nandy refused to say anything. “No comments,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Air Force has moved its critical frontline assets including the Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft fleet to advanced positions where they can fly in at a very short notice to carry out operations. For providing air support to the Indian Army troops in the eastern Ladakh sector, the American Apache attack helicopters have been deployed in the close vicinity of the areas where operations by the ground troops are taking place at the moment.
The Chinooks helicopters have also been deployed in and around the Leh airbase to provide the capability of rapid troops transportation and inter-valley troop transfer, in case such a situation emerges there. The Mi-17V5 medium-lift choppers are also playing an active role in the area in troops and material transportation there.
With multiple bases around the Ladakh and Tibet region including Leh, Srinagar, Avantipur, Bareilly, Adampur, Halwara (Ludhiana), Ambala and Sirsa, the Indian Air Force has an edge over their Chinese counterparts, who have to start fighter aircraft operations from Hotan and Gar Gunsa near Ladakh as they are at an altitude of 14,000 feet plus. The Indian Air Force has deployed its Su-30 combat aircraft soon after the Chinese choppers tried to violate Indian air space in Eastern Ladakh around the same time when their Army started arriving in large numbers along the LAC there.
Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said more than 17 percent of Covid-19 positive cases in Kashmir valley are children.
“We have higher percentage of children with Covid infection than the global average,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
“While children make up fewer than 2 percent of reported Covid-19 cases globally, in Kashmir valley 17.29 percent of Covid cases are in the age group of 0-19,” he said.
Dr Nisar said based on our analysis from the data of 989 lab confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, 171 cases (17.29 percent) were under 19 years of age.
“Majority of the children who tested positive for the novel virus had history of contact with adults,” he said.
“Most of the children with Covid infection had no symptoms or had mild disease,” he added.
Dr Nisar said no Covid infected child became seriously ill.
“However, today we had the first infant death in the valley due to Covid infection. A 15-day-old infant who had underlying serious heart ailment died due to the novel virus,” he said.
Dr Nisar said research shows that children are less susceptible to the virus than adults.
“School closure and a comparatively lower rate of testing for the novel virus among children could contribute to the low number of reported cases among the group,” he said.
“It is also possible that due to some quirk of biology, children are less susceptible than adults,” he added.
Dr Nisar said studies on whether children are also less likely to spread the infection to others have shown mixed results.
“A French study found that a nine year old child who attended three different schools while showing symptoms of Covid-19 didn’t infect anyone,” he said.
“But a German study concluded that children could be as infectious as adults,” Dr Nisar said.
“In view of mixed results, we should wait for more research results before reopening schools and easing social distancing for children,” he said.
“Most children find it difficult to follow social distancing norms and given the large number of students in one classroom and crowded transport, schools can easily turn into infection clusters if children infect teachers or take the infection to the family and neighbourhood, even if they don’t get severe disease themselves,” said Dr Nisar said.
Srinagar: A 15-day-old baby was among three COVID-19 patients who died at a hospital here, taking the number of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus in the Union Territory to 75, officials said on Friday.
The baby is the youngest COVID-19 victim in the union territory, the officials said, adding all the deaths took place at SKIMS hospital in Soura area of the city here.
The baby from Bemina area had tested positive for the virus and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as a case of aortic stenosis with Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF). The newborn died this morning.
They said a 79-year-old man from Nowshera area of Srinagar, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at 11:15 pm on Thursday night.
The patient was admitted to the hospital on June 8 and was suffering from hypertension, hypothyroidism, with bilateral chest infiltrate.He had contact history with a positive patient, they said.
In another death at the hospital, an 80-year-old man from Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district passed away at 9 am on Friday, the officials said.
They said the patient was admitted at the hospital on June 17 with hypertension and cardiac failure.
His sampling was done that day only and the report returned as positive the next day, they added.
Banda/Mahoba (UP): A swarm of locusts attacked trees and crops in several villages in Banda and Mahoba districts, farmers and officials said on Friday.
The swarm came from the jungles of the neighbouring Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh and entered Kartal, Bolharka, Maharajpur, Manpur, Pukari, Ragoli and Babupur villages in Banda on Thursday evening, they said.
Farmers said the locusts attacked vegetables sown in one kilometre area in an hour and returned to the jungles in Madhya Pradesh.
An administration official said the information about the locust attack was received an hour late but there is no information about any damage to crops; some trees have been damaged.
He said the local agriculture department officials have been asked to remain alert.
Deputy Director (Agriculture) G Ram said locusts were hovering over the jungles of Mahoba for three days and entered Bhagari, Bachchchar Kala, Nagaradang, Magrol and Saliya villages on Thursday but were chased away by farmers.
The agriculture department has sprayed pesticides and thousands of locusts have died due to it, he said.
Mahoba District Agriculture Officer Pramod Kumar said the swarm could again return. “We are alert and all preparations have been made,” he added.
Srinagar, June 19:Director General of Police (J&K) Dilbagh Singh on Friday said 50 Hibz militants alone among 102 were killed this year sofar in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per KINS correspondent addressing a joint press conference at the army’s Srinagar based 15 Corps headquarters post South Kashmir gunfights, DGP said this year so far 102 have been killed in various operations.
He said “There have been only one or two civilian casualties and that’s because of the extra-ordinary restraint exercised the forces on ground,”.
DGP said that “This year 49 youth had joined various militant ranks of which 27 were killed. It doesn’t give us a pleasure to kill young boys. But if anybody picks up arms we will do what we are doing.”
Pertinently,Eight militants were killed in last 24 hours in southern region of Kashmir.
In Meej area of Pampore three militants were killed, while five militants were slain in another gunfight in Shopian.
June has been the bloodiest month in south Kashmir’s Shopian district where 22 militants have been killed in last 12 days.
As per figure available with news agency Kashmir (KINS), 22 militants including some top commanders have been killed in the current month in Shopian district so far.
On Friday morning, five militants were killed in a gunfight with forces in Shopian.
As per the data on June 7, a gunfight broke out in Reban Shopian in which five militants were killed.
Four militants were killed in Pinjor Shopian on June 8.
On June 11, five militants were killed In Sugoo Hendhama area of Shopian.
In Turkawangam Shopian gunfight which was reported on June 16, three militants including a top Hibz commander were killed. (KINS)
New Delhi: The AAP has not been invited to an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the border conflict with China, two senior party leaders claimed on Friday.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the party has a government in Delhi and in Punjab, it is the main opposition party, but still the BJP does not want its opinion.
“A strange ego-ridden government is running at the Centre. The Aam Aadmi Party has a government in Delhi. Punjab has a main opposition party. There are four MPs all over the country, but still the BJP does not want its opinion on such an important matter. What will the prime minister say in the meeting, the whole country is waiting for it,” Singh also tweeted.
He also said that during a national emergency, all parties should be brought together.
AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai said it is unfortunate that the AAP was not invited. “Instead of taking all the parties together, the BJP is using mathematical formulas to ascertain who should be invited and who should not be. It is unfortunate,” he said.
It has been learnt that all recognised national parties — those with over five MPs in the Lok Sabha, leading parties from the northeast and parties with Union Cabinet ministers — have been invited for the all-party meeting.
The meeting will take place on Friday and it comes against the backdrop of demands by the opposition seeking details of the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh which left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.
Rai said the AAP will also launch nationwide protests against the Chinese aggression on Saturday and party MLAs will stage protests in their respective constituencies.
“In protest against the attack on Indian soldiers by China, Aam Aadmi Party will hold ‘aakrosh pradarshan’ tomorrow on June 20 at 11:00 am. There will be demonstration in all the 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi. India will not stand disrespect of brave soldiers,” Rai said in a tweet.
Jammu: Pakistani troops shelled forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Friday, drawing retaliation from the Indian Army, officials said.
“At around 1045 hours, Pakistani Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and resorting to intense shelling of mortars along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district,” a defence spokesperson said.
“The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly,” the spokesperson said.
The firing and shelling was on till last reports came in.
Demonstrators raise slogans as they burn an effigy depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping during a protest against China, in Kolkata, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Rupak De Chowdhuri)
A member of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) holds a placard during a protest against China, in Ahmedabad, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Amit Dave)
A damaged poster of Chinese President Xi Jinping lies on the ground during a protest against China in Ahmedabad, June 18, 2020. (Reuters Photo: Amit Dave)