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Philippines Claims China Coast Guard Damaged Its Vessel and Fired Water Cannons.

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The latest flare-up in an increasingly tense territorial confrontation saw Chinese coast guard ships fire water cannons at two Philippine patrol vessels near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, damaging both of them.

Manila, Philippines In the most recent escalation of an increasingly heated territorial dispute, Chinese coast guard ships damaged two Philippine patrol boats on Tuesday by firing water cannons at them close to a contested shoal in the South China Sea.

The encounter off Scarborough Shoal, one of two highly contested locations where clashes between China and the Philippines have periodically flared up since last year, did not immediately result in any reports of injuries.

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According to a Philippine government task group handling the territorial issues, “Vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources were harassed, blocked, and rammed by China’s Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels.”

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According to the task force, the electrical, navigation, and radio systems of the Philippine fishing vessel were damaged. It further stated that other journalists who were invited to accompany the patrol saw the fighting.

The task force declared that China’s most recent illegal and careless actions “highlights its egregious disregard for the Philippines’ lawful exercise of its rights and entitlements in our own Exclusive Economic Zone.”

The Philippine vessels pressed on with their patrol despite the Chinese Coast Guard’s actions, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. “They were not deterred and would persist in carrying out their legitimate operations to support Filipino fishermen and ensure their safety,” it added.

China called its action Tuesday a “necessary measure”. “The Philippines has violated China’s sovereignty with its actions,” said Gan Yu, spokesperson for China’s coast guard. “It will continue to carry out actions to defend its rights in the Chinese waters according to law, and will resolutely uphold our country’s maritime rights”, he insisted.

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The Chinese coast guard has also re-installed a floating barrier across the entrance to the shoal’s vast fishing lagoon. The Philippine Coast Guard removed a similar barrier in the past to allow Filipinos to fish there.

China insists on its sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, a key global trade route.

In addition to the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have also been involved in territorial disputes.

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The increasing frequency of the skirmishes between the Philippines and China, which have injured Filipino navy personnel and damaged supply boats in the past, has sparked fears the territorial conflict could degenerate into an armed confrontation that could put China and the United States on a collision course.

The U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea but has warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, a longtime treaty ally, if Filipino forces, ships, and aircraft come under an armed attack including in the contested waters.

Google Meet facilitates call switching and allows you to move calls between devices without having to log out.

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The new ‘move Here’ functionality in Google Meet allows users to easily move between devices while a call is still in progress. Additionally, the capability allows you to simultaneously join a call from two separate devices.

In Short

  • Google Meet introduces new feature ‘Switch Here’
  • It users to switch devices during an ongoing call
  • The feature also enables users to join a call from two different devices

Consider this. You are sitting comfortably at your workstation, participating in a virtual work meeting. Your mother abruptly enters the room and instructs you to move because she wants this one. But, since the meeting is already underway, telling your employer that you need to move to a different room would be somewhat awkward. All of us have experienced such circumstances during the epidemic, when working remotely was commonplace.

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The only thing we could do at the time was ask our supervisor to pardon us while we connected from a different device for a short period of time. And for that, we had to end the call and pick it up again. However, that will no longer be the case, thanks to a new feature in Google Meet. Finally, the IT giant has made it simpler to move between devices while on the phone. We call this new feature “Switch Here.”

Google announced the functionality in a blog post, writing, “In the modern world, we may do our work from multiple locations and on multiple devices. As of right now, you can seamlessly switch between devices while participating in a Google Meet call without ending and returning.

When you got to your workplace, you could easily transition from using your tablet or smartphone to your laptop, for instance, if you were having a meeting call. When you join a meeting on your laptop, you’ll notice the new Switch Here option.

India’s fourth-largest military spender, overall global spending accelerates SIPRI Report.

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India’s fourth-largest military With a total of $83.6 billion spent on the military in 2023, India was the fourth-largest spender in the world, up 4.2% from the year before. This information is taken from a report published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which also showed that military spending has increased globally, rising to $2,443 billion, or 7% more than in 2022. Russia, China, and the United States were among the top ten countries that increased their military spending.

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According to a reputable war think-tank, India spent the fourth most on the military in the world in 2023. The nation spent 4.2% more on military spending in 2022, totaling $83.6 billion.
Global military spending increased by 7% to $2,443 billion in 2023, marking the highest annual growth since 2009, according to the most recent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report (SIPRI).

The United States, China, and Russia topped the list of the ten countries that boosted their military spending in 2023, according to the research.

According to Nan Tian, Senior Researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, the rise was a direct reaction to a decline in peace and security throughout the world.

“States are prioritizing military strength but they risk an action-reaction spiral in the increasingly volatile geopolitical and security landscape,” Tian stated.

SIPRI noted that the percentage change was stated in real terms using constant 2022 prices.

With a protracted struggle between the government and non-state armed groups, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+105%) saw the greatest percentage increase in military spending by any nation in 2023. According to the survey, South Sudan saw the second-largest percentage growth (78%) amid internal conflict and the aftermath of the Sudanese civil war.

INDIA TAKES BIG STEP TO COUNTER CHINA SNOOPING THREAT FROM SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

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The china “essential security parameters” of CCTV cameras supplied in India must now be tested, according to an amendment made by the government to the mandatory registration order.

Following a series of discussions about how to prevent Beijing from allegedly spying on India through a network of CCTV cameras with Chinese origins that are put throughout government and military buildings, the Union government has released safety guidelines that prioritize national security.

Since the certification for surveillance cameras with Chinese origins primarily considered factors like fire hazard or durability, rather than security or snooping issues, the Indian government has not yet had a way to verify the installation of these cameras.

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But early last week, the Union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) amended the compulsory registration order (CRO) for CCTV cameras sold in India. This amendment makes the testing of ‘essential security parameters’ of all CCTV cameras mandatory. Given the massive network of such cameras, the new regulation comes into effect on October 9 this year, thereby allowing manufacturers sufficient time to adapt.

Prioritising national security in such matters is crucial, especially given the sensitive nature of government and military establishments. Setting up guidelines to monitor and certify these surveillance cameras on the security aspect is a prudent move.

India is estimated to have over two million surveillance cameras, installed at every nook and corner. Out of these, around a million cameras made by Chinese companies are installed in various government institutions, posing a serious risk of snooping. It is suspected that CCTVs being deployed in most Indian government projects are of Chinese origin—imported from China and supplied as Made in India. This is a threat to national security.

It is estimated that the market penetration of Chinese CCTVs is over 80 percent for domestic and over 98 percent for government installations. As experts say, countries no longer need to send spies across the border. Such suspect CCTVs become the eyes of any country aiming to do mischief. Such cameras are the best tool for technical intelligence. The unchecked proliferation of such devices across India is a grave security risk.

There is the threat of China snooping on India through hundreds of thousands of such surveillance cameras, with security experts flagging serious concerns about the security threat.

In last week’s notification, dated April 9, MeitY made the testing of ‘essential security parameters’ of CCTV cameras mandatory. The notification also mandates that test reports from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-recognized labs, such as the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification, would need to be submitted by manufacturers.

Reacting to the guidelines, Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant (retired), former national cyber security coordinator for India’s National Security Council and also chairman of the Cyber Security Association of India, told INDIA TODAY that the proliferation of CCTVs in the country without any security checks had created a major vulnerability for national security since most of these devices were imported from the country of concern. This has led to remote surveillance and loss of data. “The notification by MeitY is a long-awaited and welcome step by the government to ensure that essential security parameters are built into these devices. I hope this is extended to all IoT (internet of Things) devices in the future,” Lt Gen. Pant said.

On March 6, MeitY issued a notification for public procurement of CCTVs for essential testing of critical security parameters and giving details for local content calculations. The requirement of verification of the trusted source for sourcing the critical hardware components related to security functions is of special significance. They don’t allow proprietary network protocols or give implementation schedules and source code, and verification of all codes including third parties.

Further, one of the amendment’s primary features is the confirmation of reliable sources for crucial hardware parts associated with security operations (such as system-on-a-chip or SOC). In addition, it forbids the use of proprietary network protocols without source code disclosure and implementation timetables.

Prof. N.K. Goyal, chairman emeritus, the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India, had been highlighting the issue for a long. Relieved by the government order, he said: “The government has stepped in to ensure that all CCTV cameras deployed in India are free of any national security concerns and that the major components of CCTV/ video surveillance are built by trusted sources on a reliable basis. Goyal added that this would go a long way in ensuring that CCTV/video surveillance systems deployed in the country do not compromise national security.

As for compliance with BIS being a check on CCTVs rigged for snooping, industry insiders say CCTV cameras/ recorders were to date covered in the CRO Phase III (with effect from May 23, 2018). However, the same standard applies to mobile phones, cash registers, laptops, set-top boxes, power banks, scanners, etc. But these BIS norms only mention human hazards such as fire or their durability, and not national security aspects.

However, in addition to the national security threat, there is a huge economic impact in terms of billions of dollars lost in cheap and under-invoiced imports and a lost opportunity to become a net exporter of hardware through actual manufacturing with transfer of technology against just factory assemblies. The global CCTV market is expected to grow to approximately $46.52 billion at a 13.1 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) during the forecast period of 2020-2030.

The issue hit Parliament sometime back when Minister of state for Communications and electronics & IT Sanjay Dhotre informed the Lok Sabha that around one million CCTVs from Chinese companies were installed in government institutions. “There are vulnerabilities associated with video data captured through CCTV cameras being transferred to servers located abroad,” Dhotre said.

The minister was speaking about video security surveillance (VSS), which is more than CCTV and being connected to a telecom network. The VSS also contains a video network recorder by which all images are connected to a telecom network and then stored and analyzed. That is where national security risks crop up as data can be transferred to anyone.

Intelligence agencies’ biggest fear is the continuous deployment of technology of Chinese origin across the entire nation through VSS. Security agencies fear Chinese companies and their Indian partners are sending regular data to China through backdoor access with their CCTVs installed in almost all smart cities, state police, highways, airports, metro rails, ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Organisations.

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Surveillance cameras are also china being used extensively for military establishments. It’s all a serious threat to national security due to proven data transfer to the Chinese intelligence establishment. As per the China Intelligence Law, 2017, these companies are duty-bound to share all their data and access to the sites with the Chinese intelligence. The Chinese government-owned companies are directly, or through their Indian subsidiaries, joint ventures, or distributors, supplying VSS hardware and software.

A couple of years ago, the Integrated Defence Headquarters china of the Ministry of defence (MoD) flagged serious concerns over Chinese-origin CCTVs at naval installations. The internal note by the Integrated Defence Headquarters—seen by INDIA TODAY—stated that one of the market leaders in surveillance cameras is Hikvision, which has 41 percent Chinese government holding and is operating in India through an Indian company’s collaboration.

“The modules of these camera systems are supplied by the Chinese firm. However, these products are marketed as Made in India,” claims the MoD note. It added that this loss (of data) could be through programmed or coded servers or embedded hardware for wi-fi or SIM-based connectivity, or during maintenance or replacement from the memory/cache of the CCTV and other surveillance systems.

After the border incursions in Ladakh by Chinese troops in July 2020, the Union Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure issued GFR ( General Financial Rule) 144 XI (on July 23, 2020) to ensure that Chinese companies do not directly, or through their Indian/Chinese subsidiaries, participate in procurements without prior registration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

 Justin Trudeau rejects allegations of Chinese election interference made by a Canadian covert operations agency.

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Speaking before Justice Marie-Josee Hogue’s Public Inquiry into Foreign Intervention in Federal Election Processes and Democratic Institutions, Justin Trudeau provided testimony on Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has questioned the assertion by the country’s spy agency that China “clandestinely and deceptively” conducted foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 Federal elections in Canada.

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Trudeau appeared on Wednesday before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, which is headed by Justice Marie-Josee Hogue.

Trudeau said, “What I am saying, you have to take this intelligence, you have to take this information, with a certain awareness that it still needs to be confirmed or it might not be 100-per-cent accurate.”

Those allegations were contained in a briefing note from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS, provided to the Prime Minister’s Office in February 2023. That document, titled Briefing to the Prime Minister’s Office on Foreign Interference Threats to Canada’s Democratic Institutions, said, “We know that the PRC clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.” PRC refers to the People’s Republic of China.

The target was the principal opposition Conservative Party and its then leader Erin O’Toole, who adopted a platform that was sharply critical of Beijing. “In 2021, the PRC FI was almost certainly motivated by a perception that the Conservative Party of Canada was promoted on a platform that was perceived to be anti-PRC,” the CSIS note stated.

Earlier, O’Toole had testified before the Inquiry they won fewer seats than what was expected, down from the 127 modelled to the outcome of 199 in the 2021 Federal elections. Though, he said, that would not change the ultimate result of the election, with the ruling Liberal Party returning to power and Trudeau heading another minority Government, he estimated that “suppression” could have led to a loss of between five and nine seats. “I think a lot of people didn’t vote because they were intimidated,” he had said.

Justin Trudeau of Canada on the murder of Nijjar; charges that the previous government was “cozy” with India!

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According to Prime Minister Justine Trudeau of Canada, his government has consistently supported minorities’ rights to free speech and participation in Canada.

After claiming that his government defended Canadians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada has escalated the death of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In testimony given at a public inquiry into foreign meddling in Canada’s election process, Justin Trudeau stated that his administration was steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding citizens.

In a hearing presided over by French judge Marie-Josee Hogue, the foreign interference committee, Justin Trudeau accused the nation’s former Conservative government of being “cozy” with the present Indian leadership.

Although the results of the last two Canadian elections were unaffected by Chinese attempts to interfere, Justin Trudeau asserted that it was “improbable” that Beijing favored one party over another.

In oathed evidence before a panel holding a public investigation into purported foreign meddling in the Canadian elections of 2019 and 2021, Justin Trudeau addressed inquiries concerning intelligence briefings he had been provided and maintained that the elections were “free and fair.”

Under pressure from opposition lawmakers dissatisfied with media reporting on China’s potential involvement in the elections, Trudeau established the panel last year.

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What did Justin Trudeau say?

  • Asked about foreign interference during the 2019 elections and redacted parts in the 2019 annual report of the NSI, Justin Trudeau said, “In a public setting, I can’t speak to redactions made for national security. But, I will say that the principle that anyone who comes to Canada from anywhere in the world has all the rights of a Canadian to be free from extortion, coercion, and interference from a country that they left behind and how we have stood up for Canadians, including in the very serious case that I brought forward to Parliament of the killing of (Hardeep Singh) Nijjar, demonstrates our government’s commitment to defending the rights and freedoms of Canadians.”
  • “And the suggestion that we haven’t and we won’t do everything we can to defend Canadian rules and values and defend Canadians from foreign interference is simply misplaced,” Justine Trudeau is heard in a video of the inquiry proceedings shared by Canadian newspaper The Global and Mail.
  • “Our government has always stood up to defend minorities in Canada and the rights of minorities to speak out even if it irritates their home countries overseas,” the Canadian prime minister said.
  • Asked whether appropriate steps were not taken to expose foreign interference, Justin Trudeau replied, “I think that’s certainly a question one needs to ask of the previous conservative government that was known for its very cozy relationship with the current Indian government. Whereas our government has always stood up to defend minorities in Canada and the rights of minorities to speak out, even if it irritates their home countries overseas,” according to the video shared by The Global and Mail.
  • In a classified February interview with the Commission of Inquiry, Justin Trudeau called it extremely damaging to the confidence of the people of Canada in the democratic process. A public summary of the interview was revealed at the inquiry on Wednesday, where Trudeau testified at an open hearing. Trudeau expressed his frustration that intelligence leaked to the media had been “sensationalized” and taken out of context, Canada-based CTV News reported.

India-Canada ties

The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Justin Trudeau’s allegations last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

Days after Justin Trudeau’s allegations, India announced temporarily suspending the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.

India has rejected Justin Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and accused Canada of giving space to Khalistani extremists targeting India.

India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

“World of Warcraft to Return to China” Blizzard and NetEase Work Out Their Difference!

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To preserve a 15-year partnership and bring back games like World of Warcraft season of Discovery (wow sod) for the largest gaming market in the world, NetEase Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Blizzard Entertainment reached a new agreement for game distribution in China.

Chinese industry investigator CN Wire believes that a formal statement restarting PC games, including World of Warcraft and Overwatch 2, wow sod forums to the Chinese market, will take place on Wednesday.

To add to the rumors, a picture of Netease CEO Ding Lei and Activision Blizzard CEO Johanna Faries meeting has surfaced on social media.

The market has spiked in response to local media reporting in China on the possible announcement, with shares of Netease rushing by as much as 5%.

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In 2008, Activision Blizzard and Netease partnered to allow Netease to release Blizzard’s games in China. This was primarily done to introduce World of Warcraft to the Chinese market at the time, but it also released Overwatch, Hearthstone, Starcraft, and Diablo in the years that followed.

The region lost access to Blizzard’s games in 2023 when the agreement expired in late 2022. The biggest 2023 title from Blizzard, Diablo 4, hasn’t been released in the area yet.

A new internal team at NetEase Games is creating the game; according to the company, they are “composed of global talent who previously worked on hit franchises such as Call of Duty and Battlefield.”

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India’s First Spy Satellite Made By Tata Advanced Systems & Satellogic Sent To SpaceX For Launch

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India’s first military-grade spy satellite, developed by the domestic private sector, is now ready and has been shipped for launch on a SpaceX rocket. This significant achievement is a collaborative effort between TATA Advanced Systems (TASL) and Satellogic, a Latin American company, according to a report by ET.

india's spy satellite

Here are the key details:

Satellite Specifications:

The satellite boasts an impressive 0.5-meter spatial resolution in its imagery, making it capable of capturing fine details from space.

Unlike previous scenarios where exact coordinates and monitoring timings had to be shared with foreign vendors, this satellite’s ground control center will remain in India. This ensures the secrecy of critical information required by the armed forces.

The satellite will be used for monitoring infrastructure and acquiring intelligence related to military targets.

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Launch And Control:

The satellite, completed by TASL, is currently being sent to Florida for an expected launch by April aboard a SpaceX rocket.

Once operational, a state-of-the-art ground control centre will be established in Bengaluru, directing the satellite’s path and processing its imagery.

Strategic Importance:

Given the vast coverage needed for monitoring borders and enemy movements, this satellite will significantly enhance India’s intelligence capabilities.

The Bangalore plant, capable of producing 25 low Earth orbit satellites per year, demonstrates India’s growing prowess in space technology.

This milestone marks a significant step forward for India’s space endeavours, combining private sector innovation with cutting-edge technology.

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A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck western China pushed thousands of people from their homes!

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Although there was a lot of damage done by the earthquake in the bitter cold, there were not many casualties or losses of property because the epicentre of the earthquake was in Uchturpan County, close to the Kazakhstani border.

7.1-magnitude earthquake

As aftershocks continued to rock western China on January 24, more than 12,000 people were staying in tents and other shelters, lighting bonfires to fend off the freezing weather.

The previous day, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in a remote part of China’s Xinjiang region killed three people and left five injured, while damaging hundreds of buildings.

The earthquake caused significant damage amid freezing temperatures, but the toll on lives and property was relatively light, owing to the sparse population around the epicentre in Uchturpan county, near the border with Kazakhstan.

Footage shown by state broadcaster CCTV on January 24 showed evacuees eating instant noodles in tents with bonfires providing heat.

Jian Gewa, a 16-year old student in Uchturpan, said he was in the bathroom when the quake began. The entire building shook violently. “I just thought I had to get myself to safety as quickly as possible,” Jian said.

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He was evacuated to a school where he was staying in a dorm room with his grandfather, joining about 200 others. Local officials said they planned to check houses’ stability before people could return.

The earthquake hit in a sparsely populated area with clusters of towns and villages scattered across an otherwise barren winter landscape. A two lane highway runs from the city of Aksu about 125 km (78 miles) to the area, through frozen brown flatlands on one side and craggy outcroppings on the other. Power lines and an occasional cement factory are virtually the only signs of human presence.

In Kizilsu Kirgiz prefecture, the earthquake caused damage of various degrees to 851 buildings, collapsing 93 structures near the epicentre and killing 910 livestock, according to the prefecture deputy party secretary Wurouziali Haxihaerbayi.

The area is populated mostly by Kyrgyz and Uyghurs, ethnic Turkic minorities who are predominantly Muslim and have been the target of a state campaign of forced assimilation and mass detention. The region is heavily militarised, and state broadcaster CCTV showed paramilitary troops moving in before dawn to clear rubble and set up tents for those displaced.

The prefecture has deployed more than 2,300 rescuers, and Akqi county evacuated 7,338 residents. In total, 12,426 people have been evacuated. Rescue crews combed through the rubble while emergency survival gear including coats and tents arrived to help the thousands of people who fled their homes.

“This 7.1 rating is very strong, but the death and injury situation is not severe,” Zhang Yongjiu, the head of Xinjiang Earthquake Administration,” told a news conference. The earthquake’s epicentre was in a mountainous area about 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) above sea level, Zhang said.

In the village of Yamansu, about 115 people were staying in a Communist Party meeting hall, their bedding neatly rolled up on Wednesday morning (January 23) on top of five long rows of metal bed frames. Medical staff were on hand to check on older residents.

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A light layer of snow covered the frozen ground as temperatures remained well below freezing, although the sunshine brought people outside. The quake hit shortly after 2 a.m. on January 23. By evening, authorities said three people had died and five were injured, two seriously.

State broadcaster CCTV said 1,104 aftershocks, including five that were above magnitude 5.0, were recorded as of 8 a.m. on January 24. The largest registered at magnitude 5.7. Among the buildings damaged, 47 houses had collapsed, the government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region posted on its official Weibo social media account on January 22.

Officials said most of the houses that collapsed were in remote areas and were built by residents. Newer public housing built by the government did not collapse.

Footage broadcast by CCTV showed staff at Aksu’s train station ordering passengers out of the waiting hall in a speedy but not panicked manner.

Some walls were cracked or partially collapsed in the empty Aksu country village of Youkakeyamansu, a name transliterated in Mandarin from Uyghur. All residents had been evacuated to a shelter.

The mountainous Uchturpan county is recording temperatures well below freezing, with the China Meteorological Administration forecasting lows reaching negative 18 degrees Celsius (just below zero Fahrenheit) this week. The county had around 2,33,000 people in 2022, according to Xinjiang authorities.

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“The quake downed power lines but electricity was quickly restored,” Aksu authorities said. The Urumqi Railroad Bureau resumed services after 7 a.m. following safety checks that confirmed no problems on train lines. The suspension affected 23 trains, the bureau serving the Xinjiang capital said on its official Weibo account.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the area’s largest quake in the past century was also magnitude 7.1 and occurred in 1978, about 200 km (124 miles) to the north of Tuesday’s epicentre. Tremors were felt hundreds of km (miles) away.

Tremors also were felt in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and reportedly as far away as New Delhi. Videos posted on the Telegram messaging platform showed people in the Kazakh city of Almaty running downstairs in apartment blocks and standing in the street, some of them wearing shorts in the freezing weather.

In Xinjiang and Kazakhstan, classes were suspended to allow children to recover from the shock. Earthquakes are common in western China.

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Gansu province in December killed 151 people and was China’s deadliest quake in nine years. An earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed nearly 90,000.

“Elsewhere, authorities raised the confirmed death toll to 31 on Tuesday in a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of China’s southwestern province of Yunnan,” Chinese state media reported.

The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. on Monday in the mountain village of Liangshui. Authorities said on Tuesday that a total of 44 people were either missing or had been found dead.

This article is sourced from thehindu!

China-backed conservative Islamic elements caused the Maldives crisis: Former Indian envoy! Maldives China-backed conservative Islamic elements caused the Maldives crisis: Former Indian envoy!

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China-backed conservative Islamic elements caused the Maldives crisis: Former Indian envoy

Dnyaneshwar Mulay claims that Muizzu is a close ally of President Abdullah Yameen, who is well-known for being pro-China and anti-Indian.

Maldives News

According to a former senior Indian diplomat, the swift deterioration of relations between India and the Maldives might be attributed to the rise of an Islamic conservative group on the Indian Ocean island.

“The crisis has been caused by a lack of understanding of the situation and the realities of bilateral relations between the two countries,” stated Dnyaneshwar Manohar Mulay, a former Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives. “Democracy in the Maldives is relatively young, in their teens.”

The newly elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a meeting just one month ago, and since then, their ties have deteriorated dramatically. Three Maldivian politicians provoked the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, immediately with tweets criticizing him for his close links to Israel and for pushing the Lakshadweep islands during his recent visit, which was seen as a cost to the Maldives.

Additionally, the clergy made disparaging remarks about Indians. The damage is done even though the tweets were removed, the Ministers were suspended, and the Maldivian government disassociated itself from them.

“Whenever such developments happen, it is the result of some people, who have been polluting the minds of the island population there, and China has played a significant role in doing this,” stated former High Commissioner Mulay. It has been giving all of the support to the Maldives’ conservative components, and the country’s present administration is both strongly conservative and pro-development.

Maldives News

“There is an Islamic tilt to their policies, which is why President Muizzu’s first visit was to Turkey, and it is regrettable that his second visit was to China,” he continued. It reveals the preferences of the new regime.

Mulay brought out the fact that President Muizzu is a supporter of the late Abdullah Yameen, the well-known hardline opponent of India who presided over the Maldives from 2013 to 2018. Yameen embezzled USD 1 million in state funds in 2019, earning a five-year prison sentence and a USD five million fine.

As President of the Maldives, Yameen had laid the foundation for the Chinese debt trap in 2015 and led the `India Out’ campaign, currently being pursued by President Muizzu, who wants India’s 70 soldiers in the island nations out. These personnel operate India-sponsored radars and surveillance aircraft.

Indian involvement in the Maldives is long, extending from hospitals, education, credit facilities, defence agreements, and many other areas of bilateral cooperation, the former High Commissioner told this reporter.

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In Mulay’s view, however, when things settle down, Maldivians would realise that it would be very difficult to navigate through their domestic issues; issues related to climate change and day-to-day requirements. Maldives is extremely dependent on India and New Delhi has been providing all this, by going out of its way for decades now, since about 1976.”

He said that sections of the Maldives population are already voicing their fears, knowing that India is the first responder during its time of crisis. “The tourism industry has voiced its fears, as have the others,” the former High Commissioner said.

Asked if China could grab the space if India vacated it in a country regarded as a long-term close ally, Mulay said: “I am sure things would improve, but I will give it another six months to see how things shape up.”

In November 1988, Indian troops famously intervened to thwart a coup attempt in the island nation. The attempt was carried out by a group of Maldivians and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organisation from Sri Lanka, the Peoples’ Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government. In the counter-offensive called Operation Cactus, India had thwarted the move, earning it a lot of goodwill.

This article was orginally published on hindustantimes.com!

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