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Days after Sri Lanka deferred the visit of a Chinese military vessel following concerns raised by India, Colombo made a U-turn and allowed the ship to dock at the Hambantota port from August 16 to 22.
The Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese research and survey vessel, was expected to dock earlier from August 11 to 17, but this was deferred after India raised the issue with Lanka.
In an official statement, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said that after it had asked China to defer the visit of the vessel, it had engaged in extensive consultations at a high level through diplomatic channels “with all parties concerned”, with a view to resolving the matter in a spirit of friendship, mutual trust and constructive dialogue, taking into account the interests of all parties concerned, and in line with the “principle of sovereign equality of states”.
The Ministry said China had approached Sri Lanka on August 12. “Having considered all material in place, on 13 August 2022, the clearance to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China was conveyed for the deferred arrival of the vessel from 16-22 August 2022.”
Reiterating Sri Lanka’s policy of “cooperation and friendship with all countries”, the Foreign Ministry said: “Security and cooperation in the neighbourhood is of utmost priority. It is Sri Lanka’s intention to safeguard the legitimate interests of all countries, in keeping with its international obligations.”
The Ministry said it was deeply appreciative of the support and understanding of all countries to Lanka, especially during its severe economic crisis. It also sought further information and material that could assist in consultations on the matter.
Earlier, announcing that it had asked China to defer docking of the ship, Lanka had said it was doing so “in light of certain concerns” raised with it, without naming India.
The ship was since awaiting clearance to enter from its location 600 nautical miles east of Hambantota. Ships like Yuan Wang 5 can track satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
China has around seven of these tracking ships that are capable of operating throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The ships supplement Beijing’s land-based tracking stations.
Govt. and Politics
TaiwananinternalquestionforBeijing,differentfromLACissue:Chinaenvoy(Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Taiwan question is different from the boundary question between India and China, China’s ambassador to India, Sun Weidong in his first media interaction since the border standoff began two years ago.
Calling the current border situation “stable”, he said the two sides are working towards switching over from “emergency response” to “normal management” of the situation.
On the standoff, he said India and China have met several times at diplomatic and military levels, and have agreed to maintain the dialogue in a “constructive and forward-looking manner”.
On infrastructure building and military exercises along Line of Actual Control, Sun said China always conducts normal exercises, and the two sides are working on the “principle of mutual and equal security”.
There should not be a winner takes all and the law of the jungle [approach]…the two sides are making joint efforts and should handle their differences carefully.
Sun recounted the “positive impetus” created by the BRICS meeting, participated by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping; Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi’s meetings with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA AjitDoval; congratulatory letter from Xi to newly elected President DroupadiMurmu. He said the “leaders’ guidance” has an “irreplaceable role” in relations between the two countries.
He was non-committal on a possible meeting between Modi and Xi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan next month, and instead said the two sides need to strengthen “mutual confidence”.
Responding to questions, he said, “Taiwan question is different from the boundary question between China and India.
The Taiwan question is truly an internal affair because Taiwan has always been and will always be a part of China. This is a fact and nobody can change it.
So how to solve the Taiwan question is purely a business of the Chinese government. No foreign forces, or the so-called independent Taiwan forces, can change that. This is the firm determination of China.
Economy
‘Opentoself-regulatorybody;wanttoseediversity,start-ups’(Page no. 21)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A self-regulatory body which social media companies such as Meta, Twitter and Google are currently putting together, to address complaints raised by users about the platforms’ content-moderation decisions, could be formulated with participation between the industry and government.
He also said that the self-regulatory body cannot be “dominated by the Big Tech”, and should have equal representation from smaller start-ups.
Social media companies, along with industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), are currently chalking up the contours of a self-regulatory mechanism in response to the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s (MeitY’s) proposal to set up ‘government appellate committees’ (GACs) to address grievances raised by users.
In proposed amendments to the Information Technology Rules, MeitY has suggested setting up these committees, even as it said it is open to a self-regulatory body of social media companies to handle such issues.
The government is open to any type of institutional mechanism including a self-regulatory organisation which could be a partnership between the industry and the government.
According to an initial draft of the self-governing body’s composition, it includes a senior retired judge from either the Supreme Court or other high courts, and executives of social media companies, among other people.
Whether there should be government representation as a bureaucrat or other individuals representing various stakeholders including the government is a matter of finer details.
The government representative could also be a non-government person but someone who represents the government’s view on the policy outcomes expected of the self-regulatory organisation.
The Indian Express reported earlier that there is a growing divide in internet companies on setting up the self-regulatory body, with firms like Google and Snap expressing reservations over the potential inability to legally challenge any final content moderation decisions of a self-governing body, in addition to the difference in the content moderation policies of different platforms.
Apart from that, there are concerns within the industry that a self-regulatory body could end up largely focusing on big social media companies who have more bargaining power, compared to smaller firms.
World
Pakistan to attend counter-terrorSCO exercise in India: Report(Page no. 22)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Pakistan will attend the counter-terrorism drills hosted by India under the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in October, despite a chill in bilateral ties.
While Pakistani and Indian military contingents have taken part in counter-terrorism exercises together, this will be the first time that Pakistan will be attending such drills in India.
Pakistan will attend the international counter-terrorism exercise scheduled in October this year under SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), the newspaper quoted Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman AsimIftikhar as saying on Friday at the weekly briefing.
These exercises are scheduled to be held in India in Mahesar in October, and as Pakistan is a member, we will participate.
The exercise scheduled to be held in Manesar in Haryana will see participation from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, besides India.
India and Pakistan, under the banner of the SCO are part of the nine-member Beijing-based regional body.
The move is termed to be significant given the tensions between India and Pakistan after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.
India's decision evoked strong reactions from Pakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of the country.
India has said it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan in an environment free of terror, hostility, and violence.
Italy’s largest lake shrinks to near-historic low amid drought (Page no. 22)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Italy’s worst drought indecadeshasreducedLakeGarda,thecountry’slargestlake,tonearitslowestleveleverrecorded,exposingswathsofpreviouslyunderwaterrocksandwarmingthewater to temperatures that approach the average in theCaribbean Sea.
Tourists flocking to the popular northern lake Friday for the start of Italy's key summer long weekend found a vastly different landscape than in past years.
An expansive stretch of bleached rock extended far from the normal shoreline, ringing the southern Sirmione Peninsula with a yellow halo between the green hues of the water and the trees on the shore.
We came last year, we liked it, and we came back this year," tourist Beatrice Masi said as she sat on the rocks. "We found the landscape had changed a lot.
Northern Italy hasn't seen significant rainfall for months, and snowfall this year was down 70%, drying up important rivers like the Po, which flows across Italy's agricultural and industrial heartland.
Many European countries, including Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Britain, are enduring droughts this summer that have hurt farmers and shippers and promoted authorities to restrict water use.
The parched condition of the Po, Italy's longest river, has caused billions of euros in losses to farmers who normally rely on it to irrigate fields and rice paddies.
To compensate, authorities allowed more water from Lake Garda to flow out to local rivers — 70 cubic meters (2,472 cubic feet) of water per second. But in late July, they reduced the amount to protect the lake and the financially important tourism tied to it.