| Sreemoy Talukdar brings you the essential cheat sheet on foreign affairs covering India and the world |  | | A landmark WTO deal is our kickoff item this week where India held its own (pic above) despite tremendous pressure from developed nations, followed by India-ASEAN foreign ministers' meet, the formation of curiously named I2-U2 summit, the second anniversary of Galwan tragedy and Xi's phone call with Putin that has outraged the US. | | TOP FIVE NEWS UPDATES | | WTO seals landmark deal after 9 years as India claims 'major victory' on fisheries, vaccine | | Closing five gruelling days of negotiation where India held out agreement till the last minute over the raw deal it was being offered on fisheries and vaccine, the "164 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) finally sealed a package of trade agreements in the wee hours on Friday in Geneva. India led the course. The deals approved at the 12th ministerial conference of the WTO were ground out over days of round-the-clock talks, and is the first major agreement in nine years. The series of trade deals include pledges on food security, balanced outcome on fisheries subsidies, and response to pandemic - all issues important to developing countries. A key decision related to patent waiver on Covid-19 vaccines is also expected soon, with the US yet to officially seal it", reports Livemint. The report adds that prime minister Narendra Modi actively oversaw negotiations through the ministerial in Geneva. Union minister for commerce Piyush Goyal, who led India's delegation in Geneva, called it a huge victory for India in getting rules for countries who are into deep sea fishing cleared. Speaking to the media after the conclusion of the meet, Goyal said, "India has received 100% success. and there no issue on which India is leaving worried… We have reestablished agri issues of public stockholding, distribution, MSP for food security & PM garib Kalyan Ann Yojana," Goyal said, according to Economic Times. "We succeeded in bringing regulation for those who indulge in illegal fishing. Our demands to control the illegal, unregulated, unreported fishing were also accepted. It is a big success for the country, as there are many countries who engage in deep-sea fishing thus exploiting and endangering the fish species of the world," added the minister. India was also successful in convincing all nations to ensure a TRIPS patent waiver for the manufacturing of Covid vaccines. "The WTO's last-minute deal -- secured after an all-night negotiating session in Geneva -- is an important victory for Okonjo-Iweala, the former head of Gavi - the vaccine alliance, who actively stumped for the accord during her first year as the WTO's top trade official," reports Bloomberg, adding, "at the same time, the deal delivers a significant blow to vaccine manufacturers such as Pfizer Inc., Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc, which fought hard to prevent nations from undermining the intellectual-property framework." | | India-ASEAN foreign ministers' meet in New Delhi discusses Ukraine, connectivity, pandemic response | | Foreign ministers of India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met on Thursday in New Delhi and called for strengthening of ties and combatting geopolitical headwinds arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, high food and energy prices, extreme inflation and hampered supply chains. The ministers "discussed ways to respond to the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the regional economy and security and agreed to enhance cooperation in key areas such as trade, connectivity, defence and cyber security. This was the first time India hosted a special meeting with foreign ministers of ASEAN to mark the 30th anniversary of ties with the 10-member grouping. The meeting was co-chaired by external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan. Jaishankar in his opening remarks said the process of post-pandemic recovery had been complicated by developments in Europe at a time when the Covid-19 crisis has not fully abated, reports Hindustan Times. An MEA release says "the meeting was also attended by foreign ministers of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and representatives of foreign ministers from Lao PDR, Philippines, and Thailand along with Secretary General of ASEAN. The ministers reviewed the status of ASEAN-India Partnership and set out the path for the coming decade. The discussions included key focus areas of Covid-19 & Health, Trade & Commerce, Connectivity – physical and digital, Education & Capacity Building, as well as implementation of ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP)." Though representatives of Myanmar's military-installed government were excluded from the meeting ostensibly due to objection from the ASEAN members, a senior official of the Myanmarese embassy attended the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) that was held on Wednesday, a day ahead of the foreign ministers' meet, reports News18. The Hindu reports that the Prophet remarks controversy came up during the meet, and Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan met BJP party chief JP Nadda on Wednesday "where a wide range of issues were discussed." Here's the link to Jaishankar's keynote address. | | India, Israel, US, UAE announce 'I2-U2' summit; first meeting during Biden's visit to West Asia next month | | Prime minister Narendra Modi, US president Joe Biden, Israeli prime minister Neftali Bennett, and UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan would attend the first-of-its-kind virtual summit of the I2-U2 grouping next month. According to a statement from the White House, the I2-U2 grouping of India, Israel (I2), the UAE, and the US (U2) will hold its first virtual summit next month as part of the Biden administration's efforts to re-energise and revitalise American alliances across the world. The virtual summit would take place during Biden's trip to the Middle East region from July 13 to 16, a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call, reports The Hindu. Indian Express adds that "in October 2021, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries took place when external affairs minister S Jaishankar was visiting Israel. At that time, it was called the 'International Forum for Economic Cooperation'. This time, the meeting will take place at the level of heads of government/state — an upgrade." In a background briefing on Biden's Middle East trip, a White House official said, "We consider these initiatives central to our strategy of empowering partners and encouraging them to work more closely together…" Meanwhile, in the US, Biden's Saudi visit announcement is creating a lot of controversy. Washington Post observes that it "comes less than three years after Biden pledged to turn the kingdom into a "pariah" for the gruesome assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden is expected to meet with the country's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite US intelligence having said Mohammed ordered Khashoggi's assassination. Needless to say, this not a treatment generally reserved for pariahs." Wall Street Journal says "Biden's brand of liberal internationalism is good at broadcasting American principles but not so effective at protecting US interests. Donald Trump practiced a raw transactional global politics that too often ignored human rights and applauded dictators. But Biden has gone so far the other way that some allies don't trust him. In a world in which great power politics has returned with a vengeance, and US adversaries are on the march, the US needs allies in rough neighborhoods. Some of them are going to be unsavory by American standards." | | Two years since Galwan tragedy, China stays put, claims India is the transgressor | | It has been two years to the day that Indian and Chinese soldiers were involved in a deadly clash on the intervening night between June 15 and 16 at Galwan Valley, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers — the first fatalities due to India-China clash since 1975. Indian Express says "two years after the Galwan clash in the Ladakh heights, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, and which plunged India-China relations to their lowest in decades, the two sides are normalising relations in many respects, with the Indian side displaying a pragmatism far ahead of the "lal aankh" rhetoric. Even though New Delhi has not yet succeeded in getting the Chinese to vacate some parts of eastern Ladakh on India's side of the Line of Actual Control or ensuring a return to status quo ante (as the situation existed in April 2020), bilateral trade has soared and it is now at its highest, first quarter data show." India Today cites latest satellite images of Galwan valley provided by US based space company, Planet Labs PBC to report "status quo at ground zero of the clash. While both sides have maintained a no man's land around PP14, the preparation to achieve better mobility is visible on both sides. Several bridges over the water streams can be seen on the available satellite imagery." Meanwhile, addressing the 2022 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, China's defence minister and state councillor Wei Fenghe said in response to a question about the clash in Galwan that "China and India are neighbours. Maintaining a good relationship meets the interests of both countries and that is what we are working on. But on frictions along the border areas, the merits of the issue is clear. I personally experienced the start and end of the frictions as Defence minister. We have found a lot of weapons owned by the Indian side. They have also sent people to the Chinese side of the territory," reports The Print. | | Xi calls up Putin, offers support and strategic cooperation as America sees red | | Chinese president Xi Jinping called up Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. The phone call has set America ablaze. Politico says "Xi offered the most unambiguous declaration of support to Putin since the invasion of Ukraine, vowing to support Moscow's 'sovereignty and security.' The remarks were a significant rhetorical departure from Xi's earlier call on Putin to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of 'all countries' — a more universal remark that could be loosely interpreted to include Ukraine — which he made a day after the war began. Now, more than 100 days into the war, Xi focused squarely on his support for Russia in his latest call with Putin." New York Times says, quoting from a summary of the conversation released by Chinese foreign ministry that it left little doubt that "whatever his misgivings about the invasion of Ukraine — Xi remains committed to close ties with Russia, which help to offset rising antagonism with the United States and its allies." The summary reads: "Throughout this year, Chinese-Russian relations have maintained a healthy momentum of development in the face of global turbulence and change," Xi told Putin, adding, "China is willing to promote the steady advancement of practical bilateral cooperation… China is willing to continue maintaining mutual support on major issues of mutual concern involving sovereignty, security and other core interests, building closer bilateral strategic cooperation." Bloomberg says "the Kremlin readout said the two men, both 69, discussed increasing economic cooperation, trade and military-technical ties between China and Russia on Wednesday. Moscow's version also implied the Chinese leader endorsed Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, saying Xi noted the "legitimacy of Russia's actions in protecting its fundamental national interests in the face of security challenges created by external forces." A Global Times report of the call says, "the two sides also exchanged views over the Ukraine crisis. China has always made independent judgments based on the history and merits of the issue. All parties should responsibly push for a proper resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, and China is ready to continue playing its role, Xi reiterated." | | | | | | | | | | TOP ANALYSES OF THE WEEK | | Against China, India must better leverage its strategic value | | ORF fellow Antara Ghosal Singh writes in Hindustan Times that India must know it has a crucial role to play in the realm of China's foreign policy as well as future development strategies, and hence New Delhi would do well to come to terms with and better leverage its increasing strategic value to China, so as to shape Beijing's behaviour and extract adequate benefits from it. | | Restoring status quo ante should remain India's objective | | Two years since the Galwan clashes on the intervening night of June 15-16, 2020, former foreign secretary Shyam Saran tells The Hindu's Suhasini Haidar in an interview that the Indian side is fully justified in asserting that if bilateral relations have to come back on track, status quo ante should be restored. | | Reaction of some Islamic nations on Prophet row politically excessive | | On the Nupur Sharma controversy, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal writes in News18 that the reaction of some Islamic countries to the remarks made in a heated TV debate on Islam has been politically excessive, even if one recognises that such comments should not be made and that it is wrong to hurt the religious sentiments of any community. | | US is still short-sighted on Asian partners' interests and concerns | | Walter Russell Mead writes in Wall Street Journal that a real pivot to Asia would frequently require American policy makers to elevate the interests and concerns of Asian partners over those of longstanding allies in Europe. | | American can no longer maintain balance of power in Asia by itself | | Carnegie's Ashley Townshend and James Crabtree of IISS argue in New York Times that the challenge posed by China is becoming so great that the United States can no longer maintain a balance of military power in Asia by itself. | | Needless alarm over China's Solomon Islands plans | | Lucas Myers of Wilson Center writes in Foreign Policy that the Solomon Islands agreement is a concerning deal, but China's ability to contest sea control deep into the Pacific is likely decades out. | | Europe's plan to quit Russian gas puts Pakistan into darkness | | Stephen Stapczynski and Faseeh Mangi write in Bloomberg that Europe's campaign to quit Russian fuel is designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. It's also wreaking havoc thousands of miles away from the conflict, plunging Pakistan into darkness, undermining one regime and threatening the stability of the country's new leadership. | | Realism is both an analytical tool and a policy position | | University of Chicago professor Paul Poast writes in Foreign Affairs magazine that realism's critics should not throw out the baby with the bath water. The invective directed at realism misses an important distinction: realism is both an analytical school of thought and a policy position. The errors of the latter don't obviate the utility of the former. | | Why Americans hate realism so much | | Professor Stephen M. Walt of Harvard University writes in Foreign Policy that realism is unpopular in the United States because it runs counter to the widespread belief in American exceptionalism—the idea that the United States is uniquely moral and always acts for the greater good of humanity. | | Democracies have finally overcome triumphalism of the 90s | | Amrita Narlikar, president, German Institute for Global and Area Studies, writes for World Economic Forum on democracy. The author poses that deliberative nature of democracy seems to have finally overcome the hubristic triumphalism of the 1990s. Amidst the treacherous times we live in, Western democracies are showing increasing awareness of the internal challenges they face. | | PODCAST WATCH | | Putin's energy power play | | In this edition of Financial Times' podcast, host Gideon Rachman talks to American expert Dan Yergin about the role played by energy in the Ukraine conflict and its implications for the rest of the world. They discuss whether Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine and Europe's decision to seek alternative supplies shrink this power irreparably. | | | | Copyright © 2022.Firstpost - All Rights Reserved. | |
