Cinema News: Welcome to Firstpost's Weekly Foreign Policy Fix

Sreemoy Talukdar brings you the essential cheat sheet on foreign affairs covering India and the world

India has indicated that it shall use its office of G20 presidency to be a force for global good, and lend voice to the voiceless Global South. The Voice of Global South Summit that took place this week, at the initiative of PM Modi, is our first area of focus. We also track Army Chief Gen Pande's comments on LAC, Pakistan's economic collapse and desperate soliciting of funds, China's reopening of border after three years and Bolsonaro supporters' storming of presidential palace, Supreme Court in an unsuccessful bid to overturn Brazilian elections (pic above).

TOP FIVE NEWS UPDATES

India will amplify the voice of developing nations, says PM Modi at inaugural Global South summit

In his opening remarks at the inaugural 'Voice of Global South' summit, the two-day virtual conclave conceptualized and hosted by India for more than 120 countries invited from Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, West Asia and South-East Asia that are part of the Global South', prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South but they affect us more and called for a global agenda of respond, recognise, respect and reform. Addressing the summit, Modi said, "we have turned the page on another difficult year that shows war, conflict, terrorism and geopolitical tensions, rising food fertilizers and fuel prices. "It is clear that world is in a state of crisis," he said in presence of several leaders of various developing countries, according to a report in Firstpost. "As India begins its G20 presidency this year, it is natural that our aim is to amplify the voice of the Global South", he said. India, as president of G20, seeks to provide developing countries with a platform to present their priorities and challenges related to developmental issues and feature focused discussions spread across 10 sessions on issues such as foreign policy, finance, energy, trade, health, education and environment. The summit envisages 10 sessions—four would be held on January 12, and six sessions on January 13. Each session is expected to witness the participation of leaders and ministers from 10-20 countries. At the foreign ministers' session, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said: "whether it is the impact of the Covid pandemic, climate change, terrorism, ongoing conflicts and debt crises, the search for solutions do not give due weight to the needs and aspirations of the Global South. We therefore wanted to ensure that India's G-20 presidency gathers that voice, the perspectives, the priorities of the Global South, and articulates that clearly in its debates." Speaking at the summit, Union finance minister N Sitharaman said that financing the social dimension of sustainable development is an important priority under India's G-20 presidency and the country "aspires to contribute to socio-economic reforms globally".

China beefing up deployment along LAC but situation remains stable, says COAS Gen Manoj Pande

India's chief of army staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande, at the annual Army Day news conference on Thursday said there has been a "slight increase" in the deployment of Chinese troops opposite the Army's Eastern Command even as the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains "stable but unpredictable". Pande clearly said one of the main challenges facing Indian armed forces today is the situation at the northern borders. He, however, did not name China even once, according toa report in ABP Live. referring to the situation at the Eastern Command, he said the build up by the PLA on the opposite side is happening slowly and gradually. This is the sector that saw clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang region in December, adds the report. Gen Pande said both countries have been able to resolve five of the seven issues along the LAC and continue to hold talks at the military and diplomatic levels. In the eastern sector, he said there has been a slight increase in the deployment of Chinese troops, but the Indian Army soldier, including reserves, have been adequately deployed there to take care of any situation, adds a report in Indian Express. Quoting from the same presser, Hindustan Times reports that COAS Pande expanded on army's infrastructure building along the LAC, which he said was being done at a rapid pace in eastern Ladakh with focus on better living experience and improved facilities for soldiers, conservation of modern weapons and equipment deployed there, and supporting faster movement of men and material to deal with any contingency. On tri-service structure, he said an integrated and tri-service response to deal with security challenges would be an imperative in the future.

Facing economic collapse, Pakistan manages to secure more than $9 billion in pledges to stay afloat

Pakistan is facing one of its worst economic crisis and the nation is staring at bankruptcy. "Very high inflation, dangerously low foreign exchange reserves, and global lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) refusing to disperse further funds" along with the devastating floods of 2022 have contributed to a situation where the nations sits on the verge of economic collapse, says Indian Express. According to reports in Pakistani media, Islamabad's foreign exchange reserves fell to $4.5 billion after the country returned over $1 billion loans of two foreign commercial banks, hardly enough to finance 25 days of import. Two separate repayments of $600 million and $415 million have been made to two Dubai-based commercial banks. After the loans repayments, Pakistan is left with less than 25 days of import cover. So bad is the crisis that videos on social media show people protesting on the streets for food as prices of essential items have skyrocketed in the country, according to a report in Economic Times. In the last few days, there has been a shortage of wheat flour in the country, prices have been increased by PKR 1000 and current rates hover around PKR 3000 per bag. This has led to agitations on the streets of Pakistan from low-income groups. Faced with a catastrophe, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif recently went to Geneva to attend a donors' conference and seek funds for bailout. His efforts paid off. The Guardian reports that the international community "has promised more than $9 billion" to help Pakistan rebuild after last summer's catastrophic floods. The pledges were made on Monday at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan in Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by Pakistan's prime minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Guterres. The UAE, alongside, has agreed to increase its financial assistance to Pakistan to $3 billion while Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it was considering providing up to $11 billion to Pakistan, a potential lifeline to a country facing default, according to a report in Wall Street Journal.

China reopens borders at long last but crowded crematoriums indicate scale of Covid surge at home

China has reopened its borders to international visitors for the first time since it imposed travel restrictions in March 2020. A BBC report says "In Hong Kong, 400,000 people are expected to travel into mainland China in the coming weeks with long queues for flights into cities including Beijing and Xiamen. On Sunday, double-decker coaches packed with travellers arrived at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to catch buses to the Guangdong province - among them were college students returning home. One man told the BBC he hadn't seen his extended family in three years and could not hold back his excitement, having just bought a ticket back to the mainland." Bloomberg adds that "while anyone wanting to enter the country will still need a 48-hour negative Covid test result, the substantial easing in border controls just two weeks before the Lunar New Year holiday marks an end to Beijing's efforts to keep out the virus." Investors hope the reopening will reinvigorate a $17-trillion economy suffering its slowest growth in nearly half a century. But the abrupt policy reversal has triggered a massive wave of infections that is overwhelming some hospitals and causing business disruptions, adds Reuters. "Satellite images taken over a number of Chinese cities have captured crowding at crematoriums and funeral homes, as the country continues its battle with an unprecedented wave of Covid-19 infections following its dismantling of severe pandemic restrictions," reports CNN. It adds, "The images – taken by Maxar in late December and early January and reviewed by CNN – show a funeral home on the outskirts of Beijing, which appears to have constructed a brand-new parking area, as well as lines of vehicles waiting outside of funeral homes in Kunming, Nanjing, Chengdu, Tangshan and Huzhou." China, meanwhile, has suspended issuing some visas for South Korea and Japan in Beijing's first retaliation against Covid-related curbs on Chinese travelers.

Protests fizzle out in Brazil after Bolsonaro supporters storm presidential palace, Supreme Court

Evoking January 6, 2021, riot in the United States, in which supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to invade the US Capitol, "thousands of supporters of Brazil's ousted former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices on Sunday to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election, the violent culmination of years of conspiracy theories advanced by Bolsonaro and his right-wing allies. In scenes reminiscent of the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol, protesters in Brasília, Brazil's capital, draped in the yellow and green of Brazil's flag surged into the seat of power, setting fires, repurposing barricades as weapons, knocking police officers from horseback and filming their crimes as they committed them," accordiong to a New York Times report. "Protesters dressed in Brazil's national green and yellow colors charged into the country's most important government buildings Sunday afternoon, smashing windows and furniture and ripping up documents before riot police forced them back into the streets by nightfall. Some 300 people were arrested," reports Wall Street Journal. South China Morning Post reports that while his supporters were trying to overthrow president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist who took office on January 1 defeating Bolsonaro in an October election, Bolsonaro was admitted to a hospital in Florida on Monday with stomach pains as 1,500 of his supporters were rounded up in Brasilia. President Lula vowed to bring those responsible to justice. He accused rioters of trying to overthrow democracy, and questioned why the army had not discouraged calls for a military coup outside their barracks. Prime minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply concerned over the news of rioting" and "democratic traditions must be respected" , US president Joe Biden voiced "unwavering support" for Lula and invited him to Washington. As the protests fizzled out, Brazilian police said 1,159 people were arrested in connection with Sunday's storming of government building in Brasilia while Lula said he suspects pro-Bolsonaro staff helped mob enter presidential palace.

TOP ANALYSES OF THE WEEK

India should be a bridge between Global South and North

While championing the cause of 'Global South', India should avoid the temptation of building a bloc against the developed North, argues C Raja Mohan of Asia Society Policy Institute in Indian Express.

Being a leading power is India's medium-term goal: Jaishankar

In an interview to Nikkei Asia, external affairs minister S Jaishankar says as a leading power, India would be open-minded, consultative, democratic, empathetic and contributive as it rises in the international order.

Indian, US navies should deepen alliance further

In their essay for War on the Rocks, Adm. Karambir Singh (Ret), former chief of the naval staff, and Blake Herzinger, nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argue that Indian and US navies should consider aligning their regional security assistance programs, expand cooperation on maritime domain awareness, and expand training exercises and access agreements for maintenance and refueling.

Little reason for optimism in Sino-Indian ties in 2023

Following the clash along their disputed border in December, there's little reason for optimism in China-India ties for the new year, writes Jagannath Panda of ISDP, Sweden, in The Diplomat.

Ukraine today may be Asia tomorrow: Fumio Kishida

Ukraine today may be Asia tomorrow… Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force are not acceptable, prime minister Fumio Kishida tells Josh Rogin of Washington Post in an interview.

World's most important elections this year will be in Turkey

Outcome of Turkey's general elections, when president Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to extend his rule into a third decade, will shape geopolitical and economic calculations in Washington and Moscow, as well as capitals across Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, writes Bobby Ghosh in Bloomberg.

America is oblivious to the dangers of backing Ukraine

What America has signed up for by backing Ukraine is a massive, nearly utopian project with obvious, foreseeable risks and potentially ruinous costs, warns Michael Brendan Dougherty in National Review.

Russia's strategic decisions are starting to make sense

Russian strategic decisions are finally starting to make military sense, and Moscow has partially recovered from its military setbacks, writes MIT professor Barry Posen in Foreign Affairs.

China makes a key gambit over oil in Afghanistan

China-Taliban oil deal could be a fundamental test for the future of Afghanistan-China cooperation, writes Kabir Taneja of ORF in The Hindu.

Pakistan's security establishment trotting out usual bluff on TTP

As the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) ramp up their murderous attacks on Pakistani soldiers, ISI officers, police, and ordinary citizens, the men who run Pakistan's security establishment are trotting out the usual bluff and bluster, writes Pervez Hoodbhoy in The Dawn.

PODCAST

Significance of Tawang military clash

We recommend this edition of The Hindu's podcast where Jabin T Jacob of Shiv Nadar University discusses the recent military clash between Chinese and Indian troops in Tawang, and the significance of aggressive gesture displayed by China.