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PM Modi Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping

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PM Modi Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping

Jinping accepts invitation for informal summit in India next year

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday after he reached Qingdao in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO summit.

Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale has announced that Chinese side has conveyed that President Xi Jinping has accepted invitation for Wuhan-like informal summit in India in 2019. The schedule of the summit will be decided later.

During Saturday’s meeting President Xi Jinping suggested PM Modi that the two countries set up a new bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2020, a target earlier set for 2015. However it could reach $84.44 billion last year. For facilitating trade growth India has allowed Bank of China to open its branch in Mumbai.

Gokhale has said, “There were some discussions on trade and investment issues. And in that context XI told Modi that China is looking at enhancing agricultural exports from India including non-Basmati rice and sugar”.

Read More:  Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana

Moreover, China has agreed to share hydrological data of the Brahmaputra River in flood season with India. China had stopped sharing data after the 73-day long stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Dokalam last year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had detailed discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on bilateral and global issues which will add further vigour to the India-China friendship after their informal summit in Wuhan. They discussed a blueprint for deepening bilateral relationship and reviewed the implementation of decisions they had taken during their informal summit in Wuhan.

The meeting covered key aspects of the bilateral engagement, reflecting the resolve by the two countries to reset relations and bring back trust in their ties which was hit by the Doklam standoff and several other thorny issues.

Read More: China fails to get India’s support on Belt and Road project

China’s state news agency Xinhua quoted Xi Jinping saying that he was “willing to work with India to take the Wuhan meeting as a “new starting point” to continuously enhance political mutual trust and engage in mutually beneficial cooperation across the board, so as to push forward China-India relations in a better, faster and steadier manner.”

This is the first SCO summit since its expansion, when India and Pakistan were included as full members at the Astana summit in Kazakhstan last year.

This is PM Modi’s second visit to China this year. The two leaders meeting on Saturday took place within six weeks after their informal summit in central China’s Wuhan city during which they exchanged views on solidifying the relationship between the two countries.

Leaders of the eight Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states and four observer states, as well as heads of international organisations are attending the summit to explore ways to bolster cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremism and radicalisation.

Read More: G20 summit: PM Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping exchange greetings, talk on range of issues

Full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO include China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Countries with observer status in the bloc include Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia, and Belarus.

Read More: India must strengthen ties with China but with caution

Prime Minister Modi is expected to hold nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with top leaders of SCO countries at the sidelines of summit. However, there is no confirmation on whether there will be any meeting with Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain.

Ahead of the SCO summit, PM Modi had said he was “excited” to lead the Indian delegation for the grouping’s first-ever meeting with India as a full member.

He further said, “In the last one year since India became a full member of the SCO, our interaction with the organisation and its member states has grown considerably. I believe that the Qingdao Summit will further enrich the SCO agenda, while heralding a new beginning for India’s engagement with the SCO.”

Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, tweeted on Saturday morning, “With 8 members, SCO represents approximately 42 per cent of the world’s population, 22 per cent of the land area and 20 per cent of the GDP. SCO focuses on political, economic, security and cultural cooperation and enables India to engage with Central Asian countries.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

The Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks.

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India, China complete disengagement in Depsang, Demchok at LAC after 4 years standoff

In a significant development, India and China have completed the disengagement exercise in the Depsang and Demchok friction points at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The troops of both the countries are now verifying the vacation of positions and removal of infrastructure.

Reportedly, the Indian Army said that coordinated patrolling will start soon by both sides, and the ground commanders will continue to hold talks. The two sides will exchange sweets for Diwali tomorrow.

Earlier, Foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced that New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement to disengage in the remaining friction points at LAC in eastern Ladakh. After the agreement, the two countries began troops disengagement at the two friction points at Demchok and Depsang plains on October 23.

India-China relations worsened because of the Chinese troops’ aggression along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border, in April 2020. It further deteriorated on June 15, 2020, after 20 Indian soldiers died in the line of duty thwarting the Chinese offensive in the Galwan Valley. New Delhi had said India’s bilateral relations with China will normalise only after the situation at the LAC returns to what it was before May 2020.

Reports said that the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pulled back their forward-deployed troops and equipment from the two flashpoints, and have also dismantled temporary structures that had been built during the four-year-long standoff.

The Indian soldiers will resume their patrolling in areas that had been cut off because of the PLA’s presence. Nonetheless, the disengagement in Depsang and Demchok will not lead to the creation of buffer zones.

Both the countries had disengaged from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15) areas and created buffer zones. Speaking to a newspaper publication, Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd), a former director general of military operations said that the disengagement at Depsang and Demchok will facilitate patrolling by both sides in a coordinated manner, and in the agreed upon frequency and strength of the patrolling parties.

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Iran says 2 soldiers killed in Israeli air strikes

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

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The Iranian Army said on Saturday that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases.

Iran stated that its air defenses effectively countered the attack, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of two soldiers and some areas suffering limited damage.

The Israeli military conducted strikes on Iranian military sites after 2 am on Saturday, responding to what they cited as ongoing attacks by Iran and its allies in the region.

Following the strikes, the Israeli military announced they had successfully completed the mission and achieved their objectives.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the precise targeting of military sites in Iran to neutralize immediate threats to Israel.

“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” the Israel Defence Force posted on X.

Iran’s air defense headquarters acknowledged the hits on bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran but asserted that these attacks were effectively repelled, with investigations ongoing to assess damages. Moreover, Iran indicated its readiness to retaliate against any Israeli aggression, stating that Israel would face proportional consequences for its actions.

Iran expressed its intentions to respond to the Israeli attacks on its military bases, condemning the actions as a violation of international law and the UN Charter’s principles on the use of force.

Emphasising Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter, the Iranian Foreign Ministry highlighted its obligation to counter foreign aggression.

Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, attributing the escalation to Israel and urging the UN Security Council to intervene for peace and security.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised that Iran should refrain from retaliating against Israel, advocating for restraint on all sides to prevent further escalation.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression. I’m equally clear that we must avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to restrain. Iran should not respond,” the PM said at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The United States advised Iran to halt its attacks on Israel to cease the ongoing violence and break the cycle of conflict, underlining the importance of de-escalation.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the Israeli operation throughout its development and execution by his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

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BRICS Summit: PM Modi, China’s Xi Jinping discuss Ukraine war with Russia’s Putin

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China’s Xi Jinping, and other BRICS leaders on Wednesday discussed the war in Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin chief chaired a major summit aimed at showing Western attempts to isolate Russia have failed.

India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, PM Modi said at the BRICS Summit, in an unambiguous message calling for resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peaceful negotiations.

Putin, whose administration has dismissed allegations of war crimes against him as politically motivated, kicked off the Summit on Wednesday by noting the strong interest from over 30 States in joining the BRICS group.

He emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance in any expansion, acknowledging the unprecedented interest from countries in the Global South and East while ensuring that it does not diminish the effectiveness of BRICS.

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change. We need to build a peaceful BRICS, and be the guardian of common security,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Summit.

On the Ukraine crisis, Jinping said, “We need to push for the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible.” He also expressed his concern over the crisis in Gaza, saying, “We need to push for a ceasefire.”

PM Modi emphasised the need for a people-centric approach to solving global challenges and called for reformed multilateralism. The PM underlined the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for global peace and stability.

Addressing the summit in Kazan, a Russian city along the Volga, Europe’s longest river, Putin also reiterated the group’s focus on discussing acute regional conflicts, alluding to the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Russia, heavily reliant on oil exports, sees China and India as major buyers, with the two countries responsible for about 90% of Moscow’s oil sales, making it Russia’s largest foreign currency source.

In a public exchange, Prime Minister Modi expressed his desire for peace in Ukraine to Putin, while Chinese President Xi discussed the Ukrainian conflict privately with the Russian leader.

As Russia continues its advancement, it currently controls a significant portion of Ukraine, including Crimea, unilaterally annexed in 2014, as well as a substantial portion of the Donbas region, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk, along with parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Putin has reiterated that Moscow will not negotiate the status of these regions, claiming them as part of Russia and emphasising the need to consider Russia’s long-term security interests in Europe.

The anticipated BRICS communique is expected to include proposals from China and Brazil aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine, with the two countries seeking support for a ceasefire from other developing nations. Ukraine has accused Beijing and Brasília of aligning with Moscow’s interests.

Putin has acknowledged the potential of the Chinese-Brazilian proposals as a basis for ending the conflict, following Russia’s deployment of troops into Ukraine in 2022 after years of fighting in the eastern part of the country.

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