US military's logistics drill aims to burnish East Asia crisis response
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Drills in East Asia this summer by the U.S. military body charged with moving munitions and equipment will help it better coordinate and communicate with allies in response to a crisis, its commander said on Friday.Alarmed by growing Chinese assertiveness , whether in the disputed South China Sea or around Chinese-claimed Taiwan, Washington and its friends in the region have been drilling together regularly.The U.S. Transportation Command, or TRANSCOM, is responsible not only for coordinating the pre-positioning of weapons and other equipment around the world by land, air and sea, but also for resupply in the event of conflict.On a visit to East Asia, TRASNCOM Commander Randall Reed, told reporters it was essential to maintain and expand ties in the region so as to ensure a swift U.S. response to disasters and counter threats to peace and security."We're going to have a series of exercises and will test the current logistics architecture and infrastructure which provides sustained freedom of manoeuvre," he said on a teleconference, without giving further details of location or timing."We're seeking to demonstrate our ability to rapidly mobilise, then deploy forces from within the United States to locations throughout the region here," Reed added, describing the aim of one exercise, Mobility Guardian.The tasks will permit testing of tactics, techniques and procedures with allies and partners and enhance connectivity, he said."It will help us deepen relationships and work together even more closely than we already are to bolster regional security ."On his trip, Reed has visited Japan and the Philippines and will go to South Korea, all treaty allies of the United States.The militaries of the Philippines and the United States have sailed together in the South China Sea for a seventh time to boost interoperability between the two sides, Manila's armed forces said on Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
The curious case of iPhones: Why a small gadget in your pocket is making US & China insecure about India
TIL Creatives Representative Image As over 300 Chinese engineers prepares their bags to leave Foxconn's iPhone plants in southern India this week, Beijing is quietly watching. For China, Apple's big bet on India is more than just a factory shift, it's a direct threat to its image of being the world's factory. At the same time, from across the Pacific, earlier this year, US President Donald Trump had a 'little problem' with Apple too. 'We are treating you really good, we put up with all the plants you built in China for years,' Trump said in May. 'We are not interested in you building in India.' He wanted Apple to bring those jobs back to American economies, both far bigger than India's, now appeared to be bothered with the same worry: what happens if India really does become Apple's new favourite factory floor? The US and China both see risk in Apple's supply chain pivot. For America, it challenges efforts to bring jobs home. For China, it threatens its stronghold on global high-tech manufacturing. Earlier this year, Foxconn, Apple's long-time assembler, had pressed ahead with a $1.5 billion display module plant near Chennai. The unit was slated to make the part under an iPhone's glass screen that controls touch and display Nadu's state government had approved the plan last October. Indian officials had expect it to add about 14,000 jobs, a tidy boost for India's growing electronics behind the scenes, China is now quietly tightening the screws. Bloomberg revealed yesterday that more than 300 skilled Chinese engineers who taught Indian workers how to run precision assembly lines have been asked by Foxconn to leave India. No official reason, just a quiet exit. The impact is anything but silent. These technicians brought decades of process know-how from Shenzhen's vast factories. Without them, Foxconn expansion plans in India may not go as smooth as it would have US, too, is not exactly cheering India's gain. When Trump launched his first China trade war in 2018, companies scrambled to find new bases. India was slow to catch up then. Now, as China battles rising costs, with new tariffs being imposed every other month, India has never looked more attractive for Trump's 'America First' pitch was brought to the forefront as he sought to charge exorbitant tariffs on every nation that sought to export to Americans. He insisted that Apple must also 'make in America.' For Apple, that's far from easy. US wages are high. Large-scale electronics assembly needs armies of trained workers. Those don't appear Apple chose to stick with its India plan. In May, officials told FT that by the end of next year, Apple aims to make all 60 million iPhones sold in the US in Indian plants. In 2024, India already produced 18% of global iPhone output. Counterpoint Research expects this share to reach 32% in 2025. During March-May, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $3.2 billion from India, with an average 97% shipped to the US, Reuters reported on June 13, citing customs data. India iPhone shipments by Foxconn to the United States in May 2025 were worth nearly $1 billion, the second-highest ever after the record $1.3 billion worth of devices shipped in March, the data Beijing has more to lose than just iPhone lines. It fears losing its edge in EV batteries, solar panels and key rare earth exports. Already this year, China has delayed shipments of specialised machinery to India and Vietnam. Now, ironically, that same tariff wall has cracked China's supply dominance—and opened the door for India. US tariffs on Chinese goods run as high as 145%, while most Indian goods face only 10%. Exemptions on key electronics like iPhones give India an edge in US. For Washington, this creates a dilemma: keep punishing China, or watch supply chains drift to India instead of coming home. Former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale summed up the mood: China sees India's manufacturing rise as 'a direct threat, not just a parallel development.' India's phone surge didn't happen by accident. Foxconn, Tata Electronics, Corning, big names are pouring billions into Indian supply lines. FT reported Corning will soon start making Apple's scratchproof glass in Tamil own officials know what's at stake. 'We are looking at building the entire value chain in India itself,' said Ekroop Caur, secretary for electronics in Karnataka. The aim: not just assemble phones, but design and supply every vital isn't just a trade story. The way screws, screens and circuit boards move around the world now shapes how countries negotiate, from trade talks to climate pacts and military knows that whoever controls the factories holds the upper hand. When COVID lockdowns froze huge parts of China's manufacturing heartland, companies from California to Berlin realised the risk of putting too many eggs in one basket. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, the shutdowns cost global electronics makers billions in missed shipments and forced Apple to rethink its near-total dependence on push into India is one answer to that risk. But China has other tools. By restricting exports of critical raw materials, like rare earth metals used in iPhones, wind turbines and guided missiles, Beijing reminds the world that supply chains can double as economic weapons. Just last year, China tightened controls on gallium and germanium exports, minerals vital for semiconductors and defence tech, Reuters tactic isn't new. Back in 2010, China briefly cut off rare earth supplies to Japan during a territorial dispute, crippling factories until Tokyo relented. Now, with the US and Europe pushing to 'de-risk' their dependence, China's leaders are signalling they can still squeeze the tap when clamp on Foxconn's engineers in India fits the same playbook. A senior Indian official, speaking to Bloomberg, confirmed that Chinese authorities are informally blocking export of key equipment and skilled workers to India's iPhone lines. No official reason. But the signal is clear, China wants to slow any rival that could dilute its manufacturing moves ripple far beyond trade. European leaders have linked secure supply chains to climate goals, arguing that building green tech like EV batteries and solar panels depends on stable flows of materials and parts. As reported by the Indian Express, India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar summed it up in June: 'The upending of global trade has focused our own minds on the need for correcting what I would call a certain skewed nature of our openness to the global economy.'China's talent clamp is the latest warning shot. By slowing India's learning curve, Beijing hopes to buy time. But India's window is open. There is no national election for a year. Global companies want out of China's grip. US tariffs slam China far harder than the moment is now. India's share of global phone exports has jumped from $250 million a decade ago to over $22 billion today. Most of that is Apple. The next big leap is to match China's scale.A few hundred engineers leaving might not sound big. But behind those exits sits a giant question: who controls the supply chain of tomorrow? If India cracks that code, despite the hold-ups, despite the politics, it won't just make iPhones. It will make itself impossible to ignore at the trade table. And that is what big economies fear a world splitting along new lines, where supply chains double as strategic weapons, India's iPhone story shows how a gadget in your pocket can reshape who calls the shots far beyond a factory floor.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
The dragon is tightening its hold: Can India defy it?
Why is China waging a low-intensity war on Indian manufacturing? Live Events You Might Also Like: Foxconn recalls Chinese staff from India, disrupting Apple's iPhone 17 plans Can China hobble India's rise as a manufacturing power? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel In recent months, geopolitical undercurrents have intensified between Asia's two largest economies, India and China. While the military standoff in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in 2020 marked a turning point in bilateral relations, a quieter but far more consequential confrontation is now unfolding. China is trying to undermine India's manufacturing ascent through strategic export denials, regulatory pressure and skilled labour restrictions. Several steps taken by China in the past few months indicate a well-formed strategy to hobble India's rise as a manufacturing power just when many factors align to help India's dependence on Chinese imports in several sectors, China can seriously hamper India's dream of becoming a rival manufacturing power. But in the long run, its obstructive measures will only help India gain economic strategy appears to be increasingly shaped by the need to maintain its dominance as the world's factory, especially as global manufacturers pursue the 'China Plus One' strategy to diversify supply chains. India, with its vast labour force, growing infrastructure and government-backed industrial policies, is emerging as a prime alternative. This transition poses a direct threat to China's central role in global recent actions suggest it is deploying several tools to delay or derail India's industrial ambitions. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that over 300 Chinese engineers employed by Foxconn in India have been recalled to China, reportedly due to regulatory pressure from Beijing. These engineers were supposed to be critical to the upskilling of Indian teams at Foxconn's iPhone assembly lines, a process essential to ramp up production of future models like the iPhone China has either halted or significantly delayed exports of key materials to India, including rare earth magnets (vital for manufacturing electric vehicles), specialty fertilisers (essential for Indian agriculture), and even tunnel boring machines (critical for infrastructure projects like metros and smart cities). These are not isolated trade hiccups but part of a broader strategy to weaponize trade and technology transfers. Beijing is keen to prevent a large-scale migration of Chinese technology and manufacturing expertise to India. By restricting technology and skilled labour exports, China aims to create bottlenecks in India's supply chain just as it begins gaining global could be two key motivations behind China's behaviour. India's post-Galwan measures, such as tightened scrutiny of Chinese FDI, banning hundreds of Chinese apps and blocking Huawei and ZTE from 5G trials in 2021, have significantly curtailed China's economic leverage in India. Denied access to one of the world's largest markets, Beijing may be retaliating economically to assert its relevance and influence. Secondly, China wants to strengthen a pre-emptive control of supply chains. As India's PLI schemes begin to yield tangible results -- Apple boosting iPhone production, semiconductor plans taking off and India becoming a major mobile phone exporter -- China wants to prevent a global narrative shift from 'Make in China' to 'Make in India".India's dependence on China for several intermediate goods, especially in electronics, EVs, chemicals and rare earth elements, is substantial. China controls more than 85% of global rare earth processing, and a large portion of Indian imports for electronics manufacturing still originate from China. In the short term, China's restrictions can cause delays, cost overruns and capacity the long-term picture is more nuanced. The exit of Chinese engineers from Foxconn's Indian operations is deemed to have a "negligible" impact, as per Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He noted that there were not many Chinese employees at the company's India iPhone facilities. Production capabilities at Foxconn's India iPhone facilities were established by the company's Taiwanese employees, like those from FIH's Minsheng plant, not Chinese employees, he said. Even amid US tariff threat over iPhones, Foxconn has not slowed down its ongoing mega expansion in India. This indicates that while Chinese know-how may have played a critical role in the initial ramp-up, Indian talent and local engineering capabilities are set to mature global firms are increasingly bullish on India. Apple's contract manufacturers, including Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron (now owned by Tata), continue to expand their Indian footprints. With supply chain diversification being a geopolitical imperative for Western companies, India remains a central part of this new global manufacturing has recognized the vulnerabilities arising from over-reliance on China and has responded with a mix of policy, investment and diplomatic initiatives. India is offering financial incentives across 14 sectors -- including semiconductors, electronics, EVs and pharmaceuticals -- to attract investment and scale up manufacturing. The PLI scheme has already contributed to India becoming the second-largest mobile phone producer in the in a direct response to China's rare earth squeeze, India is preparing a Rs 3,500–5,000 crore PLI scheme to boost the local manufacturing of rare earth magnets. Under this scheme, Sona Comstar, a major importer of these magnets, has announced plans to produce them domestically, signaling industry alignment with national goals. India is actively exploring alternate sources for specialty fertilisers and critical minerals, including deals with countries like Australia, Vietnam, and African nations. This aims to insulate agriculture and green energy sectors from Chinese pressure. India is investing heavily in upskilling its labour force and creating engineering talent pipelines to reduce dependency on Chinese programmes and partnerships with industry are part of this push. India is negotiating trade agreements with the US and EU while it has already signed an FTA with the UK. These deals will open up new export markets and attract investment, helping India position itself as a global manufacturing hub outside China's manufacturing ecosystem is still young, but it is evolving rapidly, powered by a combination of global realignment, domestic ambition and geopolitical support from the West. China's export denials and covert trade obstructionism are signs of concern but they also reflect a realization that India is no longer just a large market -- it is a serious manufacturing contender .Ultimately, China's restrictions may serve as an accelerator rather than an obstacle. They are pushing India to build domestic capabilities, diversify partnerships, and focus on resilience. If India continues on its current trajectory - with strategic clarity, global cooperation, and internal reforms - it has the potential not just to withstand China's pressure, but to emerge stronger from it.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Choosing the next Dalai Lama
Jul 03, 2025 08:34 PM IST Choosing the next Dalai Lama Beijing will be aware that its choice is unlikely to be endorsed by Tibetans or carry the moral and spiritual weight that the seat commands. (AFP) Fourteen years after the Dalai Lama said he would decide on the issue of his succession by the time of his 90th birthday in 2025, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists has made it clear that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his death and that a trust founded by him will be the only authority to recognise his reincarnation. The announcement drew a predictable response from China, which sees the lama revered by millions around the world as a 'separatist', with Beijing claiming that the Dalai Lama's successor will be selected by choosing a name from a 'golden urn' and that the chosen person will have to be endorsed by the Chinese government. The problem here is that leading Buddhist scholars and historians have debunked the 'golden urn' mechanism, introduced by China's rulers in the late 18th century. China itself had no role in the search or recognition of the 14th Dalai Lama, who has lived in Dharamshala since fleeing Tibet in the face of a military crackdown in 1959. China's efforts are aimed at strengthening Beijing's grip on Tibet and its population of about 3.6 million, and to project itself as a global leader in Buddhism. Despite a range of repressive measures, including suppression of Tibetan Buddhist practices, forced enrolment of children as young as six in boarding schools to assimilate Tibetans into the mainstream and an all-pervasive surveillance machinery, the Dalai Lama continues to have a massive following. It is widely expected that China will name its own Dalai Lama, a precedent having been set by Beijing selecting its own Panchen Lama in 1995 and the disappearance of the Dalai Lama's choice. But Beijing will be aware that its choice is unlikely to be endorsed by Tibetans or carry the moral and spiritual weight that the seat commands. Given that India is home to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government-in-exile and a large Tibetan diaspora, this matter has the potential to become a flashpoint between New Delhi and Beijing. Chinese officials have said they expect India not to 'interfere' in the selection of the next Dalai Lama. India would like to avoid friction but cannot and should not stay silent. Buddhism has a significant presence in the strategic border regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Sikkim. And both morality and statecraft demand that India support the Dalai Lama and make its stand explicit. Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away! -Login Now!
