Latest news with #RATS
News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Opinion: China Plays Games Of Sabotage As India Shuns Old Equations For Good
China using every trick in the book to contain India, scuttle its self-reliance push, and stall its arrival as a great power on the world stage: an inevitability it fails to digest India trashing the joint statement drafted at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) exposes the tragedy of the China-dominated bloc — a forum meant to fight terrorism, now compromised by China and its terror-breeding ally Pakistan. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg– as much more is simmering between India and China right now– from Xi Jinping skipping the BRICS Summit, Chinese economic sabotage, Beijing's backing of Pakistan's military against India, and tense negotiations on the new rules of engagement are unfolding behind the scenes. This is less about restoration of ties, and more about redirection. As Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flipped through the pages, he put down his pen and refused to sign, resulting in the absence of a joint statement from the SCO. This move shreds China's cover for Pakistan's terror-sponsoring regime as China seeks to corner India diplomatically, economically and militarily— all at once. The proposed joint statement gave it all away — it made direct references to incidents in Balochistan but skipped the Pahalgam terror attack— a brazen attempt to cover up Pakistan's hand in terror. The SCO was started to address the security concerns of the region, founded by China, Russia, and four Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India joined in 2017, and today the organisation has 10 members, including Pakistan, Iran, and Belarus. Its anti-terror committee, RATS, is headquartered in Uzbekistan, while its secretariat operates from Beijing. While the SCO is largely meant to focus on terrorism, separatism and extremism, in recent years, it has become a vehicle for China to play out its larger geopolitical agenda against the West, extend its influence with Russia and other post-soviet members, and shield Pakistan from global scrutiny— especially by suppressing references to Pakistani terrorism. India's defence minister highlighted the role of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in terror attacks and said that there should be no room for double standards in the SCO. This is not the first time that India has rejected a joint statement at the SCO as in 2023, it rejected references to China's Belt and Road Initiative and opposed a BRICS currency basket plan proposed by China. While China is the dominant player in this grouping, India has actively opposed China's designs to turn the SCO into a personal fiefdom. By exposing the double standards, India maintains a crucial position in the SCO, souring China's attempts to align it fully with its own agenda. This is ultimately a diplomatic failure of the Chinese for whom the SCO is a flagship organisation to elevate China's stature as opposed to the West. When India dissents internally, it shows the contradictions of the forum, and the limitations of Chinese leadership and diplomacy. Turning to Brazil, where the BRICS Summit is set for next month, reports say Xi Jinping will skip the summit for the first time since he took office 12 years ago. The likely reason is that Brazil has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state dinner following the BRICS summit. According to a report by the South China Morning Post or SCMP, Beijing's decision came because Xi could have been 'perceived as a supporting actor" at the summit. Officially China has told Brazil that there are scheduling issues as Beijing is more focused on the SCO summit which may be as late as September. But there is a lot going on between India and China behind the scenes which may explain this clash of egos. Post-Galwan relations between India and China froze until a mild thaw in 2024, when PM Modi met Chinese President Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. Since then, discussions on disengagement and de-escalation at the border, and normalisation of economic relations are on. This is a period of extensive and exhaustive negotiations between the two nations. China has weaponised its economic heft, with control on supply of strategic goods like rare earth magnets, specialty fertilisers, tunnel boring machines, and so on. China is leveraging its dominance in rare earths to achieve its political goals not just with the US but also with other nations like Japan, South Korea and India. It has restricted exports of magnets like Samarium which is crucial in defence production. This compromises capabilities to produce automobiles, especially electric vehicles, defence equipment, wind turbines and other electronics Recently, India decided to suspend a pact with Japan where it supplied neodymium to Tokyo, in light of the global crunch caused by Chinese export restrictions. India, with the fifth largest rare-earth reserves globally, is making a push for indigenous mining and production which can be a strategic game changer in the long run. It is calling for investments and has issued production-linked incentive schemes to sweeten deals. It is also collaborating with foreign nations like Australia and the larger Quad to extract rare earths, diversifying supply nations. China is afraid that India's recent showing at the recent G7 summit will lead to a joint effort against China's rare earth dominance. China is rattled by India calling it out globally for being an unreliable partner even as negotiations are on. This Chinese insecurity has reportedly even come up in discussions. Beijing is essentially threatened by New Delhi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat plans and is pulling strings to scuttle it. Recently, reports have emerged of China holding up exports of specialty fertiliser used in fruit production, which may hurt Indian agriculture. A similar non-tariff barrier was seen with tunnel boarding machines— built by a German firm in China, bought and paid for by India, but delivery to India held up by Chinese authorities. Such tactics are being used across sectors to deter companies from moving to India. China wants India to reopen its doors to Chinese investment and resume direct flights. These are essential for sustaining economic linkages, but India has remained cautious, especially given Beijing's opaque policies and supply chain manipulation. China is also eager to showcase the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage as a gesture of goodwill, highlighting supposed efforts to boost people-to-people ties. But this should not fool anyone: at the same time, China continues to support Pakistan militarily against India and shields its terror wielding hand in every global forum, including the UN. Chinese missiles, drones and fighter jets were used extensively by Pakistan during India's Operation Sindoor. Moreover, a recent interview by defence minister of Pakistan, Khwaja Asif, confirmed– China has been sharing intelligence against India with Islamabad. This is China using every trick in the book from diplomatic to economic and military to contain India, scuttle its self-reliance push, and stall its arrival as a great power on the world stage: an inevitability it fails to digest. And yet dialogue continues with new terms of engagement being negotiated. Rather than returning to old equations as the Chinese hope, India is preparing for a future where China cannot easily undermine Indian interests. India is simply unrelenting on all counts, navigating through the Chinese challenge diplomatically with certainty and precision, and prioritising its military goals and economic ambitions above all. While the question of preparedness throws up a significant challenge for India's leadership, indications are that the pivot to self-reliance is a strategic shift that China cannot stop. And that explains Chinese frustration in backroom talks. About the Author Shubhangi Sharma Shubhangi Sharma is News Editor - Special Projects at News18. She covers foreign affairs and geopolitics, and also keeps a close watch on the national pulse of India. tags : India China view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 30, 2025, 13:39 IST News opinion Opinion: China Plays Games Of Sabotage As India Shuns Old Equations For Good Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
SCO should improve mechanisms to respond to security threats: Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday told the foreign ministers of the SCO member states that the grouping should improve mechanisms to respond to security threats and challenges, and build a solid security barrier. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was among the foreign ministers and heads of standing bodies of the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) whom Xi met here ahead of their meeting in Tianjin. Xi said that over the past 24 years since its founding, the SCO has always upheld the Shanghai Spirit, grown into a mature and robust organisation, and demonstrated strong vitality. He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused and confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role in injecting greater stability and positive energy into the world. Xi said China has always prioritised the SCO in its neighbourhood diplomacy, and is committed to making the organisation more substantive and stronger, safeguarding regional security and stability, promoting the development and prosperity of member states and building a closer community with a shared future. The SCO should improve mechanisms to respond to security threats and challenges, build a solid security barrier, and meet the public's expectations for peace and stability, an official press release on the meeting quoted him as saying. The SCO, over the years, has developed a security mechanism called the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) to deal with issues relating to security and defence. China currently holds the rotating Presidency of the SCO. With the SCO Summit set to take place this year in China's Tianjin, Xi expressed hope to meet the leaders of other member states at the event to discuss the future development of the SCO. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the other SCO member countries were expected to attend it. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was earlier quoted as saying by Tass news agency that the summit is set to be held in Tianjin between August 30 and September 1. The SCO comprises 10 member states - China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Xi said that since China assumed the rotating presidency last July, it has actively carried out activities and advanced cooperation, with all parties taking solid steps to jointly build a better home for the SCO. Xi said the SCO should base its cooperation on mutual trust and mutual benefit, uphold equality and consultation in interactions, promote harmony and inclusiveness through respect for diverse civilisations, and achieve shared prosperity through common development. It should also align development strategies among member states and deepen collaboration under initiatives like the Belt and Road to achieve higher-quality, more sustainable development. The organisation should firmly oppose hegemony, power politics, and bullying; promote a more equal and orderly multipolar world, he said in a veiled attack against the US. It should uphold the principles of joint consultation, construction, and sharing, so that economic globalisation becomes more inclusive and beneficial to all, he said. The organisation should also unite and lead the Global South in promoting a more just and reasonable global governance system, contributing powerful momentum to building a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said. Wang Yi, in his capacity as Chair of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers, briefed the meeting on the progress China has made since taking over the rotating presidency and the preparations for the Tianjin Summit. Speaking on behalf of the participating foreign representatives, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the SCO has achieved remarkable cooperation results and continues to grow in international influence. In light of the complex international environment, he emphasised the need for the SCO to uphold multilateralism and guide the international order toward a fairer and more rational direction, he said. All parties expressed their willingness to actively support China's work as the chair, build consensus, and ensure the complete success of the Tianjin Summit, Levrov said.
The Print
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Why do we pretend SCO still works? China runs it, shields Pakistan, sidelines India
The SCO has two key units: the Secretariat in Beijing, and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The SCO Secretary General and the Director of the RATS Executive Committee are appointed by the Council of Heads of State (CHS) for a three-year term. Zhang Ming of China and RE Mirzaev of Uzbekistan assumed office in January 2022. It is strange, if not ironic, that neither the RATS Director (Mirzaev) nor any other member intervened in India's favour to redraft the resolution in a way that respected New Delhi's concerns and sentiments. Singh's remarks on the importance of countering terrorist technologies, including the use of drones for cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs, and his warning that traditional borders are no longer sufficient to guard against threats in an interconnected world, appeared to fall on deaf ears among the 10-member group, led by Beijing. His reminder of the joint statement on 'Countering Radicalisation leading to Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism', issued during India's Chairmanship of the SCO, also failed to evoke any positive response or change of heart. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's Defence Ministers' meeting, held in Qingdao last week, ended without adopting a joint statement. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh refused to sign the communique, as it made no mention of the Pahalgam terror attack, nor included any condemnation of Pakistan, the country from where the attack was sponsored. Also read: SCO is not an anti-Western club. India's presence is a guarantee against it India's blind spot at SCO India should perhaps have anticipated the outcome of the SCO meeting, considering recent developments and its own positioning in UN bodies. After the heinous Pahalgam attack by the 'Resistance Front', a proxy of the UN-designated terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) — in which, as the Defence Minister mentioned, victims were profiled based on religious identity and shot, China offered diplomatic support to Pakistan. It neither condemned the attack in 'Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir' (as China referred to it), nor acknowledged India's position, instead calling for an 'impartial probe'. The initial report from Xinhua ended with a terse line: 'A guerilla war has been going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989.' After India's 'pause' in military action against terror bases in Pakistan, China was among the first to praise Pakistan's so-called peace efforts. In a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described Pakistan as an 'iron-clad friend', and reaffirmed support for its 'sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence.' In this background, it was likely futile to expect the China-led SCO to condemn Pakistan for its role in terror attacks on India. India should have also taken note of Iran's presence at the SCO meeting, considering Tehran is not happy with New Delhi's position on the Iran-Israel conflict. In June this year, India distanced itself from an SCO statement condemning Israel's 'aggressive actions against civilian targets [in Iran], including energy and transport infrastructure, which have resulted in civilian casualties, [and] are a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.' India had communicated its concerns to Tehran and other SCO members but did not participate in the discussions or consent to the statement. Although Iran became a member of the SCO during India's Chairmanship in 2023, China's economic engagement in Chabahar and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) gives Beijing greater leverage with SCO members. Also read: PM Modi didn't skip SCO due to US influence. India has its own independent agenda An alternative to SCO India must now seriously reconsider its involvement in the SCO, where China's writ runs large, Russia's interests are protected, Pakistan's terror networks are never condemned, and India's legitimate interests and concerns are consistently ignored. Even when India was admitted to the SCO at Russia's insistence, China ensured that Pakistan joined simultaneously, serving as a counterweight to India. Founded in 1996, the Shanghai Five began as a forum for political and economic dialogue among select Eurasian countries, especially China and Russia. One could argue that China, uncomfortable being seen as a mere Asian power, expanded the SCO to include newly independent post-Soviet states to broaden its geopolitical reach. There is no denying that a new and resurgent Russia may want to regain its strategic footprints in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and other former Soviet territories. India and Russia could independently explore the creation of an alternative economic platform, comprising Central Asian countries, Afghanistan and Iran, with BIMSTEC and IBSA as observers, to tap into energy and mineral resources and a counter-terrorism network. Meanwhile, India should suspend border talks with China and demand political representation from Tibet, which remains under Chinese occupation. Given the Dalai Lama's recent statements that his successor will be chosen through traditional religious norms, China has no role in the spiritual or political future of Tibet. The Tibetan people, many of whom live in exile in India, cannot remain displaced indefinitely and must return to their cultural homeland. If China continues referring to Kashmir as 'India-controlled Kashmir,' there is no reason India should not assertively refer to Tibet as 'China-controlled Tibet.' Furthermore, if the conflict in Kashmir is described as a guerilla war since 1989, then the ongoing struggles in Balochistan and Xinjiang, which were forcibly annexed by Pakistan in 1948 and by China in 1949, can also be termed guerilla wars for liberation. There are also reports of a China-Pakistan tie-up to form a new South Asian regional bloc to replace SAARC. If that materialises, India must launch its own alternative to SCO, one that is more inclusive and economically credible, and offers genuine cooperation on terrorism. Seshadri Chari is the former editor of 'Organiser'. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
News18
22-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
NSA Ajit Doval Set To Visit China For SCO Meet, Cross-Border Terrorism To Be Key Agenda
Last Updated: NSA Ajit Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to visit China for the SCO summit, a trip that will be anything but routine. India plans to leverage the recent Pahalgam terror attack to isolate Pakistan and gauge China's stance, top government sources told News18. Doval's participation in the summit is a high-stakes balancing act, aiming to expose Pakistan's duplicity while testing China's neutrality. According to top government sources, a key agenda for India at the SCO will be counterterrorism with Doval expected to confront Pakistan on cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam attack. India is pushing for the SCO to identify Pakistan-based groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The sources, however, said the SCO may avoid antagonising Pakistan and China, leading to potentially diluted outcomes. China, aiming to normalise relations with India and resume flights, will likely avoid taking strong positions on terrorism due to its close ties with Pakistan, offering only symbolic gestures without strategic shifts, they said. The issue of Iran adds complexity, as Iran has supported India on the Pahalgam attack but is also aligned with China and Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan condemned the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling a high-level meeting of the national security committee on Monday (June 23). India will insist on mentioning the Pahalgam attack in the joint declaration, though China and Pakistan are likely to block this, the sources said. Additionally, India will aim to institutionalise anti-terror measures through the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), they said. They further said India is interested in the Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as counters to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and has already rejected Iran's mediation offer on Kashmir. Russia will quietly support India, backing its stance on terrorism given the ongoing defence and energy cooperation between the two countries, they added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also likely to travel to China to attend a conclave of the SCO summit. It will be the first visit to China by a senior Indian minister after the ties came under severe strain following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020. New Delhi and Beijing are in the process of finalising Singh's visit to China. The SCO defence ministers' conclave is scheduled to be held in Qingdao from June 25 to 27. It is learnt that Singh may hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the SCO conclave. China is hosting the meeting in its capacity as the current chair of the SCO. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
PennDOT looking to make your drive on Route 183 in Berks safer, more efficient
Anyone who travels the 15-mile stretch of Route 183 in Berks County can probably point out some of its deficiencies. The problems include very narrow or nonexistent shoulders; high-volume, non-signaled, high-trafficked intersections; and a series of structural bottlenecks. There are also deficiencies not easily recognized while going 60 mph, including a number of bridges nearing the end of their lifespans. Three separate studies, each tackling a segment of the major north-south corridor, are in various stages of completion. PennDOT commissioned the studies after being asked by Berks County transportation planners to look at possible improvements to the corridor. Those studies quietly commenced during the 2 ½ years since a citizen-led town hall meeting in Bernville. About 100 people, including elected leaders from four municipalities, attended, as did representatives of the Reading Area Transportation Study, or RATS. RATS is the planning organization that helps PennDOT decide how to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal money devoted to highway, bridge and transit improvements in Berks. 'We've known all along that these needs are there,' county transportation planner Alan Piper said at a recent meeting of the group. 'But that (the town hall meeting) gave us the impetus to be able to go back and work through the process, and to get these various phases onto the program.' The studies eventually will lead to specific improvement projects to be funded in the four-year transportation improvement plan, or TIP, for Berks, Piper explained. It's a start. Just don't hold your breath waiting for construction. 'The nature of this corridor is changing annually as traffic continues to increase with a mix of trucks,' Piper said. 'But we're moving things forward, and I want to commend the department (PennDOT) for doing the studies and getting involved in this at the level that they are.' Donald Lerch, a PennDOT consultant, recently gave the RATS coordinating committee an overview of the Route 183 studies. Upper section The first study, recently completed, takes in the northernmost section, from Interstate 78 in Upper Bern Township to New Schaefferstown Road in Jefferson Township The engineers conducting that study recommend upgrading the intersection of Route 183 and Old Route 22 in Strausstown. A blinking yellow light warns Route 183 motorists of a stop sign. While preliminary engineering still needs to be done before plans are proposed, the consulting engineer is recommending a roundabout or full signalization. For the balance of that section, the engineers are recommending the shoulders — only a few feet wide if they exist at all for much of that section — be widened to 6 feet where practical. 'There are things along the corridor which make it difficult to widen,' Lerch said. 'For example, there are quite a few cultural resources, historic properties — some with buildings right up against the road — as well as the Northkill Creek, which parallels the corridor for a significant distance.' Within the limits of that study, two bridges would need to be replaced with wider spans to accommodate wider shoulders. The new spans would be wide enough to allow traffic to continue to flow over them during work to widen the rest of the section, as opposed to a detour throughout the construction phase, Lerch said. Middle section The next section begins slightly north of Solly Lane, just north of Bernville, down to Byerle Hill Road, just south of the borough, in Penn Township. 'Here's probably going to be the most significant, at least from a financial perspective, of all of the projects,' Lerch said. PennDOT officials are studying how to widen the stretch of Route 183 north of New Schaefferstown Road in Jefferson Township. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) It includes two intersections with heavy traffic volume: Shartlesville Road, which is a shortcut to the Amazon RDG1 Fulfillment Center in Upper Bern Township and is the main access road for Penn-Bernville School; and North Heidelberg Road, which is a shortcut for many western Berks residents to the Route 183 corridor . It cuts through Bernville and part of Blue Marsh Lake. The project team has conducted interviews with stakeholders, including representatives of the Tulpehocken School District, the four municipalities that those intersections directly impact and the Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Blue Marsh Recreation Area. 'The focus is going to be on safety improvements,' Lerch said, 'but, in particular, two intersections of Shartlesville Road and North Heidelberg Road.' Analyses are being done to determine the best-suited intersection types. Engineers have to contend with several concerns when designing improvements for this section. A bridge that crosses Northkill Creek just north of Shartlesville Road will probably need to be replaced with a wider span. Besides the school district property bordering Route 183, Lerch pointed out, the extent to which the highway can be widened or realigned is limited by Blue Marsh; the road is built upon a levee for the lake. Lower section This study is in an early stage. It addresses the maddeningly inconsistent lane capacity between West Leesport Road and the Route 222 interchange in Bern Township. Route 222-bound traffic backs up beyond the queuing lane along Route 183 in Bern Township heading southeast toward Reading. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE) The road narrows from four lanes around the interchange to one lane in each direction around Van Reed Inn. It returns to four lanes, not including turning lanes, around West Ridge Shopping Center before narrowing to two lanes around Wawa, just north of the West Leesport Road intersection. A single vehicle stopped while waiting for a clearing in oncoming traffic to turn left into a business can bring traffic behind it to a standstill in the two-lane sections. Also, during peak commuting, it's common for traffic to stack beyond the queuing lane for traffic turning onto the Route 222 southbound onramp. 'The goal is to widen the piece between West Leesport and 222 to make that two through-lanes in each direction, plus a center turning lane and right turn lanes where warranted,' Lerch said. 'It will also include lengthening the queuing lane for traffic that is turning onto 222.'
