Tag Archives: India

China issues warning as U.S., India consider South China Sea patrols

BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Thursday responded to a Reuters report that the U.S. and India are discussing joint naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea, warning that interference from countries outside the region threatens peace and stability.

“No cooperation between any countries should be directed at a third party,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in an emailed statement to Reuters, in response to a request for comment on the report published on Wednesday.

“Countries from outside the area must stop pushing forward the militarization of the South China Sea, cease endangering the sovereignty and national security of littoral countries in the name of ‘freedom of navigation’ and harming the peace and stability of the region.”

The United States wants its regional allies and other Asian nations to adopt a more united stance against China over the South China Sea, where tension has spiked since China’s construction of seven islands in the Spratly archipelago.

China lays claim to most of the South China Sea, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters this week the United States and India had held talks about joint naval patrols that could include the South China Sea.

The Indian navy has never carried out joint patrols with another country and a navy spokesman told Reuters there was no change in the government’s policy of only joining an international military effort under the U.N. flag.

Neither the United States nor India have claims to the area, but the United States says it is concerned about shipping lanes running through the South China Sea, which carry an estimated $5 trillion of trade every year.

Hong urged caution.

“We hope that the relevant parties speak and act with caution, refrain from intervening in the South China Sea issue, and especially avoid being manipulated by certain countries and ultimately harming their own interests.”

China illustrates its claim to almost the entire South China Sea with a “nine-dashed line” on maps, that loops far to the south, with sections far closer to the coasts of countries like the Philippines and Vietnam than to its shores.

China’s more assertive claim has included dredging to build up islands and the construction of air fields and shipping facilities on some reefs. It recently launched flights to one artificial island.

The United States has responded by sending navy ships close to the islands China claims. China has condemned that as provocative.

India has a long-running land border dispute with China, and has stepped up its naval presence far beyond the Indian Ocean in recent years, deploying a ship to the South China Sea almost constantly, an Indian navy commander said.

(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan and Pete Sweeney)

U.S. & India consider joint patrols in South China Sea

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The United States and India have held talks about conducting joint naval patrols that a U.S. defense official said could include the disputed South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing, which claims most of the waterway.

Washington wants its regional allies and other Asian nations to take a more united stance against China over the South China Sea, where tensions have spiked in the wake of Beijing’s construction of seven man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago.

India and the United States have ramped up military ties in recent years, holding naval exercises in the Indian Ocean that last year involved the Japanese navy.

But the Indian navy has never carried out joint patrols with another country and a naval spokesman told Reuters there was no change in the government’s policy of only joining an international military effort under the United Nations flag.

He pointed to India’s refusal to be part of anti-piracy missions involving dozens of countries in the Gulf of Aden and instead carrying out its own operations there since 2008.

The U.S. defense official said the two sides had discussed joint patrols, adding that both were hopeful of launching them within the year. The patrols would likely be in the Indian Ocean where the Indian navy is a major player as well as the South China Sea, the official told Reuters in New Delhi on condition of anonymity.

The official gave no details on the scale of the proposed patrols.

There was no immediate comment from China, which is on a week-long holiday for Chinese New Year.

China accused Washington this month of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the Paracel chain of the South China Sea in late January.

The U.S. Navy conducted a similar exercise in October near one of China’s artificial islands in the Spratlys.

MARITIME COOPERATION

Neither India nor the United States has claims to the South China Sea, but both said they backed freedom of navigation and overflight in the waterway when U.S. President Barack Obama visited New Delhi in January 2015.

Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also agreed at the time to “identify specific areas for expanding maritime cooperation”.

More than $5 trillion in world trade moves through the South China Sea each year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway.

In December, the issue of joint patrols came up when Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, an Indian government source said.

“It was a broad discussion, it was about the potential for joint patrols,” said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

India has a long-running land border dispute with China and has been careful not to antagonize its more powerful neighbor, instead focusing on building economic ties.

But it has stepped up its naval presence far beyond the Indian Ocean, deploying a ship to the South China Sea almost constantly, an Indian navy commander said, noting this wasn’t the practice a few years ago.

The commander added that the largest number of Indian naval ship visits in the South China Sea region was to Vietnam, a country rapidly building military muscle for potential conflict with China over the waterway.

Still, the idea of joining the United States in patrols in the region was a long shot, the officer added.

The Philippines has asked the United States to do joint naval patrols in the South China Sea, something a U.S. diplomat said this month was a possibility.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; and Megha Rajagopalan in Beijing; Editing by Dean Yates)

Scientists investigate suspected meteorite death in southern India

CHENNAI (Reuters) – Indian scientists are investigating whether a man was killed by a meteorite, which if confirmed would be the first recorded death from falling fragments of space rock in almost 200 years.

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has said a bus driver at a college in her state was killed by the meteorite and awarded 100,000 rupees ($1,470) in compensation to his family.

“A meteorite fell within the college premises,” Jayalalithaa said. The man “sustained serious injuries and died while on the way to the hospital”.

Jayalalithaa, a former film star, left tight-lipped local officials struggling to explain the mystery blast at the engineering college that left a small crater and broke windows.

The bus driver was standing on a patch of grass near the college cafeteria when he was killed, while two gardeners and a student were injured, officials said. A dark blue stone resembling a diamond was found at the scene.

Government officials at first suspected the blast was caused by explosives accidentally left after building work. However, investigations found no evidence of explosive material at the site.

“When no evidence of explosive material was found, we moved to the theory that it might be a meteorite,” said a district official who asked not be named. “It is not confirmed yet as samples need to be analyzed.”

A team from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics was expected to visit on Tuesday to collect samples.

G. Baskar, the principal of the college in Vellore district, was working in his cabin when he heard an explosion.

“It was a sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before,” he said. “There was no smell at all, no fire, nothing.”

The last reported death from a meteorite strike was in 1825, according to a list kept by International Comet Quarterly, a scientific journal.

Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain’s University of Sheffield, said meteorite deaths were rare because the rocks usually burn up when passing through the Earth’s atmosphere or land in the ocean or hit remote areas.

“When you look at the fraction of the Earth’s surface that is heavily populated, it’s not very much,” he said.

In 2013, a meteorite exploded over central Russia, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,200 people.

(Editing by Andrew MacAskill and Nick Macfie)

Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake Leads to Death, Destruction in India, Bangladesh

An early-morning earthquake rattled India and the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS reported the magnitude 6.7 quake was first felt at 4:35 a.m. local time on Monday. It was centered about 18 miles west of Impahl, the capital of the Indian province of Manipur.

The quake caused the deaths of at least 11 people in India and Bangladesh, Reuters reported, and injured approximately 190 more. According to Reuters, the earthquake knocked down portions of buildings in Impahl, while shaking was felt in a Myanmar city about 730 miles away.

The USGS said the region is known for seismic activity, and 19 magnitude 6.0-plus earthquakes have occurred within a 150-mile radius of Monday’s ground-shaker within the past 100 years. Most of the people in the region live in buildings prone to earthquake damage, the USGS said.

Reuters reported the latest quake knocked out power and phone lines, complicating rescue efforts.

India Death Toll Rises to 270 as Heavy Rains, Floods Continue

The 100-year rains that have brought massive flooding to the coastal Indian state of Tamil Nadu are now to blame for at least 270 deaths, according to the latest reports on Thursday morning.

Al-Jazeera reported the death toll increase, saying that 14 inches of rain fell on the state’s already-waterlogged capital city of Chennai on Tuesday. Forecasts called for more rainfall.

India traditionally receives significant rainfall during its monsoon season, but this year’s rains have been reported to be the heaviest in a century. Al-Jazeera reported Thursday that Tamil Nadu usually only receives less than two inches of rain during the entire month of December.

The flooding was particularly significant in Chennai, one of India’s most populous cities and a major player in the country’s automobile industry. Reuters reported Thursday that 3 million people lacked access to basic services as a result of the floods, with one resident telling the news agency some people had all of their belongings washed away and had gone days without food.

The city’s flooded airport has been closed through at least Sunday, the BBC reported, and some train services have also been suspended. The military was deployed to aid in the relief efforts.

Reuters reported Thursday that Indian military personnel rescued 2,000 Chennai residents and that the country’s prime minister, Narenda Modi, has promised $150 million in relief funding.

But Assocham, an Indian trade association, said in a news release that it believes the flood could cause a financial loss of $2.25 billion as Chennai “has come to a virtual standstill and is in the grip of fear and panic.” In addition to the crippling effects on the city’s auto industry, Assocham said the engineering, tourism, information technology and textile sectors were also badly hit.

Rescue efforts were reportedly continuing, as water levels had not receded. Apart from the heavy rainfall, experts told Reuters that drainage been hampered by faulty design and garbage buildup.

Earlier published reports indicated the rainfall drove at least 200,000 people from their homes, and some unaffected residents were using social media to invite the displaced into their houses.

Modi blamed the significant rainfall on climate change, Reuters reported, and some experts have also said that the El Nino weather pattern could have intensified the monsoon season.

United Nations officials have warned that this year’s El Nino is expected to be one of the three worst in the past 65 years, and may interact with climate change to create unprecedented effects.

100-year rains displace 200,000 in India

At least 200,000 people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu were driven from their homes after the heaviest rainfall in more than 100 years led to major flooding, according to published reports.

It’s the latest extreme weather to hit the region, which has been hammered by heavy rainfall. The BBC reported that floods have killed at least 188 people in Tamil Nadu in the past month.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported 200,000 people have been displaced by the floods, and meteorologists expected more than 40 inches of additional rainfall in the next 48 hours.

According to Reuters, weather experts say El Nino is partly at fault for the historic rainfall and widespread flooding, as the weather pattern caused India’s monsoon season to intensify. The United Nations has warned that this year’s El Nino looks be one of the three strongest in the past 65 years and could have significant impact on the world’s economy and food supplies.

The flooding has been particularly bad in the coastal capital city of Chennai, one of India’s most populous areas and a major player in its automobile industry. The Times of India reported the city’s flooded airport will be closed through Sunday and at least a dozen trains were cancelled.

One Chennai resident told the BBC that the latest deluge began Monday and hasn’t let up, producing two to three feet of water in some parts of the city.

The BBC reported that about 60 percent of the city’s neighborhoods lacked power on Wednesday. Reuters reported a hospital was running short on fuel for its generators and oxygen for its patients.

According to The Times of India, some residents who still had electricity and Internet were using social media to invite those affected by the floods into their homes as relief efforts continued.

Nepal Police Clear Indian Border Checkpoint by Forcibly Removing Protesters

Protesters along the India-Nepal border were forcibly removed by Nepalese police on Monday, allowing over 200 trucks who had been stuck there for 40 days to finally enter India.

The Agence France-Presse news agency reported that police used batons on the protestors and burned down tents that they were using to block the border checkpoint.

But while the trucks were cleared to enter India, trucks bringing fuel and other supplies to Nepal were being blocked by Indian customs officials. Nepal is currently under a severe fuel shortage that has brought the country to a virtual standstill, according to Time.

The large scale protests taking place in Nepal began in August after the country adopted a new constitution. Minority groups, including the Madhesi and Tharu, believe they have not been accurately represented in the new constitution because it divides the group into a number of states and dilutes their political power. The protests have also brought a political standoff between Nepal and India, as Nepal believes India is encouraging the civil unrest and protests and purposefully blocking their fuel supplies from entering Nepal.

Late last week, Nepal signed an agreement with China to refill their fuel reserves.

Since the protests began in August, 45 people have lost their lives, including an Indian man who was shot by Nepalese police on Monday. Nepalese officials report that the man was among a group of ethnic protesters who were attacking a police station with petrol bombs and stones, according to the Washington Post.

Nepal Suffering from Supply Shortage; Tensions Rise between Nepal and India

Nepal is low on gasoline and medical supplies due to an unofficial economic blockade imposed by the neighboring country where they get most of their supplies, India.

Many Nepalese believe that the blockade is a way of retaliating against the Nepalese government after they approved a new constitution that New Delhi believed to be discriminatory to an Indian community living in Nepal’s border districts., the Madhesi.

Violent protests by the Mahesis that killed at least 45 people have taken place for months while Nepalese lawmakers debated the constitution. The violence escalated after the constitution was made official.

Shortly after, Indian trucks stopped crossing the border. Only about 100 or so have crossed the border since Wednesday, but more than 1,000 are sitting at the border with medicine, gasoline, produce, and cooking fuel. Currently, fuel is being rationed in Nepal, and is no longer being sold for the use of private vehicles for the next three days.

“Why is India imposing a blockade against us? Don’t we have the right to draft our constitution?” asked Nirmala Rai, a school teacher who participated in a demonstration near the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Monday.

India has stated that there is no blockade against Nepal. They blame protesters for blocking the roads and scaring their truck drivers.

Officials on both sides announced that they are working on the situation and that supplies will resume soon, but neither side had a time estimate for when the trucks will cross the border again.

Dengue Fever Outbreak in India

The capital of India is facing a serious outbreak of dengue fever.

Health officials in New Delhi have said the outbreak of the disease is the worst in five years.  They are also putting steps in place to make sure all patients can receive treatment after two children died when hospitals turned them away.

The government said they will be stripping the license of any private hospital that refuses to treat a dengue fever victim.  Also, the government has restricted the cost of tests for the disease to $9 after some private labs were charging more than four times that amount.

The death of one of the boys lead to the suicide of their parent.  The note left behind cited the child’s death and said five private hospitals turned the family away before he was finally admitted at a sixth for treatment, but by then it was too late.

The government confirmed death toll from the disease since the outbreak began has reached 11.  Over 1800 cases have been confirmed by health officials.

The country is experiencing the rainy season and most cases of Dengue Fever happen near the end and in the months right after the rainy season.

India Heat Wave Death Toll Climbing

The death toll in the killer heat wave sweeping India has jumped past the 2,000 mark.

Local officials say that over 2,300 are confirmed dead from the heat with 1,700 in just Andhra Pradesh state along India’s coast.

Scattered rain has been striking the country and helping to cool temperatures that ran as high as almost 118 degrees last week.  The rain has helped the capital city of New Delhi fall into the upper 90s with their daily high temperatures.

The monsoon season will begin later this week with the arrival of the first main monsoon.  The temperatures are expected to fall to less lethal levels within days of the main monsoon’s arrival.

 

The majority of the dead were the nation’s poor and sick.  Many were unable to find shelter from the heat.