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  • Challenger Deep: the deepest spot in the ocean

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    On June 7, astronaut and oceanographer Kathy Sullivan, who was the first American woman to walk in space in 1984, became the first woman and the fifth person in history to descend to the deepest known spot in the world’s oceans, called the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.

    The ocean relief can be divided into various parts such as Continental Shelf, Continental Slope, Continental Rise or Foot, Deep Ocean basins, Abyssal plains & Abyssal Hills, Oceanic Trenches, Seamounts and Guyots.

    Revise these ocean bottom relief  features from your basic references.

    Also revise India’s Deep Ocean Mission.

    What is Challenger Deep?

    • The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere (the oceans), with a depth of 10,902 to 10,929 m.
    • The deepest part is called the Challenger Deep, which is located below the surface of the western Pacific Ocean.
    • The first dive at Challenger Deep was made in 1960 by Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss scientist Jacques Piccard on a submersible called ‘Trieste’.
    • The British Ship HMS Challenger discovered Challenger Deep between 1872-1876.
    • In 2012, film director James Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana trench after a descent that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes.
    • Cameron reached a depth of about 10,908 metres on a dive in his submersible called the ‘Deepsea Challenger’ and became the first to complete a solo submarine dive to this spot.

    Why explore deep oceans?

    • Ocean exploration, however, is not randomly wandering in hopes of finding something new.
    • It is disciplined and organized and includes rigorous observations and documentation of biological, chemical, physical, geological, and archaeological aspects of the ocean.
    • Most of the existing knowledge of the oceans comes from shallower waters, while deeper waters remain relatively unexplored, even as humans are relying more on these areas for food, energy and other resources.
    • Further, finding out more about the deep ocean areas can potentially reveal new sources for medical drugs, food, energy resources and other products.
    • Significantly, information from the deep oceans can also help to predict earthquakes and tsunamis, and help us understand how we are affecting and getting affected by the Earth’s environment.

    What does it take to reach the deep ocean?

    • Vehicles called Human Occupied Vehicles (HOVs) may be used that carry scientists to the deep sea.
    • Alternatively, there are unmanned Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) that are linked to ships using cables and can be steered by scientists remotely.
    • Even so, it is difficult for most private citizens to travel more than 100 feet below the surface of the ocean.
    • Further, technical divers can go as deep as 500 feet or more, but with an array of tanks filled with different gas blends.

    Why is it so difficult to explore deep oceans?

    • Most recreational divers can’t explore more than about 120 feet down due to the amount of air needed to keep lungs pressurized at depth.
    • Such depths could lead to nitrogen narcosis, the intoxication by nitrogen that starts to set in around that depth (most of our atmosphere is nitrogen, not oxygen).
    • Waters at such depths of several kilometres exert tremendous pressure which human bodies cannot sustain.

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Asiatic Lion

    Prelims OnlySpecies | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Asiatic lions have now significantly risen in number at an estimated population of 674 in the Gir forest region of Gujarat. Unlike in previous years, this count was estimated not from a Census, but from a population “observation” exercise called Poonam Avlokan.

    Try this question from CSP 2017:

    Q. The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of

    (a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna

    (b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves

    (c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System

    (d) Security of National Highways

    Asiatic Lion

    • Indian Lion (Panthera Leo Persica) is listed as Endangered and exists as a single population in Gujarat.
    • It is one of five big cat species found in India and Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is the only habitat for Asiatic lions.
    • Historically, it inhabited much of Western Asia and the Middle East up to northern India.
    • On the IUCN Red List, it is listed under its former scientific name Panthera leo persica as Endangered because of its small population size and area of occupancy.
    • More than two dozen lions died last year in an outbreak of canine distemper virus (CDV) and Babesiosis.

    What is Poonam Avlokan?

    It includes two methods:

    • Block counting method — in which census enumerators remain stationed at water points in a given block and estimate abundance of lions in that block, based on the direct sighting of lions who need to drink water at least once in 24 hours during the summer.
    • Other teams keep moving in their respective territories and make their estimates based on inputs provided by lion trackers and on chance sightings.

    Back2Basics: Lion Census in India

    • The first Lion Census was conducted by the Nawab of Junagadh in 1936; since 1965, the Forest Department has been regularly conducting the Lion Census every five years.
    • The 6th, 8th and 11th Censuses were each delayed by a year, for various reasons.
    • This year it was postponed after the lockdown was announced.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Nepal

    Complexity of India-Nepal relations

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    This article helps us understand Nepal’s perspective of the India-Nepal border dispute. Though the issue dates back to India’s independence, it came to dominate the political landscape in Nepal since 1990s. But there is no solution in sight. So, what makes the issue complex? Read to know…

    What the border dispute between two countries is about?

    • The inauguration of the “new road to Mansarovar” on May 8 by India’s defence minister has strained the relations between Nepal and India.
    • Nepal claims that a section of the road passes through the territory of Nepal and links with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China through the Lipu Lekh pass in Nepal.
    • The 1816 Sugauli Treaty between Nepal and British India placed all the territories east of the Kali (Mahakali) river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh at the northwestern front of Nepal, on its side.
    • The borders of Nepal, India and China intersect in this area.
    • Given the situation in 1961, Nepal and China fixed pillar number one at Tinker pass with the understanding that pillar number zero (the tri-junction of Nepal, India, and China) would be fixed later.
    • Lipu Lekh pass is 4 km northwest and Limpiyadhura 53 km west of Tinker pass.

    No progress on the solution of the issue

    • The dispute over the Kalapani area has spanned the last seven decades.
    • Both Nepal and India have recognised it as an outstanding border issue requiring an optimal resolution.
    • When in August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Nepal in 17 years, Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala raised this issue again.
    • The two prime ministers agreed to resolve the issue on a priority basis and directed their foreign secretaries “to work on the outstanding boundary issues including Kalapani and Susta”.
    •  There was virtually no progress on the ground.

    Nepal’s objection to India-China agreement

    •  In May 2015, Prime Minister Modi visited China, and the two countries agreed to “enhance border areas cooperation”.
    • The May 2015 agreement is a broad one compared to the 1954 India-China agreement “on trade and intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India”, which mentions Lipu Lekh pass as one of the six passes “through which traders and pilgrims of both countries may travel”.
    • Nepal protested against the inclusion of its territory, Lipu Lekh, in the joint statement without its consent and demanded that the two countries make necessary corrections to reflect the ground realities.
    • The protest was ignored.

    Growing nationalism and distrust let to the deterioration of relations

    • The tone of Nepal-India relations appears to be dominated by frustrations of the past and traditional attitudes more than the opportunities of the future.
    • The widening gap in understanding each other’s concerns has helped feed Nepali nationalism and create a dense cloud of distrust and suspicion between the two countries.
    • The gap widened after India chose to impose an economic blockade in response to Nepal’s sovereign decision to promulgate a democratic constitution.
    • The current ruling Communist Party of Nepal made people’s anger over the blockade its campaign plank during the 2017 general election.

    What makes the border issues complex and difficult to solve?

    • Complexity of the issue stems from the fact that the political leadership handles only a small part of this very important bilateral relationship.
    • India as a big neighbour is rarely seen grasping the psychological dimensions of the relationship.
    • Officials handling these multifaceted relations may momentarily influence the atmospherics but they rarely touch the core of these relations, let alone reorient or transform them in the rapidly changing context.
    • This is manifest in the deferring of substantive conversations on the outstanding boundary issue for decades.
    • The foreign secretary level mechanism has not met even once to discuss the border issue since its formation.
    • There are over three dozen bilateral mechanisms between Nepal and India to engage at various levels.
    • The meetings of these mechanisms are rarely regular.

    Consider the question “The India-Nepal border dispute looks minor, but allowing it to fester is likely to sow the seeds of immense competition and intense rivalry in the sensitive Himalayan frontier with far-reaching geopolitical implications. Comment.”

    Conclusion

    Geography, history, and economy make Nepal and India natural partners, sharing vital interest in each other’s freedom, integrity, dignity, security and progress. People-to-people relations are unique strengths of bilateral relations. India, for it’s part and in the spirit of its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy, must start a solution-oriented dialogue and find the solution to the dispute.

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Will leaders act on the climate crisis as they did Covid-19?

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    In the context of climate change, the rising concentration of carbon dioxide and rising global temperature are inextricably linked with each other. This article elaborates on two interlinked and rising curves-CO2 and temperature. The article is concluded on the positive note that leaders would act on climate change with same urgency as Covid.

    The upward journey of two curves

    • Two interrelated curves began their upward trend two centuries ago with the advent of the industrial age.
    • The first curve was the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide or, more generally, all greenhouse gases, GHGs.
    • And the second was the average global temperature curve.

    CO2 concentration at 407 ppm: But did we get here?

    • Actually, the CO2 curve began its upward march about 18,000 years ago when it was a little under 200 parts per million (ppm).
    • And earth was much colder back then.
    • By the time it reached 270 ppm about 11,500 years ago, the warmer conditions accompanying this curve made it possible for the emergence of agriculture.
    • Over the past million years, CO2 levels never exceeded 280-300 ppm.
    • They always went back to 200 ppm before rising again in a cyclical fashion.
    • They remained steady at close to 280 ppm for 10,000 years until, beginning in the mid-19th century.
    • They began to rise again as humans burnt coal and oil to fuel the industrial revolution, and burnt forests to expand agriculture and settlements.
    • From a mere 0.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions in 1850, annual emissions increased to 36 billion tonnes by 2018.
    • If all this CO2 had accumulated in the atmosphere, we can say that human life would have been altered beyond recognition.
    • Nature has been rather kind to us so far — about one-half of all CO2 emissions have been sanitised from the atmosphere, equally by growing vegetation on land and by absorption in the oceans.
    • Thus, the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 407 ppm in 2018, a level last experienced by earth some three million years ago.

    Global temperature up by 1 degree Celcius

    •  From 1850 onwards, for over a century, the global temperature showed a slight warming trend.
    • But there was nothing suggestive of anything serious.
    • From 1975 onwards, the temperature graph has shown a distinct, upward trend.
    • By 2015, the globe had heated by a full degree Celsius relative to a hundred years previously.
    • Climate modellers unequivocally project that under the current trends of emissions the globe will heat up by 4˚C by the end of the century.
    • he 2003 European heat wave killed over 70,000 people.
    • The years 2015-19 have globally been the warmest years on record.
    • Leave aside the Amazon fire of 2019, the bush fires of 2019-20 in Australia were unprecedented in their scale and devastation.
    • March 2020 has been the second warmest March on record.

    But climate change is not just about temperature rise

    • Climate change involves not just a change in temperature but every other component of weather, including rainfall, humidity and wind speed.
    • Indirect effects follow, such as a rise in sea levels from melting glaciers.
    • Globally there have been several extreme weather events such as hurricanes, heat waves or droughts.
    • While no single event can be directly attributed to climate change, the collective trends are consistent with climate change predictions.

    Warning for India

    • The Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago put out a warning for India last year.
    • It says that if global CO2 emissions continue to gallop at the present rate, average summer temperatures would rise by 4˚C in most States.
    • Extremely hot days (days above 35˚C), which were only five days in 2010, would increase to 15 days by 2050 and to 42 days by 2100 on average across all districts.
    • A more moderate emissions scenario, as a result of countries largely fulfilling their commitments under the Paris Agreement, would keep average global temperature rise below 2˚C compared to pre-industrial levels.

    Let’s look into the financial dimension of tackling climate change

    • The most common excuse is that the world cannot afford to curb GHG emissions for fear of wrecking the economy.
    • An article in Nature in 2019 highlighted the financial dimensions of tackling the looming climate crisis.
    • Apparently, the wealthy nations are spending over $500 billion each year internally on projects aimed at reducing emissions.
    • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, however, estimates that a sustained annual investment of $2.4 trillion in more efficient energy systems is needed until 2035 in order to keep warming below the more ambitious 1.5˚C relative to pre-industrial levels.
    • To put this in perspective, that is about 2.5% of the global GDP.

    What happened to the $100 billion per year aid to poor countries?

    • Some of the wrangling over money relates to the amounts that the wealthy nations, agreed to pay other countries to cope with climate change.
    • Underlying idea was that these countries have caused most of the GHGs resulting in global warming,
    • At the UN Climate Conference in 2009, the richest nations had pledged to provide $100 billion in aid each year by 2020 to the poorer countries for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
    • In 2017, for which data are available, only $71 billion had been provided.
    • And most of the money was spent on mitigation and less than 20% towards climate adaptation.
    • Such numbers had been challenged prior to the 2015 Paris Summit by many countries, including India.
    • It was challenged because much of the so-called aid provided did not come out of dedicated climate funds but, rather, development funds or simply loans which had to be repaid.
    • It thus seems unlikely that the rich countries will deliver $100 billion in tangible climate finance during 2020.

    Time to act

    • COVID-19 has unwittingly given humanity a brief respite from the climate change curve.
    • Commentators are already talking about a paradigm shift in the structure and functioning of societies once the pandemic subsides.
    • This is also a make-or-break moment for the climate trajectory which has to be flattened within a few years if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.
    • Nature’s kindness is not expected to last beyond a 2˚C rise in temperature as the carbon sequestered into vegetation will be thrown back into the atmosphere.
    • Also remember that earth has already warmed by 1˚C and we really have only another 1˚C as a safety margin or 0.5˚C if we are concerned about island nations.

    Consider the mains question asked by the UPSC in 2017-‘Climate change’ is a global problem. How India will be affected by climate change? How Himalayan and coastal states of India will be affected by climate change?

    Conclusion

    There is no substitute to reducing GHG emissions. Technologists, economists and social scientists must plan for a sustainable planet based on the principles of equity and climate justice within and across nations. It is the responsibility of leaders to alter their mindset and act on the looming climate crisis with the same alacrity they have shown on COVID-19.

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  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

    Permafrost and the hazards of its Thawing

    Explained | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    The principal reason that led to the recent 20,000-tonne oil leak at an Arctic region power plant in Russia that is now being recognised is the sinking of ground surface due to permafrost thaw.

    Try this question from Mains 2017:
    Q. What is Cryosphere? How does the Cryosphere affect global climate?

    What is Permafrost?

    • Permafrost is ground that remains completely frozen at 0 degrees Celsius or below for at least two years.
    • It is defined solely based on temperature and duration.
    • The permanently frozen ground, consisting of soil, sand, and rock held together by ice, is believed to have formed during glacial periods dating several millennia.

    Where are they found?

    • These grounds are known to be below 22 per cent of the land surface on Earth, mostly in polar zones and regions with high mountains.
    • They are spread across 55 per cent of the landmass in Russia and Canada, 85 per cent in the US state of Alaska, and possibly the entirety of Antarctica.
    • In northern Siberia, it forms a layer that is 1,500 m thick; 740 m in northern Alaska.
    • At lower latitudes, permafrost is found at high altitude locations such as the Alps and the Tibetian plateau.

    How climate change is eating away at these grounds?

    • The Earth’s polar and high altitude regions — its principal permafrost reservoirs — are the most threatened by climate change.
    • Arctic regions are warming twice as fast compared to the rest of the planet, its current rate of temperature change being the highest in 2,000 years.
    • In 2016, Arctic permafrost temperatures were 3.5 degrees Celsius higher than at the beginning of the 20th century.
    • A study has shown that every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature can degrade up to 39 lakh square kilometre due to thawing.
    • This degradation is expected to further aggravate as the climate gets warmer, putting at risk 40 per cent of the world’s permafrost towards the end of the century– causing disastrous effects.

    The threat to infrastructure

    • Thawing permafrost is also ominous for man-made structures overhead.
    • The Russian oil leak occurred recorded temperatures in Siberia at more than 10 degrees Celsius above average, and called them “highly anomalous” for the region where the power plant is located.
    • As temperatures rise, the binding ice in permafrost melts, making the ground unstable and leading to massive potholes, landslides, and floods.
    • The sinking effect causes damage to key infrastructure such as roads, railway lines, buildings, power lines and pipelines.
    • These changes also threaten the survival of indigenous people, as well as Arctic animals.

    A ticking time bomb

    • Beneath its surface, permafrost contains large quantities of organic leftover from thousands of years prior — dead remains of plants, animals, and microorganisms that got frozen before they could rot.
    • It also holds a massive trove of pathogens.
    • When permafrost thaws, microbes start decomposing this carbon matter, releasing greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
    • Researchers have estimated that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, these grounds could release GHGs to the tune of 4-6 years’ of emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas.
    • Along with greenhouse houses, these grounds could also release ancient bacteria and viruses into the atmosphere as they unfreeze.

    Back2Basics
    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/thawing-of-permafrost/

    Also read:

    Ambarnaya River Oil spill in Russia

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  • Cashless Society – Digital Payments, Demonetization, etc.

    Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF)

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The RBI has created a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) with an outlay of Rs. 500 Cr.

    Possible prelims question:
    Q. Which of the following is the major aim of Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) recently created by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)?
    a) Promotion of UPI payments

    b) Deploying Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure

    c) Creation of digital wallets

    d)All of the above

    Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF)

    • PIDF aims to encourage acquirers to deploy Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure — both physical and digital modes in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states.
    • The setting of PIDF is in line with the measures proposed by the vision document on payment and settlement systems in India 2019-2021.
    • It is also in line with the RBI’s proposal to set up an Acceptance Development Fund which will be used to develop card acceptance infrastructure across small towns and cities.

    Its working

    • The PIDF will be governed through an Advisory Council and managed and administered by RBI.
    • It will also receive recurring contributions to cover operational expenses from card-issuing banks and card networks.
    • RBI will also contribute to its yearly shortfalls, if necessary.

    Why need PIDF?

    • Over the years, the payments ecosystem in the country has evolved with a wide range of options such as bank accounts, mobile phones, cards, etc.
    • To provide further fillip to digitization of payment systems, it is necessary to give impetus to acceptance infrastructure across the country, more so in under-served areas.

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  • Innovations in Biotechnology and Medical Sciences

    Crystalline Rubrene for Optoelectronic Devices

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Indian scientists have found a new process for synthesizing crystalline rubrene for the development of optoelectronic devices and also for preparation of Electronic Skin (E-Skin).

    Note the difference between the Pyro-electric/ Piezo-electric/ Pyro-photonic effects. UPSC may shuffle the meaning of such terms in statement based prelims question.

    What is crystalline rubrene?

    • Crystalline rubrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-based thin film.
    • It is a water-free, solvent-free, environmentally friendly one-step plasma process.
    • It demonstrated optoelectronic properties (which detect and control light).
    • A highly uniform pin-hole-free thin film can be deposited by this process, which is useful for the fabrication of high-end devices.

    Working principle

    • Devices made of pyro-electric materials (that generate electric charge when they are heated or cooled) and piezo-electric materials (that generate electric charge under the effect of mechanical pressure), can help detect change in temperature and pressure.
    • Pyro-electric materials also show pyro-phototronic effect where pyro-electricity is associated with the change in temperature of a material when it absorbs photons.
    • Pyro-electric infrared detectors are well known for application in infrared sensing for space research, defense, remote sensing, and household appliances.

    Principle application: Human Skin

    • These kinds of materials are available in biological systems such as – human skin, plant cellulose leading to their significance in the understanding of basic science of biological systems and also in their huge application prospect.
    • The rubrene crystal has a thin amorphous oxide layer formed over the crystalline film.
    • This induces surface layer polarization effect leading to pyro-phototronic effect.

    Significance of the research

    • Since last few years, scientists from around the world are working on the synthesis of organic materials for electronic applications.
    • The conventional process for synthesis of organic electronic materials based on chemical processes provides very good quality materials, but the stability of the materials is not very good, and it requires use of solvents.
    • Moreover, multiple steps are required for material synthesis and film deposition.

    Applications

    • This novel process developed by the Indian team is useful for developing advanced optoelectronic devices and preparation of Electronic Skin (E-Skin).
    • It may prove to be useful tool for laboratory simulation of different biological systems for probing the organization and dynamics of those systems.

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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench for the UT of J&K and Ladakh

    PIB | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Constitutional Bodies

    The union govt. has inaugurated the 18th Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

    Try this question from our AWE initiative:

    “The Central Administration Tribunal which was established for redressal of grievances and complaints by or against central government employees nowadays is exercising its powers as an independent judicial authority.” Explain. (10 Marks)

    What is Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)?

    • The Central Administrative Tribunal had been established under Article 323 – A of the Constitution for adjudication of disputes and complaints with respect to recruitment and conditions of service.
    • It aims to provide speedy and inexpensive justice to the aggrieved public servants.
    • It adjudicates for the persons appointed to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or other authorities under the control of the Government.
    • In pursuance of Article 323-A, the Parliament has passed the Administrative Tribunals Act in 1985.
    • The act authorizes the Central government to establish one Central Administrative Tribunal and the state administrative tribunals.

    Composition of the CAT

    • The CAT is a specialist body consisting of Administrative Members and Judicial Members who by virtue of their specialized knowledge are better equipped to dispense speedy and effective justice.
    • A Chairman who has been a sitting or retired Judge of a High Court heads the Central Administrative Tribunal.
    • There are now 18 Benches and 21 Circuit Benches in the CAT all over India.

    Its functioning

    • It exercises jurisdiction only in relation to the service matters of the parties covered by the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985.
    • The Tribunal is guided by the principles of natural justice in deciding cases and is not bound by the procedure, prescribed by the Civil Procedure Code.
    • Under Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985, the Tribunal has been conferred with the power to exercise the same jurisdiction and authority in respect of contempt of itself as a High Court.

    Independence of working

    • The conditions of service of the Chairman and Members are the same as applicable to a Judge of High Court as per the Administrative Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2006.
    • The orders of CAT are challenged by way of Writ Petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution before respective High Court in whose territorial jurisdiction the Bench of the Tribunal is situated.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Pay attention to their objectives in dealing with China and Pakistan

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    While their interests overlap, Pakistan and China diverge when it comes to their objective in Kashmir. Both want to keep the pressure on India to avoid it from changing the status quo. Extending this line of argument, the author in this article suggest that India should separate the policy response to China from Pakistan, as they differ in their objectives.

    Coordinated efforts to corner India?

    • Latest news on the Ladakh front suggests that Chinese and Indian forces have begun to disengage in select areas.
    • But this does not detract from the reality that in the past few weeks Beijing and Islamabad are making coordinated efforts to challenge India’s presence in the Kashmir-Ladakh region.
    • There is stepped-up activity on Pakistan’s part to infiltrate terrorists into the Valley.
    • China has undertaken provocative measures on the Ladakh front to assert control over disputed areas around the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

    Let’s see how Pakistan and China’s interests overlap

    • In Pakistan’s case the intensification in its terrorist activities is related in part to the dilution of Article 370. 
    • Dilution of Article 370 helps India de-link Ladakh from the Kashmir problem.
    • For China, the division of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir allows India a freer hand in contesting China’s claims in the region.
    • Increasing road-building activity on India’s part close to the LAC augments this perception.
    • In addition, Ladakh borders China’s most restive provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet.
    • Ladakh is also contiguous to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Gilgit and Baltistan, where the Chinese have invested hugely under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
    • External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s remark last year that India expects to have “physical jurisdiction over (POK) one day” has alarmed Beijing which sees any such Indian move as threatening the CPEC project.
    • These factors demonstrate the overlapping interests that Beijing and Islamabad have regarding India in this region.

    The above factors explain why Pakistan and China would want India to be so preoccupied with taking defensive measures in Kashmir and Ladakh as to have little time and energy left to attempt to alter the status quo in POK or in Aksai Chin.

    But there are major differences in Pakistani and Chinese objectives regarding India

    • These differences are related to their divergent perceptions of their disputes and their different force equations with India.
    • For China, Ladakh is primarily a territorial dispute with strategic ramifications.
    • China also believes it is superior to the Indian militarily and, therefore, can afford to push India around within limits as it has been attempting to do in the recent confrontation.
    • For Pakistan, its territorial claim on Kashmir is based on an immutable ideological conviction that it is the unfinished business of partition and as a Muslim-majority state is destined to become a part of Pakistan.
    • Islamabad also realises that it is the weaker power in conventional terms and therefore has to use unconventional means, primarily terrorist infiltration, to achieve its objective of changing the status quo in Kashmir.
    • China is a satiated power in Ladakh having occupied Aksai Chin and wants to keep up the pressure on New Delhi to prevent the latter from trying to change the situation on the ground.

    Way forward-Pay attention to objectives while negotiating

    • China’s primary concern with regard to Kashmir is to prevent any Indian move from threatening the CPEC project.
    • It does not challenge the status quo in Kashmir.
    • Pakistan, on the other hand, is committed to changing the status quo in Kashmir at all cost.
    • It has been trying to do so since Partition not only through clandestine infiltration but also by engaging in conventional warfare.
    • Therefore, while it is possible to negotiate the territorial dispute with China on a give-and-take basis.
    • Doing the same is not possible in the case of Pakistan which considers Kashmir a zero-sum game.
    • India should, therefore, distinguish the different objectives on the part of Beijing and Islamabad and tailor its responses accordingly without conflating the two threats to its security.

    Consider the question “Policy response of India in dealing with Pakistan and China should consider differences in their objectives in relation to Kashmir. And clubbing them together just because of their tactical overlap should be avoided. Elaborate.”

    Conclusion

    Lumping the twin threats posed by Pakistan and China together because of a tactical overlap between them makes it difficult to choose policy options rationally. So, the policy response must understand the difference in their objectives and avoid clubbing them together.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    India-China border crisis: It is not about the U.S.

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests,India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    India’s growing closeness to the U.S. could be the reason for China’s aggression along India’s border. This is the explanation we often come across. But is it really the case?. This article probes the same question. Example of China’s dispute with Indonesia and Philippine help us analyse the U.S. angle to Indo-China border dispute. So, what is the conclusion?

    An easy explanation to India-China border crisis

    • Why has China precipitated a fresh military crisis with India in eastern Ladakh?
    • Among the many explanations making the rounds in Delhi, there is always the easy and attractive one — it’s all about America.
    • Delhi has incurred Beijing’s wrath by moving closer to Washington, goes the argument.
    • India’s renewed enthusiasm for the US-led Quad, it is said, is encouraging China to teach a lesson to Delhi.

    But does this explanation applies to the other countries as well? Look at Indonesia

    • No!
    • This theory does not hold up in relation to other countries having problems with China.
    • Let us turn to the South China Sea, where China is on a bold and ambitious drive to expand its control over the disputed waters.
    • Let us start with gathering tensions over the territorial dispute between Beijing and Jakarta.
    • Over the last year and more, Jakarta is coping with a Chinese challenge in its waters off its Natuna Islands.
    • The Natuna are nearly 1,500 km from the Chinese mainland.
    • The Natuna themselves lie outside Beijing’s nine-dash line that claims nearly 80 per cent of the South China Sea.
    • The dispute is over the exclusive economic zone that the islands confer on Indonesia.
    • China says it has historic rights to these waters and has been dispatching its fishing fleet into these waters.

    Maybe China sees a problem with Jakarta-Washington relations: Let’s analyse

    • Jakarta did not support the US approach to the Indo-Pacific.
    • and went to great lengths to develop a concept of its own and get it endorsed by the ASEAN.
    • Indonesia is not a member of the much-maligned Quad.
    • Its foreign policy is wedded to non-alignment.
    • And as the host of the historic Bandung Conference in 1955, Indonesia is a founding member and champion of Non-aligned Movement.

    Now, let’s consider second example: Philippines

    • The story of the Philippines — one of the oldest military allies of the US in Asia — nicely complements the non-aligned Indonesia’s troubles with China.
    • When he came to power in 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte decided to distance the Philippines from the US and embraced China.
    • He had a hope of finding a reasonable settlement to the substantive maritime territorial dispute with Beijing.
    • In February this year, Manila announced the decision to terminate the agreement that lets American troops operate in the Philippines.
    • But last week, the Philippines “suspended” the decision to terminate military cooperation with the US.
    • The reason: The PLA’s relentless military pressure on the South China Sea islands claimed by Manila and including them in a new Chinese administrative district.

    So, what the two examples suggest?

    • Neither Jakarta that is scrupulously non-aligned nor Manila that was ready to break its alliance with the US has been spared from Beijing’s current muscular approach to China’s territorial disputes.
    • China has long-standing claims, right or wrong, on the territories of its neighbours.
    • The other is the dramatic shift in the regional power balance in favour of China.
    • Unlike in the past, China now has the military power to make good its claims and alter the territorial status quo, if only in bits and pieces.
    • This is what China is doing in the South China Sea.
    • And the situation may not be any different in Ladakh.

    Consider the question “The shift in the regional power balance and not the growing Indo-U.S. relations explains the assertive nature of China in India-China border issues. Elaborate.”

    Conclusion

    The real challenge for Delhi in managing its expansive territorial dispute with Beijing, then, is to redress the growing power imbalance with China. The rest is detail.

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