Passage 1
For the first time, Russia has sent [1] trains laden with coal to India via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which connects Russia to India via Iran, according to Russia’s national railway company. The corridor is part of Russia’s push to find new transport routes in light of Western sanctions, which have forced it to shift trade flows from Europe to Asia and the Middle East, RT has reported. The trains set off from the Kemerovo region. They followed along the eastern branch of the INSTC through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas,” Russian Railways said on Monday in its Telegram channel, RT reported. They also point out that the INSTC is being seen as an alternative to the Suez Canal trade route. About 12% of global trade, around one million barrels of oil and roughly 8% of liquefied natural gas pass through the canal each day, says a BBC report. Yet it remains vulnerable. In 2021, the experts recall, a ship ran aground and blocked the Suez Canal for six days. Lloyd’s List estimated that $9.6 billion of trade was held up each day. The world was recently again reminded of the importance of having alternative trade routes when the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Houthi attacks on ships coming or going to the canal started disrupting trade. In this context, the INSTC corridor can be a critical geostrategic tool India needs to enhance its trade footprints in Central Asia. Ajay Srivastava, Cofounder of Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), had told ET last month, “Indian cargo from ports like Kandla, JNPT, Mumbai, Mormugao, Cochin and Mangalore can use Chabahar port in Iran as a strategic gateway to Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, and further to Northern Europe via Iran and Russia. The INSTC significantly cuts transit times to around 25 days from the usual 45 days via the Suez Canal route and reduces freight costs by 30%.” Energy, pharmaceuticals, information technology, health, agriculture, textiles, and gems and jewellery can benefit greatly once India starts leveraging Chabahar port for the INSTC route, Nisha Taneja, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). told ET last month.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-
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Passage 2
A Bill that aims to counter China’s position that it has controlled Tibet since ‘ancient times’ and to promote dialogue between Beijing and exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, was passed by US lawmakers and went to President Joe Biden’s desk last week.
The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress, voted 391-26 on June 12 to approve the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, which had passed the Senate, the upper chamber, last month. A press release on the website of Jeff Merkley, the Democratic senator from the US state of Oregon who had introduced the Bill in the Senate, said that the US Congress had passed the “bipartisan Bill to enhance US support for Tibet and promote dialogue between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Dalai Lama towards a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute between Tibet and China”. The release added, “The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act now goes to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.” In essence, the Bill aims to harden Washington’s position on Tibet and pressure Beijing into resuming negotiations with the Dalai Lama.
No formal dialogue between Chinese and Tibetan authorities has happened since 2010. “The people of Tibet deserve to be in charge of their own future, and, today, Congress has voted to stand with Tibetans in their struggle for freedom and self-determination,” said Merkley, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, according to the release. Merkley added that the Act would help “counter misinformation from the Chinese government about Tibet” and would push for “negotiations between the PRC and Tibet to end this longstanding dispute”. “Our bipartisan Bill will refresh US policy towards Tibet and push for negotiations that advance freedom for the Tibetan people and a peaceful resolution to the CCP’s conflict with the Dalai Lama,” said Indiana’s Republican Senator Todd Young. Young added that Congressional passage of the Bill “further demonstrates America’s resolve that the CCP’s status quo – both in Tibet and elsewhere – is not acceptable”.
“Let the overwhelming passage of our strong, bipartisan Bill be a clear message to the Tibetan people: America stands with you on the side of human dignity, and we support you in your quest to secure the basic rights to which you are entitled under international law,” said Democratic US Representative Jim McGovern, who is also a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
Source: https://www.business-standard.com/external-affairs-defence-security
