LONDON, 22 November 2022, (TON): At the Moldova Support Platform in Paris, Leo Docherty underlined UK commitment to supporting Moldova’s stability and promoting greater European integration.

Thank you to the co-chairs for bringing us together again in particular, our host, Foreign Minister Colonna and also to Minister Baerbock and Foreign Minister Aurescu. Thank you Deputy Prime Minister Popescu.

I am very pleased to represent the United Kingdom today at this third Moldova Support Platform conference.

As we witness unrelenting Russian aggression in Ukraine, and its devastating impact on the people of Ukraine, we also see the harrowing consequences it is having beyond Ukraine’s borders, in particular on Moldova.

AMMAN, 22 November 2022, (TON): British MP Shailesh Vara confirmed on Monday that the UK does not intend to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Vara was leading a British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation to Jordan, where they met members of the Jordanian Senate.

The Jordanian contingent was led by Sen. Hani Mulki, who told the BGIPU that the Palestinian cause remains a central issue in the Arab world.

He emphasized the importance of bringing Israel to the negotiating table to the efforts to achieve peace through a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

RIYADH, 22 November 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent cables of condolences to Indonesia’s president after an earthquake rocked the country’s West Java province.

The powerful earthquake killed more than 160 people, with rescuers searching for survivors trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks.

In a cable, King Salman extended his deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to Joko Widodo, the families of those killed, and Indonesia. He also prayed that God give the injured a speedy recovery.

Prince Mohammed also sent a cable of condolences in which he expressed his sympathy to the families of victims.

MANILA, 22 November 2022, (TON): The Philippine navy on Monday accused the Chinese coastguard of forcefully seizing a floating object that its troops had just recovered in disputed South China Sea waters.

A senior Filipino navy official made the allegation on the eve of a visit by US Vice-President Kamala Harris to a nearby Philippine island aimed at boosting ties amid China’s growing regional clout.

Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said “a Chinese coastguard vessel blocked a Filipino rubber boat towing an unidentified floating object toward Philippine-garrisoned Thitu island in the Spratly group.”

NEW DELHI, 22 November 2022, (TON):  India on Monday condemned the recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea at the United Nations Security Council.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that the recent intercontinental ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea affect the peace and security of the region and beyond.

South Korean military said “incidentally, this was the second meeting on DPRK after Pyongyang fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. The isolated country fired an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea.”

DHAKA, 22 November 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said “Dhaka expects that the diplomats stationed in Bangladesh would follow their code of conduct in line with diplomatic norms.”

He said at a briefing “the ambassadors those are stationed here, they know their code of conduct, they will follow it and this is what is expected.”

The foreign minister said Bangladesh is no more subject to any country, it is an independent and sovereign country.

He added “we are no longer a colony, they should remember it.” 

DHAKA, 22 November 2022, (TON): Chiefs of the three services this evening paid a courtesy call on President M Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on the occasion of Armed Forces Day.

Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Shaheen Iqbal, and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan met the President at 7:30 pm.

Later, President's Press Secretary Md Joynal Abedin briefed the journalists.

He said “the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force briefed the President about various activities of their respective forces.”

DHAKA, 22 November 2022, (TON): Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said “Bangladesh is positioned to be a regional connectivity hub and India being the closest neighbour can reap the benefits of the connectivity outlook, as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.”

Momen also mentioned about the actions taken by Hasina and her government for exerting zero tolerance towards terrorism, radicalism and insurgency, which ultimately paved the way in establishing peace and stability of the North Eastern states of India.

During his meeting with the foreign minister, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay K Verma said India, under its Presidency of G20, expects active participation of Bangladesh in the G20 meetings to promote the issues of mutual interest in the global discourse.

By Usman Khalil

On October 17, 2022, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) began enquiry dispute over the overlapping Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) amid Mauritius and the Maldives. Throughout the proceedings, the Maldives shown its new position of accepting the Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos islands. This policy change has generated a nationwide controversy, with Maldivian political leaders heavily condemning President for bargaining the country’s sovereignty and selling off its EEZ. 

A momentary valuation of the Maldives’ stance on the this disputed island  matter shows that the country has conflicting opinions with no comprehensible strategy at the sight as joint national policy to solve archipelago’s sovereignty dispute. Yet, it has attempted to maximize its access to the EEZ through short-term designs and unreliable policies. While the incumbent Maldives’ government latest stance is change from its previous policies and domestic criticism and politicization are motivated by the Maldivian political leaders trying to make gains for the upcoming 2023 presidential elections. 

As the colonial powers pulled out from the Indian Ocean in the 1960s, the United Kingdom disconnected the controversial archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 to make the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).  This move permitted the United Kingdom to reserve its strategic leverage in the Indian Ocean.

The sovereignty of the archipelago continues to be in dispute. While the United Kingdom governs Chagos, Mauritius claims that the islands are part of its territory and that the UK’s governance of a previous colonial territory infringes international law. Chagos reflects Mauritius’ anti-colonial stance and provides an extended resourceful EEZ, which is vital for its exports and foreign reserves. Equally, this island represents a strategic asset for the UK, as it has leased a critical military base at Diego Garcia to the United States.

The Maldives, however, has overlapping EEZs with the disputed islands when measured from its southernmost island, Addu atoll. The region is an amusing fishing ground and is essential to the Maldives’ economy and exports. Fish exports contribute to 92 percent of the country’s domestic exports, and fisheries employ more than 20 percent of the country’s labor force. Given these benefits, the Maldives has been keen to maximize its access to the EEZ through several short-term calculations. 

In 1992, the Maldives and the UK discussed a draft agreement and settled to divide their EEZs. Though the agreement was not signed and never came into force, both countries continued to mark their EEZs as per the discussions. In 2009, the Maldives tried to engage with Mauritius and also divide the EEZs equidistantly, albeit with less success.

The next year, the UK decided to make the BIOT into a nautical protected area, purportedly to confuse Mauritius’ further claims and determinations to relocate in Chagos. Together Mauritius and the Maldives opposed this unilateral move, releasing a joint communique that agreed to take a collective stance against the UK and to resolve their differences regarding the EEZ.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized Mauritius’ sovereignty over the Chagos and released an advisory opinion requesting the UK to end its illegal administration. In May of that year, the United Nations General Assembly also passed a non-binding resolution asking the UK to withdraw from the Chagos Archipelago, with 116 votes in favor and six votes in opposition. The Maldives also voted against this resolution, anticipating that it would risk losing its maritime territories if it was passed.

Mauritius approached the International Tribune for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in October 2019, claiming an additional 200 nautical miles from Chagos islands and snowballing its EEZ overlap with the Maldives to 96,000 square kilometers (37066 square miles). The Maldives complained to the case by declaring that there could be no dispute with Mauritius when the sovereignty of Chagos itself was in question. However, the ITLOS used the ICJ’s verdict as a base for Mauritius’ legal claim over the archipelago, effectively transforming the ICJ’s opinion into a lawful conclusion. 

Three years later, as the proceeding started, the Maldives shown its support for Mauritius’ claim over Chagos. This policy isn’t fundamentally different from the Maldives’ previous stance; it continues to be influenced by the issue of the sovereignty of Chagos and its desires to access the EEZ.  First, the Maldives’ decision is an outcome of its realization that the sovereignty dispute over the Chagos has almost finished. The ICJ’s advisory opinion, the votes at the UNGA, and the ITLOS legal explanation show that the UK has been restricted legally and diplomatically. In early November this year, the UK also agreed to negotiate the handing over of Chagos to Mauritius.

Furthermore, the Maldives’ absence of strategy forced Mauritius to take legal actions, which has augmented their EEZ overlap. Mauritius’ diplomatic efforts at the UN have also created more support for decolonization, putting the Maldives and its ‘anti-colonial’ rhetoric in a difficult spotlight. With the dispute nearing the end, the Maldives now realizes that it can only freely access its EEZ by negotiating with Mauritius, gaining its goodwill, and hoping to quickly resolve the disagreement. 

Maldives’ position of acknowledging Mauritius’ sovereignty over Chagos is not a significant parting from its previous policy. Yet, Maldivian political leaders have accused the incumbent President of bargaining the country’s EEZ and sovereignty. The critics include leaders of opposition, the government’s alliance partners, and rival factions within his party.

The Maldives heads to presidential elections in 2023 and raking up nationalist sentiments beforehand has been a common feature of Maldivian politics since its democratic transition in 2008. Political parties in the Maldives have often pointed development loans and assistance to accuse the incumbent or previous governments of compromising the country’s sovereignty.

As the election year approaches, the Chagos issue has allowed politicians a chance to sideline the current government. Politicians who reluctant to irritate or risk close relations with two of Maldives’ crucial development partners, India and China, have found the Chagos issue appropriate to gather nationalist feelings and further their electoral advances.  PPM’s leader and presidential candidate has condemned the government for selling sovereignty in return for bribes. In an attempt to portray themselves as nationalists, the government’s allies,  the Jumhooree Party and Maldives Reform Movement, have distanced themselves from the decision and have held the President solely responsible for this policy.

Moreover, as tensions within the ruling party, Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), have been exacerbated, some leaders are criticizing the incumbent President and their fellow party leader, hoping to make their cause for the upcoming presidential inter-party primaries. Notably, it is being criticized the government’s stance, reversed his position on the UK’s decision to make Chagos a fishing-free zone, and has also publicly claimed Chagos as a part of the Maldives.  

As the Maldives enters its election year, it has continued to face its prevalent foreign policy trials: unreliable policies and the politicization of its relationships with external powers. Addressing these issues has become even more necessary   for the island nation as its connections upsurge with new partners like the UK, the United States, and Australia. Fading to do so will submerge its relations globally.

By Dwaipayan Regmi, TON, Nepal

Election Commissioner's Chief Dinesh Kumar Thapliya stated in the press briefing that there was 61 percent of voters as per preliminary data meaning that 39 percent were out of it. Although it was stated that this is lesser than what was expected, the election was believed to be successful. In the election of 2017, there had been 68 percent of voters there. In the press briefing, it was stated that the elections were held successfully throughout the country except for just a few minor incidents of violence. It was further explained that there were 15 polling booths in four districts where elections were postponed. There was the death of one person and two people were injured in the Bajura district when security personnel opened fire at the polling station. In the briefing, it was further explained that there were government employees who were deployed for poll duty for arresting those who created trouble at the time of the election and were provoked in taking action against them under the Election Offence and Punishment Act.

In those places where elections were postponed, elections will be held within the next couple of days. Election Commission has planned to count FPTP ballot papers along with a proportional representation of ballot papers in simultaneous order. Ballot papers are being transported to the election office in districts and right now it is in the process of counting.

There have been different thoughts and ideas about the election result. While there lies a belief regarding the victory of the ruling party at one end, there also lies expectations from other parties. Social media has widely been in support of independent candidates as there has been major support from the public towards them. The election for parliament and provincial assembly. which was conducted on Sunday have been successful to a larger extent. The reality behind the election has been regarded as the gift of democracy with such immense participation. It was asked to be celebrated as it is a huge festival there by the political parties.

The results are likely to come out in a gradual process from very now and Nepal's hot topic will be about the discussion regarding the same. The two alliance made by the ruling party and the opposition party has to be experimented with through the result. So, while the Congress-led alliance supported by CPN Maoists was at one end there was KP Oli led alliance of UML with support from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party at the other end. Although the two alliances have collaborated with two different perspectives, what can clearly be tracked here had been entirely different. Whether or not the general public will like and support such an alliance has been on the major agenda there. There are equal possibilities for big faces to face defeat because of divided votes.

The preliminary projections made by various media have been stating that independent candidates will hold equal strength and charm at this time there. The strength of independent candidates was seen previously in the local election too, and that gave hope to a large number of candidates at this time here. The results of the election will determine the political move that Nepal will go through at this time. The shape of Government formation, participation and power division will all be determined through the results. At this time, not only the public but even the big parties and big leaders have been passionately waiting for the result. With the initiation of the counting process, there will be the participation of the candidate's representative who will be seeking the result there. And, gradually the aspects will be considered.

On the other side, what can be traced here was that the interest and hopes out of political consequences had been in diminishing line. This was seen through the process under which movements were carefully categorized here. The whole process seemed to be within the troublesome line because diminishing hopes and increasing complexities – where youths from Kathmandu hesitated to go to their place just to cast vote was something that had to be taken with seriousness there.

The counting process is on, and the result can be forecasted gradually.