WASHINGTON, 08 December 2022, (TON): The United States said “it would bar visas to any current or former Sudanese officials who hold up a transition to democracy, hoping to boost a tentative deal between the military and civilians.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced US support for the initial agreement announced Monday, which some pro-democracy protesters see as falling short on specifics and timelines.

Blinken said in a statement “recognizing the fragility of democratic transitions, the United States will hold to account spoilers whether military or political actors who attempt to undermine or delay democratic progress.”

DHAKA, 08 December 2022, (TON): Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Wednesday said the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties will be a springboard to take Bangladesh-South Korea relations to a new height.

Stressing that 2023 will be a milestone to elevate Bangladesh-South Korea partnership to a new height with a series of events, Ambassador Lee wished wide and active participation of the citizens of the two countries.

He said "let's celebrate it together, let's make it together and let's work together for the brighter future of the Korea-Bangladesh ties.”

The Ambassador was speaking at an event unveiling the 50th anniversary logo which signifies the friendship between Bangladesh and South Korea.

DUBAI, 08 December 2022, (TON): Abdul Rahman Abdul Shakour, Somalia’s special envoy for the President for Humanitarian Affairs and Drought, praised the UAE on Wednesday for its relief efforts in the drought-stricken country.

Abdul Shakour said “the UAE is a pioneer in providing the necessary support to Somalia in this crisis, as it was the first country to respond to the appeal launched by the Somali government to provide urgent relief to those affected by drought.”

He noted that the UAE fulfilled the needs of approximately 2.5 million people after it airlifted supplies and sent a ship carrying more than 1,000 tons of food and relief items to Somalia.

RIYADH, 08 December 2022, (TON): Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Saudi Arabia for a visit that is likely to focus on energy ties as Washington warned of Beijing’s growing influence.

Xi, recently reanointed as leader of the world’s second-biggest economy, arrived in the capital Riyadh, Chinese and Saudi state media said, for a three-day visit that will include talks with Saudi and other Arab leaders.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar were among those who welcomed Xi at the airport, where a ceremonial purple carpet was laid out from the steps of the plane.

KABUL, 08 December 2022, (TON): The Ministry of Interior in a press conference held in Kabul denied the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

The ministry's spokesperson, Abdul Nafi Takoor, stressed that there is no group in Afghanistan that can pose a threat to other countries.

Takoor said "I should tell you about the cultivation of narcotics, that you will not find a single acre of land where poppy is cultivated in the entire geography of Afghanistan.”

Sadiq Shinwari, a military expert said "unfortunately, Afghanistan is still leading the world in the cultivation and processing of drugs, and the rise in drug addicts is very serious.”

DHAKA, 08 December 2022, (TON): The US Embassy in Bangladesh on Wednesday issued an alert for its citizens living here asking them to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution in the vicinity of any large gatherings.

It said in a statement “US citizens should practice vigilance and remember that demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.  Review personal security plans; remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates.”

It added “the next general election in Bangladesh is anticipated to be held before or during January 2024, and political party rallies and other election-related activities have already commenced.”

DHAKA, 08 December 2022, (TON): Bangladesh and India reiterated their commitment to further deepen and strengthen mutual cooperation in the security and border-related issues.

The outcome came as the 18th meeting of the Joint Working Group on security and border management between Bangladesh and India was held on December 5-6, according to a media statement issued by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Indian delegation was led by Piyush Goyal, additional secretary, Indian Ministry of Home Affairs while Bangladesh delegation was led by AK Mukhlesur Rahman, additional secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.

By S. Habib

Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country and extremely backward in South Asia actually blocked-in between India and China. Nepal and Bangladesh are located near Bhutan but do not share a land border. Bhutan has been maintaining a special relationship with India since the treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 1949. India being a power in region, had have worked towards making Bhutan understand and to appreciate India’s security concerns and how Bhutan’s security too is linked with India’s. It has been interpreted by people of Bhutan, as limiting the sovereignty of Bhutan. India may like to ensure that whatever changes might come in the future in the political structures in Bhutan, the attitude towards India’s interest would not change.

Bhutan, having a population of apprx. 800,000 people with youth literacy rate of 88.64%, that is savoir-faire with the internet, social media, privatization of traditional media and democracy taking over from the King's rule of the Himalayan Kingdom, is shifting the mood to an educated one and recognized for its happiness index, is fetching a worrisome subject for India as it opens politically, economically, and diplomatically. More than a few young Bhutan students and entrepreneurs are leaving the shores of Bhutan, and when they return to Bhutan, they want to build a good relationship with other countries in addition to India. Good number students had been going for higher studies to India only, but now it is changing. Therefore, Bhutan is now increasing diplomatic footprint with other countries and China as well. For India, it is more worrying because India generally advises Bhutan on its external affairs concerning China.

China is also contributing economic, political, military, and diplomatic assistance to Bhutan like any other South Asia Countries. China tourists visiting Bhutan have increased manifold in the last ten years (except in covid period). Chinese goods afloat in Bhutan markets as well. India attempts to keep her influence in Bhutan and, so far, has not allowed the Chinese embassy to be established in Bhutan. The increasing confidence of Bhutan in China by bits and pieces continues to remain a worrying factor for the Indian government.

Doklam is an area disputed between China and Bhutan located near their tri-junction with India. Unlike China and Bhutan, India has no claim in Doklam but India’s interest is there. China's claim on Doklam is based on the 1890 Convention of Calcutta between China and Britain. Border talks between Thimphu and Beijing has been held since 1984 and they signed the Guiding Principles on the Settlement of Boundary Issues in 1988 and the Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the border areas in 1998.

India is monitoring the Chinese relationship with Bhutan. India has sensitized Bhutan on Chinese border claims in the disputed tri-junction area. However, it is Bhutan's policy not to talk about boundary issues in public. Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry said the construction in subject area is entirely for the improvement of the working and living conditions of the local people.

India and Chinese troops came face-to-face at the Doklam, 2017. Tensions flared up in the subject area. India objected the construction of a road in the area towards the Bhutanese army camp near the Jampheri Ridge. The stand-off began when the Indian troops came to the area because The 100-kilometre stretch of the Doklam plateau is strategically crucial to Delhi.

In 2019 a US-based group financed Eco-Friendly Projects in Bhutan for Sakteng wildlife sanctuary, a diverse ecosystem and home to rare wildlife species in the east near the disputed area. Chinese objected, saying the area was in dispute and funds should not be allocated.  The Chinese government maintains that, from historical evidence, Donglang (Doklam) has always been traditional pasture area for the border inhabitants of Yadong, a county in its autonomous region of Tibet, and that China had exercised good administration over the area. It also says that before the 1960s, if the border inhabitants of Bhutan wanted to herd in Doklam, they needed the consent of the Chinese side and had to pay the grass tax to China.

Bhutan remains the largest recipient of Indian foreign aid, according to the India Bhutan Friendship Treaty of 1949, which was revised in 2007. Remains a strong bond between the two countries, where India continues to provide security and aid. Bhutan so far has maintained its commitment to its foreign policy for decades, respecting the 1949 treaty with India and then supplementing it with more modern demands during the 2007 revision. However, 2007 treaty ended India’s role of advising Bhutan in its foreign policy. Since then, Bhutan has been increasing its diplomatic expansion, mainly intended to diversify and seek economic support and foreign investments. Bhutan continues to establish relationships with other countries. 

Another issue worrying India is introducing the Tourism Levy Bill of Bhutan 2022, which will charge Indian tourists to pay Nu 1,200 or Rs 1200 per night. In addition, they would have to hire a guide and pay to bring their car or hire one. This is in addition to the expense of travelling, hotel bookings etc. Until now, there was no levy on Indians visiting Bhutan who just needed any Identity proof and not even a passport to enter the Country. With the pandemic outbreak, tourist arrivals dropped by 90 per cent in Bhutan in 2020. Interestingly, of the 29,812 tourist arrivals in Bhutan, around 22,298 were from India. India has been a significant contributor to tourist arrivals in Bhutan till now. $200 (Rs 16,000) per person per day for other nationalities. According to the Indian Express newspaper, airfare costs have doubled from Rs 23,000 to over Rs 48,000. There are no group airfare discounts, no discount for students, no royalty waiver, no fam tours," an expert in the travel sector pointed out.

Bhutan analysts, especially new generation scholars, feel that China and India had expansionist and imperialistic outlooks and tended to control other countries. Presently, Bhutan's access to the world is through India. The feeling is that if Bhutan tries to neglect India to go with China that will be suicidal. So, Bhutan wants to engage with China while respecting India's security interests. Bhutan does not want to offend India or China and seeks to limit domestic anti-Chinese or anti-India sentiment that could further complicate border negotiations.

Now India should not lose its face and try to bury the differences early on. Or else, the developing situation has the potential to open a Pandora's Box that can complicate the India-Bhutan bilateral security mechanism and diplomatic and economic relations. India should continue being more sensitive and friendly to Bhutan, diversifying its economic engagements and indirectly playing a role as elder brother in boundary negotiations with China.

By Ali HASSAN

Historically, the Indian Ocean has been a uniquely strategic and important region in world politics. In recent times, in the backdrop of great power competition, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is gaining particular attention as the new “pivot” of world politics. It has been the point of concern for both regional and extra regional entities for trade and other prospective.  Sri Lanka always had a maritime identity due to its geographical positioning. As an island nation, its connectivity with the rest of the world and its outside engagements have been through the Indian Ocean, which has always been integral to every aspect of Sri Lanka’s economic, political, and social life. And Sri Lanka has used this identity to its advantage.  Even in its initial years post-independence, Sri Lanka’s Indian Ocean identity was an integral part of its strategic, security, and political narrative.

Sri Lanka is coming under intensifying pressure to line up more fully with the US-led confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific along with allies such as Japan and Australia, and its chief strategic partner in the region, India. Whereas U.S is smartly approaching Sri Lank in order to perceive its objectives in Indian Ocean. Further to polish its activities US is engaging Sri Lanka in strategic ties. Ensuring these ties, top U.S and Indian officials have held talks with leaders of the Sri Lankan government on June 2022 to further the campaign and focus on the strategic alliances. However, U.S. security strategy in the Indian Ocean reflects a combination of long-standing requirements and evolving priorities for U.S. national strategy in an era of great power strategic competition between the U.S. and both China and Russia.

Two U.S. objectives can be identified clearly. The first is protecting the free flow of commerce by escalating its tie with Sri Lanka which is regional actor. This region is strategically important for the flow of containers, bulk cargo, and hydrocarbon traffic that is critical for the global economy. The commanders of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain often speak about securing the free flow of commerce as a clear goal in Indian Ocean. The second U.S. objective which US is trying to attain  in the region is maintaining military access in the Indian Ocean, given that the U.S. is an extra regional power with no local territories and for that, Sri Lanka is easy access due to its geostrategic location

Most importantly, these two objectives are in service of a larger interest to ensure that the Indian Ocean does not assume greater priority for the U.S. than the increasingly interconnected Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic theaters. Moreover, to combat regional security and economic crises U.S has found the grounds to enhance its influence as a donor and act as a big boss in the south Asian region, during the crisis, Washington has given Sri Lanka humanitarian and agricultural assistance and provided loans to the country’s private sector and claimed that U.S can do more before the emergence of such crises in Sri Lanka and other countries through U.S. development and financial efforts. Beyond bilateral assistance, the U.S. could leverage its influence on behalf of smaller states in multilateral institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the G7 with its new Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

While the U.S. seeks to operate globally, this combined Pacific-Arctic-Atlantic theater registers greater priority than do the more distant waters of the Indian Ocean. Efforts such as “the Quad” permit the U.S. to engage in important strategic campaigning in the wider Indo-Pacific on issues such as maritime domain awareness and climate change, but the Indian Ocean segment remains a lesser priority. For example, no Indian Ocean region command (IORCOM) or fleet has yet emerged to consolidate areas of responsibility that currently fall across three combatant commands. Even the 2018 name change from Pacific Command (PACOM) to Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) did not result in a change in area of responsibility. In other words, according to expert opinions the Indian Ocean needs to remain a lesser priority for the U.S. as it juggles limited resources to apply globally in a new era of strategic competition. Given this focus, it is worth identifying wildcards that may complicate U.S. security interests in the Indian Ocean. Beyond the obvious ones, such as additional Chinese basing and gray zone activities in the Indian Ocean, the crisis in Sri Lanka suggests the potential for domestic crises in strategically located countries to have reverberations in the region.

But the strategic important of Indian Ocean is still important for U.S to play in combined Pacific-Arctic-Atlantic theater and ultimately, the U.S. does not seek a reduction in its Indian Ocean presence, as is evidenced by the Defense Department’s news release about the results of the Global Posture Review. Further, the U.S. has economic interests in preserving the free flow of commerce. Yet Washington does have growing requirements in the combined Pacific-Arctic-Atlantic Theater. Moving forward, U.S. policymakers will need to preemptively manage potential wildcards in order to keep crises from erupting in the vast Indian Ocean that would divert U.S. attention and resources away from other regions. The events in Sri Lanka are a timely reminder of the importance of this priority for the coming years of strategic competition.

The smart actions taken by US in maritime world politics are to become a hegemonic sole operator which is quite tough in this era of modernization. The developing states like Sri Lanka and other South Asian states have also become smart enough to be trapped but the economic failure somehow lead them towards hard time and compromise. The geostrategic virtue of Sri-Lanka shall always remain the point of hope and progress for island nation but it needs to act smartly to attain foreign policy objectives.

RIYADH, 07 December 2022, (TON): Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha on Tuesday met Ludovic Pouille, the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

They discussed how to enhance relations between the OIC and France to achieve their shared interests.

The two sides also discussed several matters of common concern, as well as updates on regional and international issues.