The only way before the US and the world is to confront China in the economic, diplomatic, and military spheres, writes Ivaylo Valchev for South Asia Monitor
India possesses immense talent, entrepreneurial capacity, and a large domestic market, yet it still lacks sufficient depth in high-end manufacturing, research and development, semiconductor ecosystems, advanced engineering, and globally dominant product companies.
One of the most striking features of South Asian trade is how little the region trades internally. Intra-regional trade within South Asia remains among the lowest in the world relative to geographic proximity. Political tensions — especially between India and Pakistan — have prevented the emergence of a deeply integrated regional production system comparable to ASEAN or the European Union. This is a major missed opportunity.
Scarcity of cooking fuel is pushing people, particularly across South Asia, toward hunger. Livelihoods have been lost among the large unorganised labour force while thousands of self-employed street vendors, smaller restaurants and eateries are being forced to close shop, facing a scary, insecure future. For middle class households across India, everyday snacks like the samosa or dosa have become scarce because of shortage and high prices of cooking gas cylinders.
India is one of the world’s largest suppliers of generic medicines and APIs to Europe. If the EU begins favouring “Made in EU” pharmaceutical production through procurement preferences, subsidies or state aid, Indian drug manufacturers could face reduced access to EU public procurement contracts and tougher supply-chain resilience requirements.
The only way before the US and the world is to confront China in the economic, diplomatic, and military spheres, writes Ivaylo Valchev for South Asia Monitor
Pakistan and China have agreed to jointly safeguard peace and stability of the world, especially Asia, and strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism and peacekeeping in the UN framework, according to a report in Dawn
China forcibly entered Tibet, then an independent country, a few decades back and violently suppressed the protest by the Tibetans
India hassaid it would like to see disengagement by Chinese troops in the remaining areas of Eastern Ladakh which would lead to restoration of peace with Beijing
Pakistan is still continuing cotton trade with China, especially from the controversial Xinjiang region of the country
The Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has suspended sales tax registration of a Chinese energy company after it failed to produce purchase invoices, media reports said
A Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Asad Qaiser, was turned back from Kabul on Thursday as their plane was refused landing permission citing “security reasons, media reports say
Nepal on Wednesday started inoculating essential workers using the Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, reported the Kathmandu Post
The 11th round of India-China military-level talks will take place on April 9 in which issues like friction at Gogra-Hot Springs, restoring the pre-April 2020 status quo ante, long-standing patrolling issues at Depsang Bulge due to friction in the area during the 2013 stand-off with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are likely to be discussed, a Hindustan Times report said referring sources
The Pakistani government is considering the possibility of granting a two-year visa extension to Chinese nationals working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the country, reported the Express Tribune
Opposition parties in Sri Lanka have questioned the manner in which the Sri Lankan government has approved the use of the Chinese vaccines in the island nation, reported Colombopage
India called on China to withdraw troops from all friction points in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and asserted that the disengagement alone will ease tension in the border areas
Sri Lanka is likely to get 600,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines from China on 31 March, reported Daily Mirror
The Quad summit “got the Chinese attention” on their seriousness in holding Beijing accountable for its actions in the Indo-Pacific region, according to US President Joe Biden
India has expedited work on its ambitious road infrastructure project -- Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project -- that opens a gateway to Southeast Asian countries in an attempt to counter the growing influence of China in the region