Germany Encouraging India to Buy Iranian Oil

(Photo Credit: Office of Prime Minister of India)

 

Foreign minister says it would be a ‘very important statement’ if New Delhi ignored President Trump’s sanctions.

Germany’s obsession with Iran’s oil—and opposing President Donald Trump—today went from merely taking care of its own interests to becoming an outright salesman for the Islamic Republic to other countries.

China and India Establish “Oil Buyers’ Club” to Counter OPEC

 

On June 11, major Chinese and Indian oil companies started a formal meeting in Beijing, discussing the establishment of an “oil buyers’ club” to negotiate better prices with OPEC countries. The chairman of China’s biggest energy company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Wang Yilin, and the chairman of refiner Indian Oil Corporation both attended the meeting. According to the India Times, the two largest energy consumers together accounted for almost 17% of world oil consumption last year. Should this “oil buyers’ club” become a reality, New Delhi, and Beijing will have greater leverage to negotiate with OPEC about oil prices and will also have a significant say in matters such as importing more crude oil from the US.

China and India sail into choppy waters in New Great Game

Looking out at the port of Chabahar. Photo: Reuters / Raheb Homavandi

 

This shadow play is a heady vortex, churning with power projections, spheres of influence, security and commerce

The New Silk Roads, known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will weave and interconnect six major economic corridors. At 12,000 kilometers, the Eurasia Land Bridge Economic Corridor is a rail network from eastern China to western Europe via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus.

Then there is the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, while the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor runs from Xinjiang to Istanbul. Nine new road links in the Greater Mekong help make up the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor.

China Ready for ‘War’ with India, holds Live-Fire Drills Near Border

Image courtesy of War on the Rocks

 

The ruling Communist Party of China has issued a stern warning to neighboring India, with which it is engaged in a bitter border dispute that has recently seen Chinese live-fire drills and media speculation of extensive Indian military casualties denied by both sides.

After accusing Indian troops of crossing over the disputed Sikkim border last month, Chinese Communist Party outlet Global Times published a commentary Tuesday urging restraint by both belligerents, but warning that China was prepared to engage India in a battle for the contested land. The piece chalked up the conflict to a greater competition for economic and political dominance between the two leading Asian powers and said that Beijing would amass troops and armaments at the border in anticipation for what could turn into an all-out war.

India, Pakistan join China and Russia-led security bloc

 

Asian rivals India and Pakistan on Friday formally joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security bloc spearheaded by China and Russia, despite bilateral tensions bubbling over Kashmir.

Leaders of the largely symbolic body — including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping — formally signed off on the sub-continent duo’s accession at the annual SCO summit in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

Pakistan provoking India to launch a major offensive

India’s Border Security Force soldiers stand guard along fencing near the India-Pakistan Chachwal border. Photo: AFP

 

Monday’s killing and beheading of two Indian soldiers by Pakistan army is seen as a ploy to trigger a conflict and internationalize Kashmir issue

Pressure is mounting on India from political parties and the public to retaliate after the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops near the line of control (LoC) in the Krishna Ghati sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

The killing of the soldiers, who were then beheaded, is the 12th such incident since the 1999 Kargil war and the third since India’s “surgical strikes” on terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in September last year. It also represents a clear violation of the Geneva convention.

India, Pakistan to Become Full Fledged SCO Members

Not only is this an economic union forming, but also the next world war axis under construction. It is a Sino-Soviet military counterweight to the global Western hegemony.

 

 

The meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states wrapped up in Astana on April 21. The participants confirmed the unanimous decision to grant full-fledged membership to India and Pakistan at the SCO Astana summit on June 8-9, 2017.

The SCO was established in 2001 as a multi-purpose regional organization active in three main fields: economic, military-political and humanitarian. The SCO members now are Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are the SCO observer-countries, while Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal are dialogue partners. Although Russia and China are the most important SCO members, the organization operates by consensus.

Russia can only survive as a global Eurasian bridge

Russian President Vladimir Putin has every reason to be proud of himself. He is a master of high geopolitical games. Moscow’s influence is more widespread than ever, possibly even greater than at the height of the Cold War, when Moscow was the capital of the Soviet Empire and vying with Washington for global dominance.

In the American presidential campaign, for the first time ever, a candidate openly quoted Putin as a model to follow, while in past decades, Russia, in its Soviet incarnation, was just the great enemy against which the United States should prepare to fight.

Russia says to sign S-400 air defence deal with India

Russian President Vladimir Putin will seal a deal with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an upcoming visit to deliver Moscow’s most advanced air defence system, the Kremlin said Thursday.

“An agreement on the delivery of S-400 ‘Triumph’ anti-missile defence systems and other deals will be signed as a result of the talks,” Russian news agencies quoted Putin aide Yuri Ushakov as saying, without specifying a timeframe.

Pakistan warns of “water war” with India if decades-old treaty violated

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Pakistan would treat it as “an act of war” if India revoked the Indus Water Treaty regulating river flows between the two nations, Pakistan’s top foreign official said on Tuesday.

Tension has been mounting between the nuclear-armed neighbours since at least 18 Indian soldiers in the disputed Kashmir region were killed this month in an attack that New Delhi blames on Pakistan.

China and India look to strengthen relationship

The two nations pledge to work together in hosting upcoming G20 and BRICS summits, and to cooperate more on economic and security matters

China and India vowed to enhance their bilateral ties and to cooperate in hosting the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou as well as another meeting between emerging-market nations.

The pledge was made at a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday.

India’s War on Terror: Solution is Self-Defense, Not Consensus

• Instead of eliminating the invaders, Nehru made a deadly mistake: He took the matter for mediation to the United Nations.
• UN member states have never even been able to agree on a definition of terrorism. Some of the states, such as Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, overtly or covertly practice, promote or fund terrorism.
• Emboldened by international and Indian inaction, Pakistan has continued masterminding terror strikes against India.
• New Delhi might do well bear in mind a central message from the history of wars: The dialogue of peace and non-violence alone is futile with those who understand only the language of power and punishment.
• India, like Israel, would do better to fight its own war on terror.

In the wake of the recent coordinated terror strikes in Paris on November 13, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has made a fresh appeal for a concerted global strategy to fight terrorism. In his opening remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur on November 21, he said, “Terrorism has emerged as a major global challenge. … we should see how we can enhance our cooperation at the regional and international level, including through support for adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.”

Japan preparing to test-fly MHI-built stealth jet

If deemed necessary to deter the China threat, Japan could also go nuclear within three months.

 

Japan is closing in on becoming the fourth nation to test fly its own stealth jet, a move that could further antagonize neighboring Asian countries that oppose Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to strengthen the role of the Self-Defense Forces.

The aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight within the first three months of next year, Hirofumi Doi, a program manager at the Defense Ministry, said in an interview in Tokyo. The plane, called Advanced Technology Demonstrator X, will then be handed over to the SDF, which will start conducting its own tests, he said.

SCO expanding

India and Pakistan will now be out of the grips of Western influence.

 

In Ufa on June 10 a summit of the heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) states will be held, which currently includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Mongolia, India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have observer status. According to official information, the leaders of the SCO member states will adopt the strategy of development of the organization until 2025. By the way, the expansion of the unit has been officially declared for the first time. The new members of the SCO will soon be India and Pakistan. The issue of Iran, which has been seeking an opportunity to join the alliance for nearly 10 years, will be considered only after the lifting of all international sanctions from the country.

“One of the most important decisions that goes beyond the SCO summit is to connect Iran, which applied for it. It was decided to return to it after the conclusion of the negotiations on the nuclear program. If the UN Security Council sanctions are lifted, then Iran can actively join our cooperation,” presidential aide Yury Ushakov said in an interview to the TV channel Russia 24. He also admitted that it had already been decided to include India and Pakistan in the union. Thus, the SCO has become one of the largest economic organizations in the world.

Contain China

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO/BERLIN (Own report) – Today, Tuesday, German Minister of Defense Ursula von der Leyen will begin several days of talks in New Delhi on questions of military and arms policies. India’s new armament projects are the immediate reason for von der Leyen’s visit. India wants, among other things, to construct German submarines under license, and Berlin is seeking a more intensified cooperation in foreign and military policy. This visit will prepare numerous agreements, within the framework of the German-Indian government consultations, scheduled for October. It takes place in the context of India’s efforts to roll back China’s influence in the Indian Ocean – an effort Berlin supports. Sri Lanka is a current point of contention of this power struggle. Over the past few years, this strategically important island nation has begun to ally itself closely with Beijing. To avoid a too strong dependency on China, the new Sri Lankan government – in office since January – is seeking to reduce its ties to China and strengthen relations to the West. Last week, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed his Sri Lankan counterpart in Berlin, to reinforce Germany’s position in Sri Lanka – in light of the power struggle with Beijing.