Daily GS Mains Notes or Mains Content Enrichment for Civil Services
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- China making deep inroads into Iran
Why in news
Both the countries are taking their partnership to a new level through a $400-billion long-term agreement.
China-Iran Partnership:
- It is a long-term strategic partnership agreement with energy, economic, logistical and military aspects.
- China will also offer its GPS to Iran, build infrastructure for 5G rollout and develop free trade zones.
- Iran also has a very crucial place in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). the U.S. is targeting both China and Iran through a host of economic measures
Concerns for India:
- China continued to buy Iranian oil over the past year even after the U.S. sanctions waivers expired in May 2019. In contrast, India stopped buying Iranian oil after U.S. waivers ended.
- Iran has dropped India from a project to build a rail line from the Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan. China is now likely to play a role in the Chabahar port.
- EU, India to meet on resuming FTA negotiations
Why in news
India and the European Union (EU) are set to agree on a high-level dialogue on trade and investment to restart negotiations, seven years after talks on a free trade agreement were suspended.
Details:
- India and the EU are expected to conclude several agreements including: A roadmap for cooperation, An agreement on research sharing for civil nuclear cooperation and Launch of a maritime security dialogue. Negotiations between Europol and the CBIfor cooperation in fighting organized crime and terrorism.
- The EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is known as Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).
Concerns:
- Trade with India formed under 3% of the EU’s global trade, which is believed to be far below what was expected of the relationship.
- EU experts believe that negotiators are still quite far apart due to what Europe perceives as India’s protectionist stance.
- That the Make in Indiaprogramme was accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, and recent pronouncements that India wants to go self-reliant, are among the concerns.
- EU sees India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” as protectionist.
- EU has reservations about the model “Bilateral Investment Treaty” (BIT) that New Delhi has proposed, especially on dispute mechanisms in Indian courts.
- U.S. rejects Beijing’s claims in S. China Sea
Why in news
The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the United States would treat Beijing’s pursuit of resources in the dispute-rife South China Sea as illegal.
Details:
- The United States has long rejected Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
- The South China Sea is both a home to valuable oil and gas deposits and a vital waterway for the world’s commerce.
South China Sea Dispute:
- Beijing claims most of the South China Sea through a so-called nine-dash line, a vague delineation based on maps from the 1940s. It has spent years building military bases on artificial islands in the contested areas to cement its claims, while dragging out a diplomatic process to resolve the disputes for nearly two decades.
- According to the 2016 decision issued by a tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China cannot make claims based on the Scarborough Reef or the Spratly Islands, a vast uninhabited archipelago.
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