By Zara Qurban

Since the withdrawal of the U.S. troops and its European allies after decades of war in April 2021, Afghanistan is entangled in the wickedest kind of security. Afghanistan’s commandeering by the Taliban after the U.S. military withdrawal has presented the regional States with many new emerging challenges. An abrupt withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan has created a huge power vacuum and neighboring States are extending helping hands to avert the possible fall of Afghanistan.
Countries such as Pakistan, Russia, India, Iran and Turkey have their own grounds to intervene but now the global are on China including re-evaluating its persistent ‘non-interference’ policy. China was against the invasion of the U.S. military and also opposed the abrupt withdrawal stating that it will leave Afghanistan in mayhem. China’s Foreign Ministry said “the recent abrupt U.S. announcement of complete withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan has led to a succession of explosive attacks throughout the country, worsening the security situation and threatening peace and stability as well as people’s life and safety.”
Many spectators are considering the exchange of dialogues between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Taliban leaders an attempt by China to exert more influence in the region. But, China does not look at Afghanistan from the lens of prospects, the Chinese influence and involvement, especially after the U.S. military withdrawal, is all about the management of threats. Another observation entails that Chinese political and economic interest in Afghanistan revolve around the wariness of Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for militant groups targeting China like the last time Taliban were in power.
Though Mullah Baradar and Wang Yi in Tianjin have been in contact for decades, the Taliban’s ideological agenda does not fit well with China. Andrew Small, Associate Senior Policy Fellow, states, “China certainly has substantial commercial and economic interests in the wider region, but they are minimal in Afghanistan itself. Its major investments there, the Aynak copper mine and the Amu Darya energy projects, have been in stasis for many years. There have been numerous discussions about Afghanistan’s involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative, including connections to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but Beijing’s view has been that, in Afghanistan, stability has to precede serious new economic commitments.” Other than copper, Afghanistan has untouched mines of minerals such as cobalt, iron, mercury and lithium which are estimated to the value of about $1 trillion.
In order to maintain better political and economic relations with Afghanistan, China offered to rebuild the infrastructure “by funneling funds directly to the group through Pakistan.” As a result to continuous exchange of dialogues and China’s commitment of support in Afghanistan, the spokesman for the Taliban Political Office in Qatar established that they recognize China “as a friend of Afghanistan”, he also stated that Taliban and Afghanistan will no longer provide refuge or safe haven to Muslim Uyghurs. On one occasion the Chinese foreign minister said that Taliban are expected “to play an important role in the progress of peaceful reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan.”
China’s policy towards Afghanistan is primarily based on the security implications resulting from the U.S. and Taliban peace agreement, which China believes in not going in the right direction. The disturbances, instability and radicalization will eventually seep through the borders into China. As per the researchers based in Afghanistan, “through military assistance, China helped Kabul build its military mountain brigade in the Wakhan Corridor near Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province with the primary goal of preventing infiltration by the Islamic State into China.” It is believed that Beijing will keep close bilateral ties with Afghanistan in order to tightly manage any spill over into China by engaging all its diplomatic energies because it fears that the success of Taliban might encourage militant groups to carry out terror activities. If the security situation becomes better in Afghanistan, China is likely to go forward with more investment plans and programs but it will be very cautious.

Introduction

The new decade has welcomed many possibilities for China, as it emerges as the new superpower. Almost every Asian country is involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), despite India’s protest against it. The geopolitical dynamics between India and China have been rough and uncertain – without guaranteeing a cooperative future. China has promoted “peaceful co-existence” stance with India but its activities in South Asia interprets a growing influence and a threat for India. This paper provides a brief analysis of the reality of Sino-Indian relations by viewing South Asia’s influence.

Sino-Indian rapprochement: Relations with South Asia

China’s engagement with South Asian countries emphasizes bilateral rather than the multilateral dimension of interactions. Moreover, China’s regionalism foreign policy, a soft power approach has uplifted China’s image but has served as a detriment to India. This is because China has stepped in to help South Asian (SA) countries with their need to build infrastructure when India has struggled to provide resources to SA countries. For example, China signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Maldives and also helped the Maldives build an International airport. Nepal has also benefited by signing the BRI plan, as China has allowed Nepal to use its land as a getaway for trade, and has promoted Nepal’s tourism sector. Another significant gain for China in SA was the Hambanthota port in Sri Lanka. The port, built with China’s assistance was eventually leased to China for 99 years because Sri Lanka was unable to pay back the Chinese loans.

India and China’s relation has been affected by their diplomacy in SA, that has impacted the Sino-Indian rapprochement. Chinese foreign policy’s significant aspects are non-interference and its image projection. China’s non-interference policy is appreciated by many countries as they do not have to adhere to rules on climate protection or labour rights. As for its image projection, China’s “Wolf Warrier” diplomacy tries to appeal to its audience and advance its interests abroad. Whereas, PM Modi has taken policy changes, to promote Delhi’s ability to establish regional peace and economic integration. India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy helps India focus on reconnecting with its smaller neighbours. Therefore, regionalism may open opportunities for functional cooperation between the two countries in the region, but their pursuit of regional integration may also destabilise the region. Thus, China’s growing political and economic influence in South Asia is evident and inevitable. Moreover, the two countries have gone to war with each other, first over the Tibet region that China considers its domestic territory and second over the Ladakh border, which is also a cause of conflict and a more recent phenomenon.

Conclusion

It appears that India’s relations with the smaller neighbours have deteriorated and China has exerted its influence in the region which ultimately threatens India. The threat India faces is its lack of influence in the region and an ally of Pakistan becoming a superpower. The relation between the two may be played by China as “cooperative”, but viewing South Asian relations of the two countries, it reflects that mutual trust is lacking. Thus, diplomatic deception is evident between the two countries.

BY SHAISTA RIAZ

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused around 290,000 deaths and at least 4.3 million confrimed cases worldwide.The persistence of pandemic has caused a amjor economic crisis and ressesion. Self-isolation and social distanceing has showed a huge downward shift in all economic sectors globally and stock markets have gone to new highs. Agriculture sector has faced 20% decline in demand because of safety measures that have been imposed. These imposition have caused a big loss of perishable goods. Panic buyinh has caused a shiratge to whatever was already available.

Analysis of the countries hit by the second wave of Coronavirus:
United Kingdom:

⦁ The prime minister of United Kingdom shared a warning that the second wave in UK is leaving it to be at a critical point. Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance corroborated the idea by adding that UK is expected to face 50,000 per day in October 2020, but the speed of virus spreading has reduced than before.
⦁ North-West and North-East are badly hit along with Liverpool, Manchester and New Castle where the rate of infection has increased by 10%.

⦁ Hospitals in UK are admitting only the patients with serious symptoms. Cases have seen a decline in Northern Ireland but there is a continuous threat of rising. UK can expect what is coming from France where cases started emerging again earlier than UK.

⦁ There is a threat of more people losing their lives in winter than usual in UK. People catch respiratory illnesses and flu due to harsh winter WEATHER which causes deaths, but now there is a new virus with possibly no vaccine up till now has become a new major threat for UK.

Canada:

⦁ Canada is weeks into seconf wave of pandemic and there are 2,5000 new cases have been reported across the State.
⦁ The cases of hospitalization have increased in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Manitoba showed a deadly hike in cases, 150 in one day, and now is under lockdown, whereas cases in Saskatchewan have simply doubled.
⦁ There are 783 new cases in Ontario and 239 in Toronto along with five new reported deaths. Ontario has hired 100 new people to help and track new cases of infection and more to be hired by November 2020.
⦁ Canada reported record 2,554 new cases on October 9th alone. Quebec has reported 969 new cases and eight deaths. 844 cases were reported only between October 14th and 15th.

China:

⦁ The Chinese people fear the outbreak of second wave of coronavirus as new cases in China resurged.
⦁ According to the authorities the second wave of coronavirus is likely to take happen because the borders have been opened again.
⦁ The Director of the Infectious Disease Department at Huashan Hospital, Zhang Wenhong, said that if even if an effective vaccine is develop it will take almost a year to become widely available.
⦁ He further asserted that identifying virus can be a challenge for the health workers sometimes because some people show mild to no symptoms. Moreover, the virus is likely to exist in China in the winters and coming spring.
⦁ To control the outbreak, Yunnan, a southwestern province of China is under a complete lockdown, to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the province as the neighboring country Myanmar is seeking a hike in cases.
⦁ To avoid a large scale outbreak of second wave of Covid-19, the authorities are carrying out checks in every province and municipality.
⦁ However, the outbreak has helped China to strengthen its ties with Europe. They have expanded their relationship in the field of health. Millions of masks, health suits, and medical equipment reached Europe from China.

India:

⦁ India is experiencing its second wave of Covid-19 as the number of new cases keeps increasing each day. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray said that more people have started going out of their homes to work which is causing the virus to spread rapidly. He urged the people to strictly comply with the Covid-19 SOPs.
⦁ The lockdown and the coronavirus has brought serious consequences for the Indian economy. But some reports also suggest that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) called for another lockdown in the country.
⦁ A rapid hike in the coronavirus is seen in Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Odisha.
⦁ The cases reported daily in India has reached as high as 90,000 and Delhi is reporting the highest number of cases each day.
⦁ India has reached the second position in the world in terms of most number of coronavirus cases.
⦁ The India’s fragile healthcare system has experienced an exponential rise in the cases of coronavirus.
⦁ India is not only facing health crisis but also financial difficulties. The Indian GDP has crashed and the unemployment has skyrocketed. Private investment has become negligible while inflation is increasing.
⦁ In these difficult times, another challenge that India faces is the shortage of doctor. The stats suggest that for every 1000 patients that require medical treatment, less than one doctor is available. The situation in the rural areas of India is a completely different story.
⦁ Indian authorities do not only need to start more testing and adopt early detection mechanisms but most importantly they must focus on spreading mass awareness in the country. The people must be compelled to take preventive measures if the growth of virus has to be slowed down.
⦁ Here is the graph showing the rapid increase in cases daily in India in comparison with other South Asian Countries.

⦁ In some areas cases are decreasing as the numbers of positive cases are increasing but on the other hand, in multiple states in India where cases are increasing & government is calling it as a second wave.
⦁ Many analysts including Dr. Randeep Guleria said the trend of rising cases indicates that the Covid-19 curve may not flatten very soon. He expects cases to rise further over the next few months and continue into early next year & India has to deal with it.

Brazil:

⦁ Brazil has reported more than five million coronavirus infections and the state of São Paulo is experiencing the worst health crisis. Colombia is the next worst hit region of the country, were 27,495 people have died.
⦁ The Brazilian authorities have been accused of not taking the virus seriously, as a result of which the cases increased in the country. The government officials labelled it as a “little flu.”
⦁ The Brazilian government has placed a ban on gatherings, parties and shut down the bars as the coronavirus cases are increasing again.
⦁ The shopping malls and restaurants are now following restricted hours.

United States:

⦁ The US braces itself for the second wave of COVID-19, many experts have different opinions. Some say that the second wave is not going to be that deadly in comparison to the start of COVID-19.
⦁ Scientists warn that the trend is driven by four big, hard-hit places Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, and that cases are rising in close to 30 states.
⦁ A lot of things have been changed after the first pandemic when hospitals were full, people were scared and the country kept facing new crisis.
⦁ The mortality rate has been dropping in many countries. The total confirmed cases in the US reached 7,718,948, with a death toll of 214,377, accounting for 2.78 percent, when COVID-19 hit the U.S for the first time according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

⦁ In some areas cases are decreasing as the numbers of positive cases are increasing but on the other hand, in multiple states in India where cases are increasing & government is calling it as a second wave.
⦁ Many analysts including Dr. Randeep Guleria said the trend of rising cases indicates that the Covid-19 curve may not flatten very soon. He expects cases to rise further over the next few months and continue into early next year & India has to deal with it.

Brazil:

⦁ Brazil has reported more than five million coronavirus infections and the state of São Paulo is experiencing the worst health crisis. Colombia is the next worst hit region of the country, were 27,495 people have died.
⦁ The Brazilian authorities have been accused of not taking the virus seriously, as a result of which the cases increased in the country. The government officials labelled it as a “little flu.”
⦁ The Brazilian government has placed a ban on gatherings, parties and shut down the bars as the coronavirus cases are increasing again.
⦁ The shopping malls and restaurants are now following restricted hours.

United States:

⦁ The US braces itself for the second wave of COVID-19, many experts have different opinions. Some say that the second wave is not going to be that deadly in comparison to the start of COVID-19.
⦁ Scientists warn that the trend is driven by four big, hard-hit places Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, and that cases are rising in close to 30 states.
⦁ A lot of things have been changed after the first pandemic when hospitals were full, people were scared and the country kept facing new crisis.
⦁ The mortality rate has been dropping in many countries. The total confirmed cases in the US reached 7,718,948, with a death toll of 214,377, accounting for 2.78 percent, when COVID-19 hit the U.S for the first time according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

⦁ According to the graph, cases are increasing but Americans are satisfied with their medical conditions & following the precautions to avoid COVID-19. Things might change in winters if the precautions are ignored.
⦁ A “huge surge” expected to take off in October “and accelerate in November and December.” The country is currently seeing about 765 daily deaths from Covid-19, but that number could jump to 3,000 daily deaths by late December.

Status of Vaccine:

⦁ As world is competing to discover a vaccine, it is highly unlikly that vaccine will be available for mass immunization. It is consiered that healthy young people will be last to receive it. WHO is looking to organize a guide to priototize the groups that need immediate help. According to WHO, 150 vaccines have be tested and 42 have been tried on humans.
⦁ Until the vaccine of effective treatment is developed, the countries are implementing social distancing, universal mask-wearing, frequent hand sanitize, and try to avoid crowded places. This is the only solution to slow down the second Wave of COVID 19.

Kashmir is termed as the ‘jugular vein’ of Pakistan as all major rivers originate from there. The agricultural prosperity and power generation of the country is dependent on the waters of these rivers. It is an unfinished agenda of partition. By 15 August 1947, all the 600 princely states except Junagarh, Hyderabad, and state of Jammu & Kashmir had acceded to either Pakistan or India on the principle underlying the partition of British India, that Muslim majority states to join Pakistan and non-Muslim majority states to join India. According to book of S.M. Bruke, Pakistan’s Foreign Policy (p 17-27) the state of Jammu & Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir had overall 78% Muslims, but in the valley of Kashmir Muslims were 93%. The ruler was Maharaja Hari Singh a Hindu. He initially wanted Kashmir to become independent but it was not possible as per partition rules. India sent its troops to Kashmir and occupied in October 47. In accordance with partition rules the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir should have been part of Pakistan. The first war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir was fought 1947/48. India approached the United Nations asking to intervene. The United Nations recommended holding a plebiscite to settle the question of whether the state would join India or Pakistan which have not yet taken place. Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK) was given special status within the Indian constitution, which guaranteed that it would have independence over everything except communications, foreign affairs, and defense. This special status (article 370 of Indian constitution) was revoked by the Indian government on 5 August 2019. A meeting of the members of Security council was held in mid-August to discuss the Kashmir issue at the request of Pakistan. After the close door meeting, China’s Ambassador Jun Zhang told reporters that Council members feel that India and Pakistan should both stop from any unilateral action over Kashmir. The fact that Kashmir issue was discussed in the highest diplomatic forum of the world is testimony to Pakistan’s point of view that this is an international dispute. Since then India has imposed locked down in Kashmir and continuously committing atrocities on the residents. Pakistan government is highlighting these aspects at every forum. Pakistani citizens should also expose Indians by whatever means available about the illegal occupation of Kashmir and mayhems being committed on the inhabitants. In short Kashmir is a major dispute which has yet to be resolved between India and Pakistan. It is considered main hindrance for normalization of relations. Border skirmishes take place on the Line of Control(LOC) frequently.

In early January 1965, dispute of Rann of Kutch emerged. According to Abdul Sattar book, Pakistan’s Foreign Policy (p102-105), India contested 3,500 miles area north of 24 degrees parallel. Fighting flared up in April. British government persuaded both sides to agree to cease fire which took place on 1 May. later on the issue was resolved by a Tribunal. Keeping this in view, Pakistan Navy (PN) was ready for any more eventuality. In the next few months PN units remained extra alert and went to sea frequently. Had embarked fuel, ammunition and stores for war. In the meantime, operation Gibraltar was executed by the Army in early August 1965 calling for incursions by Kashmiri volunteers into IOK. It was assumed that large scale Indian offensive is not likely. But India launched an offensive on the international border on 6 Sep with the objective to capture Lahore which was countered effectively. Hence all-out war commenced, India as aggressor. According to Jane’s fighting Ships of 1965-66, PN had a cruiser, a submarine and 7 destroyers (DDs)/ frigates (FFs), whereas India had an Aircraft carrier, two cruisers, and 19 DDs/ FFs. Indian Navy (IN) had considerable numerical superiority. Correct ratio between the two navies cannot be determined because PN did not have Aircraft Carrier, it may be assessed as 1:5. According to the book Story of the Pakistan Navy (p216-20), role assigned to PN was Sea word defense of Pakistan, keep sea lines of communication open, interdiction of shipping, thwart amphibious landing and assist army in the riverine operations in former East Pakistan. India had deployed an Aircraft carrier, 2 cruises and 14 DDs/ FFs on the East coast and 5 DDs/ FFs on their West coast. PN Submarine Ghazi was deployed off Bombay area to sink heavy units of IN that is Aircraft Carrier Vikrant and two heavy cruisers, Delhi and Mysore. She sailed on 2 Sep and was in her patrol area off Bombay on 5 Sep. Vikrant and Delhi were refitting in Bombay. Mysore was operational in Cochin harbor. It was assessed that Mysore will move north towards Bombay but it never left Cochin area. PN received message about starting of hostilities by India at 0630 on 6 Sep. PN units were preparing to leave harbor at 0800 for weekly exercise program and left harbor before 0800 and moved towards their assigned patrol stations. Naval control of shipping organization was activated to effectively control merchant ships. An embargo was declared on all merchant ships carrying war like stores to India. The river routes used by Indian steamers transiting through former E Pak were sealed. Orders were issued to seize all such vessels and their cargo. All these action were taken swiftly in order to inflict severe losses to the enemy in terms of valuable cargo, ships and river craft. In the afternoon of 7 Sep while the Task force comprising cruiser Babur and six destroyers and frigates was on patrol, orders were issued to carry out bombardment of Dwarka from a distance as close as of 5.5 nautical miles. The main objective was to destroy radar station, to draw heavy IN units out of Bombay for Ghazi to attack, lower morale of Indians, and to divert Indian air effort away from northern area close to Karachi. The city of Dwarka was completely blacked out. Bombardment was started about 30 minutes past midnight and completed in five minutes. Each ship fired 50 rounds. The Task Group safely arrived on its patrol station at 0630 on 8 Sep after successfully completing the mission. IN ships did not come out even after bombardment therefore, Ghazi was assigned patrol off the Indian Kutch coast. On 22 Sep she managed to get an IN frigate as its target. She carried out attack with four torpedoes at 7: 11 pm. The commanding officer, commander K R Niazi (retired as CNS) and second in command Lt Commander Ahmad Tasnim (retired as Vice Admiral) got gallantry awards Sitara e Jurrat (SJ). Hardly any movement of IN unit was observed in the North Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal during the entire 16 days war. The PN had achieved Sea Control (establishment of naval superiority in areas where operations were intended to be conducted) of North Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal in the classic sense. However, the government accepted the cease fire on 22 September. The PN task force remained at sea till 27 Sep to meet any contingency. The PN dominated the IN which was about 5 times more in strength by her superior training, planning, foresight, and courageous execution of operations.

*Cdre ( r ) Dr Anjum Sarfraz is former Director National Center for Maritime Policy Research and Senior Research Fellow at Strategic Vision Institute Islamabad

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting..

–Franklin D. Roosevelt

The result of the US General Election Campaign 2020 will have an impact all around the world. The race of being next in the White House has already begun in the United States of America. Unlike other countries, in United States there are only two parties that are considered by the voters, Republican a right wing party and the Democratic Party i.e. the party of the leftist and the liberals. Winning the 2018 midterm elections, many Democrats anticipated that they will be successful in unseating Donald Trump in the general elections in 2020. Among the top Democrats running for the election are Joe Biden, Obama’s VP, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bloomberg. While there are two main candidates that are representing the Republican Party. Donald Trump has started his campaign for a second term, while he is being challenged by a fellow Republican William Weld.

The numbers of Joe Biden have dropped and now he is being topped by Bernie Sanders. After the win in the New Hampshire, support for Sanders is likely to increase. On the other hand, the numbers of Elizabeth Warren are also on a decline. A controversy surrounded her after her year old tweet about running a DNA test for being Native American was surfaced in media. Accusations on Joe Biden by a former Nevada Lawmaker Lucy Flores have also being weighing him down publically. A response to this accusation was Biden’s statement that he will work for ending violence against women. Biden is relying heaving on the votes of African- American voters in South Carolina.

Michael Bloomberg was accused of paying the audience to cheer for him, despite his uninspiring and spiritless performance during the presidential debate. Bernie Sanders, although a first Jewish presidential nominee is accused of being anti-sematic, less Jewish. This is possibly happening because of the Sander’s conflicts with the American Jewish leadership and Israeli leadership. Bernie Sanders has strict views towards Israel and critiques got this golden opportunity to accuse Sanders after he got into a quarrel with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Sanders refused to attend the committee meeting because he believed that it was a platform where leaders “express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights”. These statements by Sanders came after he won the Nevada caucuses, which make him a clear forerunner in the Democrats presidential race. The meeting of pro-Israel lobby was to be held in the beginning of March. AIPAC viewed these statements as an outrageous attack, especially for the US- Israel relationship. However, the bigger source of conflict other than not attending the meeting came after Sanders debate in December where he argued that Israel should only be given aid if the treat Palestinians better. He further said that America should not only be pro-Israel but also be pro-Palestine. Sanders earlier has called Netanyahu a racist and has been very critical of his policies.

Apart from this earnest controversies have come up against Donald Trump too. The American intelligence is said to warn the US lawmakers of the possible intervention by the Russians in 2020 General Elections to re-elect Donald Trump for the second term. Controversies have always remained a part of the election campaigns in the US, it is not something particular to these elections only. In this fight between Jews and Sanders, Donald Trump played his cards very well. Jews are voters of Democrats mostly. In order to secure Jewish vote bank in his favor, Trump moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem and proposed a peace plan for Middle East. The allies of Trump believe that the statements of Sanders will just make victory easier for them. The 59th US presidential elections are scheduled for 3rd November 2020. The winner will be inaugurated on January 20th 2021. The race of becoming the final presidential nominee will end in July at the Democratic National Convention.

On December 30^th 2019, first case of Coronavirus was reported in China’s metropolis Wuhan. Since then the pneumonia like virus has spread to over two dozen countries around the world, with almost 40,000 patients being affected worldwide. The death toll continues to increase daily, and as of now more than 900 casualties have been reported globally. The new coronavirus is named as 2-19-nCoV, which has affected mostly the people of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. With the mushrooming of Coronavirus, the flights to and from China have been cancelled and has drastically affected the Chinese economy. To stop the proliferation of the virus outside China, authorities have restricted the travel to and from China. More than 48 million people in China have been restricted from travelling, as the citizens were ordered to only leave their homes for essential reasons. The reports suggest that coronavirus initially affected those who worked or shopped in the Huanan meat market. The symptoms of the coronavirus include cough, fever and difficulty in breathing and in worst cases in leads to organ failure too. In this case of viral pneumonia antibiotics don’t work. Coronavirus is said to transmit through human to human contact.

The Chinese health crisis has put the entire global economic system to a test. A heavy disruption is expected in the production of goods of bigger international companies, which includes Apple Inc., Tesla and many others. Food chains like McDonalds and Starbucks have closed down their outlets on the request of the government to contain the spread of the disease. Companies operating in China, or those having production facilities located in China are relocating their staff. The coronavirus is not only a challenge to the Chinese citizens or the booming Chinese economy but many has also challenged the government. To overcome such predictions, the Chinese government responded with effective measures for containing the spread of Coronavirus.

Prevention Measures:

• House to house searches for screening of virus by teams of medical workers.
• Immediately placing the infected to the quarantine centers.
• Transportation lockdown: railways, buses etc.
• Travelling restrictions: to and from China.
• Government ensures food and medical supplies to the affected Chinese cities.
• New hospitals are constructed on a war-footing.
• Holidays for schools and businesses are extended after the Chinese Lunar Year celebrations.
• Screening at the airports.
• Temperature detection of passengers and motorists travelling on airport and highway respectively.
• Cleaning and disinfecting railways, buses and subways.
• Chinese government is using the country’s powerful surveillance apparatus to track down the journey of those infected by the coronavirus.
• The Chinese finance ministry has allocated $10.26 billion to fight coronavirus, which aims to ensure that the public can afford diagnosis and treatment.

For containing the new epidemic the Chinese government has beefed up the preventive measures nationwide and has declared first level public health emergency. Huge force of doctors and nurses are sent to Wuhan. The medical and food supplies are also rushed to the city to avoid any delays in the treatment. Despite the outbreak of the deadly virus, Chinese authorities have taken strong measures in this fight and the factories did not halt their production of masks and protective clothing. A strong coordination of civilian and military resources can be witnessed in China. According to the authorities more than half a million of medical staff has joined the fight for preventing the epidemic. A major policy banks in country, China Development Bank has offered a loan of $288 million for preventing and controlling the coronavirus. In Guandong Province, the factories have resumed the production of protective masks after the Festive Holidays.

Although the villages are the weakest link in the chain of prevention and control, but after the spread of coronavirus, the villages in China have taken the toughest and smartest steps to fight the new virus. Regular announcements are made by the village chiefs, alerting people to wear masks, wash their hands regularly and avoid meeting and greeting others on the occasion of Lunar New Year. The people are advised to keep in touch with their relatives through mobile phones, instead of travelling to other cities. All those travelling through public transport are advised to wear masks as a safety measure. The passengers are required to undergo temperature detection points when passing through entry-exit points. Passengers have to fill in the health declaration cards and those with symptoms are provided immediate help. As a public health measure, the motorists and labor force have to undergo temperature detection before they start journey on national highway. The public health authorities have ordered the regular cleaning and disinfecting of the railway stations and subways. The railway authorities have also provided masks, gloves, and protective suits to the railway police as a part of preventive measure.

Apart from these measures, the medical and vaccination centers in the country are taking measures to ensure a successful fight against the coronavirus. Two diagnostic kits have been developed to fight coronavirus by the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Furthermore, the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University has developed an optimized method of testing, which helps the infection to be diagnosed in just two hours. As a result of this, the treatment can start quicker than before and recoveries are faster. The mortality rate by coronavirus is 2% which is far less than that by the SARs, which plagued China almost two decades ago. Chinese doctors have also made progress in vaccine, whereby they have developed two chemical compounds that are effective in the treatment of coronavirus.

The Chinese public has full confidence in the leadership of their country for having the capability and capacity to fight the deadly virus. The Chinese government within 10 days built a new hospital for the treatment of infected patients in Hubei, China’s central province. The authorities spent five hours on designing and planning the new hospital. More than 800 construction equipment was rushed simultaneously for constructing the infrastructure of the hospital.  It was possible with the hard work of thousands of workers and with the joint efforts of Chinese experts, who worked round the clock. The new hospital, Huoshenshan, which means Fire God Mountain brought hope to many patients. Around 14,000 medical staff from the armed forces is working in the hospital treating the patients. The Huoshenshan Hospital has a capacity of 1000 beds for the patients.Many are suspicious about the mysterious spread of coronavirus, and label it as a biological warfare and propaganda against China. The virus has been a blow to the Chinese economy, and in coming days it can weaken China’s negotiating hands in the future trade deals, especially effecting those between Beijing and Washington. Around the world many view the Chinese health crisis due to coronavirus as a commercial-biological-psychological war against China to undermine her growth as a new strong player globally. The spread of Coronavirus has the power to change the rules of the game, where many will benefit while many will be at the losing end. The propaganda is merely creating a panic and fear against China amongst the masses. This is not the first time in history that people are dying from a disease. Ebola, SAR, swine flu and many other such diseases have killed people in the past. Those who suspect Coronavirus as an artificial crisis, implanted deliberately in China, question the coincidence of the disease being originating in Wuhan, which happens to be an industrial city, and eighth richest city in China.

The Chinese authorities have full confidence in successfully battling against the spread of the disease. The world has acknowledged their most rigorous and comprehensive measures. China has the capability to combat the new deadly virus and will be successful in eventually defeating it. Chinese authorities announced that a total of 3,281 patients were discharged from the hospital who recovered completely after being infected from the coronavirus. The rapid response of China serves as a model for the countries for tackling the future outbreaks. During these moment, Chinese public has been very hopeful and constantly helping in dedicating their efforts for preventing the outbreak of coronavirus that has infected many. China has appeared as a united nation, and fighting the battle optimistically.

The threat of chemical weapons is back today. The difference however is that chemical weapons have now reached the violent non-state actors. The willingness of the state and non-state actors to use the chemical weapons keeps growing with the increasing threats surfacing from different corners of the world. In order to prevent the threat of chemical weapons and the predictable future of the proliferation of the deadly weapons international community took up the initiative to stop the spread of chemical weapons. The only international convention for the purpose of eliminating chemical weapons is the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) which was signed in 1993 and entered into force in 1997. It works against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and employs a strong verification system for its signatories, although only four countries in the world haven’t ratified it. CWC aims at eliminating the weapons by destroying the stockpiles and a set of binding is designed to which the signatory parties must adhere. In the present world with modern technology easily accessible, the threat of a chemical warfare remains undestroyed even after its first use almost 106 years ago in 1915 by the Germans and French. Today the leaders, especially those who are engaged in a war in Syria pay little regard to the consequences that the use of chemical weapons can result into. Killing of innocent civilians, unmindful of age and gender is abominable, yet leaders have made decisions to use chemical weapons on the humans, which after attack keeps intact the infrastructure in the surroundings but annihilates all the breathing creatures that are present in the radius of chemical weapon’s target. Such a brutal use of chemical weapons, is crime against humanity and the world leaders must never normalize its use. In this regard, the efforts of Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) must be appreciated, which has brought more than 90 countries on the same platform working together for disabling the use of chemical weapons, curbing its production and applying rigid international system of checks and balances. OPCW offers opportunities for those who are able to recognize those responsible for the use of chemical weapon. Moreover, OPCW offers investigation reports regarding the chemical weapon analysis, and has associated itself with worldwide laboratories where they work jointly for curbing the production of materials can that can used for a chemical weapon attack. To prevent the proliferation of chemical weapons certain measures must be undertaken by the states, as already laid in the charter of OPCW and CWC. Few of the preventive measures are as following:

• Verification: the toxic chemicals have many legitimate uses, such as they used in industrial processes but at the same time often these chemicals are used for the purposes which have been forbidden by the CWC. Thus the parties to CWC guarantee and verify that toxic chemicals are only being used for purposes that are not illegal under the CWC rules and regulations. A further step to this commitment is allowing the OPCW inspectors to visit the facilities where the chemicals and their precursors are produced. The inspection by the inspectors involves the verification process.

• Managing the International Transfer of Chemicals: The parties to CWC adhere to the rules and obligations for transferring i.e. import and export of the chemical weapons. The two elements of this obligation are: monitoring the transfer of chemicals between States and secondly, restraining the transfer of toxic chemical weapons to non-state actors. The weapons can only be transferred to a non-state party under the condition that latter provides the certificate for its end use and pledges not to transfer it to any other party.

• Developing the Capacity of State against Chemical Weapons: It is significant that the states are able to defend their population against the chemical weapons, for this purpose the parties to OPCW must develop programmes for national protection. OPCW has given specific programmes for this purpose such as detection and alarm system, developing decontamination equipment, enhancing medical capabilities etc. this means improving the military, civilian and also involves international capacity building and cooperation against the possible danger of a chemical weapon attack.

The threat of a threat of a chemical warfare is very much existential and have grown over the years as more and more bloodthirsty and power hungry non state actors are emerging on the chessboard of international politics. The focus of the use of chemical weapons has shifted from being used by a state’s military to the use of chemical weapons by an unknown violent actor, that has no home address to be held responsible and acts through strong network that can be transnational in nature. International peace, stability, and cooperation has become increasingly vulnerable to a terrorism through the use of chemical weapons. Many have been victim of its use in the modern world, especially the population of Syria who have experienced the horrors of the use of chemical weapons. The chemical attacks has no short term consequence, rather they are experienced by the victims for a long term. For example, it can result in eye damage which the victim will experience for a life time. The chemical weapon damages crops, which has a negative impact of national agricultural sector as well as the consumers. The water is also contaminated by the use of chemical weapons which can disturb the supply of clean drinking water to the population. Considering all the impacts it has become of prime importance for the world leaders and organizations like OPCW and CWC to continue their efforts in preventing the proliferation of chemical weapons.

From the past years, China and India are engaged into various conflicts and an example of tensions between them was seen on 21^st October 2017 when both the Asian giants were face to face. The tensions escalated to a level where they were in a state of war. The Sino-Indian War of 1962, border conflict, is also an example of the bitter past between China and India. Despite the rivalry the bilateral trade between China and India in post-1962 saw a rapid growth. In 2018, the trade between them touched $87.6 Billion.

If we talk about 2019, the world’s two largest developing economies China and India are negotiating on different dimensions that promote free trade between both the courtiers. China and India both are the competitors in the race of growing economies. A partial equilibrium approach based on highly disaggregated trade data shows that in a scenario where China and India are completely holding the markets, there would be a huge potential to create an impact on trade and welfare in their specific areas, where they enjoy a comparative advantage. Especially, with their annual GDP growth rates standing respectively at 6.2% and 6.1% for 2019, China and India have since come to be recognized as the fastest-growing economies. According to the World Bank estimates and assessments based on purchasing power, China and India have already become the second and fourth-largest economies of the world respectively, surpassing developed countries. Some economists predict that this century will be Asia’s Century.

According to the reports India is thinking to cut or eliminate tariffs up to 80% on Chinese products that will be imported in the future, 16 countries are negotiating on a free trade agreement in Vietnam in which China and India are the main players. India plans to cut duties on 86% of imports from Australia and New Zealand, and 90% for products coming in from ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea. India would immediately eliminate customs duties on 28% of goods, while tariffs on other imports from China would be reduced or eliminated over a period of 10-20 years. The trade deficit with China in 2018-19 was a whopping $53.6 billion.

Recently Xi Jinxing visited India and the visit was dominated by trade matters. Mr. Modi wanted to reduce its huge trade deficit with China. The two leaders are concerned about their economies and thus want focus on trade. China and India share major contention even today due to their border issues yet both rivals have found a common ground, where their mutual interest is to strength their respective economies and utilize the economic potentials that this region offers. The relations between China and India are in the process, in terms of strengthening their economic ties. According to Indians, bilateral trade has been increased with China but so has the deficit and this is a serious matter. Indians appreciate the steps that were taken by the Chinese to improve imports from India. These efforts could be the reason for more success of Indian pharmaceutical and IT products in the Chinese market. Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi appreciated Indian concern over the imbalance of trade. He further said that we stand ready to continue providing facilities to Indian exports to China. He further emphasized on expanding cooperation in industrial production, tourism, border trade, and other areas so that we can achieve overall balance in Indo-China Trade relations. This year the bilateral trade will touch $100 Billion and that is a historic trade figure between two countries. In the financial year that ended in March, Sino-Indian trade stood at $87 billion, down 3% from a year ago. Indian exports rose by 26% and imports fell by 8%, shrinking the deficit by $10 billion.

India and China are showing a huge interest in trade agreements not for the sake of other interests, both countries are self-centric, making their position stronger in the region. China is a big economic threat to the U.S and India is one of the closest allies of the U.S.