EUROPE RELUCTANT TO GRANT KYIV’S WISH

China Sea in 1947. This line became its official claim and is known today as the “NineDash Line”. In 1982, the United Nations law established the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) but China reiterated its nine-dash line, refusing to clarify the limits of this line and rejecting the claims of other claimant countries. Ever since, tensions have built up over who owns the South China Sea and now China turning seven reefs into seven military bases, has made the South China Sea one of the most contentious areas of sea in the world.

The Main Stakes Of These Territorial Disputes Are

The abundant natural resources of the region, the geostrategic situation of the disputed area which is the gateway to the strait of Malacca and the port of Singapore, a control over the Paracels and the Spratlys islands ensures control over the supply of the economies of Northeast Asia and finally the region is one of the most important economic and strategic regions in the world. As of now it looks like a frozen conflict where none of the states is ready to give up any ground to reach a common solution accepted by all and thus, risk of armed conflict breaking out at any time always remain high.

Vladimir Zelenskyy presented Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of Britain’s Parliament with a unique gift. It was a helmet of a Ukrainian pilot with, “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it,” written on it. He later told British MPs that Ukraine badly needs fighter jets and overhead missiles to keep Russians at bay. He made the same request with European Union members. So far there has been reluctance on the part of Europe, especially Germany and the US to equip Kyiv with their fighter jets which would pose a greater threat not only to Europe but also to the world as it will be treated as escalation of war by the West.

The South China Sea (SCS) has abundance of minerals and oil resources and estimated to contain 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The area witnesses roughly 30% of the global maritime trade passing through it on its way to the highly trafficked ports in Southeast Asia

Hinderances To The Conflict Resolution

Inability of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to arrive at any common decision and play a leadership role to resolve the conflict. Most members in the region have either total dependency for economic and trade development or are major trading partners with China who has always insisted on bilateral talks to resolve any conflict and hence the blockade to any real solution. Though the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes the rights of a sovereign state over the continental shelf surrounding it and the creation of exclusive economic

Vladimir Zelensky presented Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of Britain’s Parliament with a unique gift. It was a helmet of a Ukrainian pilot with, “We have freedom. Give us wings to protect it,” written on it

Ukraine’s demand for modern fighter planes is akin to its request for Germany’s latest Leopard and America’s Abrams battle tanks.

Zelenskyy is seeking war machines to “protect Europe’s way of life” but Eu-

India’s 55 % of trade passes through the Strait of Malacca which opens into the South China Sea. If China controls the region, it will upset the global trade practices and countries like India will directly get affected. India has historically taken a neutral position in the disputes along the South China Sea involving China and countries of Southeast Asia, even as the tensions have threatened the security in the region. The shock of last year’s border clash and continuing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has upended most assumptions underlying India’s China policy. India has recalibrated its response to China both on land and sea. In a major message to Beijing, the Indian Army confronted PLA on land and the Indian Navy made its presence felt in the waters of the South China Sea when a task force of four warships sailed on a two-month deployment with India’s Quad partners, the United States, Japan and Australia, and also conducted bilateral exercises with naval forces from South China Sea littoral states, including Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. India has been pushing for a rules-based order in the region, including by means of upholding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL rope and the US realize the grave risks that will entail. Russians could treat it as a proxy war by NATO and may retaliate accordingly. The West is also wary of exposing its modern fighting machines to damage given the inexperience of Ukrainians in handling them. That is why the focus at present is to train the Ukrainians and provide them with more air defence systems and drones.

Reluctance to provide highend fighter jets and tanks to Ukraine is like keeping it guessing about its formal membership of the European Union. So far it is only an official candidate of the EU.

Ukraine applied for EU membership only four days after Russia invaded it in 2022.

The Congress-CPM combination faces a challenge also from TIPRA Motha, a party of tribals led by the former Congress rebel Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarman. Pradyot has refused to join the Congress alliance although the BJP thinks he is in touch with the CPM. The non-BJP alliance minus the TMC is considered strong but it is the BJP which will have the last laugh.

Spiritual Speak

Teach this triple truth to all:

A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. Buddha

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speech revived the trust he has built among the poor, tribals and the deprived by giving them their due rights & lifting their living standards. And this bedrock of trust now cannot be shaken by the ones who kept them deprived for decades after independence.

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