Aircraft glitch delays Canada PM Trudeau’s departure from India
Trudeau, who attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi, had been due to depart India on Sunday evening local time.
Earlier on Sunday, Trudeau met with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s departure from India was delayed after the aircraft he and the rest of the Canadian delegation were using experienced “technical issues,” his office said on Sunday.
Trudeau, who attended the G20 Summit in New Delhi, had been due to depart India on Sunday evening local time.
“Upon our departure for the airport, we were made aware by the Canadian Armed Forces that CFC001 was experiencing technical issues,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said, referring to the plane. “These issues are not fixable overnight, our delegation will be staying in India until alternate arrangements are made.”
The statement did not specify the nature of the aircraft’s issues.
Earlier on Sunday, Trudeau met with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The two spoke about inclusive economic growth, support for low-and middle-income countries and access to concessional finance for sustainable development, according to a separate statement from the prime minister’s office.
By releasing the so-called standard map of China, Beijing wants to teach India a lesson for rejecting normalization of ties until border issues are sorted out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
On the eve of India hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi, China released a so-called “standard map” coopting parts of eastern Ladakh as per the rejected 1959 line and Arunachal Pradesh in the Middle Kingdom apart from Taiwan and the South China Sea.
This cartographic expansion by Beijing duly amplified by Chinese propaganda through social media was immediately rebutted and rejected by the Modi government as Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and parts of Aksai Chin were occupied by Mao’s China in the 1950s even before the disastrous 1962 war. While India was signing the Panchsheel Agreement in 1954, China was building a highway linking occupied Tibet with occupied Sinkiang (called Xinjiang) through Aksai Chin with the then government rather oblivious to the facts.
The timing of the release of the map by China clearly has ominous portends as it poses serious questions on whether President Xi Jinping is inclined to attend the G20 summit in the Indian capital or has other plans. We are told that China releases the standard map every year but it is the first time that India has lodged a serious protest with Beijing, rejecting the territorial claims of the Middle Kingdom.
The larger question is why did Beijing release the so-called standard map and get it amplified by its propaganda media through social media platforms ? The answer lies in the recently concluded BRICS summit in Johannesburg, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a brief interaction with President Xi Jinping at the leaders’ lounge of the summit. It is understood that China wanted a bilateral meeting with India on the sidelines of the summit and push for normalization of ties without conceding an inch on the pending problems of Depsang Bulge and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh. Given the schedule restraints of PM Modi, the formal meeting between the two leaders could not take place and was limited to a brief interaction only. Even during the brief interaction, PM Modi raised his concerns over the border issue, clearly indicating that the road to normalization of ties goes through disengagement and de-escalation on the East Ladakh border and resolution of the remaining two friction points.
President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues.
US President Joe Biden will travel to India from September 7 to 10 to attend the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, the White House said on Tuesday.
President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues, including on the clean energy transition and combatting climate change, mitigating the economic and social impacts of the Ukraine conflict, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty, including by addressing global challenges will also be discussed, the official added.
While in New Delhi, President Biden will also commend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership of the G20 and reaffirm the US commitment to the G20 as the premier forum of economic cooperation, including by hosting it in 2026, Jean-Pierre added.
Bhutan holds strategic significance for India, and the defence and security ties between the two countries have expanded considerably in recent years.
File photo of PM Narendra Modi and Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck ( Image Source : PTI )
Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is scheduled to visit India from April 3 to 5 for a three-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral engagement. His visit will particularly focus on the areas of economic and development cooperation, reported news agency PTI.
The King will hold talks with President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit. The Royal government of Bhutan’s senior officials, including Tandi Dorji, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, will accompany him, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
According to the MEA, the King Wangchuk’s visit marks the continuation of the long bilateral tradition of periodic high-level exchanges between India and Bhutan. The MEA also stated that India and Bhutan have “unique ties of friendship and cooperation, which are characterized by understanding and mutual trust”.
The visit presents an opportunity for both countries to review the entirety of their bilateral cooperation, including economic and development cooperation. It will also help further advance their close bilateral partnership, according to the MEA. Bhutan holds strategic significance for India, and the defence and security ties between the two countries have expanded considerably in recent years. The Doklam plateau is a significant area for India’s strategic interests, the PTI report stated.
After China attempted to extend a road in an area that Bhutan claimed belonged to it, the Indian and Chinese armies were engaged in a 73-day standoff at the Doklam tri-junction in 2017. India objected to the construction since it would have jeopardized its overall security interests. Following several rounds of talks, the India-China face-off was resolved.
Bhutan and China signed an agreement on a “three-step roadmap” to expedite negotiations to resolve their long-standing boundary dispute in October 2021. Bhutan shares a 400-km-long border with China. The two nations have held 24 rounds of talks to resolve the boundary dispute.
India has been supporting Bhutan’s implementation of its successive ‘Five Year Plans’ since 1961, and it provided special assistance to Bhutan during the COVID-19 pandemic. India has been Bhutan’s top trade partner. India is also the highest investors in Bhutan.
