Trump or Biden, India-US relationship likely to remain strong

Agencies
November 3, 2020

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Washington, Nov 3: Irrespective of the outcome of Tuesday's keenly-contested US presidential election, America's strategic relationship with India is expected to maintain the current momentum and strengthen further, policy documents and remarks from the two campaigns indicate.

President Donald Trump, in the first term of his presidency, has emerged as the best friend of India at the White House taking the relationship to a new level and his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well known, which was reflected in the two leaders addressing two joint rallies in the US and India in less than a year.

Highlighting the great relationship that he has developed with Modi, Trump in September said that he has "great support from India".

"Prime Minister Modi is a friend of mine and he's doing a very good job. Nothing easy, but he's done a very good job," Trump said as he recollected his historic address at the 'Howdy Mody' event in Houston last September.

Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, has a strong track record of being an ardent advocate of a strong India-US relationship both as a Senator from Delaware for over three decades and then as deputy of President Barack Obama for eight years.

From playing a key role in the passage of India-US civil nuclear deal during a Republican administration to setting up the goal of a USD 500 billion in bilateral trade, Biden has strong ties with Indian leadership across the aisle and has a large number of Indian Americans within his close circuit.

At a fundraiser in July, Biden had said that India and the United States were natural partners.

"That partnership, a strategic partnership, is necessary and important in our security," he said when asked whether India is critical to the US' national security.

Referring to his eight years as the vice president, Biden said that he was proud to have played a role in securing Congressional approval for the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, which he said was a "big deal".

"Helping open the door to great progress in our relationship and strengthening our strategic partnership with India was a high priority in the Obama-Biden administration and will be a high priority if I'm elected president," Biden had said.

The ground for India-US relationship post-November 3 was laid down during the recently concluded 2+2 ministerial held in New Delhi.

Officials from the two countries, both during and after the ministerial, underscored that the ties have bipartisan support and it is not based on which party occupies the White House or has a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

It is very well expected that there could be a change in nuances or emphasis on certain elements of the relationship, on who occupies the White House or have a majority in the Congress, the common national interest of the two countries in terms of democracy and threat being posed by China would drive the momentum between India and the US.

Under the Trump administration, defence and energy are being identified as two key pillars of the strategic relationship, along with the cooperation and collaboration in the health sector in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, differences on issues related to bilateral trade, foreign workers visas would continue to remain.

Notably, India is the only major country with which the Trump administration failed to arrive at a trade deal, even a mini-trade deal, despite the fact the top leadership of both India and the US expressed their desire to do so. Given the track record of differences between the two countries for the last three decades, the sharp differences are likely to remain the same even during a Biden administration.

However, the bilateral trade is likely to grow at a fast pace between India and the US irrespective of who comes to power. Officials from the two countries are likely to pick up the thread from the trade negotiations that they have almost concluded this year.

India will continue to place massive orders towards the purchase of defence equipment and take the bilateral energy trade to a new level.

Under a Biden administration, climate change would emerge as another pillar of co-operation. Because of domestic political compulsions, human rights issues are expected to gain more prominence under a Biden-Harris administration, which could emerge as a bump on the road for India-US ties.

It is similar to that of H-1B issue and issues like taxation in India, under the second term of the Trump administration. But none of the issues during either a Biden or a Trump administration are likely to be a deal-breaker.

Biden this week announced to convene a global summit of democracies in the first year of his presidency to counter the 'rising authoritarianism' in the world and address issues of election security and human rights.

India, obviously, will play a key role in this summit. Similarly, under the Trump administration, India is likely to be a key partner of the US as it ramps up its global mobilisation against aggressive Chinese behaviour, especially in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

It is expected that Prime Minister Modi would be among the first few world leaders to talk over phone and congratulate the winner as soon as it is known who would occupy the White House for the next four years.

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Agencies
March 26,2025

The airstrikes led by the United States have killed at least 25 civilians in Yemen over the past week, marking the deadliest week of bombing on the country since the final months of the Washington-backed Saudi war in January 2022.

In a report released on Tuesday, the Yemen Data Project said the 25 civilians were the victims of 38 US-led aerial assaults on March 15-21, adding that 28 people were also injured in the attacks.

The independent tracker also said that 21 out of the 38 US air raids hit non-military, civilian targets.

“Civilian targets hit included: a medical storage facility, a medical center, a school, a wedding hall, residential areas, a cotton gin facility, a health office, Bedouin tents, and Al-Eiman University,” it said.

The deadliest US strike in the first week of US bombing campaign struck a residential area in Yemen’s northwestern Sa'ada province, killing 10 civilians and wounding 11 others, among them children.

The US began bombing Yemen on March 15, a few days after Yemen resumed its operation against Israeli-linked ships in response to Israel’s Gaza aid blockade that violated a ceasefire with the Hamas resistance group.

The Yemeni Armed Forces began their anti-Israel naval campaign in November 2023, a month after the occupying regime waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The Yemeni forces halted their attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians in January, when Israel accepted a three-phase Gaza ceasefire.

Two months later, however, Israel unilaterally broke the Gaza truce and resumed its brutal onslaught on the besieged territory.

On Tuesday, Yemeni media reported 17 US strikes on Sa'ada and two more on the nearby 'Amran province.

The reports said American warplanes carried out "aggressive air raids... causing material damage to citizens' property," but gave no details of casualties.

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coastaldigest.com news network
March 20,2025

Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), Karnataka’s second busiest airport, has seen 148.5kg of gold smuggled between 2019 and December 2024, with 90% arriving from the UAE. Customs officials recorded 346 cases, averaging 30kg of gold seized per year (2.5kg per month). Most smugglers are from Kerala and Bhatkal.

A senior customs officer revealed that MIA sees at least five gold smuggling cases per month. Numbers dropped during the pandemic but surged after flights resumed. Many offenders are first-time carriers, while some are habitual smugglers. With fewer flights, customs thoroughly checks passengers, making smuggling harder.

Smugglers constantly innovate concealment methods. Hiding gold in the rectum remains common, but gold is also found in trolley bags, mobile covers, chocolate boxes, milk powder, biscuit packets, and clothing layers. Electronic devices like car speaker magnets, LED bulbs, AirPods, wristwatches, and ballpoint pens have been used.

Unusual tactics include hiding gold in a woman’s hairband, a baby’s diaper, and even a kheer mix packet (347g). In one case, a passenger attempted to smuggle 100g in his mouth under a mask but was caught.

Officials note that while the UAE remains a key source, smugglers now bring gold from other Gulf countries, continuously adapting to evade detection.

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News Network
March 28,2025

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A 7.7 magnitude earthquake, and an aftershock of 6.8, hit central Myanmar at 12.50pm (local time) Friday. The epicentre was 16km northwest of the city of Sagaing, and at a depth of 10km, the United States Geological Survey said. 20 deaths have been reported - in Myanmar so far - by local media.

Deaths have also been reported from a mosque in Mandalay city, which collapsed while people were inside, praying and a university building in which a fire broke out. And a 1,000-bed hospital in Myanmar capital Naypyidaw has become a "mass casualty area", news agency AFP said.

The Myanmar junta has declared an 'emergency' and has appealed for international aid.

Tremors were felt as far away as northern Thailand, where some metro and rail services were suspended in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is holding an "urgent meeting" to review the crisis and she too has declared a state of 'emergency' in the capital city.

China's Yunnan province also reported strong tremors; the China Earthquake Networks Center said the magnitude was 7.9. And mild tremors were also reported from Kolkata in Bengal and parts of Manipur, where tremors of 4.4 magnitude were recorded as well as Dhaka and Chattogram in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India is ready to offer any assistance needed. "Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone," he posted on X. "... have asked our authorities to be on standby."

Terrifying videos on X showed buildings shaking in Bangkok and other cities, with people running onto the streets in panic. "I heard it... I was sleeping in the house and then I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building," Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.

One particularly horrifying video showed water from an infinity pool falling over the edge.

And another showed an under-construction skyscraper in Bangkok's Chatuchak neighbourhood collapsing. According to reports, 43 workers have been trapped amid the debris.

"When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me," Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. "We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties."

In Myanmar, an old bridge over the Irrawaddy River and some residential buildings having collapsed, with images from Mandalay (around 24km from Sagaing) suggesting more people may be trapped.

Other videos showed extensive damage to the airport in Mandalay and to a monastery near the city of Taunggyi, in Myanmar's Shan State that is on the border to Thailand.

Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the country.

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake, in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar, killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.

The impoverished nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states.

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