#Quad Summit

[hindusforhumanrights]

Human Rights Organizations Urge American and Australian Governments to Address Transnational Repression During Quad Meeting

As organizations dedicated to fighting for justice, equality, and human rights around the world, we call on President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to publicly and privately raise concerns about the increasing  pattern of transnational repression from the Indian government when they meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this weekend’s Quad Summit. Biden and Albanese must make clear that any security relationship cannot come at the expense of the security and rights of Americans, Australians, and Indians. Learn Full Story- https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/en/blog/human-rights-organizations-urge-american-and-australian-governments-to-address-transnational-repression-during-quad-meeting

[vandebharatdotnews]

PM Modi in US: PM Modi met Quad leaders, Biden said- India-US partnership is stronger than ever

Joe Biden welcomed PM Modi at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware and bilateral talks took place between the two leaders. PM Modi is currently on a three-day visit to the US, where he will attend the QUAD Summit as well as other programs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden on Saturday. After the meeting, the Prime Minister described the India-US partnership as stronger,…

[jandeproductions]

Bolton Valley, VT 15MAR2024

Carving out some sweeping powder turns under the Wilderness Chair in this morning’s fresh snow This morning I was seeing reports of 2 to 5 inches of new snow for the resorts of the Central and Northern Greens. Snow levels were high; thus, the accumulations were likely to be dense, but that would mean the liquid equivalent could be there for some decent resurfacing of the slopes. I wasn’t sure how…

[kesarijournal]

Diplomatic Dramas and Sonar Sagas: Navigating the High Seas of Global Politics

# The Geopolitical Chessboard: A Witty Take on the Global Game of ThronesWelcome to the grand theater of global politics, where every move is a plot twist in a never-ending saga of power plays, strategic alliances, and occasional diplomatic faux pas. Let’s embark on a whirlwind tour of recent events that have left political analysts, armchair experts, and conspiracy theorists alike scratching…

[darkmaga-retard]

Andrew Korybko

Sep 23, 2024

Nothing will change for the better unless India does something to rebalance their relations.

Indian Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the US to attend the latest Quad leaders’ summit was marred by members of the National Security Council meeting with Khalistani-connected groups the day before his visit. America accused India last year of trying to assassinate a Delhi-designated terrorist-separatist with dual US citizenship on American soil. Their ties immediately worsened and remain troubled as a result of the US-backed regime change in Bangladesh. The Quad summit was supposed to improve them a bit.

What’s happening is a typical good cop, bad cop game in which some members of the American permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (“deep state”) behave friendly towards India in order to get its guard down while others stab it in the back. India’s rapid rise as a Great Power has accelerated multipolarity processes and hastened the end of unipolarity, which is why the US is resorting to such subterfuge in an attempt to control it, absent which the US will actively contain India.

India is in a difficult position because it’s not anti-Western, it’s just non-Western, and it requires more trade and investment with and from the West to continue fueling its economy. India also shares the US’ concerns about China’s rise, ergo their close military cooperation in this regard, but it’s also increasingly concerned about the US’ true intentions as revealed by the Khalistan issue and the Bangladeshi coup. Faced with this predicament, India chose to retain cordial ties, hoping that the US’ games will soon end.

[zvaigzdelasas]

NATO is seeking to expand its cooperation structures globally and also intensify its cooperation with Jordan, Indonesia and India. A “NATO-Indonesia meeting” was held yesterday (Wednesday) on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels – a follow-up to talks between Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in mid-June 2022. Last week, a senior NATO official visited Jordan’s capital Amman to promote the establishment of a NATO liaison office. Already back in June, a US Congressional Committee focused on China, had advocated linking India more closely to NATO. India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, however, quickly rejected the suggestion. NATO diplomats are quoted saying that the Western military alliance could conceive of cooperating with South Africa or Brazil, for example. These plans would escalate the West’s power struggle against Russia and China, while non-Western alliances such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are expanding their membership.

Already since some time, NATO has been seeking to expand its cooperation structures into the Asia-Pacific region, for example to include Japan. Early this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was in Tokyo, among other things, to sign a joint declaration with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.[1] In addition, it is strengthening its cooperation with South Korea, whose armed forces are participating in NATO cyber defense and are to be involved more intensively in future conventional NATO maneuvers.[2] Japan’s prime minster and South Korea’s president have already regularly attended NATO summits. The Western military alliance is also extending its cooperation with Australia and New Zealand. This development is not without its contradictions. France, for example, opposes the plan to establish a NATO liaison office in Japan, because it considers itself an important Pacific power and does not want NATO’s influence to excessively expand in the Pacific. Nevertheless, the Western military alliance is strengthening its presence in the Asia-Pacific region – with maneuvers conducted by its member states, including Germany (german-foreign-policy.com reported.[3]).[...]

NATO has been cooperating with several Mediterranean countries since 1994 within the framework of its Mediterranean Dialogue and also since 1994, with several Arab Gulf countries as part of its Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.[4] However, the cooperation is not considered very intensive. At the beginning of this week, NATO diplomats have been quoted saying “we remain acutely aware of developments on our southern flank,” and are planning appropriate measures. The possibility of establishing a Liaison Office in Jordan is being explored “as a move to get closer to the ground and develop the relationship in the Middle East.[5] Last week, a senior NATO official visited Jordan’s capital Amman to promote such a liaison office.[6][...]

NATO diplomats informed the online platform “Euractiv” that “many members of the Western military alliance believe that political dialogue does not have to be limited to the southern neighborhood. One can also seek cooperation with states further away. Brazil, South Africa, India, and Indonesia are mentioned as examples.[7][...]

In a paper containing strategic proposals for the U.S. power struggle against China, the Committee also advocated strengthening NATO’s cooperation with India.[8] The proposal caused a stir in the run-up to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington on June 22. He was able to draw on the fact that India is cooperating militarily in the Quad format with the USA as well as NATO partners Japan and Australia in order to gain leverage against China. Close NATO ties could also facilitate intelligence sharing, allowing New Delhi to access advanced military technology.[9] India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, however, rejected Washington’s proposal, stating that the “NATO template does not apply to India”.[10] Indian media explained that New Delhi was still not prepared to be pitted against Russia and to limit its independence.[11] Both would be entailed in close ties to NATO.

The efforts to link third countries around the world more closely to NATO are being undertaken at a time when not only western countries are escalating their power struggles against Russia and above all against China and are therefore tightening their alliance structures. They are also taking place when non-Western alliances are gaining ground. This is true not only for the BRICS, which decided, in August, to admit six new members on January 1, 2024 (german-foreign-policy.com reported [12]). This is also true for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security alliance centered around Moscow and Beijing that has grown from its original six to currently nine members, including India, Pakistan and Iran, and continues to attract new interested countries. In addition to several countries in Southern Asia and the South Caucasus, SCO “dialogue partners” now include Turkey, Egypt and five Arabian Peninsula states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Iin light of the BRICS expansion, the admission of additional countries as full SCO members is considered quite conceivable. Western dominance will thus be progressively weakened.[13]

12 Oct 23

[mariacallous]

When NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary at its Washington summit next year, it will do so from a position of unity and strength. This is a remarkable turnaround from only a few years ago, when trans-Atlantic ties were clouded by mutual suspicion and uncertainty about the bloc’s future. The first large-scale war of aggression in Europe since World War II has reinvigorated the alliance, which now has more member states and greater geographic cohesion than ever before. NATO’s renaissance comes just in time—it may soon face an entirely new geopolitical landscape that will once again test its cohesion and adaptability.

There are four main reasons for NATO’s comeback as an enhanced and more coherent alliance.

The most important and obvious factor is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which returned NATO to its roots: deterring a Kremlin bent on expansion. It also motivated Finland to abandon its long-standing neutrality and join the alliance, with Sweden expected to join soon as well. The addition of these two Nordic countries will substantially enhance NATO’s position in Northern Europe. Russia’s aggression has also prompted NATO members to markedly increase their 2023 defense expenditures, with more member states on track to fulfill the bloc’s guideline of spending a minimum of 2 percent of GDP on defense, long a bone of contention between Washington and its European allies. Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has strengthened the U.S. military presence and engagement in Europe.

A second factor behind NATO’s resurgence is the rise of China, with NATO turning into the primary forum for a closer trans-Atlantic security dialogue on China. After the United States announced its rebalance to Asia in 2011, it took the European Union and NATO roughly another decade to categorize China’s rise as a security challenge. NATO’s new Strategic Concept, adopted at the Madrid summit in 2022, identifies China as a challenge to its members’ interests, values, and security. Since then, NATO has been strengthening dialogue and cooperation with its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

Third, new technologies and interdependencies have broadened NATO’s agenda to cover cyberdefense and disruptive technologies. Economic dependencies on China and Russia have prompted the alliance to launch new initiatives such as the NATO-EU Task Force on Resilience of Critical Infrastructure.

Fourth, the election of U.S. President Joe Biden enabled smoother cooperation between the United States and its allies than had been the case during the Trump administration. This is as much a factor of policies as of trust: According to a June 2021 Pew Research Center survey, the transition from Donald Trump to Biden dramatically improved Washington’s international image, especially among key allies and partners.

Of course, in an era of intensified great-power rivalry, the strengthening of military cooperation is not unique to the Euro-Atlantic West. In Asia, China’s rise has led several countries to reinforce their bilateral security agreements with the United States, including Japan and the Philippines. Minilateral formats—such as the Australia-United Kingdom-United States security pact and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad—include efforts to deepen military ties. In August, a historic summit among the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the United States may be the basis for another such grouping; South Korea could potentially join the Quad as well. China and Russia, in turn, are increasingly closing ranks.

But in terms of scope and depth of cooperation as well as its longevity, NATO has no parallel anywhere. Military alliances, established to address an immediate threat or balance the rise of a regional hegemon, are often dissolved when the external security environment changes. NATO, however, not only survived the collapse of the Soviet Union but also proved adept at adjusting to the post-Cold War era by taking on nontraditional security challenges (such as terrorism and piracy), conducting military operations other than war, and engaging in out-of-area operations.

NATO’s success and endurance stand in sharp relief to the frailty and collapse of a similar military alliance formed during the Cold War: the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Using NATO as a model, SEATO was established in 1954 to prevent communism from gaining ground in Southeast Asia. Comprising Australia, Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States, SEATO was not a particularly coherent organization, whether in geographic or political terms. Thus, as soon as the security environment in Asia shifted as a result of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and U.S.-China rapprochement, members began to withdraw from the bloc. In 1977, it was dissolved.

NATO, on the other hand, consists of countries belonging to a distinct geographic region on both sides of the Atlantic and is founded on a strong political cohesion among its member states, almost all of which share core values of democracy and support the liberal international order. Indeed, safeguarding the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law was written into the preamble of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, and Francisco Franco’s dictatorial regime was one reason Spain’s accession was delayed until 1982. That said, both Greece and Portugal were dictatorships during parts of their NATO membership, and today, Hungary’s and Turkey’s commitment to liberal democracy is unclear. The importance of political and other nonmilitary cooperation for NATO’s unity has been reiterated numerous times, most recently by an independent expert group appointed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to advise on the alliance’s 2030 agenda. In its final report, the group emphasized that “NATO is an outcome of political cohesion as well as a source of it.”

Will NATO still be a pillar of the security order when it turns 100? That will depend on how the alliance addresses the changing geopolitical order—above all, the threat from a rising, revisionist China. In particular, there are three scenarios for NATO’s future that could look very different from its present and past: a Europe-only NATO, a global NATO, and a fragmented NATO.

A Europe-only NATO is a scenario where the United States decides to withdraw from the alliance, either because it shifts all of its resources to the Indo-Pacific in order to take on China or due to domestic political change in the United States. As long as Washington was committed to containing the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Europe could take the U.S. security guarantee for granted. With China rising as the United States’ main rival, this is no longer the case. In that rivalry, the geographic focus is East Asia, not Europe.

When he was U.S. president, Trump abruptly awakened European elites to the possibility that a U.S. withdrawal from Europe could be just one election away. Instead of being reelected in 2024, Trump may now spend time in jail, and his main criticism of NATO allies—their inability to meet collective defense spending targets—is being addressed. Yet the idea of isolationism is still alive in the Republican Party, with John Bolton, a U.S. national security advisor under Trump, recently warning of a “virus of isolationism” among his fellow Republicans. A U.S. withdrawal would not only force Europe to take care of its own defense. It could even be the end of NATO.

A global NATO is a scenario where both the United States and its European allies shift their energies and resources from Europe to Asia. It entails European member states rebalancing a significant amount of their naval assets to the Indo-Pacific region in order to support the United States in balancing China. Such a state of affairs would differ markedly from the last time NATO went global in the early 2000s, when it deployed peacekeepers to Afghanistan, trained security forces in Iraq, and gave logistical support to the African Union’s mission in Sudan. A long-term major deployment to Asia would stretch European members’ resources to the limit, leave Europe exposed to Russian adventurism, and potentially cause disagreements among European allies. Eastern European member states, in particular, would probably be more concerned with deterring Russia than with balancing China.

Finally, a fragmented NATO is a scenario where the United States remains committed to the defense of Europe but where allies are no longer pursuing a single, coherent strategy—because of different threat perceptions, the disparate interests of new members, or domestic political pressures. Even though Russia remains a serious challenge to European peace and security, it is not as powerful and all-threatening as the Soviet Union was. In the not-too-distant future, Southern European member states may be more concerned with security challenges in North Africa and the Middle East, while Britain and France are more oriented toward global challenges. A further NATO enlargement to include Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Serbia not only would influence the bloc’s priorities but could also weaken its coherence. What’s more, significant political changes in a number of member states, including the election of leaders less committed to democracy, the liberal international order, and the trans-Atlantic West, would undermine the alliance’s political and military cohesion.

None of these three scenarios have to come true in their extreme versions. But in all likelihood, NATO will have to grapple with elements of all three. Whatever they do, NATO members should not take their present unity and strength for granted.

[thekylemovie]

The Hike

I can’t say it wasn’t completely my fault what happened. But I didn’t deserve this. Not by a long shot.

But my girlfriend always had a way of remembering the things that had happened a while ago and then dragging them back to the surface when I least expected it.

But sometimes she needed to be in charge. Like today.

“Keep hiking baby,” she said firmly from behind me as I waddled up the side of the mountain. This was a difficult hike on a good day when I was wearing the right clothing. But today as I forced myself to climb higher, my thick diaper and stuffer was slowing me down. Each step I took, the white plastic would crinkle loudly, restricting my movement, forcing me to work harder. The plastic leak guards gripped my inner thighs as my quads flexed against the thick, bulky plastic.

Liza ignored my ragged moans of stress. I could hear her hiking boots crunching behind me. “I would keep moving if I were you.” My girlfriend looked behind her, smiling slightly, “Otherwise the other hikers will catch up to us. I’m sure the bachelorette party would love to see your thick diapers.”

Liza knew what was going on. She knew when we started this hike that because of quarantine we all had to hike in separate groups that climbed ten minutes apart. As my wife had explained it, we had to hike a consistent pace to ensure the group behind us didn’t catch up. We had seen them, the bachelorette party chattering loudly in the parking lot. They had tried to speak to us in the waiting area, but I couldn’t talk back. Instead, all I could do was swallow uncomfortably around the large pacifier that invaded my mouth, hidden by the face mask that was not signature for everyone nowadays.

I had to be careful, the pacifier could make me drool. If I tried to speak too much, I’d be in trouble.

“My baby and I are just going hiking,” Liza had said, patting me on my then hidden diapered rear at the time. “We have a lot of great plans today.”

Little did they know “baby” wasn’t just a term of affection, it was a sentence of humiliation today.

I had nodded, wincing slightly. Her patting my diapered bottom had reminded me that I had already been dribbling pee into the diapers all morning. A Megamax and stuffer will do that to you. Not to mention the chastity cage that caused my member to throb painfully.

But now as we were hiking, it was clear that Liza had intended for me to suffer.

Once we were on the trail, she had taken my pants and put them in her backpack.

Next she had set a cadence timer to keep our cadence as we climbed to the summit. Then, to my relief then horror, she removed the lid of my pacifier and inserted the tube of my hydration pack saying by the time we reach the top of the hike I’d better be completely out of water. All I could hear was myself sucking and swallowing the infantile contraption she had rigged up.

As we climbed I could hear Liza making comments.

Keep climbing diaper boy, she kept saying. That bachelorette party is gonna catch up to us. Maybe they’ll want to change your diapers. Your diapers are so thick. Why is a bug strong man your age still in diapers?

In my embarrassment I kept quiet, determined to suck down more water from the three liter hydration pack that was on my back. Drinking this much water made me feel bloated and full. But to make matters worse, it meant my diapers were getting heavier and heavier. It meant that my diapered bottom grew rounder and rounder. It gave Liza more reason to laugh. She was determined I learn a lesson.

***

There's more on Patreon.

[natalie-wilhelm]

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s @emeraldcitycomiccon 2024!

This was my first time attending a general “comic” con. In the past, I’ve only attended anime conventions with the exception of a horror convention (CryptiCon) a few years ago. The biggest difference between these more generalized comic-cons vs. anime-cons is that comic-cons tend to place more of an emphasis on American/Western comics, fandoms, and pop culture whereas anime-cons focus on Japanese/East Asian comics, fandoms, and pop culture. ECCC in particular is focused on superhero and science fiction fandoms. The largest fandom that I saw represented cosplay-wise was Star Wars. This could be due to the release of their new trading card game through Disney. It’s interesting to see the differences between these two convention cultures, it helps with understanding their target audiences.

Since I was only attending this con for one day and it’s held during the off-season for cosplay, I chose to put together a “pseudo-cosplay” from clothing items that I already owned vs. building an entirely new one from scratch. I call this look “Franken-cyberpunk.” I took a normal outfit of mine, slapped some green body paint on, and voila an OC is born! I felt like this aesthetic would best fit the theme of the con.

Here are some highlights from Saturday:

Slide 1: Franken-selfie outside of the Exhibitor’s Hall (Arch).

Slide 2: Candid pose inside of “ECCC” logo monument outside of the Artist Alley (Summit).

Slide 3: Frankenblossoming in front of what appears to be a backdrop depicting the UW Quad.

Slide 4: Selfie with Maile Flanagan, English voice actor for Naruto.

Slide 5: Batman and Catwoman posing dramatically.

Slide 6: The scariest Darth Vader cosplay I’ve ever encountered.

Slide 7: Funky Darth Vader (he’s your daddy).

Slide 8: Cosplay Contest finalists, 1st place won $1,000!!!

Slide 9: Cruella posing next to an unknown cosplayer.

Slide 10: Alice Cooper about to feed me, his Frankenstein, at the Nerd Prom in the Main Stage (Summit).

Thank you again ECCC 2024 for putting on such a fantastic exhibition.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 17, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 18, 2023

The debt ceiling crisis is already affecting our national security. Because President Biden has pulled out of his trip to Australia so he can come home to address the crisis, a planned meeting of the Quad will not go forward. The Quad, whose official name is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is a security group consisting of  Australia, India, Japan and the United States that organized in 2007 as a response to China’s rising power.

Biden’s visit to Australia and to Papua New Guinea was designed to cement the interest of the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region. Daniel Hurst of The Guardian was quite clear what it meant to have Biden forced to cancel because of the Republicans’ debt ceiling demands. His article on the issue was titled: “The cancelled Quad summit is a win for China and a self-inflicted blow to the US’s Pacific standing.” “Chinese state media outlets won’t need to muster much creative energy to weave together some of Beijing’s preferred narratives,” Hurst wrote, “that the US is racked by increasingly severe domestic upheaval and is an unreliable partner, quick to leave allies high and dry.”

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Matthew Knott called Biden’s forced withdrawal “a disappointment, a mess and a gift to Beijing.” “The US wants to remain the leader of the free world but domestic divisions mean it now regularly struggles to keep its government from shutting down and defaulting on its debts,” he wrote. “The Quad summit in Sydney should have provided a powerful symbol of four proud democracies working together to get things done. Instead, it will serve to highlight the systemic problems plaguing the world’s longest-standing democracy and its aspirations for ongoing global leadership.”

And, astonishingly, stepping on this global rake is an unforced error. The debt ceiling is not about future spending, it is about paying bills Congress has already incurred. If it comes to that, failing to raise the debt ceiling—the amount of money the Treasury can borrow to meet its obligations—so that Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), can get concessions they cannot win through normal legislative procedures, will be an unforced error of truly epic proportions, a larger version of undercutting years of work building U.S. standing in the Indo-Pacific region.

Senate Democrats have begun to push for honoring the nation’s debts without trying to bring Republicans along. They are circulating a letter urging President Biden to invoke the fourth section of the Fourteenth Amendment to override the debt ceiling. That section reads: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”

Republican congressmen wrote that section to prevent Democratic opponents, who hated the newly powerful government that had won the Civil War, from changing the terms of repayment of the debt. Democrats called for turning gold interest payments into payments in paper money. That change would have significantly degraded the value of the debt. It would also have destroyed confidence in the government, a result those who had just lost the Civil War quite liked.

Congress intended the Fourteenth Amendment to assert the power of the federal government over the states once and for all, making sure that no one could discriminate against individuals within the states or make war on the United States from within. It was an attempt to make it impossible for those trying to destroy the nation to carry out their plans.

Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) told Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris of Politico, “It’s not about being comfortable with Biden or anyone else. It’s about the House. Kevin’s in shackles. He’s in leg, arms and hand cuffs. And frankly I don’t think he’s got much capacity to negotiate. And very little capacity to advance a deal.” Welch, who served eight terms in the House before moving to the Senate in 2023, added, “I’m quite pessimistic about McCarthy. He’s very constrained…. I think we’re heading toward a decision on the 14th Amendment.”

Interestingly, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has indicated he’s on board with the idea of Biden invoking the Fourteenth Amendment. “I think if I were president, I would be tempted” to use the Fourteenth Amendment, Hawley said. “Because I would just be like, ‘Listen, I’m not gonna let us default. So end of story. Y’all will do whatever you want to do.’ But I’m not necessarily giving him that advice. It’s against my interest.” Hawley’s defense of the idea suggests that Republicans are eager to find a solution to the crisis that does not involve them, so that they can then condemn the Democrats for whatever they do.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[vandebharatdotnews]

'We four countries are more united than ever', said President Biden at the Quad Summit

President Joe Biden addressed the Quad meeting held late Saturday night in Wellington, USA. Apart from Biden, PM Narendra Modi, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM Fomio Kishida also attended this conference. President Joe Biden addressed the Quad meeting held late Saturday night in Wellington, USA. Apart from Biden, PM Narendra Modi, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Japanese PM…

[jandeproductions]

Stowe, VT 06MAY2023

Snow in the North Slope area was still nearly continuous today, but there are a couple of breaks down by the base Unlike the previous couple of weekends, there were no real concerns about the weather for skiing this weekend – both days have been looking quite reasonable without any major bouts of precipitation expected.  Today looked great with clear skies all morning, so I eventually headed back…

[suncitytours]

Explore Unforgettable Morning Sightseeing City Tours with Sun City Tours

Sun City Tours & Desert Safari L.L.C offers a diverse adventure for travellers seeking the Best Morning Sightseeing City Tours in Abu Dhabi. Our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences blends international expertise with local knowledge, celebrating cultural diversity while honouring the Arabic traditions that define our heritage.

Highlights of Our Morning City Tours:

Embark on an extraordinary Morning Sightseeing and Desert Safari starting at 8:00 am, meticulously designed for adventure enthusiasts and those with limited time to explore Abu Dhabi's wonders.

Unforgettable Adventures Await:

Experience the awe-inspiring desert landscapes of al Khatim, Al Khazna, or the majestic Rub al Khali, known as the Liwa desert dunes. Engage in a thrilling 45-minute dune bashing session led by our skilled Morning Desert Safari drivers, offering an adrenaline-packed experience reminiscent of a captivating desert roller coaster ride.

Capture the essence of the vast desert landscape with exclusive photo opportunities at the highest dunes. For thrill-seekers, indulge in sandboarding escapades from the summit of Abu Dhabi's majestic desert dunes, creating lasting memories for adventure enthusiasts.

Exploring Emirati Culture:

Our Sunrise Desert Safari Package offers more than just desert exploration. Immerse yourself in Emirati culture by visiting traditional camel and cattle farms, offering insights into the local way of life. Experience traditional camel rides and savor fresh camel milk, providing a glimpse into the rich rural Emirati lifestyle.

Convenience and Comfort Redefined:

Enjoy hassle-free Pick-up and Drop-off from any Abu Dhabi city location, facilitated by our fleet of 4x4 Toyotas Land Cruisers, Sequoias, or Hummers, ensuring your utmost comfort and safety. Stay refreshed throughout the adventure with unlimited mineral water and soft drinks provided.

Tailored Add-ons for Ultimate Thrills:

For an added dimension of excitement, opt for our Quad Bike or Dune Buggy tours upon request, elevating your desert adventure to new levels of excitement.

At Sun City Tours & Desert Safari L.L.C, our focus is on providing an unforgettable and hassle-free experience. Join us for the Best Morning Sightseeing City Tours, where you'll immerse your senses in Abu Dhabi's captivating landscapes and cultural richness.

[darkmaga-retard]

Andrew Korybko

Sep 14, 2024

Expectations should be tempered though.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the US from 21-24 September to attend the upcoming Quad Summit that’ll be hosted at Biden’s Delaware residence. This follows his trips to Moscow and Kiev earlier this summer, which readers can learn more about from the preceding hyperlinked analyses, as well as his National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval’s trip to St. Petersburg last week for the BRICS NSA Summit. Doval also had a separate meeting with Putin where he briefed him about Modi’s trip to Kiev.

What’s most interesting about Modi’s upcoming trip to the US though is that it’s taking place against the backdrop of newly troubled ties brought about by an alleged attempted assassination last year and America’s role in Bangladesh’s regime change last month. The first greatly worsened mutual perceptions of one another, both at the elite and civil society levels, while the second could pose serious national security threats depending on the policies that the new government implements.

The Quad Summit is therefore a convenient opportunity for bringing Modi and Biden together to discuss their problems afterwards. This year’s event was supposed to be hosted by India, but it agreed to swap hosting duties with the US. It’s unclear why, but Biden might be too frail to travel and/or his team wanted this summit to part of his legacy. Another possibility is that it might be too scandalous for Biden to travel to India after his government accused it late last year of conspiring to kill a dual US citizen.

[aberooski]

In Bowser's castle, Chazz and Princess Peach are locked in the dungeon, while back in the Mushroom Kingdom, our sibling quad meets with the Seven Star Spirits on Shooting Star Summit to learn the truth of Bowser’s plans and the duelists' presence in this world.

[mariacallous]

During the recent G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi got up from the banquet table to shake hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and have a brief conversation—their first in-person exchange in three years. Although both sides remain tight-lipped about the interaction, it nonetheless raised hopes among observers of a breakthrough in their 30-month border crisis, which began with a deadly clash in Ladakh in 2020. But any resolution that might emerge will not dispel the challenge posed by massive changes at the border undertaken by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

This marks the third straight winter that around 50,000 Indian reinforcements will spend in Ladakh’s inhospitable terrain in the northern Himalayas, warding off an equal number of Chinese troops stationed a few miles away. Despite intermittent dialogue between the two militaries, Indian Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande recently confirmed that China has not reduced its forces at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Chinese infrastructure construction along the border is “going on unabated,” he said—confirmed by independent satellite imagery and echoed by the latest U.S. Defense Department report on China. Pande said the situation is “stable but unpredictable.” That unpredictability has become structural.

India and China have so far held 16 rounds of border talks between senior military commanders as well as numerous diplomatic and political engagements, but an agreement on actions to reduce the tensions in Ladakh has been slow to materialize. Of the seven areas in Ladakh where Indian and Chinese soldiers have faced one another since 2020, two have seen no change while the rest have seen each side take a limited step back. The challenge for India is becoming more concerning on the eastern part of the LAC—between the state of Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet—where China has an infrastructure and military advantage, putting New Delhi on the defensive.

The widening power gap between India and China—military, technological, economic, and diplomatic—now constrains New Delhi’s options on the border. It also raises tough questions for India’s geopolitical partnerships, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (known as the Quad), and its aggressive approach toward Pakistan. The border crisis will hang over India’s decision-making for the foreseeable future.

In October, the Chinese Communist Party held its 20th National Congress, and Xi assumed an unprecedented third term as leader. Among the images broadcasted at the Great Hall of the People minutes before Xi ascended the stage was a video from the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, where at least 20 Indian soldiers and 4 PLA soldiers died in a clash in June 2020. The videos showed PLA regiment commander Qi Fabao standing with his arms outstretched to stop Indian soldiers from advancing. Qi was selected to be a delegate to the Party Congress, underlining the importance of the border crisis to the Chinese Communist Party’s narrative. Harnessing nationalism, the party wants to convey that it will protect what it considers Chinese territory at all costs.

India’s military and political leaders now confront a reality at the border that should have jolted them into serious action: China has a distinct advantage over India, which it has consolidated since 2020. By investing in a long-term military presence in one of the most remote places on Earth, the PLA has considerably reduced the time it would need to launch a military operation against India. New military garrisons, roads, and bridges would allow for rapid deployment and make clear that Beijing is not considering a broader retreat. The Indian military has responded by diverting certain forces intended for the border with Pakistan toward its disputed border with China. It has deployed additional ground forces to prevent further PLA ingress in Ladakh and constructed supporting infrastructure. Meanwhile, New Delhi’s political leadership is conspicuous in its silence, projecting a sense of normalcy.

Beijing refuses to discuss two of the areas in Ladakh, where its forces have blocked Indian patrols since 2020. In five other areas, Chinese troops have stepped back by a few miles but asked India to do the same and create a no-patrolling zone. This move denies India its right to patrol areas as planned before the border crisis began. The PLA has flatly refused to discuss de-escalation, in which both armies would pull back by a substantive distance. The question of each side withdrawing its additional troops from Ladakh is not even on the agenda. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson rejected any demand to restore the situation along the LAC as it existed before May 2020. The PLA continues to downplay the severity of the situation, instead emphasizing stability in its ties with India.

If the situation in Ladakh is “stable but unpredictable,” Indian military leaders have told Foreign Policy that major stretches of the LAC’s eastern sector—2,500 kilometers (or 1,553 miles) away—are an even bigger cause of concern. In 1962, this area was the site of a humiliating defeat of the Indian Army at the hands of the PLA. Today, massive Chinese infrastructure development and troop buildup closer to the LAC has placed India at a military disadvantage. In September, Pande said when it comes to infrastructure in the area, “there is lots to be desired to be done.” Recent reports suggest at least three additional PLA brigades remain deployed in the area even after the Party Congress, further worrying Indian military planners.

China officially claims the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh, which includes the Tawang Monastery where the sixth Dalai Lama was born in 1683. Tawang was historically a part of Tibet; Chinese officials, such as Dai Bingguo, who served as China’s boundary negotiator with India from 2003 to 2013, have publicly stated that it would be nonnegotiable in a permanent settlement of the disputed border. As questions arise over the succession of the current Dalai Lama, who is 87 years old, Chinese sensitivities about Tawang will intensify—even more so when linked to its internal security problems in Tibet. In the coming years, it is likely to become a higher priority for China.

Still, it is in Ladakh that the Chinese have built up infrastructure at a frenetic pace, with only military operations in mind: roads, bridges, airfields, heliports, accommodations for troops, and storage and communication infrastructure. Pande noted that one of the biggest developments is the G695 highway, which runs parallel to the LAC and gives the PLA the ability to quickly move from one valley to another. Flatter terrain on the Chinese side already gives Beijing an advantage, now further bolstered by infrastructure—an extensive network of new roads, bridges, and heliports.

In the 1960s, the PLA needed one full summer season to mobilize and launch military operations in Ladakh for the next summer. Now, it would need a couple of weeks to undertake the same operation. Indian military planners must live with this scenario, even if the current border crisis is resolved.

Modi approaching Xi in Bali recalled a short exchange between the two leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, in 2017. Then, their conversation sparked diplomatic communications between New Delhi and Beijing that aimed to resolve a standoff between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam in Bhutan, which China claims as its territory. The talks led to disengagement, but the Chinese only stepped back a few hundred yards. They have since consolidated their military deployment and undertaken massive infrastructure development in Doklam, such as roads, helipads, and a military garrison. Even if an immediate crisis was averted, the status quo was permanently altered in China’s favor in Doklam.

A similar resolution of the Ladakh border crisis would carry bigger risks for India. Unlike in Doklam, China has entered areas in Ladakh that Indian troops regularly patrolled until 2020. Reinforcing the LAC over the vast span of Ladakh would require enhanced deployment of Indian ground forces. This permanent instability would put the Indian military under further pressure. With an already limited defense budget—China’s is more than four times as large—shifting more troops to the border would also divert resources from the Indian Navy, where multilateral cooperation with Quad partners to contest China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region is an absolute imperative.

Fearing escalation, India is forsaking even limited offensive options, such as launching a quid pro quo military operation to capture some territory in Tibet to arrive at the negotiating table with a strong hand. New Delhi’s defensive position instead seems to acknowledge its widening gap with Beijing; due to this power differential, it is unable to even use economic or diplomatic instruments to target China. After all, India’s bilateral trade with China—its biggest trading partner—reached record levels this year, with an all-time high trade deficit in Beijing’s favor. The U.S. Defense Department report on China reveals that Beijing has warned U.S. officials not to interfere with its relationship with New Delhi; Kenneth Juster, a former U.S. ambassador to India, said New Delhi doesn’t want Washington to mention Beijing’s border aggression.

India’s defensive posture plays out in its approach to diplomatic engagement and security cooperation. Unlike its Quad partners, India abstained from voting against China on the Xinjiang issue at the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in October, and its comments on China’s crackdown in Hong Kong or aggression toward Taiwan have been guarded. Modi participated in both the BRICS summit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit this year, along with Xi; Chinese delegations are still regularly invited to New Delhi for multilateral events. And an Indian military contingent participated with a PLA contingent in a military exercise in Russia this year.

The current situation along the LAC, both in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as China’s refusal to discuss issues on India’s agenda for resolving the crisis have added to the structural instability in their relationship. Chinese infrastructure development and the widening gap in power means that this instability will become permanent, even with a solution to the immediate crisis. India’s military will remain under pressure and on guard. Pande made this implicit when discussing future Indian plans on the border in November. “We need to very carefully calibrate our actions on the LAC [so as] to be able to safeguard both our interests and sensitivities … and be prepared to deal with all types of contingencies,” he said.

The risk of an accidental military escalation between Asia’s most populous countries—both nuclear powers—has increased significantly since 2020. This will continue unless Modi and Xi find a new modus vivendi. Establishing guardrails in the relationship will require political imagination and an honest appraisal of relative strengths; failing that, New Delhi faces tough geopolitical choices. It has so far eschewed any security-centric step with the Quad that could provoke Beijing, but murmurs from its partners about reticent Indian policy are bound to get louder. Meanwhile, India’s reliance on Russia for military equipment and ammunition now falls under a cloud of suspicion. And an unstable border with China prevents India from targeting Pakistan, a tactic that has proved politically rewarding for Modi.

The fundamentals of Indian foreign policy that have held steady since the years of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru—namely, strategic autonomy and ensuring territorial integrity and sovereignty—will come under greater stress as the border crisis looms over New Delhi. Modi boasts of great ambitions for India as a “Vishwa Guru,” or master to the world—a euphemism for a global superpower. But questions raised by the situation at the border with China continue to limit him.