Tag: South&Central Asia

New Study Reports Widespread Forced Labor Abuses

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Forced labor generates $236 billion a year in illegal profits, a dramatic increase of $64 billion since 2014, a new study by the International Labor Organization reported on Tuesday. The study said the increase is due to a growing population of people forced into labor and the correlation between higher levels of exploitation and higher profits. Traffickers and criminals who use forced labor can generate around $10,000 per victim. The most prevalent use of forced labor is commercial sexual exploitation, the study found. While accounting for 27% of the total…

China, India Compete for Influence in Indian Ocean

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China has increased efforts to deepen security ties with countries in the Indian Ocean in recent weeks, signing a new security agreement with the Maldives and sending a military delegation to three regional countries earlier this month. On March 4, the Maldives’ Ministry of Defense announced that the country had signed a military assistance agreement with China that aims to “foster stronger bilateral ties.” The ministry didn’t elaborate on the details of the agreement. China’s Ministry of National Defense also sent a military delegation on a 10-day…

India, China Spar Over Modi Visit to Himalayan State

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New Delhi —  India has dismissed China’s objections to a recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims is its territory. The spat is the latest flare-up in a four-year-long military standoff between the two countries’ that shows no signs of easing. A day after Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest over Modi’s visit, India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that Chinese objections do not “change the reality that Arunachal Pradesh was and will always be an integral part of India.”…

Exiled Tibetans Protest, Asking China to Leave Tibet on Uprising Anniversary 

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NEW DELHI —  Hundreds of Tibetans in exile marched on the streets of New Delhi on Sunday to commemorate the 65th Tibetan National Uprising Day against China. Over 300 protesters gathered near India’s Parliament House and chanted slogans including “Tibet was never a part of China” and “China should leave Tibet.” The protesters carried Tibetan flags and photographs of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The 88-year-old Dalai Lama has made the Indian hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule…

India Sets Up New Indian Ocean Naval Base

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New Delhi —  India has commissioned a new naval base on an island that lies off its southwest coast, as it looks to strengthen its presence in the Indian Ocean amid growing concerns about China’s expanding footprint in the strategic waters and a downturn in ties with the Maldives. The base, called INS Jatayu, lies on Minicoy, the southernmost island in India’s Lakshadweep archipelago, which straddles key trade routes. It will be India’s second naval base on the archipelago and is closer to the Maldives. After commissioning the base Wednesday,…

Red Sea Attacks Foster Arab-Israeli Trade Link by Land

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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia —  Houthi drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping have spurred the development of an alternative “land bridge” to carry cargo by truck from the Persian Gulf across Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Israel and Egypt. The project, which is already seeing dozens of trucks per day reach the Israeli port of Haifa, is seen as an early benefit of the 2020 Abraham Accords normalizing ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. It bodes well for future cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The United…

Analysts See Limits to China, Iran, Russia Collaboration With Taliban

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washington —  Since the Taliban seized control in August 2021, China, Iran and Russia have been steadily courting Afghanistan’s de facto government for influence. The three countries have kept their embassies open in Kabul and were among the first to hand over Afghan embassies to the Taliban at home. Last month, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran were the most high-profile participants at the Taliban’s first conference on regional cooperation in Kabul. But what are the real prospects of China, Russia, Iran and the Taliban cooperating in the region? Analysts tell VOA…

Afghan Oil Production Jumps With $49 Million Chinese Investment

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A Chinese energy company’s investment of $49 million in Afghanistan’s oil production has helped boost the country’s daily crude oil output to more than 1,100 metric tons, but the funding is just one-third of what Beijing originally pledged. One year ago, China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co, or CAPEIC, signed a major oil extraction contract with Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. That 25-year contract requires CAPEIC to invest $150 million by the first year and a total of $540 million by 2026. According to a top Taliban official who…

China’s President Receives Afghan Ambassador; Taliban Seek Recognition From Russia, Iran

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday received the credentials of ambassadors from several countries, including neighboring Afghanistan, in what amounts to the first official recognition of the interim Taliban government by a major nation. Xi welcomed Bilal Karimi, the Taliban-appointed Afghan ambassador, in a formal ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, along with ambassadors from Cuba, Pakistan, Iran and 38 other countries. “China has understood what the rest of the world has not,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, said Tuesday at an event on the social media…

Apprehensions in India as Chinese Survey Ship Heads to Maldives  

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New Delhi —  A Chinese research ship due to dock in the Maldives has raised apprehensions in India, where concerns have been growing about the potential military use of the data collected by such vessels. The Maldives foreign ministry said last week that it has given permission to the ship, Xiang Yang Hong 3, following a request by China to “make a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment.” It said the ship will not be conducting any research in Maldivian waters. The announcement comes at a time when…