Tag: China

  • Experts watch China situation, say India won’t be hit by new Covid variant

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Omicron’s BA2.2 variant is creating havoc in China, but experts from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) who are closely watching it, opine that India is safe. There may be no reason to panic until a new variant comes along which behaves very differently from Omicron, which triggered the third wave, they say.

    While there are reports that a mutated version of Omicron’s BA.2 sub-lineage, called BA2.2, has been found in some parts of China, experts in India say the characteristics of BA.2 and BA2.2 appear similar, and there is no change in the clinical symptoms of the sub-lineage. “India was already dominated by the BA.2 variant, as were Karnataka’s third wave cases. With a high level of vaccination and infection combination, there is no reason for the state to worry. However, this virus tends to throw surprises, so wearing of masks, following Covid-appropriate behaviour and ensuring maximum vaccination with both doses and a precautionary dose is the key,” Dr V Ravi, nodal officer, Nimhans, INSACOG, told TNIE.

    Several experts said India doesn’t have to worry unless a new variant with characteristics different from Omicron, arrives. However, Dr Jacob John, former professor at CMC Vellore, and renowned virologist, says the chance of another variant in India is highly unlikely. He explains that China’s “zero-Covid” strategy, which uses mass testing and lockdowns to crush any hint of an outbreak, may not have worked with Omicron.

    “Omicron’s BA.1 and BA.2 lineages have infected a majority of India’s population and our vaccination coverage has been very good. With infection-vaccination combined immunity, there is very little chance of another variant coming in. We have already crossed the river. Mutations happen when immunity is low and the spread is fast,” Dr John says.

    However, experts warn that the country should focus on being vigilant and sequencing should not stop. Dr Giridhara R Babu, epidemiologist and public health expert, tweeted on Tuesday, “Two highest priorities have not been addressed so far. Repeating myself again. Vaccination helps, not the end game in itself. Diverting all resources only to vaccines wont help. A global COVID19 control program is quintessential. A revised case definition should be part of this.”

  • Resolution of eastern Ladakh row will facilitate bilateral relations: India-China joint statement

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: After another round of high-level military talks, India and China on Saturday affirmed that a resolution of the eastern Ladakh standoff would facilitate progress in bilateral relations besides helping restore peace in the region.

    The two sides also agreed to maintain security and stability on the ground in the region and continue the dialogue through military and diplomatic channels, said a joint statement issued a day after the 15th round of military talks to resolve the 22-month-long standoff at the remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

    “The two sides carried forward their discussions from the previous round held on 12th January 2022 for the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector,” the joint statement said.

    “They had a detailed exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the State leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest,” it said.

    It further said: “The reaffirmed that such a resolution would help restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector and facilitate progress in bilateral relations” The two sides also agreed to maintain security and stability on the ground in the region.

    “They agreed to maintain dialogue via military and diplomatic channels to reach a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest,” the joint statement said.

  • China’s demonstration of physically moving disabled satellite to another orbit new threat: IAF chief

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: China’s latest demonstration of physically moving its disabled satellite to another orbit poses a new threat in the race to weaponise the space domain, Indian Air Force Chief V R Chaudhari said on Thursday.

    Moreover, he said no single service — air force, army or navy — can win wars on its own and this holds good even for the future.

    Last month, China’s Shijian-21 satellite physically moved a disabled Chinese satellite, altering its geostationary orbit.

    This capability of physically altering the orbits of a satellite has earlier been demonstrated by the US only.

    “China’s latest demonstration of physically moving one of its disabled satellites into the graveyard orbit is bringing in newer threats in the race to weaponise the space domain, a domain hitherto considered relatively safe,” Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said.

    “The spectrum that we are looking at stretches from kinetic to non-kinetic, lethal to non-lethal and from small drones to hypersonic ballistic missiles. This vast and ever-changing continuum will pose significant challenges for the armed forces of the future,” he added.

    He said the IAF’s training philosophy needs to be modern, flexible and adaptive, with a heavy dose of “jointness”.

    A well-trained air warrior — who is technologically sound yet able to adapt to disruptions — would serve as a force multiplier, the IAF chief mentioned.

    “The next step would be to use our doctrines and well-trained manpower to evolve employment philosophies and CONOPS (Concept of Operations),” he noted This would require joint planning and joint execution of plans, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari stressed.

    “No single service can win wars on its own and this holds good even for the future. This brings me to the next challenge of command and control,” he said.

    The primacy of who will do what cannot be determined by a pro-rata system of who has a larger mass of forces or equipment, the IAF chief mentioned.

    “The thought process must change and it would be important to appreciate the capabilities of each service to make two plus two equal to five.” He stressed the need to develop joint command and control structures for integrated and synergised application of combat power.

    “The fundamental strengths of individual services must be brought together to deter potential enemies or decisively win the nation’s wars. There is a need to wage tomorrow’s wars with pragmatism and not necessarily idealism,” Chaudhari noted.

  • ‘Friends’ LGBT storylines censored in China

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: The hit US sitcom ‘Friends’ has been edited on Chinese streaming platforms, including iQiyi and Youku, which have removed all references to Ross Gellers former-wife Carol being lesbian and in a relationship with another woman.Carol, who was played originally by Anita Barone, before she was replaced by Jane Sibbett, was edited out of her first appearance in the show, including all references to Ross, played by David Schwimmer, getting divorced, the South China Morning Post newspaper reports, according to femalefirst.co.uk.Meanwhile, a scene that showed Joey, played by Matt LeBlanc and Chandler, played by Matthew Perry, kissing at a New Year’s Eve party has also been removed by the streaming platforms.Fans of the comedy recently took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to voice their opposition to the move, using the hashtag FriendsCensored. However, the hashtag has now been removed from the site, according to CNN. Prior to this release, the unedited version of the sitcom was available between 2012 and 2013 on platforms such as Sohu and iQiyi.However, in 2016, the Chinese government brought in new guidelines that prohibited TV programmes from featuring gay relationships, along with topics that “exaggerate the dark side of society”. The eight-page document banned “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content” and ruled that homosexuality, extra-marital affairs, casual sex and underage relationships as no-go areas.‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, the Oscar-winning biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, was previously altered to satisfy the guidelines. Editors of the film removed over two minutes of LGBT-related content, including two men kissing and the use of the word “gay”.

  • ED busts money laundering ring linked to human hairs smuggling to China

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday claimed to have busted a hawala and money laundering racket linked to the smuggling of raw human hair from India to China via Myanmar, after it conducted multiple raids and froze as many as 139 bank accounts.

    The federal probe agency said it stumbled across the alleged illegal cross-border trade while investigating an earlier “fund trail” of online Chinese betting mobile applications.

    Rs 1.20 crore cash was seized during the raid, it said. The ED, as per a statement, first got an FIR registered with the Hyderabad Police and later conducted raids for two days (February 9-10) at multiple locations, from Hyderabad to Aizawl and the border town of Champai in Mizoram.

    The smuggling of raw human hair from India to Myanmar was being undertaken through illegal land routes via Mizoram leading to generation of huge cash, it said.

    “Large part of cash thus generated was used for making illegal compensatory payments through unauthorised channels for smuggled hair and under-valued exports of human hair from entities spread across India,” the agency stated.

    The Hyderabad Police FIR alleged that a company named Nayla Family Exports Private Limited, whose director is Mohammed Ibrahim Patel, exported human hairs by using benami Import Export Code (IEC) of multiple local proprietary firms.

    Also, it said, large-scale domestic sale of raw human hair was taking place from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to Guwahati and Kolkata.

    “All this domestically sold hair was ultimately finding its way to China via Myanmar and sale proceeds were surprisingly being received from shell bank accounts in Mizoram,” it said.

    The agency said it has zeroed in on some shell or dummy entities based in Mizoram which were taking in “hundreds of crores of cash deposits” and then remitting the deposited amount to several hair merchants spread across India.

    The shell companies, as per the ED statement, are St Mary’s Gem Industries, Champai; Sun Moon Human Hair, Champai; and Thari Enterprises Aizawl.

    Lucas Thangmangliana, a resident of the remote Champai district, is “the chief facilitator of this mammoth hawala operation,” the ED said.

    The agency said it has seized incriminating documents, hand-written diaries, digital devices and recovered Rs 1.20 crore cash during the raids.

    “ED has identified various suspicious bank accounts which were being used for huge cash deposits. The agency has issued freezing orders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against 139 such accounts,” it said, adding the statements of bankers and account holders are being recorded.

  • China’s People’s Liberation Army says it has found a missing Arunachal boy; parents heave a sigh of relief

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has communicated to the Indian Army that it has found a missing boy from Arunachal Pradesh.

    “The PLA has informed us (Indian Army) that they have found a missing boy,” a senior Army officer said.

    “Only one person (Miram Taron) was reported missing, so we believe it is he,” the officer added.

    The family of the 17-year-old Miram, who hails from Arunachal’s Upper Siang district, was overjoyed.

    “I cannot express in words how happy we are. We pray that it is my son who is in the PLA’s custody,” the teenager’s father, Opang, told this newspaper on Sunday.

    “He will be received by our entire Zido village when he is brought home,” the father added.

    The mother, Kutjit, said, “Bahut achchha lag raha hain (I am feeling very good).”

    She had been going through hypertension ever since news broke about her son’s alleged abduction by the PLA.

    The incident had occurred on January 18 when Miram and his friend, Jhonny Yaying, had ventured into a deep forest to hunt wild animals and collect medicinal herbs.

    While Miram was nabbed by the Chinese soldiers, Jhonny managed to flee. He reached Tuting, the nearest circle headquarters, the next day and informed the villagers and the authorities of the incident. The two youngsters are from the same village. The site of the incident is around 35-40 km away.

    Opang said he was at Tuting on January 17 when his son had set out for the forest.

    “We have a puja in mid-February where, as per a customary practice, my sisters would offer rice cakes and local brew to me and I would give them dry meat. As the meat needs to be dried up before being gifted, Miram had gone out early for the traditional hunting of a wild animal,” Opang said.

  • Arunachal will always be an integral part of India, China’s assigning names will not change the fact: Ministry of External Affairs

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday reemphasized that changing names of the places in Arunachal Pradesh will not change the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is and will always be an integral part of India.

    Arindham Bagchi, the Official Spokesperson Ministry of External Affairs said, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact.” He was responding to a media query on the reports that China has renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language.

    “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017.” Bagchi added.

    It was on Wednesday, two days ahead of China implementing new border law, the Chinese government renamed 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh on its map. China calls Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet and lays its claim over this 90,000 sq km area.

    China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement stating that they have ‘standardised’ names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, to be used on Chinese maps. They announced Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet names for places in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh, state-run Global Times reported on Thursday.

    This is the second time China has renamed the names of the places of Arunachal Pradesh. Way back in 2017, China had changed the names of six places.

    The renaming of names comes just two days ahead of implementing new border law which was passed on October 23, by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body. The new law was passed citing “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”. The committee had stated that the new law will come into effect from January 1.

    The law is not meant specifically for the border with India. China shares its 22,457 km land boundary with 14 countries including India.

    As per the law, the People’s Republic of China shall set up boundary markers on all its land borders to clearly mark the border. The type of marker is to be decided in agreement with the relevant neighbouring state.

    The law further stated that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese People’s Armed Police Force will maintain security along the border.

    India claims that China is illegally occupying about 38,000 sq km of India’s territory in Aksai Chin, which borders eastern Ladakh. Pakistan ceded to China about 5,180 sq km in 1963 from the Indian territory illegally occupied by it.

    India and China are engaged in a tense standoff since May 2020 and diplomatic and military talks are on to resolve the issues.

  • Congress asks PM Narendra Modi to end ‘silence’ on Chinese ‘intrusion’ in Arunachal Pradesh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday accused the BJP government of deception and deliberate distortion over alleged Chinese intrusions in Arunachal Pradesh and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the issue.

    The opposition party also accused the BJP of giving lessons on national security to the entire country while digressing from addressing the serious issue that affected India’s integrity and sovereignty.

    Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi shared satellite images to claim that China has built another village six to seven kilometres inside Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh with over 60 structures.

    He also claimed that the Chinese president had visited a few kilometres north of this spot a few days ago.

    The Congress leader demanded that Prime Minister Modi address the issue and tell the nation about steps he is taking in this regard.

    “We condemn the prime minister’s silence. It is culpable. It is a negative eloquence which we can do without. It is inexcusable,” he told reporters.

    There was no response from the government on the issue.

    The Congress has been attacking the government consistently over its handling of border tensions with China.

    “We don’t understand this definition is national security, where you berate, browbeat, intimidate the whole country on national security issues and keep silent on this kind of things,” Singhvi said, claiming the prime minister never said a word “on the January 2019 and September- October 2021 intrusions”.

    “It is a sad case of deliberate distortion, digression and diversion on an issue affecting India’s integrity and sovereignty,” he alleged, hitting out at the BJP government.

    The satellite images shared by Singhvi, sourced from some professional websites, purportedly show images of the same spot in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2019 and then in September 2021 with around 60 structures or habitats built up.

    He also cited a statement of BJP MP Tapir Gao from Arunachal Pradesh made in Parliament over a year ago where he alleged that the second Dokalam will be in Arunachal.

    He said the BJP should at least listen to its MP, if not the opposition party.

  • Hackers from Delhi reportedly launching cyberattacks against China, Pakistan

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: A new report published by Antiy Labs, one of China’s cybersecurity companies, disclosed an active hacker team whose members are based in Delhi and has been launching cyberattacks against the government agencies and defence departments in China and Pakistan, Global Times reported.

    The report conducted a comprehensive analysis of the cyberattacks launched by the organisation called You Xiang (baby elephant in English) in South Asia, revealing its target, technology and equipment, and exposing the attackers who wear “invisible clothes” and hide behind screens.

    The company’s vice chief engineer, Li Bosong, told the Global Times that they first detected “baby elephant” activities in 2017, when a number of large-scale targeted cyberattacks on the government, military and defence departments of South Asian countries were found.

    According to the analysis of their activities, it was found that the group is suspected to be from India, and is not the same as another hacker group from India named “white elephant.”

    The organisation had its own set of relatively independent attack resources and tools, but the attack capability was relatively primary at that time. It might be a newly established attack team with immature technical capabilities. “That’s why we’ve named this new, advanced threat organisation ‘baby elephant,’” Li said, as per the report.

    Four years since, the “baby elephant” is on the rampage, expanding their targets. “Since 2017, the number of ‘baby elephant’ attacks has doubled each year, and the attack methods and resources have gradually become richer, and the target has started to cover more areas in South Asia,” Li said. “In 2021, the group began targeted attacks on Chinese institutions for intelligence theft.”

    The attacks detected by Antiy Labs include setting up phishing websites, attacking mobile phones with malicious Android applications, and Trojans written in languages such as Python to steal various documents, browser cache passwords and other host system environment information from computers, the report said.

    For example, the “baby elephant” used to disguise itself as the mail system of the Nepalese Army, police, and government, including Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Prime Minister’s office to launch targeted attacks to obtain email accounts to carry out subsequent attacks.

    It also pretended to be a polling app for India-Nepal territorial disputes using malicious Android applications. After the victim installs and opens the malicious Android application, the application will ask for system permissions from users. If the permissions are granted, it will monitor the victim’s mobile phone, Global Times reported.

    The highlight from the report is that the location of those hackers was exposed when the group uploaded their Trojan horses to public security resources to test the ability of the Trojan horses to escape anti-virus software. Resources retrieval showed at least one sample uploader was from Delhi, India. The hacker had uploaded eight test malicious files from November 23 to November 24, 2020, the report said. Those samples shared a high degree of similarity in code content with those from the “baby elephant.”

    Judging from previous activities, some hacking organisations from India are not very concealed. One is because of its imperfect attacking capability, but more importantly, it reflects the have-nothing-to-fear mindset of those attackers. The physical location of one attacker most likely represents the location of the entire hacking organization, Li said.

    “Despite constantly diversifying attacking methods and more abundant functions of the malicious files, attacks could still be traced to the “baby elephant” based on its targets, tactics and decoys and Trojan homology,” Li said.

    The targets of the attacks overlap, such as those in Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Techniques and tactics that they used are similar to the behaviour of the “baby elephant” in the early stage, including malicious shortcuts, malicious HTA scripts and Python Trojan horses, according to Li.

    Li also pointed out the similarity of their domain names, which all tend to imitate the official domain names of government organs and state-owned enterprises in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. They also tended to adopt the dynamic domain names under the US network service provider No-IP, such as hopto.org and myftp.org, the report added.

    Multiple signs showed that the “baby elephant” has already become one of the most active and mature cyberattack organisations that threaten the cybersecurity of South Asia and Asia-Pacific.

    It is also likely to become the main attack group in South Asia in the future, Li said, calling for attention to be paid on the “baby elephant.”

    Victim countries attacked by the “baby elephant” are usually weak economically, in digital maintenance and cybersecurity capabilities. But like any other country, they enjoy the right to defend their sovereignty, security and interests, Li pointed out.

    In a previous interview, Antiy Labs told the Global Times that since March, they have detected several phishing activities targeting the government, defence and military units, as well as state-owned enterprises in China, Pakistan, and Nepal. The organisation behind the attacks is from India and its activities can be traced to as early as April 2019.

    Global Times reported that the material obtained from several of China’s leading cybersecurity companies have further revealed a sophisticated network: top hackers from South Asia, mainly from India, have constantly attacked defence and military units as well as state-owned enterprises in China, Nepal and Pakistan in the past few years, and such attacks are on the rise under new disguises of international trending topics.

  • Rahul Gandhi asks government to ‘admit truth’ on China

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to repeal the new farm laws, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday targeted the government, saying the truth of “Chinese occupation” should also be admitted now.

    The Congress has been attacking the government over its handling of the border tensions with China, accusing it of compromising India’s territorial integrity, a charge denied by the Centre.

    The truth of “Chinese occupation” should also be admitted now, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi in the backdrop of the Modi government agreeing to the demand of agitating farmers and opposition parties to scrap the three central farm laws enacted last year.

    The former Congress president has been questioning the government over the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, especially after the standoff in eastern the Ladakh.

    India and China on Thursday agreed to hold the 14th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points along LAC in eastern Ladakh.

    The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

    The tension escalated following a deadly clash in Galwan Valley on June 15 last year.

    As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in February and in the Gogra area in August.

    Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.