BEIJING REJECTS CRITICISM OF S.CHINA SEA DRILLS

 

 

 

REJECTS CRITICISM OF S.CHINA SEA DRILLS 

 

China rejected criticism by the U.S. Defence Department of its plan to hold military exercise in the South China Sea

Five days of drills near the Paracel Islands, claimed by both Vietnam and China

Paracel Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea

The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group

The archipelago includes Dragon Hole, the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world

The largest island of the Paracels, Woody Island

Taking 16°40′N 112°20′E as the centre of the Paracel Islands, then the Amphitrite Group is ENE, and the Crescent Group is West

The name 'Paracel' is found in the first Portuguese maps of the region

Amphitrite group was named after the French frigate Amphitrite, which observed the islands while carrying a Jesuit mission to Canton in 1698–1700

The islands were first scientifically surveyed by Daniel Ross of the British East India Company in 1808.^[36] The names of Duncan, Drummond, Money, Pattle and Roberts islands were all chosen in honour of senior figures in the East India Company

After the 1884–1885 Sino-French War, France officially gained control of Annam and Tonkin as protectorates and fully established French colonial rule in Vietnam

Article 2 of the Treaty of Tientsin (1885) forced China to stop any claims to suzerainty all over Vietnam. Therefore, the French also took over the control of the Paracel Islands which were under the Nguyễn dynasty's administration, still nominally ruled Annam at the time

In 1933, France seized the Paracels and Spratlys, announced their annexation, formally included them in French Indochina

In 1941, the Japanese Empire made the Paracel and Spratly islands part of Taiwan, then under its rule

After the communists gained control of China in 1949, they occupied Woody Island

By 1955 South Vietnam had taken possession of the Crescent Group

Battle of the Paracel Islands in January 1974, PRC expelled the South Vietnamese from the Paracel Islands

South Vietnam's claim to the islands was inherited by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which has ruled all of Vietnam since 1976

In July 2012, China (PRC) declared a city named Sansha, under Hainan Province, as administering the area

On July 12, 2016, an arbitral tribunal under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague backed the Philippines in an arbitration proceedings against China's claim on the territories within the "nine-dash line" which include the Paracel Islands, saying that it is unlawful under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).The tribunal argued that there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources, hence there was "no legal basis for China to claim historic rights" over the nine-dash line.

INDIA WON’T IMPORT POWER EQUIPMENT FROM CHINA

 

 

WON’T IMPORT POWER EQUIPMENT FROM CHINA

 

Union Power Minister R.K. Singh said India will not import power equipment from China, saying the sector, being strategic and essential, was vulnerable to cyber attacks

At a virtual conference with the States, the Minister said equipment imports from China and Pakistan would not be permitted

Cyberattack is any type of offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks, or personal computer devices

Depending on context, cyberattacks can be part of cyberwarfare or cyberterrorism

Cyberattack can be employed by sovereign states, individuals, groups, society or organizations, and it may originate from an anonymous source

Attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions or other restricted areas of the system without authorization, potentially with malicious intent

Cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated and dangerous

Three factors contribute to why cyber-attacks are launched against a state or an individual: the fear factor, spectacularity factor, and vulnerability factor

Attacks are broken down into two categories: syntactic attacks and semantic attacks

Syntactic attacks are straightforward; it is considered malicious software which includes viruses, worms, and Trojan horses

Semantic attack is the modification and dissemination of correct and incorrect information

 Control systems, energy resources, finance, telecommunications, transportation, and water facilities are seen as critical infrastructure targets during conflict. Cyberattacks that have an adverse physical effect are known as cyber-physical attacks

Cyberwarfare utilizes techniques of defending and attacking information and computer networks that inhabit cyberspace, often through a prolonged cyber campaign or series of related campaigns

Cyberterrorism is "the use of computer network tools to shut down critical national infrastructures (such as energy, transportation, government operations) or to coerce or intimidate a government or civilian population"

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has developed a strategy called "Integrated Network Electronic Warfare" which guides computer network operations and cyberwarfare tools. It helps link together network warfare tools and electronic warfare weapons against an opponent's information systems during conflict.

WITH REFERENDUM WIN, VLADIMIR PUTIN TIGHTEN GRIP ON POWER

 

 

WITH REFERENDUM WIN, PUTIN TIGHTEN GRIP ON POWER

 

Vladimir Putin can potentially stay in power for two more six year terms after his term expires in 2024

 

Russians were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the changes to the Constitution 

 

Changes included a reorganisation of the government, introducing a higher minimum pension and wages, a ban on gay marriage, restricting top officials from holding dual citizenship, enshrining ‘faith in God’ as a core value and emphasising the primacy of the Constitution over international treaties and rulings

 

Mr. Putin, who became President for the first time in 2000

 

He is now into the second term of his second stint as President, which will expire in 2024

 

Russian constitution bars more than two consecutive presidential terms

 

New Constitution doesn’t change the two term limit in theory, but in practice, it resets the clock on Mr. Putin’s terms so that in the first election under the new Constitution, to be held in 2024, Mr. Putin can start afresh

 

If he chooses so, he could remain in office for two more terms until 2036 when he will be 83 years old

 

Amendments have also enhanced the powers of the State Council, an advisory body until now, which Mr. Putin heads 

 

Proposed change had already been approved by Parliament and the Supreme Court

 

Amendments got popular mandate, the ball is in Mr. Putin’s court. If he stays in power for two more terms, he will be the longest serving Russian leader since Peter the great

 

Tsar, who built the Russian Empire, was in power for 43 years until his death in 1725.

 

PRESIDENT TO INAUGURATE ASADHA POORNIMA EVENTS

 

 

INAUGURATE ASADHA POORNIMA EVENTS

Buddhist festival of Asadha Poornima would be celebrated on a larger scale this year, with President Ram Nath Kovind scheduled to inaugurate events, the International Buddhist Confederation’s secretary general Dhammapiya said

International Buddhist Confederation is the biggest religious Buddhist confederation

Based in Delhi, India

Architect of the International Buddhist Confederation is Lama Lobzang

Confederation is named as the first organization which unites Buddhists from the whole world.