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Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to visit China in the last week of November, local media reported. "Last minute details are being worked upon, but the visit is very much on," sources told on Saturday.  Meanwhile, the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing hosted an event on floods in Pakistan to lay stress on the need for proactive climate action and international solidarity to mitigate the effects of climate change. "Delighted to host representatives of multilateral organizations, Chinese think tank and academia at the embassy. Briefed them on recent floods in Pakistan and Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change. Touched by their desire to contribute," Pakistan's Ambassador Moinul Haque said.  According to the News International citing a statement, international organizations, Chinese think tanks, NGOs, Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) members and Pakistani community members attended the Beijing event. Speaking at the event, the Pakistani Ambassador briefed the audience about the extent and nature of the recent unprecedented floods in Pakistan. During the occasion, the Ambassador also expressed gratitude for the support extended by the international community, particularly China and the UN. He reiterated the need for proactive climate action and international solidarity to mitigate the effects of climate change.  Haque stressed that it was unfortunate that despite being a low carbon emitter, Pakistan was among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. He called on rich countries to help the developing states affected by climate change. The Ambassador hoped that the international community would remain engaged with Pakistan in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.  Earlier, on Friday, newly appointed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar sought the support of the Chinese ambassador for securing the rollover of State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposits of $2bn due in March 2023 to materialize financing requirements under the International Monetary Fund's programme. Pakistan has to secure a rollover of $2bn in SAFE deposits for the current fiscal year, as per the IMF's condition.  The development came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from its close partner China in view of the countrywide cataclysmic floods.  The remarks had drawn a censorious response from China, whose foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had called out the US for "passing unwarranted criticism against Pakistan-China cooperation" and urged it to do something "real and beneficial" for the people of Pakistan, reported Dawn. (ANI)

India's deft diplomacy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forced China to withdraw its resolution against the AUKUS.  According to sources, the "General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was held in Vienna from September 26-30, 2022. China tried to get a resolution passed against the AUKUS for seeking to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines (but armed with conventional weapons).  China argued that this initiative was in violation of its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It also criticized the role of the IAEA in this regard.  India took an objective view of the initiative, recognising the soundness of the technical evaluation by the IAEA. The Indian Mission to the IAEA in Vienna worked closely with many IAEA member states in this regard. India's considered role helped many smaller countries take a clear stand on the Chinese proposal. Realizing that its resolution would not get majority support, China withdrew its draft resolution on September 30.  Interestingly, the Chinese were confident enough of the success on September 28 to get Global Times to issue an article on the subject.  India's deft and impactful diplomacy was deeply appreciated by IAEA member states, particularly the AUKUS partners. (ANI)

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said on Friday that India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and stressed that dialogue is the only answer to settle differences and disputes after India abstained in the UN Security Council vote which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of Ukrainian regions, calling for an immediate cessation of violence.  The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organization of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders." The UN security council voted on the resolutions condemning referendums in Ukraine at UNSC on Friday which were tabled by the US and Albania and failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it whereas India, China, Gabon, and Brazil abstained.  Explaining the vote, Kamboj urged that all efforts are made by the concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and said that dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes.  "Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment. The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open," she said during the address at UNSC. She further highlighted the statements made by the External Affairs Minister in his recent engagements at UNGA during the High-Level Week on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advice to Russian President Putin during the SCO Summit in Samarkand that this cannot be an era of war, Kamboj said that India is hopeful of an early resumption of peace talks for resolution of the conflict.  "India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states," the UN envoy added.  "Escalation of rhetoric or tensions is in no one's interest. It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India has decided to abstain from this resolution," Kamboj said.  Putin signed the documents on Friday to formally announce the annexation of four regions - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia's annexation sparked wide criticism from around the world. The United States announced that it will impose a "swift and severe cost" on Russia.  Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the "United States unequivocally rejects Russia's fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine's internationally recognized borders."  "We will continue the United States' powerful, coordinated efforts to hold Russia to account, cut Russia's military off from global commerce and severely limit its ability to sustain its aggression and project power," he added.  In an earlier briefing on Tuesday, Kamboj said the Ukraine war has resulted in the loss of countless lives and miseries for people particularly women, children and the elderly with millions becoming homeless and taking shelter in neighboring countries.  Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi will continue to work with the International Community to mitigate economic hardships resulting from the Ukraine conflict.  During the UNSC briefing, the UN envoy also reiterated that India's approach to the ongoing war in Ukraine will be human-centric as the country firmly believes that global order should be anchored on international law in the UN charter. (ANI)

The endorsement of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US grant program, by the Nepali parliament in February this year caused a huge political controversy in Kathmandu. Next came the outrage over the draft of the US State Partnership Program (SPP) that was leaked to the media. While the US says the document is fake, a section of Nepali leaders and intellectuals are not convinced.  Some provisions mentioned in the draft go against Nepal’s non-alignment foreign policy and could upset the security and stability of South Asia. That is why the Nepal government has put the ‘disaster reduction plan’ on hold, for now, stating that it cannot join any military alliances. The Sher Bahadur Deuba government, like its predecessors in 2015, 2017, and 2019, was initially impressed by the SPP's mitigation content, but a closer look at the "partnership" program reveals a risk that Nepal cannot afford. Some argue that the SPP is administered by the National Guard Bureau, guided by the foreign policy objectives of the US Department of State, and carried out by senior military officers (state lieutenants) in each US state in support of the policy objectives of the Department of Defense. Through the SPP, the National Guard conducts military-to-military engagement in support of national defense security objectives but also leverages society-wide relationships and capabilities to facilitate broader inter-agency and inevitable engagement across military, governmental, economic, and social domains. The ‘military alliance’ between Nepal and the US would be unacceptable to India, with which Nepal has a close relationship. It would also infuriate China. The SPP was created in the 1990s as a post-Cold War effort to pair National Guard units from various US states with those from the former Soviet bloc. It has been described as "a key US security cooperation tool." It has a strong military component, including joint Nepal-US military training and scholarships for Nepali officers to be trained at US colleges. As one diplomat puts it, the SPP is "a multipurpose tool for advancing broad US political and strategic goals under the blanket cloak of humanitarian engagement." It is worth noting that the US has been working with Ukraine since 1993 through a similar program. The state of California, the US claims, has contributed significantly to Ukraine's continued defense modernization. "For the past 29 years, the California National Guard has taught, trained with, and shared successes and failures with Ukrainian military personnel," the Defense Department mentions on its website, which came into play this year after military broke out between Russia and Ukraine. The US once again mentioned the SPP in its Indo-Pacific Strategy paper in 2022. So does the US want Nepal to become the next "Ukraine" region? Such a question deserves serious consideration in Nepal. Since its inception, the SPP has been administered by the National Guard Bureau, whose director holds the rank of general and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, equal to the heads of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The US National Guard integrates the characteristics of the reserve forces, local armed forces, and militias of many countries.  As an important part of the US reserve forces, it has the same powerful combat effectiveness as the US active forces, and its equipment and training level far exceed that of the active forces of many countries. Such a force is difficult to define as a national army in international law. This, we believe, is the most cunning part of the SPP agreement. In recent years, the US has increased its involvement and penetration in Nepali politics, and the disclosure of the SPP documents has once again laid bare Washington's ambition to strengthen its military presence in Nepal. The projection of US military power into Nepal would undoubtedly upset the fragile balance and greatly exacerbate the geopolitical and security landscape in the region. The Nepali people themselves are well aware of their precarious situation. Politicians from the ruling and opposition parties have been warning against signing any military agreement with the US. Many say signing the SPP would be "equivalent" to signing the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. And Nepal is not really an ally in the eyes of the US, nor does it have the bargaining power with Washington. If such an agreement is signed it will hamper Nepal’s independent and non-alignment foreign policy.  A country like Nepal can never achieve real security unless it is very strong itself or learns to balance great power relations instead of blindly joining "military alliances" or "selection stations.” (Khin is the director of Tampadipa Institute in Yangon, Myanmar. )