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Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that during COVID-19, China felt blamed and stigmatised by the international community for the pandemic, leading to a harsh attitude toward the outside world and a draconian lockdown within its borders. Speaking on Saturday at the Iqwat Global Business Conclave, an event organised by an association of Kashmiri Pandits. Misri also recalled that he faced a major challenge during his posting in China as Ambassador, when India and China had an unprecedented confrontation in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley. For the first time in nearly 50 years, lives were lost on both sides at the Line of Actual Control, he noted. What made it particularly challenging was that it happened at the height of COVID-19, which imposed limitations on interactions, understanding domestic perceptions in China and travelling back to Delhi, Misri said. "Travel was extremely difficult. Anytime you flew out of China during COVID, returning meant a mandatory 21-day quarantine, 21
The Quad foreign ministers on Saturday expressed "grave concern" over "economic coercion" through arbitrary export restrictions and practices that disrupt global supply chains. In an apparent reference to China, the foreign ministers of India, the US, Australia and Japan expressed grave concerns regarding economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions, as well as non-market policies and practices that result in overcapacity, disrupting global supply chains in critical industries. In a joint statement after their meeting in Atlanta, the Quad foreign ministers reiterated their commitment to building reliable and open global supply chains and trusted and resilient infrastructure. The Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting was convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The ministers recognised the importance of critical sea lanes, t
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck China's Qinghai province on Saturday, two days after a powerful 7.0-magnitude temblor in neighbouring Tibet left 16 people dead and 76 others injured. The latest quake jolted Zadoi County in northwest China's Qinghai Province at 4:39 pm (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC). The epicentre, at a depth of 10 kilometres, was monitored at 32.54 degrees north latitude and 93.97 degrees east longitude, the centre said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from Saturday's earthquake. The fragile Tibetan Plateau is prone to powerful earthquakes as it lies in a region where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide, generating significant seismic activity. Meanwhile, rescue and relief operations continued after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Baqen County in Nagqu city of the Tibet Autonomous Region at 10:33 pm (local time) on Thursday. So far, 12,489 residents have been evacuated, and rescue