&w=3840&q=100)
China denies double standards on terrorism amid close ties with Pak
Lin was reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent comments in an interview with the French newspaper, Le Figaro
Press Trust of India Beijing
China on Friday rejected any ambiguity or double standards on its part in combating terrorism due to close ties with Pakistan, saying that fighting the menace is the common responsibility of the international community.
"Let me stress that China's position on fighting terrorism is consistent and clear," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here.
"Terrorism is humanity's common enemy, and combating terrorism is the common responsibility of the international community, Lin said.
He said China is committed to safeguarding international and regional peace and tranquility, and to firmly combating all forms of terrorism.
"There is no so-called ambiguity or double standards," he said.
Lin was reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent comments in an interview with the French newspaper, Le Figaro.
Jaishankar, while replying to a question on India's firm stand against terrorism in the context of the recent Pahalgam terror attack and China's support to Pakistan, said, They have had close ties for decades.
But on an issue like terrorism, you cannot afford ambiguity or double standards. In the end, it's a problem that concerns all of us, Jaishankar said in the interview.
Lin said current China-India relations are at a crucial stage of improvement and development.
We hope India will work with us to earnestly implement the important common understandings reached between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their meeting in Kazan last October, and move bilateral relations forward on a sound and steady track, he said.
Lin's comments came as Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, the former Chinese Ambassador to India and Beijing's point man on South Asia, is on a two-day visit to New Delhi from Thursday.
This is the first high-level Chinese official's visit to India after the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent India-Pakistan conflict last month during which India carried out precision strikes deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting terror infrastructure.
While replying to a question on the reports that India has agreed to expedite the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, Lin said the resumption of direct flights is conducive to ensuring cross-border travel, exchanges and cooperation between China and India, which is in the interest of the two sides.
"China is positive toward it. We hope India will work with us to resume flights as soon as possible and ensure safe and orderly mutual visits between the two countries, he said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
US military parade mirrors global traditions across regimes, democracies
The military parade to mark the Army's 250th anniversary and its convergence with President Donald Trump 's 79th birthday are combining to create a peacetime outlier in US history. Yet it still reflects global traditions that serve a range of political and cultural purposes. Variations on the theme have surfaced among longtime Nato allies in Europe, one-party and authoritarian states and history's darkest regimes. France: Bastille Day and Trump's ide inspire The oldest democratic ally of the US holds a military parade each July 14 to commemorate one of the seminal moments of the French Revolution. It inspired or at least stoked Trump's idea for a Washington version. On July 14, 1789, French insurgents stormed the Bastille, which housed prisoners of Louis XVI's government. Revolutionaries commenced a Fte de la Fdration as a day of national unity and pride the following year, even with the First French Republic still more than two years from being established. The Bastille Day parade has rolled annually since 1880. Now, it proceeds down an iconic Parisian route, the Avenue des Champs-lyses. It passes the Arc de Triomphe a memorial with tributes to the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars and World War I and eventually in front of the French president, government ministers and invited foreign guests. Trump attended in 2017, early in his first presidency, as US troops marched as guests. The spectacle left him openly envious. It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen, Trump told French President Emanuel Macron. It was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France. We're going to have to try and top it. The British set modern ceremonial standards In the United Kingdom, King Charles III serves as ceremonial (though not practical) head of UK armed forces. Unlike in France and the US, where elected presidents wear civilian dress even at military events, Charles dons elaborate dress uniforms medals, sash, sword, sometimes even a bearskin hat and chin strap. He does it most famously at Trooping the Colour, a parade and troop inspection to mark the British monarch's official birthday, regardless of their actual birthdate. (The US Army has said it has no specific plans to recognize Trump's birthday on Saturday.) In 2023, Charles' first full year as king, he rode on horseback to inspect 1,400 representatives of the most prestigious UK regiments. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, used a carriage over the last three decades of her 70-year reign. The British trace Trooping the Colour back to King Charles II, who reigned from 1660-1685. It became an annual event under King George III, described in the American colonists' Declaration of Independence as a figure of absolute Despotism (and) Tyranny. Authoritarians flaunt military assets Grandiose military pomp is common under modern authoritarians, especially those who have seized power via coups. It sometimes serves as a show of force meant to ward off would-be challengers and to seek legitimacy and respect from other countries. Cuba's Fidel Castro, who wore military garb routinely, held parades to commemorate the revolution he led on Dec. 2, 1959. In 2017, then-President Ral Castro refashioned the event into a Fidel tribute shortly after his brother's death. Venezuela's Hugo Chvez, known as Comandante Chvez, presided over frequent parades until his 2013 death. His successor, Nicols Maduro, has worn military dress at similar events. North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un, who famously bonded with Trump in a 2018 summit, used a 2023 military parade to show off his daughter and potential successor, along with pieces of his isolated country's nuclear arsenal. The event in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square named for Kim's grandfather marked the North Korean Army's 75th birthday. Kim watched from a viewing stand as missiles other weaponry moved by and goose-stepping soldiers marched past him chanting, Defend with your life, Paektu Bloodline referring to the Kim family's biological ancestry. In China, Beijing's one-party government stages its National Day Parade every 10 years to project civic unity and military might. The most recent events, held in 2009 and 2019, involved trucks carrying nuclear missiles designed to evade US defences, as well as other weaponry. Legions of troops, along with those hard assets, streamed past President Xi Jinping and other leaders gathered in Tiananmen Square in 2019 as spectators waved Chinese flags and fighter jets flew above. Earlier this spring, Xi joined Russian President Vladimir Putin another strongman leader Trump has occasionally praised in Moscow's Red Square for the annual Victory Day parade. The May 9 event commemorates the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II a global conflict in which China and the Soviet Union, despite not being democracies, joined the Allied Powers in fighting the Axis Powers led by Germany and Japan. A birthday parade for Hitler Large civic-military displays were, of course, a feature in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy before and during World War II. Chilling footage of such events lives on as a reminder of the dangers of authoritarian extremism. Among those frequent occasions: a parade capping Germany's multiday observance of Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday in 1939. (Some far-right extremists in Europe still mark the anniversary of Hitler's birth.) The four-hour march through Berlin on April 20, 1939, included more than 40,000 personnel across the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Schutzstaffel (commonly known as the SS.) Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the streets. The Fhrer's invited guests numbered 20,000. On a street-level platform, Hitler was front and centre. Alone.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Conflict may trigger dry fruit price rise
The Israel-Iran military conflict may lead to a further increase in prices of imported nuts and dry fruits in India by exacerbating supply issues, said traders. The commodities, sourced from Afghanistan and Iran, have already seen a 15-100% surge in prices as imports through Pakistan have been completely blocked in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, they said. Industry representatives had a meeting with the central government authorities this week, seeking clarity on the duty structure for the Afghan-origin dry fruits imported through Iran. However, the Israel-Iran conflict comes as a double-whammy for the industry, said people familiar with the matter.
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Baghdad 1981, Tehran 2025: Same Israeli Operation Delivers Same Message
New Delhi: On the afternoon of June 7, 1981, fourteen Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets launched from Etzion Airbase in the Sinai Peninsula, then under Israeli control. In less than two hours, they would carry out a high-risk, long-range airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, nearly 1,100 km away, near Baghdad, before returning home. That mission, codenamed Operation Opera, remains one of the most debated examples of preventive military action in modern history. Over four decades later, in the early hours of Friday morning, Israel launched a surprise wave of airstrikes deep inside Iranian territory, targeting critical sites of Tehran's nuclear infrastructure as a preventive measure. In many ways, the Osirak airstrike was an event that would shape Israel's security doctrine for decades. The Iraqi Nuclear Ambition Iraq's nuclear programme began taking shape in the late 1950s. But it was under Saddam Hussein in the 1970s that it gained any momentum. In 1976, Iraq signed an agreement with France. The French government agreed to supply Iraq with a 70-megawatt research reactor named Osirak (a play on 'Osiris', the name of the reactor design, and 'Iraq'). Alongside Osirak (Tamuz 1), a smaller training reactor, Tamuz 2, was also being constructed at the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre southeast of Baghdad. The reactors, under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), were officially designated for peaceful purposes. But Israeli intelligence concluded that Osirak, once operational, could be repurposed to produce weapons-grade plutonium. This, Israel argued, posed an existential threat. By the late 1970s, Israeli leadership came to believe that once the reactor reached operational status, it would be too dangerous to destroy without risking a disaster. Israel's Attack Plan Planning began under the direction of then-IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Rafael Eitan. The operation was repeatedly delayed for both political and technical reasons. During the early phases, the Israeli Air Force had planned to use F-4 Phantom fighter jets. But as Israel acquired more advanced American F-16s, the plan shifted. By mid-1980, eight F-16A fighters were designated as the primary strike aircraft. Six F-15As were assigned to provide cover and backup. The mission required the jets to fly across hostile airspace without being detected and striking the reactor quickly, and return without engaging enemy defences. The aircraft were fitted with extra fuel tanks. The strike package would approach low, at roughly 100 feet above ground level, maintaining strict radio silence and radar blackout. A King's Warning The final route took the aircraft southeast across Jordan and deep into Saudi Arabian airspace before turning northeast towards Baghdad. The route selection, advocated by then-Israeli Air Force Commander Major General David Ivry, prioritised radar evasion and minimum confrontation with Iraqi air defences. While they evaded radar, the jets could not evade a king's gaze. King Hussein of Jordan, vacationing aboard his royal yacht, reportedly spotted the jets overhead and recognised their Israeli markings. He quickly deduced their likely destination and ordered his government to send a warning to Iraq. However, due to either delay or a communications failure, the message never reached Baghdad. Day Of Attack At approximately 17:35 local time, the F-16s descended over the Tuwaitha complex. Each jet dropped its payload in five-second intervals. The strike lasted no more than two minutes. The Osirak reactor was obliterated before it ever went critical. All 14 aircraft returned to Israeli airspace without loss. From a tactical perspective, the operation was flawless. The international response was overwhelmingly negative. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 487, condemning the strike as a "clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations." Even the United States, Israel's closest ally, temporarily froze military deliveries in protest. Iraq, for its part, claimed the facility had been meant solely for peaceful research. France, which had supplied the reactor and had technicians on-site at the time, also denounced the operation. Yet, there were no casualties among the French personnel. Then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin argued that "no Arab state would ever be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons," a policy that would come to be known as the Begin Doctrine. Strategic Consequences US-Israeli intelligence gathered during the 2003 Iraq War claimed that Saddam Hussein responded to the 1981 strike not by abandoning nuclear ambition, but by doubling down on it. According to declassified CIA reports, Iraq intensified efforts to develop nuclear weapons covertly throughout the 1980s. It was not until the 1991 Gulf War that Operation Desert Storm inflicted another blow on Iraq's nuclear infrastructure. The Iran Context Since 2005, Israeli leaders have consistently viewed Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, perhaps more than any other Israeli leader, has made Iran's nuclear ambitions a central pillar of national policy. In 2009, he openly invoked Operation Opera as precedent for a future strike on Iran. More recently, Israel has launched covert operations against Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities, including high-profile assassinations and cyberattacks such as the Stuxnet worm. As of 2025, according to US-Israeli media reports, Iran has significantly enriched uranium to levels approaching weapons-grade purity. Indirect negotiations, such as those recently held in Oman, offer a diplomatic off-ramp, but tensions remain high in light of recent strikes by both countries.
