India cooperation beyond chipsBy Uma ChinnannanThe relationship between India and Taiwan is evolving, driven by a shared understanding of the need for enhanced cooperation across various sectors. The India Semiconductor Mission is a government initiative that allocates US$10 billion to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has driven government incentives across various facets of semiconductor production, underscoring the momentum behind recent semiconductor ties. While economic cooperation remains crucial, it is equally vital to focus on other forms of collaboration, and address the existing ties between India and Taiwan. By diversifying economic cooperation, fostering people-to-people relations and addressing common geopolitical challenges, India and Taiwan can strengthen their strategic partnership and unlock new avenues for mutual prosperity.

Team to track N Korea’s violations of sanctionsAFP, SEOULEleven countries, including South Korea, the US and Japan, are launching a new joint mechanism to monitor North Korea sanctions violations, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The decision follows Russia’s decision to veto the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea in March, effectively ending official oversight of sanctions imposed for the North’s banned nuclear and weapons programs. Russia’s veto was met with great criticism, with the US calling it a “self-interested effort to bury the panel’s reporting on its own collusion” with North Korea. Photo: EPA-EFEAlongside South Korea, the US and Japan, eight other countries — France, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — are to participate in the multilateral sanctions monitoring team (MSMT). The MSMT would “monitor and report violations and evasions of the sanction measures” of the UN Security Council resolutions, it said.

India is finally becoming a clean energy superpowerBy David Fickling / Bloomberg OpinionIt is better to under promise and over deliver. India’s clean power industry is finally making good on that dictum. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to connect 500 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by 2030, equivalent to all the generators in France, Germany and Italy put together. Ill-advised tariffs on solar panels, combined with contractual and political support for fossil fuels and constant changes to the rules of renewable power auctions, made matters worse. Projects already in train would bring the total to 430GW, Indian Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi told the Indian parliament in August.

The Quad leaders unequivocally expressed their commitment to the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Although it is not a security grouping, the Quad addressed emerging maritime security challenges. For example, the Quad launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness to ensure freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad also announced the first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission next year in the Indo-Pacific region to improve interoperability. That puts a big question mark on the Quad countries’ shared idea about economic integration in the Indo-Pacific region.

Major parties all condemn China’s military drillsTHREATENING PEACE: China’s military activities would only further unify the commitment of Taiwanese to protect their sovereignty and democracy, the DPP saidBy Chen Yun, Lin Hsin-han, Lin Che-yuan and Lery Hiciano / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday condemned China’s latest military drills around Taiwan, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) expressed regrets over Beijing’s actions. A giant screen in Beijing yesterday displays news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. TPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) asked on what legal grounds could China justify the provocative military exercises. China’s behavior would not win it any support within Taiwan, and would only further alienate Taiwanese, he said. The TPP resolutely opposes China’s military aggression, he said, adding that China should cease its detrimental actions and seek to engage with Taiwan through goodwill gestures.

India’s T20 World Cup hopes are in Pakistan’s hands after loss to AustraliaAFP, SHARJAH, United Arab EmiratesIndia on Sunday were left hoping archrivals Pakistan could rescue their Women’s T20 World Cup dreams after suffering an agonizing nine-run loss to defending champions Australia. Australia made sure of their semi-final spot by topping Group A with a perfect four wins from four matches. Australia’s Tahlia McGrath plays a shot against India in their Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday. Tahlia McGrath led Australia after Healy dropped out with a foot injury, suffered while batting in a victory over Pakistan on Friday last week. Healy’s replacement Grace Harris top-scored with 40 and McGrath hit 32 as Australia posted 151-8 after electing to bat first.

What would victory in Ukraine look like? This brings us to Ukraine, where the definition of victory depends on the participants’ war aims and time horizons. If Ukraine defines victory as the return of all land that Russia has occupied since 2014, victory is not in sight. However, this possible victory also means that Putin must not be able to declare his own victory. While a Korean solution would not satisfy Ukraine’s maximalist goals in the short term, it would certainly deserve to be called a Ukrainian victory.

China faces criticism at ASEANBy Gurjit SinghThe annual summit of East Asia and other events around the ASEAN summit in October and November every year have become the most important gathering of leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. Besides the main summit, this included the high-profile East Asia Summit, ASEAN summits with its dialogue partners and the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and South Korea. It was apparently the first time that maritime issues related to the South China Sea were raised by ASEAN members at the ASEAN-China meeting. India spoke more openly about keeping the South China Sea free and open and emphasizing UNCLOS, which ASEAN prefers. He was nevertheless clear that Japan opposes the continuing and intensifying activities that infringe upon its sovereignty in the East China Sea.

Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’sBy Mihir Sharma / Bloomberg OpinionIn India, the Tata name is ubiquitous. Ratan Tata’s own instincts seemed to have nudged him in a different direction. The week that Ratan Tata passed is also the first week in centuries that no steel is being poured in the UK. Whatever his faults, Ratan Tata always benchmarked himself and his group’s products against the world’s best. The country might not have lived up to that promise yet, but, like Ratan Tata, it should not stop believing.

Gunmen kill 20 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan‘DESTABILIZERS’: The province’s chief minister said ‘terrorists once again targeted poor laborers’ and added that ‘the killing of the innocent would be avenged’AP, QUETTA, PakistanGunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said yesterday, drawing condemnation from authorities as a search was launched for the attackers. The attack in Balochistan Province came days ahead of a major security summit in the capital. A man is treated yesterday at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, following an attack in Balochistan Province a day earlier. Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan, said that “terrorists have once again targeted poor laborers.”The attackers were cruel and had an agenda to destabilize Pakistan, he said. They accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil and mineral-rich Balochistan.

Modi’s surprise poll win could give rivals pauseFour months after a national election setback, Indian prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party sees recovery in Haryana state pollBy Andy Mukherjee / Bloomberg OpinionBarely four months after returning to power with a reduced parliamentary majority, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government looks tired and shaky. Although more important regional polls lie ahead, the Haryana results would give pause to Modi’s rivals inside the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as his political opponents outside. They are also penciling in a less-than-even chance for the BJP to win Jharkhand, a mineral-rich state in the east. “Becoming prime minister is not my ambition,” Gadkari is reported to have said. If anything, the prime minister might feel less pressure to give a better deal to farmers, soldiers, women or young people.

Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, experts sayRecord emissions, temperatures and population mean more scientists are looking into the possibility of societal collapse, report saysBy Damian Carrington / The GuardianMany of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance,” a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said. “Climate change has already displaced millions of people, with the potential to displace hundreds of millions or even billions. That would likely lead to greater geopolitical instability, possibly even partial societal collapse,” he said. “Climate change is a glaring symptom of a deeper systemic issue: Ecological overshoot, [which] is an inherently unstable state that cannot persist indefinitely. Even in the absence of global collapse, climate change could cause many millions of additional deaths by 2050.

Peace treaty dangerous: legislatorBy Fang Wei-li and Lery Hiciano / Staff Reporter, and Staff WriterSigning a cross-strait “peace agreement” would be the most dangerous outcome, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said on Friday in reaction to a think tank report on the potential economic and cyberwarfare tactics China might use on Taiwan. Photo: ReutersThe most dangerous outcome would be China forcing Taiwan into signing a “peace treaty” under duress, which would turn the invasion of the nation into a domestic issue rather than an international act of war, he said. Some lawmakers have promoted the possibility of a peace agreement, which plays into China’s plans and poses a significant threat to Taiwan, he added. China’s cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased dramatically since 2016, with recent reports saying that Beijing has been working with Russian hackers, Shen said. Taiwan should analyze and examine every small attack to prevent further exploits and fix vulnerabilities, he added.

Brahma Chellaney On Taiwan: Taiwan needs concrete diplomatic support from foreign friendsAs China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah demands sustained external support for Taipei. China has already poached a number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, including in Central America where Taipei had strong relationships.

Meta unveils AI video generatorAFP, SAN FRANCISCOMeta Platforms Inc on Friday provided a look at a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model it is working on that lets people create short videos, complete with audio, from text prompts and photos. The tech titan touted “Meta Movie Gen” as a “breakthrough” when it comes to using an AI engine to produce video and audio. Meta said it would seek feedback from filmmakers and creators as it eases toward making the video-generating AI engine publicly available. DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc’s Google, also has a video generation tool, called Veo, which was unveiled earlier this year. However, the rise of AI tools for creating realistic videos has prompted worries about “deepfakes” that pirate people’s likenesses.