Citizens of Hong Kong demand independence from China - Xi Jinping talks tough

Chinese President Xi Jinping swore in Hong Kong’s new leader on Saturday with a stark warning that Beijing won’t tolerate any challenge to its authority in the divided city as it marked the 20th anniversary of its return from Britain to China.

Police blocked roads, preventing pro-democracy protesters from getting to the harbour-front venue close to where the last colonial governor, Chris Patten, tearfully handed back Hong Kong to China in the pouring rain in 1997.

Xi said Hong Kong should crack down on moves towards “Hong Kong independence”.

“Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government ... or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible,” Xi said.

He also referred to the “humiliation and sorrow” China suffered during the first Opium War in the early 1840s that led to ceding Hong Kong to the British.

Hong Kong has been racked by demands for full democracy and, more recently, by calls by some pockets of protesters for independence, a subject that is anathema to Beijing.

Xi’s speech was his strongest yet to the city amid concerns over what some perceive as increased meddling by Beijing, illustrated in recent years by the abduction by mainland agents of some Hong Kong booksellers and Beijing’s efforts in disqualifying two pro-independence lawmakers elected to the city legislature.

“It’s a more frank and pointed way of dealing with the problems,” said former senior Hong Kong government adviser Lau Siu-kai on Hong Kong’s Cable Television. “The central government’s power hasn’t been sufficiently respected ... they’re concerned about this.”

The tightly choreographed visit was full of pro-China rhetoric amid a virtually unprecedented security lockdown close to the scene of pro-democracy protests in 2014 that grabbed global headlines with clashes and tear gas rising between waterfront skyscrapers.

Xi did not make contact with the people in the street or with any pro-democracy voices, forgoing an opportunity to lower the political heat through a softer, more nuanced approach.

The hardening stance of the democrats and Beijing could perhaps widen, spawning greater radicalism, though some activists also concede a spreading disillusionment has sapped momentum among the democracy movement since Xi came to power.

Under the mini-constitution, the Basic Law, Hong Kong is guaranteed wide-ranging autonomy for “at least 50 years” after 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula praised by Xi. It also specifies universal suffrage as an eventual goal.

But Beijing’s refusal to grant full democracy triggered the nearly three months of street protests in 2014 that posed one of the greatest populist challenges to Beijing in decades.

In the afternoon, tens of thousands gathered in sweltering heat in a sprawling park named after Britain’s Queen Victoria, demanding Xi allow universal suffrage. Organisers put the figure at more than 60,000.

Some demonstrators marched with yellow umbrellas, a symbol of democratic activism in the city, and held banners denouncing China’s Communist “one party rule”.

Others criticised China’s foreign ministry which on Friday said the “Joint Declaration” with Britain over Hong Kong, a treaty laying the blueprint over how the city would be ruled after 1997, “no longer has any practical significance”.

Xi in the morning addressed a packed hall of mostly pro-Beijing establishment figures, after swearing in Hong Kong’s first female leader, Carrie Lam, who was strongly backed by China.

A small group of pro-democracy activists near the venue were roughed up by a group of men who smashed up some props in ugly scuffles. Nine democracy protesters, including student leader Joshua Wong and lawmaker “long hair” Leung Kwok-hung, were bundled into police vans while several pro-China groups remained, cheering loudly and waving red China flags.


Lam as new chief executive ::

HONG KONG: Carrie Lam was sworn in on Saturday as Hong Kong’s new leader on the city’s 20th anniversary of the handover from British to Chinese rule, in a ceremony presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lam and her cabinet swore to serve China and Hong Kong and to uphold the Basic Law, the territory’s mini-constitution. In a short speech, she reviewed the dynamic financial centre’s achievements and challenges, pledged to support central government initiatives and declared that “the future is bright”. The life-long bureaucrat was selected through a process decried by critics as fundamentally undemocratic, involving just a sliver of a per cent of Hong Kong’s more than three million voters.

 defencenews

IAF plans to construct 108 aircraft shelters

With militarily active borders on both sides of the country, Indian Air Force proposes to construct 108 new generation hardened aircraft shelters at a cost of more than Rs 5,000 crore to protect its fighter fleet.

The hardened blast panes are meant to safeguard the frontline Su-30MKI, Jaguars, Mirages and the upcoming Rafale aircraft from 2,000- pound enemy bombs in case of a war.

Each of these shelters, sources told DH, could cost more than Rs 50 crore as they would be made up of reinforced concrete, would be having iron doors and maintenance facilities.

Blast panes are integral part of a military air field where combat aircraft are kept during the war to save the metal birds from enemy bombs and missiles. The existing IAF shelters are capable of withstanding a blast from a 1,000-pound bomb. The new generation panes will be designed to withstand the hit by a 2,000-pound bomb, which the IAF apprehend the enemies may be possessing.

Besides, these shelters would be large enough to accommodate the big Su-30 MKI aircraft and will have proper maintenance facilities.

They would also be fitted with iron doors to minimise the chances of fragmentation damage from a missile strike.

While the proposals are under the consideration of the defence ministry since 2015, sources said the air headquarters had made a fresh pitch for its approval given the rapidly changing security dynamics in India's neighbourhood.

Construction of hardened blast panes is a key part of the IAF's plan to improve the infrastructure of its air fields particularly for the bases in the North East and Leh.

Two other components of the plan is to improve the infrastructure in Nyoma and Kargil airfield so that more fighter flying is possible near India's border with China and Pakistan, respectively.

 dailyhunt

JVs in defence sector, need of the hour

Last few weeks have witnessed significant developments in the field of Indian defence manufacturing. The Indian Navy’s first indigenously built floating dock was launched at Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shipyard in Kattupalli. The Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and the US plane-maker Lockheed Martin Corp signed an agreement at the Paris Air Show to produce F-16 fighter jets in India. Reliance Defence entered into a strategic partnership with Serbia’s Yugoimport for ammunition manufacturing in India and joined hands with France’s Thales to set up a joint venture that will develop Indian capabilities in radars and high-tech airborne electronics.
These are welcome baby steps towards translating the Modi government’s Make in India policy on the ground. Opening up the state-run defence sector to private players and foreign firms was overdue. That the army has rejected an indigenously-built assault after field tests for the second successive year shows that the country’s public sector defence industry is unable to meet its requirements.

In the past, India has been making up for this failure at home with imports from abroad. The Modi government has put defence at the core of its domestic manufacturing programme. It has set up an ambitious target of securing about 70% of India’s military needs from domestic sources by 2020 by opening up the largely state-run sector to private players and foreign firms. Unfortunately, the operationalisation of this plan has been delayed due to the absence of a full-time defence minister and the decision on strategic partnership in indigenous defence production could be taken only last month. The contracts inked this month are just small steps. We have miles to go before we can develop indigenous capability through technology transfers and joint production projects with international partners.

A major imperative for the plan to succeed is to build up a defence industrial ecosystem that not only meets military requirements but also generate exports, create jobs and spur innovation. Our armed forces are still heavily dependent on imports and indigenous defence production is dominated by the public sector. The private firms that are coming up are still struggling to find their feet. Foreign industry giants are not eager to transfer their technology. Mandarins in the defence ministry remain tilted in favour of public sector defence industry. They are unable to evolve a workable system for engaging with private players as prime contractors. It is too early to say if the government’s efforts to meet 70% of our military requirements through indigenous production will bring better results. Much depends on how its “strategic partnership” model, released late this May, plays out on the ground.

 deccanherald

Indian soldier needs a new gun

Field Marshal Wavell, a distinguished infantryman before he became a somewhat less distinguished Viceroy of India, wrote: “Let us be clear about three facts: First, all battles and all wars are won, in the end, by the infantryman. Second, the infantryman always bears the brunt; his casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other combat arms. Third, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped, and far harder to acquire in modern war, than that of any other arm.”
US Marine’s Rifleman Creed teaches: “My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me.” Down to the basics, soldiering is about killing. An Army that does it best wins.

In his 1953 bestselling novel, Battle Cry, Leon Uris had a marine recruit being punished for the transgression of calling a rifle a gun by being asked to do rounds, naked, of the drilling ground chanting: “This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun!” In military parlance, a gun can be anything that fires a projectile. A howitzer is a gun, as is a cannon. The rifle is a specific weapon used by an individual soldier. It is a gun fired from shoulder level having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance. It is what a soldier mostly uses to do his work.
Stalin famously said: “The only real power comes out of a long rifle.” Gen. Douglas MacArthur typically put it into context when he said: “Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” Their development owes to a well-known post-WWII study of the pattern of usage of infantry weapons by US infantrymen in combat by Brig. SLA Marshall, the prominent military analyst. Marshall’s study revealed that most infantrymen used their weapons very little, preferring to take cover and firing occasionally. The study also revealed that infantrymen most likely to fire their weapons were those closest to a soldier firing a Browning automatic rifle. This was because when the BAR man fired, he was able to literally hose down a wide arc in front of him. When he did this, the opposing infantry lay low and infantrymen by his side were able to rise from behind cover and fire their weapons. This clearly suggested a need for greater deployment of automatic weapons.
The reader may be wondering why a smaller calibre weapon when it seems that for most things in life, bigger is better? This change in thinking, as far as rifles were concerned, was as a result of three observations. First was due to the fact that the large calibre round, 7.65 mm or .30 calibre (bullet diameter), needed a large explosive charge to propel it at the desired 700-800 metres per second. The recoil, as a result of this explosive charge in the automatic fire mode, often made the weapon virtually uncontrollable. Not only was the soldier unable to aim properly, but often the recoil caused injuries.
The other observation was that what was needed was not a marksman’s weapon firing accurately up to 800 metres. Statistical analysis by the US Army of rifle engagements in WW II, Korea and Vietnam revealed that 90 per cent of them were at ranges less than 300 metres and 70 per cent at 200 metres and less. Therefore, the emphasis on long-range accuracy of 300-800 metres was found somewhat redundant.
What followed from increasing dependence on automatic weapons was that greater quantities of ammunition were now needed. The propensity to consume ammunition reached the astounding rate of 50,000 rounds per kill in the Korean War. This obviously means that the soldier now needs to carry greater quantities of ammunition. The smaller the calibre, the greater the number of bullets the soldier can carry into the battlefield.
The debate is coming around full circle now. After 50 years, militaries the world over, specially the ones who have fought long wars during this period, are actively considering going back to the old 7.62 round. This is mostly because of the development of soldier’s armour, which easily stops the 5.56 round. Riflemen want stopping power. The reduced weight of the 5.56 also means reduced lethality. Battlefield experience also tells that while the 5.56 round does more damage, it kills less. It often leaves behind wounded soldiers still capable of combat. US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have discovered to their cost that a wounded but determined soldier can exact as much damage as an able-bodied one.
The INSAS, a rifle that drew heavily from other designs but never really performed like any of them. During the Kargil conflict, damaged and jammed weapons were returned to the factory and fresh lots had to be sent out. There were complaints of jamming, the magazine cracking due to the cold and the rifle going into automatic mode when it was set for three-round bursts. There was also a problem of oil being sprayed into the eyes of the operator. Some injuries during firing practice were also reported. Similar complaints were also received from the Nepalese Army.
In August 2005, after 43 soldiers were killed in a clash with Prachanda’s Maoists, a Nepalese Army spokesman called the rifle substandard and said their counter-insurgency operation would have been more efficient with better weapons. Even now, we hear of Indian infantrymen in combat zones who prefer to fight with the AK-47, like US infantrymen preferred it to the M-14 in the Vietnam War.
Recognising this, the Indian Army decided to phase out the INSAS and in 2011 issued tenders for a new quartet of infantry weapons. Whatever be its choice, the Army must get on quickly with its final evaluations and take a decision soon. Considering the time taken — six years — clearly a sense of urgency needs to prevail.
Recently, the Indian Army rejected an indigenously-built assault rifle, citing poor quality and ineffective firepower, and is soon likely to take a fresh call on procuring similar weapons to replace the INSAS rifles. The Army decided to reject the 7.62x51 mm guns built by the Rifle Factory Ishapore after they miserably failed the firing tests. It has been reported that the rifles had excessive number of faults and stoppages to the extent of more than 20 times the maximum permissible standards.
The Army had earlier rejected another indigenously-built assault rifle called the 5.56 mm Excalibur guns, as it did not meet the required standards.
Given the pattern of recent defence spends, it seems our strategists once again have reverted to the old habit of spending all on the big and extravagant that are least likely to be used, than on arms for the foot soldier who in the ultimate analysis, even today, still wins or loses battles for his country. Thus while debates have raged and money obviously made on purchases of SU-30 and Rafale jets, 155mm self-propelled guns and main battle tanks, nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, little thought has been given to the foot soldier and his weapon. This is the weapon that is used for fighting and is not for fun on Republic Day at Rajpath.

 deccanchronicle

Eagle and Elephant: Trump Okays $2 Billion Sale of Drones to India

A arms sale worth more than $2 billion from the United States to India, consisting of 22 naval surveillance drones, has been approved by the Trump White House. The deal still needs to be approved by Congress.

The sale includes at least 22 MQ-9B Guardian UAVs. The SkyGuardian is a variant of the MQ-9 Reaper drone (also called the Predator B), but it replaces the Reaper's missiles with several radar platforms. The SkyGuardian is meant for maritime search operations.

"We are pleased that the US government has cleared the way for the sale of the MQ-9B Guardian to the Indian government," said Linden Blue, CEO of manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, in a statement.

The Guardians may be followed by an even bigger sale, according to Vice President Mike Pence. During the 42nd annual leadership summit of the US-India Business Council, Pence said that the US intends to sell both AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and C-17 transport helicopters to India.

This "would increase bilateral defense trade [between India and the United States] to nearly $19 billion, supporting thousands of United States jobs," according to a White House statement.

The US and India also intend to ink the sale of F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft in the future, as part of Modi's push to bolster Indian defense capabilities.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House on Sunday and Monday was expected to include the negotiation of the sale. Trump indirectly referred to the deal during a Monday news conference, mentioning that it "always makes us feel very good" when other countries purchase military equipment from American manufacturers.

"There's nobody makes military equipment like we make military equipment. Nobody even close," Trump said.

His counterpart Modi said that "the strengthening of India's defense capabilities, with the help of USA, is something that we truly appreciate."
"We have also decided to enhance maritime security cooperation between the two nations. President Trump and I have also spoken about strengthening bilateral defense technology and our trade and manufacturing partnership, which we believe will be mutually beneficial to us," the prime minister added.
The low-key visit from Modi has followed what seems to be the template for foreign leaders visiting the United States under Trump: smiles and compliments in public, shadowed by the war of words that preceded it. Trump has repeatedly complained of the trade deficit between the US and India, which totaled $24.3 billion in 2016. He also slammed India in his speech regarding the US' exit from the Paris Climate Accords.

But on Monday, Trump said that he and Modi "agree on most things, and I would say by the end of the day we'll agree on everything. I have a feeling."

 sputniknews

Indian Navy in talks to get underwater rescue ship from Russian shipyard that built most of its submarines

The Admiralty Shipyards in Russia has produced most of the submarines that are in the Indian Navy – from the Foxtrot class that has been retired, to the Kilos that still form the bulk of the fleet. The Russian shipyard is now in advanced talks with the Indian Navy for an underwater rescue vessel that can be the difference between life and death for the crew of a crippled submarine.

The top executive of the Admiralty shipyard told The Print that price negotiations are currently on with the Indian Navy for a new rescue vessel with the two sides having overcome all other technical issues. The Igor Belousov class rescue vessel will be designed for rescue operations on conventional and nuclear-powered submarines – a fleet that is set to grow exponentially over the next decade in the Indian Navy.

“There were some technical issues that we have discussed and overcome. Now we are discussing the pricing. We are hopeful that we will soon win the contract,” Alexander Buzakov, Director General of the Admiralty shipyard, said.

The Russian ship is designed to carry out rescue operations – providing air and supplies to a crippled submarine as well as operating vessels close to it – up to a depth of 1000 meters. Designed to operate in rough seas up to sea state 7, the Russian Navy has one such rescue ship operational and is likely to order four more for its fleet.

India has a dire need for a submarine rescue vessel and for years has operated without adequate rescue gear in case of an accident at sea. After two major accidents on-board submarines in the preceding years raised eyebrows, the Navy last year finally ordered two British-made submersibles that can be used for rescue operations. The James Fisher Defence submersibles can rescue 16 sailors at a time from a depth of 16 meters, but need a vessel to be operated from.

The Russian shipyard said that the concerns India had about housing the British submersible with the Igor Belousov class rescue ship have been resolved.

“The Indian side wanted to know if additional rescue equipment could be added to the ship. We have now confirmed that the British submersible vessel can be integrated,” Buzakov said.

The vessel is important for India given its plans to operate a fleet of at least 6 nuclear-powered attack submarines and an equal number of nuclear-armed submarines in the coming years. The lack of a rescue vessel has been sorely felt. During the extensive sea trials last year of the INS Arihant – India’s first nuclear missile-armed submarine – a Russian naval vessel had to be engaged as backup in case of any emergency.

 theprintbeta

It’s time India used its most powerful weapon against China: Trade

In Beijing’s view, India is a critical ‘swing State’ that increasingly is moving to the US camp, undercutting Xi’s ambition to establish a Sino-centric Asia through an expanded tianxia system of the 15th century. Given India’s vantage geographical location, China needs its participation to plug key gaps in Xi’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project. But India not only boycotted Xi’s OBOR summit but has also portrayed OBOR as an opaque, neo-colonial enterprise seeking to ensnare smaller, cash-strapped states in a debt trap.

China may have orchestrated the Sikkim standoff not so much to cast a shadow over the Modi-Trump discussions as to warn Modi that his increasing tilt toward the US will carry long-term costs. China is already stepping up its direct and surrogate threats against India. One example is the proliferation of incursions and other border incidents since the 2005 India-US nuclear deal, which laid out a strategic framework for the US to co-opt India. China is also waging a psy-war through media.

With Chinese forces aggressively seeking to nibble away at Indian territory, India’s Himalayan challenge has been compounded by a lack of an integrated approach that blends military, economic and diplomatic elements into a coherent strategy. Modi, for example, has allowed China’s trade surplus with India to double on his watch to almost $60 billion. By comparison, India’s trade surplus with the US is about half of that, yet Trump wants urgent Indian action to balance the two-way trade.

By importing $5 worth of goods from China for every $1 worth of exports to it, India not only rewards Chinese belligerence but also foots the bill for Beijing’s encirclement strategy. Beijing’s annual trade surplus with India is large enough for it to finance one China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) every calendar year and still have a few billion dollars to spare. India’s most powerful weapon against China is trade. Given China’s proclivity to deploy trade as a political weapon, as against South Korea in the latest case, why doesn’t India take a page out of the Chinese playbook?

India also needs to eschew accommodating rhetoric that plays into China’s hands. Modi’s recent statement that — despite the boundary dispute — “not a single bullet has been fired” was music to Chinese ears, with Beijing going out of its way to welcome it. In truth, China’s bullet-less Himalayan aggression, as the Sikkim episode demonstrates, is similar to the way it has expanded its control in the South China Sea. Indian statements should not give comfort to an adversary that employs furtive, creeping actions to alter the frontier bit by bit.

Meanwhile, China, by arbitrarily suspending Indians’ pilgrimage to the sacred duo of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarover, is reminding New Delhi to review its Tibet policy. To blunt China’s Tibet-linked claims to Indian territories and to defend against the growing Chinese pressure, India must subtly reopen Tibet as an outstanding issue. Theoretically, India has a better historical claim to Kailash-Manasarover than China has to Arunachal Pradesh, where no Han Chinese set foot until the 1962 invasion.

Make no mistake: Despite the cosy ties with Washington, India, essentially, is on its own against China. It needs to bolster its border defences and boost its nuclear and missile deterrent capabilities. The US, with a price tag of up to $3 billion, is offering 22 unarmed MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance, not the “hunter-killer” UAVs India needs to counter the emerging Indian Ocean threat from China. By investing that kind of money, India could develop potent new deterrent instruments against China — intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and long-range cruise missiles, the symbols of power in today’s world.

 hindustantimes

Possible sale of Boeing C-17 aircraft to India approved: Pentagon

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement it notified Congress on Monday of the sale, which includes four turbofan engines and a missile warning system. 

 The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to India of one Boeing C-17 transport aircraft, with an estimated cost of $366 million, a Pentagon agency said on Monday. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement it notified Congress on Monday of the sale, which includes four turbofan engines, a missile warning system, a countermeasures dispensing system and an identification friend or foe transponder. 

zeenews

$2 bn Guardian drone deal with India set to be officially announced

The White House will formally announce the recently-approved $2 bn ‘Guardian’ drone deal for the Indian Navy, the first for a non-NATO country, at the end of a meeting between Modi and Trump.

The White House will formally announce the recently-approved $2 bn ‘Guardian’ drone deal for the Indian Navy, the first for a non-NATO country, at the end of a meeting between Modi and Trump. The deal’s clearance, apart from bolstering defence ties with India, gives a boost to India plans of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems that makes the predator drones.
Sources told FE that General Atomics is in talks with local companies here to build next-generation weapons and support systems based on advanced electromagnetic technologies here to take advantage of Modi’s Make in India programme. The company has already established a base in India and has roped in Vivek Lall as CEO for this purpose.
In fact, the Guardian drone deal was spearheaded by Lall, who has worked under various US administrations. Lall had previously worked for US-based Raytheon, NASA and headed Boeing’s India operations. In recent years, the US has become one of India’s largest defence suppliers, with deals totaling nearly $14 bn billion now, up from less than $300 million eight years ago.

 financialexpress

Russia and India may ink deal on frigate supplies by end of July

A contract on supplies of Russia’s Project 11356 frigates to India may be inked in three or four weeks, President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov said on Monday.

"We are in the final stage of discussion with our customer on the fate of the fourth and fifth warships. I think we will tell you about this in the coming three or four weeks," Rakhmanov said.

Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy at Russia’s State Corporation Rostec Viktor Kladov said earlier that the planned contract for the delivery of Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy would be implemented under the "two plus two" formula: two frigates are to be built in Russia and delivered ready-for-use to India and the other two would be constructed by the Indian shipbuilding industry at one of the national shipyards.

Tass

Bill tabled in US House of Representatives to revoke Pakistan's non-NATO ally status

 

Highlights

• The bill was tabled by Republican Congressman Ted Poe and Democratic lawmaker Rick Nolan.
• The bill calls for revoking Pakistan's status as major non-NATO ally (MNNA).
• Under MNNA, Pakistan is eligible for priority delivery of defence materials.

A bipartisan bill seeking to revoke Pakistan's status as major non-NATO ally (MNNA) to the US has been introduced in the House of Representatives by two top lawmakers, saying the country failed to effectively fight terrorism.

Introduced by Republican Congressman Ted Poe and Democratic lawmaker Rick Nolan, the legislation calls for revoking MNNA status of Pakistan, which was granted to it in 2004 by the then president, George Bush, in an effort to get the country to help the US fight al-Qaida and the Taliban.

"Pakistan must be held accountable for the American blood on its hands," said Poe, who is a member of the foreign affairs committee and serves as chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism, non-proliferation and trade.

"For years, Pakistan has acted as a Benedict Arnold ally of the United States. From harbouring Osama bin laden to backing the Taliban, Pakistan has stubbornly refused to go after, in any meaningful way, terrorists that actively seek to harm opposing ideologies," he said.

'Benedict Arnold' is a byword in the US for treason or betrayal. Benedict Arnold was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army but defected to the British Army.

"We must make a clean break with Pakistan, but at the very least, we should stop providing them the eligibility to obtain our own sophisticated weaponry in an expedited process granting them a privileged status reserved for our closest allies," Poe said.

Under MNNA, a country is eligible for priority delivery of defence materials+ , an expedited arms sale process and a US loan guarantee programme, which backs up loans issued by private banks to finance arms exports.

It can also stockpile US military hardware, participate in defence research and development programmes and be sold more sophisticated weaponry.

Last August, the then secretary of defence, Ash Carter, withheld $300 million in military reimbursements because he could not certify that Pakistan was taking adequate action against the Haqqani network, as required by the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).

"Time and time again, Pakistan has taken advantage of America's goodwill and demonstrated that they are no friend and ally of the United States," Nolan said.

"The fact is, the billions of dollars we have sent to Pakistan over the last 15 years has done nothing to effectively fight terrorism and make us safer. It is time to wake up to the fact that Pakistan has ties to the same terrorist organisations which they claim to be fighting," he said.

The legislation will protect American taxpayer dollars and make the US and the world safer, Nolan said.

TOI

Guardian drones to act as force multipliers for Indian Navy

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, the US has cleared the sale of 22 predator Guardian drones, a force multiplier that will boost the Indian Navy's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The deal, estimated to be worth $2 to $3 billion, has been approved by the state department, sources said.

The decision has been communicated to the Indian government and the manufacturer by the state department yesterday, according to the informed governmental sources.

"This is the first very significant sign of the Trump administration being more result oriented in its relationship with India compared to Obama administration," a source said.

While the deal has not been formally announced, the sale of 22 predator drones being manufactured by General Atomics is "a game changer" for the US-India relations as it operationalises the status of "major defence partner".

The designation of India being a "major defence partner" was decided by the previous Obama Administration, and formally approved by the Congress.

The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to the questions in this regard. An official announcement is expected soon.

Modi's first meeting with Trump has been scheduled to take place at the White House on June 26.

According to General Atomics, the Predator Guardian UAV, a variant of the Predator B, can be used for wide-area, long- endurance maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

It can stay in the air for up to 27 hours and can fly at maximum altitude of 50,000 feet.

The Indian Navy made the request for this intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform last year.

This maritime capability will be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy who has procured other advance technologies including Boeing P-8 aircraft.

The Guardian has cutting edge technologies that do not do not exist in the current Indian Navy arsenal.

 TOI