New Delhi: An Indian Navy warship will undertake a “passage exercise” with the Vietnamese Navy in the South China Sea from December 26 to 27 as part of efforts to boost maritime cooperation between the two countries, officials said.

The ship INS Kiltan has been sent to the country to deliver relief material for flood-affected people in central Vietnam and it will participate in the exercise on its return journey, they said.

The exercise is taking place at a time China has been expanding its military assertiveness in the South China Sea notwithstanding mounting global concerns and criticism.

Indian naval ship INS Kiltan reached Nha Rhang port of Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday with 15 tonnes of relief materials for the flood-affected people of central Vietnam, a defence ministry statement said.

“On departure from Ho Chi Minh City, the ship will undertake a passage exercise with the Vietnam People’s Navy in the South China Sea from December 26 to 27,” it said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc during which both sides vowed to boost overall defence and security cooperation including in the maritime sphere.

In the wake of growing military muscle-flexing by China in the South China Sea region, the two leaders specifically reaffirmed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.The Defence ministry said the disaster relief assistance sent by India to Vietnam is reflective of the deep people-to-people connection between the two friendly countries. It said the relief materials will be handed over to Vietnam’s central steering committee for national disaster prevention and control.

Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region.

Also read: India to beef up security at Pangong Tso, govt fast-tracks procurement of patrol vessels 

Tawang: Having already given a bloody nose to the People’s Liberation Army troops in Eastern Ladakh during face-offs in the ongoing conflict, the ITBP in the sensitive Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh says its men were on a high readiness mode on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Chinese won’t be able to spring any surprises in this sector. In a visit to the forward posts on the LAC from where the Chinese territory could be seen in the Tawang sector, Team ANI witnessed the high preparedness levels of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops and the infrastructure developed for rapid forward deployments here in recent times.

“When incidents (transgression by Chinese Army in Eastern Ladakh) like this happen, we have to remain on high alert mode so that such unforeseen incidents are not allowed to happen and there are no surprises. As you can see that though there are extreme cold conditions which make things difficult, our men are on a very high alert and keeping an eye on the border all the time,” ITBP’s 55 battalion commander Commandant I B Jha told ANI at a forward location here.

“No one can surprise us here. We have made a commitment to the country to protect it and we are doing our duties and maintaining high preparedness levels,” the officer added.
The ITBP has played an important role in the ongoing conflict with the Chinese troops in both eastern Ladakh as well as the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.

In the initial violent face-offs, the ITBP had multiple encounters with the Chinese troops attempting to transgress in the Pangong Lake, Finger area and the Patrolling Points 14,15, 17 and 17A.

During the hand to hand fight, despite being outnumbered not only prevented the Chinese troops from advancing, they also caused several injuries on the Chinese side.
Commandant Jha said the bravery shown by ITBP troops in the early face-offs with the Chinese in April-May timeframe has highly inspired the troops deployed in the Arunachal sector.

Also read: China, India in ‘candid communication’ to disengage troops at LAC, says Chinese military 

New Delhi, December 26

Around 150 Army personnel who arrived in the national capital from various locations in the last few weeks to participate in the Republic Day and Army Day parades have tested positive for COVID-19, official sources said.

The infection was detected during a mandatory testing for COVID-19 under a strict protocol formulated to insulate all the personnel taking part in the two parades from the COVID-19 infection, they said.

Over 2,000 Army personnel have arrived in Delhi since late November for the Republic Day and Army Day parades using various modes of transport and all of them had to undergo the COVID-19 test before they were put into a “safe bubble”, the sources said.

Those who have tested negative are being put into the “safe bubble” that has been created to accommodate all the personnel who will be part of the marching contingents, they said.

The “safe bubble”, created in the Cantonment area, comprises a large number of camps and those selected to stay in them will have almost “zero connectivity” from the outside world till the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, the sources said.

The Army Day is celebrated on January 15.

The sources said the 150 personnel who have tested positive for COVID-19 are “asymptomatic” and may be able to go to the “safe bubble” once they recover from the infection.

“We are following a very strict COVID-19 protocol for the participants of the Republic Day and Army Day parades. The safe bubbles were established as part of a larger strategy of force preservation in view of the pandemic,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The Army has set up “safe bubbles” in Ladakh as well as in certain formations along the Line of Control.

The troops who have tested positive for the infection have been quarantined and are under medical observation, the sources said. PTI

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Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Singhu, December 25

“Inquilabi khande di dhaar naalon tikhi, mehnat kash lokan khatir larna paina ae, Madho Das to Banda Bahadur Singh banna paina ae, chup kareyan ton nahio sarna (Revolution is sharper than a sword. We have to fight for the workers. We have to become Banda Bahadur Singh from Madho Das. Silence won’t help),” chants 61-year-old Jugral Singh as he nurses a wound on his right hand’s little finger.

Caused by a tear gas shell that brushed past his hand on December 26, the day residents of his Jattha village reached the Singhu border, the wound hasn’t deterred Jugral, who has been busy penning poetry from his new abode in a trolley.

Among the first farmers to reach at the Singhu border, Jugral comes from Acharwal village, which is known for its martyrs.

Meanwhile, poet Jangan Singh (85) from Jhorda village in Ludhiana is also busy writing poetry at the Singhu border. He says, “Pehlan tote ch painda si, sathiyan keha gaddi ch pao – buzurg banda. Haar ke menu pakki rajai banake diti. (I was sleeping on tattered rags. But my union made a warm quilt for me. Now I live in a tent.)”

“I am not moving from here as long as the Central Government doesn’t repeal the contentious agriculture laws and ensure we get the right MSP on all crops,” he signs off.

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Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

Prime Minister Narender Modi, while addressing the nation today, once again proved that he was ruling by spreading lies, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said while talking to The Tribune today. He was responding to the address by PM Modi earlier during the day, attempting to allay farmer fears that private firms might grab their lands under the new laws enacted by the Centre.

AAP protests in house

AAP leaders and MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sanjay Singh on Friday protested against farm laws in the Central Hall of Parliament in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

No farmers’ baat: Congress

The PM’s message to farmers was nothing more than a “dreamer’s paradise”, said Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa. He said the PM was not listening to the “Mann ki Baat” of farmers.

Rajewal said, “If a PM’s political personality is laid on the foundation of blatant lies, no country can run smoothly,” referring to Modi’s arguments that corporates would be no threat to farmers’ lands. “What Modi utters is blatant lies,” he said.

Responding to the part of Modi’s speech that “farmers will enter into an agreement for finished products and not for land”, general secretary of BKU (Ugrahan) Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said, “Here begins the trap laid out to capture farmers’ lands. We know that more than 85 per cent of farmers in the country have less than four acres of land. In the first step, the corporate will manipulate the market where farmers will get only what they are given. They will not get the deserving price. This will lead to the already-suffering farmer plunge into deeper financial crisis. Ultimate, this category of farmers will be forced to sell their land to the same corporate.”

Denying the argument of the government that farmers had no fear of losing their land, farm leader Rajinder Singh said, “If the Prime Minister is so sure, why does he not talk to us? It is because he knows we will counter his lies. We have the facts to prove him wrong.”

General Secretary of BKU (Dakunda) Jagmohan Singh said, “Perhaps, Modi is the first Prime Minister who lies so blatantly. We have already shown on the basis of facts how our land will be taken away. We met the Union Ministers four times but they did not have any reply. The people of the country have understood that the government is lying.”