International and Bilateral Issues:

No hitch in India-Iran pipeline project

• India and Iran held high level talks here on Friday during which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said bilateral cooperation between the two countries would continue despite problems in making payments for imported oil.

  • Pressure, direct and indirect, by the U.S. and its western allies has closed one avenue after another of paying for Iranian crude.
• The Iranian President's Advisor was inclined in favour of greater involvement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in resolving the Afghan problem.

  • India has, at times, expressed faith in this organisation which comprises of all the neighbours of Afghanistan, in bringing about durable peace to the country.
• India's stand on Iran, expressed recently at the United Nations, as “positive” and “friendly.” 

  • India had spoken out against sanctions, favoured a diplomatic solution and urged Iran to answer clarifications sought by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• The balance of power in the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa was changing with the removal of Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi, Europe's financial woes and the change in power equations in Libya and Palestine.

  • Added to this was the complete U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and prospects of a sharply diminished military footprint in Afghanistan.
  • Due to these factors, new sanctions announced by the U.S. and the European Union were political in nature and unlikely to affect everyday life in Iran

India, Thailand work on defence cooperation pact

• Stepping up its engagement with countries in East Asia, India on Friday held the first meeting of defence dialogue with Thailand
• The dialogue also assumes significance since India has invited Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to be the chief guest at next year's Republic Day parade.
• The defence dialogue with Bangkok comes close on the heels of New Delhi's similar engagement with countries including South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, among others in East Asia.
• Defence cooperation between India and Thailand comprises 

  • regular joint exercises/joint maritime patrols near the international maritime boundary to counter terrorism, piracy and smuggling; 
  • training of officers at each others' Armed Forces Training institutions and 
  • participation as observers in military exercises, staff talks and exchange of trainee visits at various levels.

U.S. regulator approves new reactor design

• The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has voted to approve a rule certifying an amended version of nuclear reactor producer Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design for use in the U.S.
• The NRC said that this amended certification would be incorporated into regulations and be valid for 15 years.
• The design provided “enhanced safety margins through use of simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative safety and security functions, and also has been assessed to ensure it could withstand damage from an aircraft impact without significant release of radioactive materials.”

China's top diplomat arrives in Pakistan amid strained U.S. ties

• China's top diplomat travelled to Pakistan on Friday on a visit officials said was aimed at taking the “all-weather” allies' relationship to “a new high”, against the backdrop renewed strains in Islamabad's ties with Washington.

  • The visit, he added, part of both countries' celebration of 60 years of diplomatic ties, and aimed at taking relations “to a new high”.
• The Pakistani army has indicated it will reject the findings of an investigation by the U.S. and NATO into the attack.

  • Following the NATO-led attack, Pakistan has also asked the U.S. to vacate the Shamsi Airbase within 15 days and said it would close all NATO supply lines.
• China has clearly conveyed to Pakistan it will fully back its position on the incident, and would stand together with Islamabad against any countries that “violate its sovereignty”
• Despite China's voicing of strong support, Beijing has, so far, yet to significantly boost either financial or military support to Islamabad.

  • Chinese officials have also recently denied claims by Pakistani officials that China was considering setting up a naval base in the port of Gwadar, which China has helped build.
• The analyst pointed to other areas where China had provided “invaluable” support, such as civilian nuclear cooperation.

  • the State-run China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is in talks with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission over setting up two 1,000 MW plants at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, Kanupp-2 and Kanupp-3.
• both Chinese and Pakistani officials have recently indicated the two countries will go ahead with nuclear cooperation despite international concerns, pointing out that all agreements were under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
• Its deals for two reactors in the Chashma nuclear complex came under international scrutiny last year, stirring concerns because they went against mandated guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which prohibits the sale or transfer of nuclear technology to countries who have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).