Daily Current Affairs

Why is Taiwan caught between U.S. and China? (GS Paper 2, International Relation)

Why in news?

• Recently, the United States House Speaker and senior Democratic Party politician Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

 

Details:

• In Taipei, she held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen, addressed the legislature, and received a civilian honour. The trip was the first highest-level visit from the U.S. to Taiwan in 25 years.
• China, which had publicly warned the U.S. against going ahead with it, saying it would violate commitments under the ‘One China Policy’, has since responded with diplomatic, military and economic measures.

 

Why did the U.S. House Speaker visit Taiwan?

• Her visit was focussed on three issues: human rights, trade and security. She also wanted to send a message of solidarity with Taiwan.
• She said the world “faces a choice between democracy and autocracy” and the visit was aimed at expressing that “America’s determination to preserve democracy in Taiwan and in the world remains iron-clad”.
• She has previously spoken out about human rights issues involving China in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and the visit, by most accounts, has been driven by the House Speaker rather than by the administration.
• Taiwan has welcomed this rare high-level visit as a boost to its global standing, although the White House and U.S. military were far from enthusiastic about the visit, expecting repercussions on relations with China.

 

Does the visit violate the ‘One China Policy’?

• The answer depends on how the ‘One China Policy’ is interpreted, and both sides have clearly done so differently.
• The joint communique that established diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China in 1979 declared that “the United States of America recognises the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China”.
• Since the establishment of relations with China, the U.S. no longer has formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan under the ‘One China Policy’. Within this context, the very first paragraph of the communique adds, “the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.”
• China has seen recent visit as a political one and thus as a violation of this communique, which it has described as the very foundations of the relationship.  China has pointed to her status as House Speaker and second in line to the presidency after the Vice President.

 

U.S. Argument:

• The U.S. argument is that Ms. Pelosi does not represent the executive branch, the White House, Cabinet and federal agencies that has continued to abide by the policy and eschewed high-level political engagement with Taiwan.
• China however, has rejected that argument, pointing out that the U.S. cannot have multiple foreign policies. It also rejected the “precedent” argument saying that past visits were also violations.

 

How has China responded?

• The most significant response so far has been the holding of unprecedented live-firing military drills in six regions surrounding Taiwan.
• The four-day exercises, which began a day after Ms. Pelosi’s visit, have essentially blockaded Taiwan’s waters and airspace, and marked a number of firsts, such as the crossing of the median line of the Taiwan Strait by a large number of warships and aircraft, and the firing of conventional missiles over the island of Taiwan into waters to the east.
• Chinese analysts have said the drills were aimed at signalling a new normal in China’s military activities around Taiwan, as well as simulating a future blockade and thus sending a message both to Taiwan and the U.S. Ships and flights were barred from entering the zones.

 

Economic sanctions:

• In addition to the military measures, China has so far put in place modest economic curbs such as barring more than 100 Taiwanese exporters, and a suspension of fish, fruit and sand imports, which account for a small portion of two-way trade.
• Measures have not, so far, targeted the main drivers of bilateral trade, including semiconductors, for which Chinese companies are dependent on Taiwan, while for Taiwan, China is by far the biggest export market, accounting for 42% of its total exports last year.

 

What will be the visit’s impact on China-U.S. relations?

• China announced it willcancel or suspend eight key dialogue mechanisms with the U.S. With the cancellation of three key bilateral military dialogue mechanisms — a Theatre Commanders meet, Defence Policy Coordination Talks, and talks under the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) — observers fear growing military tensions, particularly with China’s new exercises taking place closer to Taiwan.
• China has also suspended bilateral talks on climate change, repatriation of illegal immigrants, legal assistance in criminal matters, transnational crimes, and counter-narcotics.
• An extended period of tense relations is in store both between China and the U.S. and across the Taiwan Strait.

5G spectrum sale

(GS Paper 3, Economy)

Why in news?

• The auction of telecom spectrum, including bands for offering fifth generation (5G) technology services, concluded drawing record bids exceeding ₹1.50 lakh crore.

 

Top bidders:

• Reliance Jio emerged as the top bidder, staking claim for a period of 20 years to 24,740 MHz of spectrum.
• Bharti Airtel stood second with 19,867.8 MHz worth spectrum and Vodafone-Idea third with 6,228.4 MHz worth spectrum.
• As per the Ministry, the roll-out of 5G services is likely to start by September/October.

 

What did telecom service providers shop for?

• Spectrum in three bands, namely, low (constituting of 600, 700, 800, 900, 1800, 2,100 and 2,500 MHz bands), mid (3,300 MHz) and high (26 GHz — 1 GHz equals 1000 Mhz) frequency bands were put up for auction.

 

Low-band spectrum:

• Low-band spectrum is popular for providing wider coverage, however, the speed and latency might just be an incremental upgrade over 4G. Speed is subject to the proximity to the source.
• On the other hand, the high band spectrum can provide speeds of up to two Gbps but is unable to travel longer distances, at times, less than a mile.
• Additionally, signals from the low-band spectrum can travel through windows and walls which is not the case with the high-band.

 

Mid and the high-band:

• The mid-band spectrum falls somewhere between the two. It can carry sizeable data over longer distances and maintain increased speeds.
• The mid and the high-band garnered maximum attention at the auction with 76% and 72% of the available spectrum respectively sold.
• Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio combined, staked claim to 87% of the total purchased spectrum in these two bands, strengthening their operational capability in the 5G market.
• The latest entrant to the sector, Adani Data Networks, paid ₹212 crore to acquire 400 MHz in the high band. The company had earlier made it clear that it was “not to be in the consumer mobility space.”
• Instead, it would provide private network solutions with enhanced cyber security in its airport, ports and logistics, power generations, transmission, distribution and various manufacturing operations.
• The 600 Mhz category did not find any takers, which as per the Ministry, was because the device ecosystem for the band was not yet developed for mobile telephony. However, the band may become important in a few years, it stated.

 

What is the post-auction outlook for the industry?

• Telecommunications in India is a price-sensitive and competitive market. The sector is capital-intensive, and has to consistently invest in upgrading technologies and improving services.
• A tariff war initiated by the entry of new players in the previous decade, resulted in severe financial distress for companies. Therefore, the investment made towards 5G could potentially further stress the sector’s debt position.
• The adoption of 5G services would hinge directly on the premium levied from 4G services. So, despite the two rounds of major tariff increases in December 2019 and November 2021, there could be another increase in rates (for 4G services) in the current fiscal.
• The ability of the sector to meet its financial obligations ought to improve in the next fiscal once the complete benefits of expected tariff increases and the 5G launch are realised.

 

What upgrades are necessary for 5G implementation?

• The mass roll-out of 5G is likely to take some time. The mass roll-out may happen only next fiscal as telcos need to first upgrade fiberisation.
• The telcos are also required to launch commercial services in at least one city of each circle by the end of the first year of acquiring the licence, as per roll-out obligations.

 

What about the debt situation?

• Notwithstanding the debt levels, ICRA pointed to the fact that the cash flow being generated from business was improving. The latest spectrum auction too would improve the sector’s operational viability by lowering the repayment burden. For the first time ever, there was no mandatory requirement to make any upfront payment.
• The payment for the spectrum could be made in 20 equal annual instalments in advance at the beginning of each year. This could potentially lower the operating costs for telcos, in turn, providing an opportunity to spur their respective ARPUs (average revenue per user).

Mineral Security Partnership (MSP)

(GS Paper 1, Geography)

Why in news?

• India relies heavily on China for rare earth minerals which is one of the leading producers globally with an estimated 70 per cent of the global production.
• In order to break the dominance and reduce dependence on China in mining and processing rare earth minerals, the United States recently announced the formation of a global alliance called the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP).

Member Countries:

• Apart from the US, the other countries to have joined this partnership are: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the UK, and the European Commission.
• The MSP will help catalyse investment from governments and the private sector for strategic opportunities that adhere to the highest environmental, social, and governance standards.

 

Indian concerns:

• However, there have been growing concerns in India over being left out of the US-led partnership that seeks to end dependency on China.
• India’s apprehension is quite justified given that the country has been pushing for EV and electronics, for which rare earth minerals are needed.

 

What is MSP?

• Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is an ambitious new alliance formed by the US to secure supply chains of critical minerals. It comes in the backdrop of recorded demand for critical minerals, which are essential for clean energy and other technologies.
• The goal of the alliance is to ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled in a manner that supports the ability of countries to realise the full economic development benefit of their geological endowments.
• The focus would be on the supply chains of minerals such as Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium and also the 17 “rare earth” minerals.

 

What is a critical mineral?

• There is no global definition of critical minerals, but essentially, they are mineral deposits with high economic vulnerability and high global supply chain risk.
• Rare earth (RE) comprises seventeen elements and are classified as light RE elements (LREE) and heavy RE elements (HREE).
• There is an immense range of these of course and many countries already have their own specific lists of what they currently consider critical minerals – depending on their industrial production requirements.
• But globally, there is a gap between projected supply and projected demand for many critical minerals by the end of this decade, especially in cobalt and lithium.

 

What are major critical minerals?

• The major critical minerals are Graphite, Lithium and Cobalt.
• They are used for making EV batteries and are also critical for making semiconductors and high-end electronics manufacturing.
• These minerals are also used in manufacturing fighter jets, drones, radio sets and other critical equipment, hence it is critical for aerospace, communications and defence industries.

 

Who are the top producers of critical minerals?

• The major producers of critical minerals globally are Chile, Indonesia, Congo, China, Australia and South Africa.
• In terms of processing, China rules the roost. While others include Indonesia, Chile and Japan.
• Notably, none of these countries, except Japan and Australia, are represented in the MSP.

 

India’s concerns:

• Some of the rare earth elements available India are: Lanthanum, Cerium, Neodymium, Praseodymium and Samarium. While others classified as heavy RE elements such as Dysprosium, Terbium, Europium are not available in extractable quantity.
• India relies heavily on China for HREE, which is one of the leading producers with an estimated 70 per cent of the global production.
• India is exploring the possibility of how India can join the 11-member group.

 

JagdeepDhankhar elected as the 14th Vice-President of India

(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

 

Why in news?

• National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and former West Bengal governor JagdeepDhankharwas elected as the 14th Vice-President of India defeating joint opposition candidate Margaret Alva.

 

Victory margin:

• JagdeepDhankhar received 528 votes while Margaret Alva got 182 votes.
• JagdeepDhankhar’s victory margin by securing 72.8% of the 725 valid votes cast during the V-P polls is the highest margin in the last six vice-presidential polls since 1997.
• While KR Narayanan still leads the list for having the highest victory margin by securing 700 of the 701 votes cast in 1992, Dhankhar’s performance in the latest polls outshined Naidu's 2017 performance by 2%.
• Congress’ Mohammad Hamid Ansari won 60.51% votes of the total 762 valid votes in the 2007 Vice-President Election. He remained V-P from 2007 to 2017.
• In the 2017 V-P polls, Venkaiah Naidu won with 67.89% votes of the total 760 valid votes.

 

About JagdeepDhankhar:

• He is the second Vice-President from Rajasthan after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
• Being born in an agrarian household in a remote village in Rajasthan, JagdeepDhankhar became one of the leading lawyers in Rajasthan and practiced in both the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court. He also headed the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.
• He went on to become the Governor of West Bengal in 2019.
• He has championed issues related to Other Backward Classes (OBC), including the grant of OBC status to the Jat community in Rajasthan.

 

How the Vice-President of India is elected?

• The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college. Members of both Houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, make up the electoral college.
• The election is conducted using the proportional representation system and a single transferable vote. The voting is held through a secret ballot.
• Nominated members of Parliament can’t vote in the Presidential election. But they can do so to elect the Vice-President.
• A candidate needs 20 electors as proposers and at least another 20 electors as seconders for his nomination. The candidate also has to make a security deposit of ₹15,000.

 

Who can become Vice-President?

• A person must be at least 35 years old to be considered for the position of Vice-President.
• They must also be Indian citizens and fulfil all of the requirements for membership in the Rajya Sabha.
• If a person holds a profit-making position with the government of India or a state government, they are no longer eligible to become a Vice-President.

 

How votes are counted?

• The number of first-choice votes received by each candidate is determined.
• The calculated numbers are added together; the total is divided by two, and one is added to the quotient, disregarding any remainder. The resulting number is the quota required for a candidate to run in the election.
• If the total number of votes credited to any candidate at the end of the first or any subsequent count is equal to or greater than the quota, that candidate is declared elected.