PM Modi Bats for Space Station in a Pacific Islands Country

Zebra

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http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/08/pm-modi-bats-for-space-station-in.html

PM Modi Bats for Space Station in a Pacific Islands Country

Saturday, August 22, 2015 by Indiandefense News

Jaipur: Pushing for deeper cooperation with 14 nations of strategically-located Pacific region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a number of initiatives, including setting up of a space station in any of the countries and developing capacities in disaster management.

Addressing the Summit of Forum for India-Pacific Island Conference (FIPIC) here, he said cooperation could immediately begin with research collaboration and capacity building with institutions in India.

He offered to create capacity in these Island states in dealing with natural disasters, including through human resource development and application of space technology for early warning system and incident response.

Talking about Indian Navy’s support and capacity building efforts in island states in Indian Ocean, he pitched for goodwill visits by Indian Navy to Pacific Islands saying the ships could also provide support to the islands in areas like healthcare through medical camps.

Modi, while highlighting Fiji’s support for India’s Mars Mission, talked about establishing a Space Technology Applications Centre in any one of the Pacific Island countries, for the entire region.

He told the assembly of heads of states and governments and other delegates that efforts would be made to enhance support for training in space applications, including through customised courses.

Modi, who also had bilateral meetings with a number of leaders present here, hoped for continuing support from the Pacific Islands for Telemetry, Tracking and Command for the country’s missions in the future.

He also proposed to hold an International Conference on Ocean economy and Pacific Island Countries in New Delhi next year for officials and experts of all the 14 Pacific Island countries.

In the area of human resource development, he announced that Fiji will get 110 slots for the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation and the number of slots for remaining 13 countries will be doubled from 119 to 238.

Modi also announced two scholarships for college education in India to each of the 13 countries that do not receive them yet, while continuing with the 33 scholarships presently offered to Fiji.

We will expand our training courses for Pacific Island diplomats and a two-week business management course at the Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru, he said. In a move aimed at saving kerosene worth about a million US dollars and providing livelihood to women, Modi said that India would train 70 women solar engineers from the islands and provide solar electrification to 2,800 houses - 200 houses in each Pacific Island Country.

India, he announced, will also establish at least one information technology laboratory in each Pacific Island country that will not only improve local IT infrastructure, but also enable the countries in fulfilling our commitment to provide tele-medicine and tele-education to the people.

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http://www.loopfiji.com/content/india-eyes-support-pacific-island-nations

India eyes support from Pacific Island nations




Support for India’s claims for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will be high on the agenda at the second Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit.

This will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur.

On Thursday, addressing the heads of the Pacific Island nations who are in New Delhi for the summit, President Pranab Mukherjee said: “UNSC reform and expansion will be discussed and concrete proposals are expected to be considered in the forthcoming UNGA session next month. An inter-governmental negotiating text is already on the table, for which India needs their support.”

Of the 14 Pacific Island nations, 12 have a vote in the United Nations, and India asserts it has “firm stated commitment of support” from at least 10 of these. According to MEA sources, of these two countries (that are yet to back India’s claim) one supports the G4 resolution, which indirectly supports the Indian position, while the other is yet to announce its stand.

New Delhi is banking on old, cultural ties with these nations, especially Fiji, which wields considerable influence in the region, and has a significant percentage of population that is of Indian descent, to garner support.

“While there hasn’t been much coordination on issues at the U.N., we hope the FIPIC conference will see a strengthening of coordination on the U.N. floor,” High Commissioner of Fiji, Yogesh J. Karan told The Hindu Times.

However, it remains to be seen which country the FIPIC block would choose if the vote came down to a contest between India and China, which is a closer neighbour with heavy investments in infrastructure in the islands.

Meanwhile, in a move that is sure to make Beijing prick up its ears, India is currently hosting heads of 14 Pacific island nations at the second summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address on Friday.

Denying that it is engaged in any kind of rivalry with China, India is nevertheless wooing a grouping of 14 small islands in the Pacific of which six have accorded recognition to Taiwan.

At the first FIPIC summit that was held in Fiji in 2014 and was attended by Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping announced a package of economic assistance to the Pacific islands.

He made it a point to assert that the six which had not been invited - Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu would also be beneficiaries of the package. These six are among the 22 nations worldwide that have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The tiny but plucky islands have been the source of complex diplomatic intrigue between China and Taiwan for decades, with each accusing the other of using "dollar diplomacy" to win recognition.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since defeated nationalist forces fled to the island at the end of a civil war with the Communists in 1949. Although lately there have been moves of rapprochement, for most of the world community, reaching out to Taiwan means burning bridges with China. India only has relations with Taiwan at the level of a Trade Representation and Cultural centre.

Wariness at China's increasing presence in the Pacific Ocean has been voiced by other countries in the region. Indian officials say over the past few years, in speaking points during bilateral discussions, Australia and New Zealand have voiced their concerns over China's outreach in the region and have tried to draw New Delhi into some sort of alliance of the unwilling. Delhi's response has been bland. Much the same note was struck by the official spokesman, who briefed media ahead of the FIPC summit. When asked how India compared its involvement with Pacific Island countries in comparison to China's involvement, he answered:

“I think we are not comparing ourselves with others.”

But that said, India was quick to offer to host the second FIPIC summit and will likely step up trade and investment with a group of nations that are geographically remote (it takes 18 hours of air travel to reach Samoa, for instance) but strategically close. On both: the issue of climate change and the thorny reform of the UN Security Council, many of these 14 nations can be valuable allies in the future.

On climate change, India is pragmatic enough to understand that these nations would not like to roil the waters in their immediate neighbourhood and sing a tune different from Australia and New Zealand. For the islands, the stakes are high: for instance, the largest Samoan population living outside Samoa is based in New Zealand and geography has forced a commonality of approach. But India has reached out and engaged with these countries even if there is a difference in public articulation of views on climate change, especially mitigation and adaptation.

The government of India spokesman said: “Our orientation is mainly towards capacity building, development and trade. Now, we are looking at newer areas. So, it takes time as we progress further in our relationship to build upon what we have. We started looking at these countries seriously because of the common strands, common problems that we face with regard to mitigation issues, etc., where they need our technology for taking care of the disasters that they face on a regular basis.”

On UN reform, out of the 14, two, Cook Islands and Niue, don't have a vote in the United Nations. "But as far as the other 12 are concerned, we have firm stated commitment of support from at least 10 of them. And the eleventh one has also supported the G4 resolution, which indirectly supports the Indian position. One country has not yet pronounced itself either way, yes or no. So, we are not specifically looking for that sort of endorsement. But we know that when it comes to a crunch, then we will get support of all of them in the process because of the relationship that we have developed," the spokesman said.

To cement the relationship, India is likely to offer technology in sectors like fishing, mining, oil and natural gas, information technology, health, marine resources, agriculture, coconut, coir, etc.

“We have an annual trade of about US$300 million between the Pacific Island countries and India at the moment. Our exports are around US$200 million and imports are around US$100 million. Of course, the largest country for bilateral trade in this regard is Papua New Guinea because of oil and gas, but Fiji is also an important country in that regard. As you know, the issue of connectivity with these countries is something which is first and foremost which has to be improved as far as trade and investment is concerned. But of course if there are companies from India which go and carry out projects in the project exports category, these can be done quite easily,” the spokesman said.

He added: “The National Disaster Management Authority is going to talk to them about what they can do in terms of training programmes, mitigation programmes, which they undertake in India, and what we are doing ourselves internally to reduce the carbon footprint in India. In connection with that we are also going to talk about the issue of capacity building with solar energy. And that is going to save money in terms of the utilisation of kerosene for instance for lighting homes in many of these countries. So, there we are going to be helpful as far as these countries are concerned, and this is an offer from our side.

Source:
PAC News
 

pmaitra

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What an irresponsible article in OP.

Space Station on a island? A Space Station is a satellite in orbit, not on an island.

It is just a Space Observation and/or Tracking Station.
 

Compersion

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I like this : the quotes implies we have separated the India unsc seat process to be different from the collective group of the g4 process ... We can go alone and we ought to and be the first to set the new way since the last one did not.

"Of the 14 Pacific Island nations, 12 have a vote in the United Nations, and India asserts it has “firm stated commitment of support” from at least 10 of these. According to MEA sources, of these two countries (that are yet to back India’s claim) one supports the G4 resolution, which indirectly supports the Indian position, while the other is yet to announce its stand."

Love it ... Having been saying it for long

Also

There are small nations like the above many are having any British monarch control (over 20+ votes technically that queen has in UN) and one of our visit next is to UK ... Good stuff (iam not making any comment on if it is right and proportionality is not there in unga)
 

Illusive

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India should stop asking for this UNSC seat once and for all and look towards forming a group itself with partners like Japan and Germany, an alliance keeping in mind for space exploration and benefitting from it for long term gains like mining asteroids and planets like Mars. Pooling human resource and money towards scientific goals is much profitable.
 

Compersion

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India should stop asking for this UNSC seat once and for all and look towards forming a group itself with partners like Japan and Germany, an alliance keeping in mind for space exploration and benefitting from it for long term gains like mining asteroids and planets like Mars. Pooling human resource and money towards scientific goals is much profitable.
There Is no one that is equivalent and no group available. Japan and Germany are for economic reasons but there is economic bodies for that recognigition. Funding the un can be managed with its own reform. Unsc seat for India needs its own story not only for India but the region and the world.

The only group available for india is UNSC permanent membership group (p5 - > P6)

That's why I liked the quote above. More advanced : are the small nations asking us to face reality and asking us to make a case on our own 10 support 1 undecided and 1 for g4. Good story line we learned our true calling by the small and we care and listen to all no matter the size!! We have to get into a unga vote for India (by itself) for important standards and setting of precedent. We have to take the leadership role and we have made our intentions clear much earlier to this quote.
 
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Illusive

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There Is no one that is equivalent and no group available. Japan and Germany are for economic reasons but there is economic bodies for that recognigition. Funding the un can be managed with its own reform. Unsc seat for India needs its own story not only for India but the region and the world.

The only group available for india is UNSC permanent membership group (p5 - > P6)

That's why I liked the quote above. More advanced : are the small nations asking us to face reality and asking us to make a case on our own 10 support 1 undecided and 1 for g4. Good story line we learned our true calling by the small and we care and listen to all no matter the size!! We have to get into a unga vote for India (by itself) for important standards and setting of precedent. We have to take the leadership role and we have made our intentions clear much earlier to this quote.
UNSC is useless political body, Russia could do nothing to block the sanction that US was able to put. What i am trying to say is India needs to create its own bloc of influence. Take an example of China and Russia with SCO.

Space based technology is one of the key aspects of influence in the future, Japan's space solar energy projects, europe's asteroid mining project, our own ambitious projects are not going to stop there. Space is the new frontier now and it need to be controlled and governed,

Not saying it should be done now, we lack the economy and the tech to lead these nations or atleast convince them to form a union governing space and its resources.
 

Compersion

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UNSC is useless political body, Russia could do nothing to block the sanction that US was able to put. What i am trying to say is India needs to create its own bloc of influence. Take an example of China and Russia with SCO.

Space based technology is one of the key aspects of influence in the future, Japan's space solar energy projects, europe's asteroid mining project, our own ambitious projects are not going to stop there. Space is the new frontier now and it need to be controlled and governed,

Not saying it should be done now, we lack the economy and the tech to lead these nations or atleast convince them to form a union governing space and its resources.
all the events that you say can come true for us ... UNSC membership and New global order in Space.

They are not mutually exclusive. It is not like a coin toss. UNSC membership and also UN has to be taken to its natural path of India having and being a permanent UNSC member and the quotes above and also the status in our direction is showing we are making and doing that.
 

I_PLAY_BAD

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Like the African countries these guys are also one of the most neglected. India must stand with them and help them whenever needed even if we are denied a UNSC permanent seat million times.
 

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