29 APRIL 2016

Ø  India’s own navigational system, the set-up for which was completed on Thursday with the launch of the seventh and final satellite, will be called NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced after the launch. The seventh and final satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, the IRNSS 1G, was launched into a sub geosynchronous transfer orbit with a perigree (nearest point to earth) of 284 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 20,657 km. The satellite was launched on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which took off from the Sriharikota launch pad at 12.50 p.m. With this launch, the IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is now complete. This will allow the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to focus on the process of designing front end chips which will receive the navigational signals sent out by the satellites. The system will be similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) operated by the United States with 24 satellites and the Glonass, Galileo and BeiDou systems of Russia, Europe and China respectively. All satellites will undergo stabilisation testing and verification of their performance over the next few months before being pushed into use, according to ISRO officials. An area of 1,500 km from Indian boundaries will be covered under the navigational system. The Prime Minister invited other countries to make use of this system as well. “We have seven neighbours who rely on technology provided by other countries. They can use Indian services if they want,” he said in a video message addressed to ISRO engineers. With an accuracy of better than 20 m being claimed by ISRO, the navigation system will be offered as an open or Standard Positioning Service and a superior, coded military Restricted Service.

Ø  The Syrian army was preparing an offensive on Thursday to retake the whole of Aleppo, as fighting in the divided second city killed 38 civilians in a new blow for a tattered truce. Nearly 200 people have been killed in Aleppo in the past week as rebels have pounded government-held neighbourhoods with rocket and artillery fire and the regime has hit rebel areas with air raids. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned the hard-won February 27 ceasefire was now “barely alive” and pleaded for urgent action by its cosponsors Russia and the United States to rescue it.

Ø  China on Thursday asserted that it will not allow the breakout of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula and signalled its readiness to play a leading role in maintaining peace in Asia—a position that could increase friction between Beijing and Washington. “As a close neighbour, we will absolutely not permit war or chaos on the peninsula. This situation would not benefit anyone,” announced Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, during his address to Foreign Ministers participating in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by tests of missiles that could carry atomic warheads. In a signal to the U.S., President Xi also emphasised that there was no room for outside powers, or internationalisation, for resolving differences among Asian countries, which have rival territorial claims in the South China Sea. Some analysts say Mr. Xi’s comments signal China’s rejection of U.S. interference, including “freedom of navigation” naval patrols in the South China Sea. The President’s insistence on direct talks with other claimants—chiefly Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan—is also meant to reinforce China’s rejection of international arbitration to resolve the South China Sea disputes, they say. The Chinese side has repeatedly slammed Manila’s decision to petition the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to settle its maritime claims with Beijing.

Ø  The first ever state visit by an Indian head of state to Papua New Guinea began on Thursday with remarks by President Pranab Mukherjee that brushed aside a suggestion that India was in competition with China in the Pacific region. He also voiced the hope that his visit will be a precursor to intensified economic and security cooperation with the Pacific island nation. Mr. Mukherjee had a busy day with bilateral talks with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, and later spoke at a banquet hosted by the Governor-General, Sir Michael Ogio. Although building trade relations was high on the agenda, the larger message was that India is eager to deepen its engagement with all Pacific Island countries. In a speech at a banquet hosted by the Governor-General, Mr. Mukherjee made a pointed reference to Papua New Guinea’s natural resources and said there were many opportunities waiting to be seized as both countries had prioritised sustainable use of ocean and marine resources. He also underscored that the untapped potential of India’s ties with Pacific nations was not limited to Papua New Guiena. Referring to FIPIC, the Forum for the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation, a multilateral forum launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2014, Mr. Mukherjee said it indicated that “India intends to seriously engage with this entire region.” In the forum’s second summit in Jaipur August 2015, one subject discussed was enhanced cooperation between India and Pacific island countries, especially in coastal surveillance and protection of exclusive economic zones. “We consider our cooperation with the islands of the Pacific to be a key component of our ‘Act East’ policy,” said Mr. Mukherjee.