The White House is once again downplaying an assertion by President Joe Biden that American military personnel would defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion by the Chinese military, saying he was answering a hypothetical question that was not a reflection of any official policy change.

Biden reiterated a previous pledge to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion, though he specified that “US men and women” would be involved in the effort. The comments marked yet another instance of the President appearing to venture beyond the United States’ longstanding policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the issue.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Phil Mattingly during Tuesday’s White House press briefing that Biden had answered a “hypothetical question” on “60 Minutes,” adding, “When the President of the United States wants to announce a policy change, he will do so. He has not done so.”

Sullivan reiterated that the White House continues to stand behind the “One China” policy and said that Biden has “reiterated those basic commitments on every occasion that he’s talked about in Taiwan – including in this interview where he specifically and emphatically and unequivocally reinforced and reiterated the One China policy.”

Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the self-governing island of 23 million. The US provides Taiwan with defensive weapons, but has remained intentionally ambiguous on whether it would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

Biden repeated his commitment to the “One China” policy in the “60 Minutes” interview. But asked if US forces would defend the island, he said they would: “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”

Biden’s comments to “60 Minutes” were not the first time he’d gone further than the longstanding US approach when it comes to the defense of Taiwan. Recently, during a visit to Tokyo in May, Biden said the US would intervene militarily if China attempts to take Taiwan by force.

“He was asked a question – a hypothetical question in this interview. He was asked a very similar question back in Tokyo in May,” Sullivan said on Tuesday. “He gave a similar answer in Tokyo in May that he gave to the ’60 Minutes’ interview. After that answer in Tokyo, someone said specifically to him, ‘Have you just announced a major policy change?’ And he said ‘No, I have not.’ I have answered a hypothetical question. I have not announced a policy change.’”

Asked by Mattingly if Biden is delivering an explicit message to China by answering a hypothetical question on the matter, Sullivan said, “The President is a direct and straightforward person. He answered a hypothetical.”

Heightened tensions

The President’s comments to CBS – along with the White House’s repeated attempts to downplay what he said – come amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan.

Taiwan lies fewer than 110 miles (177 kilometers) off the coast of China. For more than 70 years the two sides have been governed separately, but that hasn’t stopped China’s ruling Communist Party from claiming the island as its own – despite having never controlled it.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said that “reunification” between China and Taiwan is inevitable and refused to rule out the use of force. Tensions between Beijing and Taipei are at the highest they’ve been in recent decades, with the Chinese military holding major military drills near the island.

Beijing on Monday had swiftly condemned Biden’s comments and repeated its warning that China reserves the “option to take all necessary measures” to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“The US remarks seriously violate the one-China principle and the provisions of the three US-China joint communiqués. It is also a serious violation of the important commitment made by the US side not to support Taiwan independence,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said in a briefing.

“It sent a serious wrong signal to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence. China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition and has made serious representations to the US side,” Mao added.

Beijing also strongly opposed US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August. Beijing responded to her trip by suspending all dialogue with the US across major issues, from climate change to military relations, while conducting extensive military drills around Taiwan.

On Tuesday, the US Navy said in a statement that a US warship, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit.”

The US ship conducted the transit “in cooperation with Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Vancouver,” according to US Navy spokesperson Lt. Mark Langford.

Tuesday’s transit marked the second time in just over three weeks that a US Navy warship had made the voyage.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are defending Biden following the “60 Minutes” remarks and Republicans are criticizing it.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine told CNN that while US policy has not changed, “We are going to help Taiwan defend itself, and that is our policy should it ever come to that and God willing, it never, it never does. But you see what we’re doing in terms of providing military support to Taiwan and we’re going to continue it and they need to know that the US is going to be there should China make an unwise move against them.”

Pressed on how that aligns with the historic position of strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan, Kaine claimed that having the President say one thing and administration officials say another could be a calculated inconsistency.

Republicans, however, are arguing that the inconsistency makes the US appear disorganized.

“It’s been our policy not to come out and say we will go to war,” said Senate Armed Services Ranking Member James Inhofe. “And the President made the statement that I think his advisers, I believe, disagreed with, but he keeps repeating it over and over again.”

“It just looks … sloppy,” said Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley. “I think it’s embarrassing, frankly.”

Hawley then used the opportunity to push for greater investment in preparing the US to be involved militarily if necessary.

“We need to tell the truth to the American people, which is we are not in a position to stop a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. We’re not. So we need to be, because it’s in our direct national security interests not to have China control the Pacific,” he said. “So we’ve got to get in a position to be able to help the Taiwanese defend themselves, and right now we are not in that position and it’s just time to level with the American people about that.”

A strong India means a strong US, three influential American lawmakers have said, as they pledged to work towards strengthening the relationship between the two largest democratic countries of the world at a time when the world was facing many challenges.

Their comments came at a reception hosted by the Indian Embassy here on Tuesday for the visiting Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh. I reflect that a strong India is a strong US, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, the Vice Chair of the Science Space and Technology Committee and the subcommittee chair for research and technology, said.

Our plight as democratic nations of large geographies facing complex global challenges from climate change, to certainly a pandemic; challenges that we can turn into opportunities, challenges that create entrepreneurial endeavors; challenges that compel us to continue to come together, she said. This is why I am such a believer in the strong US-India relationship," she said.

Congresswoman Stevens represents the 11th Congressional District in Michigan which has one of the largest concentrations of Indian-Americans.

"My communities have benefited very directly from this relationship, not just in terms of the population and the human capital that have continued to make us strong but also because companies like Mahindra chose to become the first OEM (original equipment manufacturer) headquarters in 25 years in a place called Auburn Hills in Troy, Michigan," the Congresswoman said.

Congressman Jerry McNerney from California said that anyone that doesn't see the importance of the relationship between the United States and India is blind. India has a tremendous intellectual firepower, and you're exercising that power to change the world, he told the select gathering which included the visiting official delegation from India, a delegation of private sector corporate leaders, and officials from the Biden administration.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross, who represents the Research Triangle area in North Carolina which has a significant Indian-American population, in her remarks underscored the importance of the India-US relationship. She is also a member of the House Science Space and Technology Committee and Judiciary Committee. Over the past few years, she has emerged as a champion of documented dreamers who have been left out of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Documented Dreamers are foreign nationals who entered the United States as dependents under their parents' temporary, nonimmigrant visa status, usually a work visa. Under US immigration law, at the age of 21, they will age out of eligibility for this dependent status. The DACA allows young immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children to work and shields them from deportation.

We have more than 200,000 young people who are having to self-deport to other places. We've had multiple conversations tonight, why would this country invest in these amazing people and then send them to our competitors, she said.

We need to make sure that we have an immigration policy that lets people with talent, be where they want to be. Give them an opportunity to innovate, give them an opportunity to work with creative minds, and I just hope that is here in the United States of America, and I will continue to advocate for that, Ross said.

Washington,(PTI) The United States has termed the plan to hold voting in Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine to become integral parts of Russia a "sham" and an "affront to principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity".

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday claimed that "these referenda will be manipulated" and asserted the US would never recognise Russia's claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine.

"These referenda are an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system and let lie at the heart of the United Nations Charter," Sullivan told reporters at a press conference at the White House. "We know that these referenda will be manipulated. Russia will use these sham referenda as a basis to purportedly annex these territories either now or in the future," he said.

The United States, Sullivan said, has been warning for months about Russia's plans to hold "sham referenda in areas of Ukraine under its control, and even in areas of the country not currently under its control, in direct violation of Ukraine's sovereignty".

Russia is rushing to hold these referendums in response to Ukraine's gains on the battlefield as well as to prepare for potential mobilization measures, the National Security Advisor in the Joe Biden administration said.

"We will never recognise this territory as anything other than a part of Ukraine. We reject Russia's actions unequivocally. We will continue to work with our allies and partners to impose costs on Russia." Sullivan said the US is aware of reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be preparing for mobilisation measures. "Like its sham annexation planning, this is reflective of Russia's struggles in Ukraine." "He (Putin) may be resorting to partial mobilisation, forcing even more Russians to go fight his brutal war in Ukraine in part because they need more personnel and manpower given the success that Ukraine has had on the battlefield, particularly in the northeast," he said.

Sullivan asserted that Russia is throwing together "sham referendums on three days' notice as they continue to lose ground on the battlefield and more world leaders distance themselves from Russia on the public stage".

"The United States and our allies in the international community will stand against these transparent efforts on the part of Russia and stand firmly with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," he said.

The US is supplying Ukraine with the weapon systems, including an announcement of more than USD 600 million in weapons just last week, that it believes needs to be able to successfully prosecute the offensives, Sullivan told reporters.

"That being said, nobody is resting on the laurels of the recent Ukrainian successes. The Ukrainian military is preparing to consolidate the gains it has made, continue to try to make further gains and defend against potential Russian counterattacks in various places." "The US and all of our allies and partners are providing them with the requisite level of support for them to be able to carry out those efforts on the battlefield," he asserted. PTI

United Nations, Sep 20 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday continued hectic diplomatic parleys with top leaders from around the world on the sidelines of the high-level UN General Assembly session here and discussed issues ranging from counter-terrorism cooperation to COVID-19.

He called on Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo and “discussed our ongoing cooperation in the UN Security Council, especially on counterterrorism”.

Jaishankar tweeted that he “appreciated the achievements of our development partnership”.

In his meeting with Comoros President Azali Assoumani, Jaishankar welcomed his appreciation for India’s outreach in combating Covid-19 and dengue.

“Discussed taking forward our development partnership and working together on maritime security,” he tweeted.

After his meeting with Foreign Minister Denis Moncada of Nicaragua, Jaishankar tweeted, “Interesting discussion on the global situation and its multilateral implications.” PTI 

 Washington, Sep 21 (PTI) India and the US have common goals and stakes that bind the two nations together, visiting Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh has said, urging the American scientific community and entrepreneurs to work with their Indian counterparts in areas like health, clean energy and space.

“We have common goals. So we are in a common state, which also binds us together,” Singh on Tuesday said at a reception hosted in his honour at the India House by India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided a much more enabling environment in the field of science and technology and entrepreneurs than it was ever in the past, Singh said at the reception attended by several lawmakers, members of the scientific, academics, think tank community, and senior officials from the Biden administration.

India now has a government and the head of the government who has the capacity to think out of the box, and has the capacity to break the taboos of the past, the minister said.

Areas of health, clean energy, space, geospatial, and quantum are some of the propriety areas for both countries. “You would appreciate that after several years the Department of Space has been opened up for joint initiation, joint ventures, and public-private participation. And we will also look forward to international investments and we would rather be glad to incentivise that,” he said.

He pointed out that India has more than 60 startups in the space sector itself. The new geospatial guidelines also initiated at the behest of Modi would create a much more enabling atmosphere for future partnerships, Singh said.

Ambassador Sandhu in his welcome remarks highlighted the key pillars of the India-US relationship in the field of education, health, science, and technology, as well as, clean energy.

Sandhu said the US Congress had played a key role in strengthening the India-US relationship.

Today there are more than 200,000 Indian students in the US with one-third of them from STEM areas. US universities now want to establish a close relationship with India, the Ambassador said.

The Indian envoy during his tenure has had interactions with heads of 150 universities and academic institutions.

National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan in his remarks during the reception said he looked forward to a very strong partnership between the US and India.

“Any partnership between global partners is fundamentally premised on shared values and shared aspirations. In terms of shared values, we have the values of openness, transparency, reciprocity, research, integrity, and respect for intellectual property and a whole lot more,” he said.

“We share the fundamental bedrock of a foundation that clearly can build unbelievable scientific partnerships together,” Panchanathan asserted.

“On top of that, we share aspirations whether it is AI, quantum, Advanced Wireless biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, you name it, it doesn’t matter what the field is, we find that there is always a partner that you can locate in India where we can build partnerships together and set of outcomes to work on grand challenges like climate change, or in terms of industries of the future, both of that are possible because of this partnership coming together,” Panchanathan said. PTI 

London: The UK police said on Tuesday that they have made 47 arrests as part of an ongoing operation to deter further disorder in the eastern England city of Leicester, which saw scenes of violence over the weekend in a spillover of clashes since an India-Pakistan cricket match.

It comes as the Indian High Commission in London issued a strongly worded statement condemning the violence against the Indian community and called for protection for those affected.

Leicestershire Police said a 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon during clashes in the city.

Amos Noronha from the local area appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court after his arrest during Saturday’s incident and was quickly charged due to overwhelming evidence .

“The sentence is reflective of the fact that this was a serious offence and he has ended up with time in prison,” said Rob Nixon, temporary chief constable at Leicestershire Police.

“We will not stand for this unrest in our city. There is an extensive policing operation ongoing, acting on information and reports of gatherings and offering community reassurance. Be reassured: we are working to keep you safe and to arrest and bring to justice those that are causing harm in our communities,” he said.

It follows a weekend of what the police termed as serious disorder and significant aggression as Hindu and Muslim groups clashed in the wake of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match in Dubai at the end of last month.

“A policing operation to deter further disorder continued in east Leicester In total, 47 people have been arrested for offences in relation to the unrest in the east of the city. Some of those arrested were from out of the city, including some people from Birmingham,” Leicestershire Police said.

The force said it had to be supported by resources from a number of neighbouring police forces, including the mounted police unit, as the clashes escalated over the weekend. Dispersal and stop and search powers have been used repeatedly to restore calm. There were social media videos circulating showing a temple flag being ripped out and glass bottles being hurled.

The Indian High Commission said in its statement on Monday, “We strongly condemn the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and vandalisation of premises and symbols of Hindu religion.”

“We have strongly taken up this matter with the UK authorities and have sought immediate action against those involved in these attacks. We call on the authorities to provide protection to the affected people.”

Diaspora group Insight UK has claimed that much of the violence was the result of misinformation and fake news circulating on social media. Leicester city mayor Peter Soulsby agreed, saying, “very, very, very distorting events were being shared on social media and blamed outsiders for coming into the city to stoke violence.”

“We condemn damages to Hindu temples which are a place of worship and should not be disrespected,” Hindu Council UK said in a statement.

“We call upon the Hindu community to work with the authorities to bring calm and peace as Leicester is renowned for its cultural diversity, unity and community cohesion,” the UK-wide community organisation said, adding that it is working on developing strategies to bring about stronger inter-community relations in the city.

Leicester, in the East Midlands region of England, is known as the city with a large chunk of population of South Asian descent. The city’s Belgrave Road is famous as the Golden Mile, packed with Indian-origin jewellery, food and other businesses, and also a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

The city’s former Indian-origin member of parliament, the first of South Asian heritage, took to social media to appeal for calm.

“To me Leicester is the greatest city in the world. Nowhere else so many different people of different languages, cultures and ethnicities live together in harmony,” said Goan-origin Keith Vaz, who was MP for Leicester East from 1987 to 2019.

“We celebrate Diwali, Eid and Baisakhi as one big happy family. I am saddened to see recent events a small minority of people are seeking to destroy the spirit of Leicester,” he said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the G20 grouping as well as the situation in Myanmar with Foreign Minister of Indonesia Retno Marsudi.

"So nice to meet my friend, Retno in New York. Discussed our commitment to make the Indonesian G20 Presidency successful. Also exchanged views on Myanmar, Jaishankar tweeted Monday.

Jaishankar, in New York for the high-level UN General Assembly session, began his hectic diplomatic week with a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements on the sidelines of the high-level session.

Indonesia is currently President of the G20 and will hand over the baton to India, which will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022 to November 20 2023.

Official sources here described the meeting with the Indonesian leader as good and particularly important during which the two sides exchanged notes on the G20, its challenges and the path forward.

 In a first, Google CEO Sunder Pichai visited the Indian Embassy in Washington and held discussions with India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, on various aspects of the tech company's activities in the country, particularly its aggressive push towards digitization.

“Thank you” Ambassador Sandhu for the great conversation, Mr Pichai said in a tweet after his visit to the Indian Embassy in downtown Washington DC late last week. This is for the first time that a top Indian American tech CEO has visited the embassy in Washington.

“Appreciated the chance to discuss Google's commitment to India and look forward to continuing our support for India's digital future,” said Mr Pichai, who in January this year was named among the 17 awardees to receive Padma Bhushan.

Technology that transforms; ideas that enable! tweeted Sandhu. Delighted to receive Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at the Embassy, he said.

Exchanged thoughts on expanding India-US commercial, knowledge & tech partnership with Google, the Indian envoy said.

Google's investments in India

Google under Pichai has made massive investment in India and phenomenally expanded its footprint in a wide range of sectors including its training to the younger generation.

It has announced an investment of about USD10 billion under Google for India digitization. It also has partnerships with Reliance's Jeo as well as with Bharti Airtel. In addition, it is partnering with India on workforce development and skill development. They are working with the government on Digital India Program, and national digital literacy mission.

During the meeting with the Indian Ambassador, Pichai was very appreciative of the very initiatives that have been taken by India and underscored how Google is looking at India in a very positive framework. The Ambassador highlighted the knowledge and education partnership.

'Google an important partner for India'

The Google CEO, during the conversation, is also believed to have discussed various ways in which its partnership with India forward in particular in the education sector. They also discussed digitization efforts in India in which Google is involved including digital payments and infrastructure digitization.

The Indian Ambassador noted that Google is an important partner in India's digital transformation, which is a priority for the government.

Notably Google and its parent company Alphabet played an important role in the COVID-19 crisis last year. They put a lot of money in terms of supporting India, and they were part of the global task force of American CEOs set up in this regard.

The Indian government has intensified its engagement with American CEOs. The Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had a meeting with a number of CEOs from the Silicon Valley during his trip to California early this month.

Sandhu himself met several CEOs during his recent trips there. He also visited the universities in the Silicon Valley which are considered to be the hub of such innovation.

They also had a number of venture capitalists and start up entrepreneurs in San Francisco as part of India's latest push to have greater engagement with the American tech sector.

New York,(PTI) India, the UAE and France have held their first trilateral ministerial meeting here on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session and exchanged ideas on a new and more contemporary way of doing diplomacy with a focus on “active exchange” of ideas between strategic partners and UNSC members.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in New York on Sunday to participate in the high-level 77th session of the UN General Assembly, which kick-starts September 20 with the opening of the General Debate.

“A productive first trilateral Ministerial meeting of India-UAE-France. Active exchange of ideas between strategic partners and UNSC members,” Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting, hosted by the UAE on Monday, with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.

Jaishankar began his hectic diplomatic week with a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements on the sidelines of the high-level session.

This was the first ministerial-level meeting of the India, the UAE and France trilateral.

The three countries, while different, are strategic partners to one another and discussions focussed on areas of commonalities and on working out how to specify and concretise these commonalities going forward, official sources said.

They said the three countries are very comfortable with each other and there are many areas where potentially they could be working in a more coordinated way.

Such plurilateral meetings signify a new and more contemporary way of doing diplomacy, they said, citing the example of Quad (Australia, India, Japan, the US), I2U2 (India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States), trilateral between India, France and Australia as forums emerging as effective ways of finding a common agenda.

They added that typically, groupings were regional and contiguous in nature such as SAARC, BIMSTEC, ASEAN, and the EU with the exception of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

The official sources added that diplomacy is now changing and there are countries which are not neighbours or next to each other in a region but which have certain common interests and are working with each other.

Following his bilateral meeting with the UAE Foreign Minister, Jaishankar tweeted: “Reviewed the continuing progress of our partnership. Appreciated his assessments and insights on the global situation.” Official sources said that for India, things are moving very well on multiple fronts with the UAE, against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Gulf country in June this year and Jaishankar’s visit two weeks ago for the 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting.

Jaishankar also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

“Our bilateral ties are growing strongly in the areas of defence, trade and investments. Cooperation in new initiatives like green hydrogen & ammonia and education sectors will further bolster them. Discussed our close cooperation at the UN and NAM. Recognised the value Egypt’s participation in G20 will bring next year,” he tweeted.

Official sources said that the meeting with the Egyptian leadership was important, asserting that Egypt is absolutely on the same page as India when it comes to issues such as refocusing the world on development concerns, Global South.

Describing the relationship as a big meeting of the minds, sources added that India’s economic relationship with Egypt is doing well, trade is at an all-time high and there are very strong investment interests.

Egypt is also chairing COP27 and they are big players in areas of renewables, especially green hydrogen and ammonia.

During a “useful exchange of views” with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Jaishankar said he was looking forward to “working together in the G-77 and other multilateral formats.” “Spoke about rice supplies and development projects. Welcomed his appreciation of the Panchakarma Centre in Havana,” he said.

India has given Cuba a 100-million-euro line of credit for buying rice. Cuba is also expected to take over as the Chair of G77, the global south grouping which permeates through the UN processes.

In his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, Jaishankar appreciated his briefing on the latest developments in the African country.

“Discussed greater cooperation in education and trade,” he said.

In his meeting with Olta Xhaçka, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania, Jaishankar said: “Valued our close cooperation in the UN Security Council. Discussed strengthening our bilateral relationship. Exchanged views on Ukraine and energy security.” Sources said that India and Albania working together in the UN Security Council has been a good experience and the two sides want to see whether they can build on the Security Council experience and take it into the bilateral relationship. PTI