Volume V, Issue 6 | - June 2022

DPG is deeply committed to the growth of India’s national power and purpose, the security and prosperity of the people of India and India’s contributions to the global public good. [...] The MOU would have enabled China to sell its goods to Nepal with zero customs duty, flooding its market as also the neighbourhood, including India.38 The MoU clearly indicated a close nexus between the Communist Party of Nepal and the Chinese leadership to enlarge China’s foot hold in the Himalayan Kingdom. [...] On the issue of the future of Taiwan, he categorically stated that “the Chinese military won't hesitate to fight anyone who dares to separate the island of Taiwan from China”.42 The two defence ministers also offered their respective outlooks for the future of the region at the Shangri-La Dialogue 43. [...] He reiterated US concerns over China’s “destabilising” military activity near Taiwan and its aggressive approach to the territories it claims in the South China Sea.48 In early June, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met the Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of China, Yang Jiechi, in Luxembourg. [...] In a statement, China's military said that the fly through of the US maritime plane through the Taiwan Strait deliberately disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and stability.52 After the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against the illegal presence of Chinese vessels in and around Julian Felipe (Whistun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea, the US extended its support for the P.