19 Jun 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India coasts to win in Security Council polls

Context:

India scored a major diplomatic victory to enter the non-permanent category of the UN Security Council when elections were held for the five non-permanent members.

Details:

• India won 184 votes out of 192 valid votes cast.
• Previously, India has been elected as a non-permanent member of the Council 7 times, for the years 1950—1951, 1967—1968, 1972—1973, 1977—1978, 1984—1985, 1991—1992 and 2011—2012.
• Ireland, Mexico and Norway were also elected as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
• India’s approach will be guided by “Five S’s”, as set out by the Prime Minister: Samman (Respect), Samvad (Dialogue), Sahyog (Cooperation), and Shanti (Peace), and Samriddhi (Prosperity). India’s overall objective during this tenure in the UN Security Council will be the achievement of N.O.R.M.S: a New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.

Significance:

• India’s term will begin from January 2021.
• The 2021-22 term will be critical for India which has been pushing efforts to reform the Security Council and seek a permanent membership of the Council.
• Support for India has been increasing with a number of countries advocating that the current UNSC does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century.

Read more on this topic covered in 6^th June 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Galwan: Postscript to a tragedy

Context:

Twenty Indian personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

Details:

• It had been assumed all along that there would be a de-escalation of the confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops in the area after the Corps Commander-level talks between the two sides.
• The incident represents a watershed in India’s relations with China and marks the end of a 45-year chapter which saw no armed confrontation involving loss of lives on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The period of bilateral relations that was inaugurated with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in December 1988 also drew to a close in the darkness of that fateful night.
• Resuming business as usual with China after this seems unlikely given the manner in which the whole calculus of relations has been disturbed by the incident.

India- China relationship from 1959 to 2020:

• Nothing on this scale was witnessed even in the run-up to the conflict between the two countries in 1962.
• In October 1959, there was a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Kongka La.
  • Nine Indian soldiers were killed and three soldiers were detained then.
• It was after Kongka La that the national mood turned against the Chinese in full measure in an atmosphere already complicated by the revolt in Tibet and the granting of asylum to the Dalai Lama in March 1959. There was very little room for a reasoned, negotiated settlement being reached on the boundary question between the two countries after that juncture.
• The conflict in 1962 inflicted gaping wounds on the national soul and prestige from which India took time to recover.

Is India at a similar juncture today?

• India and China are in a very different place in their history as nations in 2020 as compared to 1959.
• They have grown immensely in strength and stature on the world stage.
• Their relations have substance and a diversity of content in a manner absent in the 1950s.
• To assume that India is on a steep descent from here towards a full-blown conflict with China may therefore be an oversimplification.
• Both countries must keep in check the statements that are mutually accusatory, with each country disclaiming responsibility for the tragic turn of events.

What’s next?

• Bilateral relations in other areas will be under considerable strain. Soft landings cannot be expected.
• No leadership-level contact between the top leaders of the two countries can be anticipated in the near term.
• Indian businesses in China and Chinese business operations in India can expect the going to be tougher than before. The scenario on trade and investments could encounter similar obstacles.
• In areas that impinge on national security, as in the cyber field and in telecommunications, and in technologies that enable spying and surveillance (5G, for instance), stringent controls, exclusions and clampdowns can be expected in the treatment and the entry of Chinese companies in India.

Way forward:

Assessing choices carefully:

• Cool-headed thinking is the need of the hour.
• All this comes at a time when:
  • The COVID-19 crisis demands the full attention of the government.
  • The economy needs to recover from the stagnancy of the last few months.
  • The tensions with Pakistan persist.
  • A dispute over territory with Nepal in the Lipulekh/Kalapani area has been headlined.
• There is considerable turbulence generated by all this. A reincarnated battlefront with China cannot be blindly embraced. The implications of such a choice must be carefully assessed.

Effective strategic communication:

• Strong political direction, mature deliberation and coherence are keys to handling the situation.
• A comprehensive China strategy and its determination should devolve on those tasked with national security policy in the highest echelons of the Government of India under the direction of the Prime Minister. The responsibility of effective strategic communication too rests there.
• A clearer enunciation of the circumstances surrounding Chinese transgressions in Sikkim and Ladakh in the last few months would have been helpful in guiding the scattershot public debate. India must draw the right conclusions that can help the country in the future.
• Diplomatic channels must continue to be open and should not be fettered in any way because their smooth operability is vital in the current situation.

Clarification of the LAC:

• India should take the initiative to insist on a timely and early clarification of the LAC.
• Pockets of difference of alignment as perceived by each side have to be clearly identified and these areas demilitarised by both sides through joint agreement pending a settlement of the boundary.
• At the same time, India must stand resolute and firm in the defence of territory in all four sectors of the border.
• Contacts between the two militaries — joint exercises and exchanges of visits of senior Commanders — should be scaled down for the foreseeable future.

Taking the long view:

• India’s leverage and balancing power within the Indo-Pacific and the world beyond stems from its strong democratic credentials, the dynamism of its economy, its leading role in multilateral institutions, and the strategic advantage of its maritime geography — an asset possessed by few other nations, and which must be deployed much more effectively to counterbalance the Chinese ingress into this oceanic space that surrounds us.
• The events in Galwan Valley should be a wake-up call to many of India’s Asian friends and partners enabling a high-resolution envisioning of Chinese aggressiveness.

Realign strategic partnerships:

• This is also an opportunity for India to align its interests much more strongly and unequivocally with the U.S. as a principal strategic partner.
• India should also infuse more energy into its relations with Japan, Australia, and the ASEAN.
• The time has also come for India to reconsider its stand on joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Conclusion:

• Good neighbourhood relations are crucial for national stability and well-being.
• If India is to disengage from economic involvement with China, and build the capacities and capabilities it needs in manufacturing, and in supply chains networks closer home, it cannot be a prisoner of the short term.
• It is time for India to boldly take the long view in this area as also on its South Asia policy.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Mediation in the age of COVID-19

Context:

• In the prevailing conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, deprived of their natural setting of the courtroom, judges and lawyers have fallen back to talk of virtual courts, so that the bare essential is achieved — the judge being able to hear the particular lawyer.
• All other features of the courtroom are avoided, and thus an essentially public setting is converted to a closed door one.
• The editorial talks about “mediation” as a tool for dispute resolution in the age of COVID-19 pandemic.

What is mediation?

• Mediation is an informal, but structured settlement procedure. It is a form of alternative dispute resolution, resolving disputes between two or more parties.
• A mediator is employed to facilitate and assist parties in reaching an amicable dispute settlement.
• The role of the mediator is to assist the parties in reaching a negotiated agreement.
• Unlike an arbitrator, the mediator is not a decision-maker.

Details:

• Conventional litigation and arbitration are vintage, spanning hundreds of years and generations of judges and lawyers.
• As a process, structured mediation is relatively new, with an existence of barely two to three decades in India, and just a few more worldwide.
• Legislation has given it the legal structure and safeguards, and provided the assurance that the courts will implement mediation agreements.
• India’s judges have been enthusiastic embracers of this process.
• Online mediation will enable the mediator and the parties to assemble together, each on their computer screens perhaps hundreds of miles away.
• Discussion can be guided, giving parties and lawyers the opportunity to put forth their views.

Advantages of mediation:

• Mediation is becoming increasingly popular as people begin to observe the benefits of settling outside of court.
• Mediation saves resources and time for all parties involved as well as the judicial system.
• Parties do not have to undergo adjournments and multiple visits to the mediation centre.
• It is the polar opposite of the court process. It tries to achieve consensus between parties to come to an amicable agreement, rather than the win-lose verdict of the adversarial system.
• It focuses on uncovering interests, and eliciting suggestions from the parties themselves for practical solutions to end the dispute.
• At its core is confidential discussion between mediator and parties, and between mediator and individual parties.
• As much as the essential attribute of the formal justice system is the open courtroom hearing, mediation’s essence is closed door communication with its guarantee of confidentiality.
• Eliminating complete contact that is possible only in face-to-face meetings, will certainly be of benefit in cases where emotions run high and face-to-face confrontation may increase the conflict.
  • That happens often in matrimonial cases, and in family business disputes, where tempers and emotions arising from frayed domestic situations and settings can edge out sensible business logic.
• In the present context, mediation as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism has an inherent flexibility and adaptability.

Concerns:

Online mediation has a host of advantages, but also bears some cautioning.

• Confidentiality can be compromised since hearings could be recorded.
• Technical glitches and interruptions in the internet services could hinder the effectiveness of the mediation process.
• There are concerns that online communication will exclude the underprivileged, those who cannot afford access to Internet or do not have the capacity or assistance to use it. Such exclusion will be tantamount to denial of access to justice.

Way forward:

• Service providers have to be vigilant, and strict rules must be laid out to penalise participants for breach.
• Technical glitches have to be minimised, and Internet services must gear up for providing screen clarity and uninterrupted feed.
• If the State and its Courts are going to allow and encourage online mediation to resolve disputes, weaker parties must be assisted and enabled to avail of this facility.

Conclusion:

As the entire world is meandering in the dark to find out what the new normal is going to consist of, we may well discover that a good part of the world of dispute resolution has been flipped, and that COVID-19 is the harbinger of change taking online consensual resolution to a higher level. Mediation, however, is an idea whose time has come and is rapidly gaining ground.  Perhaps, this cloud (mediation) too has a silver lining.
Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. First the blowout, then the stake-out

The editorial talks about the blowout at an Oil India natural gas well at Baghjan in Tinsukia district of Assam.

This topic has been covered in 18^th June 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Q1. Consider the following statements:

Q2. “Rule of Law Index” is released by:

Q3. Consider the following statements:

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to International North South 
Transport Corridor (INSTC):

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Has the COVID-19 pandemic given an opportunity for Mediation to emerge as an effective dispute resolution tool in India? What are the challenges? (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2. What are the powers of a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council? Discuss India’s role as a non-permanent member of the UNSC in establishing global order. (15 Marks, 250 Words).

Read the previous CNA here.