China, Pakistan navies to conduct first joint maritime patrols in Arabian Sea
Beijing/Karachi, Nov 13: The navies of China and Pakistan have kicked off their largest naval exercises in the Arabian Sea which included their "first joint maritime patrol", the Chinese official media reported on Monday.
The China-Pakistan Sea Guardians-3 joint maritime exercise, with the theme of "Joint Response to Maritime Security Threats", kicked off at a naval base in Karachi, Pakistan, on November 11 in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea.
China and Pakistan will conduct their first joint maritime patrol, the China Military Online, the official news portal of the Chinese military, reported.
The two sides will also send observers to each other, while the Chinese observers will participate in the exercise with the Pakistani anti-submarine patrol aircraft, it said.
Exercises between the armed wings of all-weather allies China and Pakistan are an annual affair.
This is the third edition of the exercises of both the allied navies which are for the first time conducting joint operations.
Spanning seven days from November 11 to 17 in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea, the exercise is divided into two phases, shore-based exchanges, and maritime joint operations, which include training courses on formation manoeuvring, VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure), helicopter cross-deck landing, joint search and rescue, and joint anti-submarine drills.
Participating troops from the Chinese PLA Navy consist of six vessels, including the guided-missile destroyer Zibo, guided-missile frigates Jingzhou and Linyi, and the comprehensive supply ship Qiandaohu, along with two shipborne helicopters and dozens of Marines.
For the Pakistani side, nine vessels, including the PNS Shahjahan and Saif, three shipborne helicopters, four fighter jets, one fixed-wing anti-submarine patrol aircraft, and dozens of Marines are involved in the exercise, state-run Global Times reported.
In May this year, China wrapped up delivery of all four Type 054A/P guided missile frigates to the Pakistani Navy, with the Hangor-class submarines being built simultaneously in China and Pakistan.
The Chinese military experts said this is the largest-ever joint exercise between the Chinese and Pakistani navies compared to the two earlier, the daily reported.
"The exercise is dedicated to enhancing the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, boosting defence cooperation and deepening professional cooperation," Rear Admiral Liang Yang, commander at a PLA Navy base and the general director of the exercise from the Chinese side, said at the opening ceremony.
Liang said he hopes the two navies can further enhance their joint operational capabilities in dealing with maritime security threats and safeguard maritime peace.
Admiral M Amjad Khan Niazi, chief of the naval staff of the Pakistan Navy, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview earlier this year that the Sea Guardian exercises serve the objectives of fostering interoperability and sharing professional experiences to deal with contemporary traditional and non-traditional security threats.
Wei Dongxu, a Chinese military expert, said that China and Pakistan have common interests in jointly safeguarding strategic sea lanes in regions like the Indian Ocean, where piracy, terrorism and other dangerous activities pose threats to the maritime transport of energy and goods.
Outside of joint drills, China-Pakistan naval cooperation also includes high-level visits, expert talks, training exchanges and equipment cooperation, the daily reported.
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Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?".
The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.
"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.
After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of the nations had ballot paper voting or used electronic voting.
The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and India should follow suit.
"Why you don't want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench.
There was corruption and this year (2024) in June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.
"But how does that make your relief which you are claiming here relevant?" asked the bench, adding "if you shift back to physical ballot, will there be no corruption?".
Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could be tampered with and added TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.
"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with," noted the bench.
When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed in elections, the bench remarked, "We never received any money for any elections."
The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns and ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.
The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness and importance of informed decision making.
"Today, 32 per cent educated people are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If democracy will be dying like this and we will not be able to do anything then what will happen in the years to come in future," the petitioner said.
