US will speak out forcefully against China committing 'genocide' against Uyghur Muslims: Blinken
Washington, Mar 11: Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the US will speak out forcefully against China committing "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims in its Xinjiang province, as several lawmakers voiced concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in the communist nation, ahead of the first face-to-face meeting of top American and Chinese officials next week since President Joe Biden took office.
The White House and State Department said on Wednesday that Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet China's top foreign policy officials, the foreign affairs chief of the ruling Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi, and State Councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi on March 18 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Blinken told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a Congressional hearing that the US will continue to speak out forcefully and shine a light on "egregious violations of human rights" by China.
We have been clear and I've been clear that I see it as genocide, other egregious abuses of human rights, and we'll continue to make that clear, he said, responding to a question by Congressman Michael McCaul who asked what additional steps is the Biden administration is prepared to take to stop this "genocide".
I think there are a number of things that we can do, should do, and will do. First of all, it's important to speak up and speak out and to make sure that other countries are doing the same thing. The more China hears not just our opprobrium but a chorus of opprobrium from around the world, the better the chance that we'll get some changes, Blinken said.
We have a number of steps that we have taken or can take going forward, to include for those directly responsible for acts of genocide, gross human rights violations, sanctions, visa restrictions, etc. I think it would be very important, if China claims that there is nothing going on, that it gives access to the international community, to the United Nations.
"If they have nothing to hide, show it to us, show the world. And so, we'll be calling for that, he said. "Then there are a series of practical things that are very important. For example, we should make sure that we are not exporting and others are not exporting to China any products that can be used for the repression of their people and their minorities," he said.
Similarly, America shouldn't be importing products that are created by forced labour, including from Xinjiang. "So, those are some of the practical things that we can and should do, but for short we're going to start by speaking out forcefully on this, Blinken said.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick asked, What can the administration do to protect the Uighur community and the Uighur minority, bring about the end of this ongoing genocide in China and will you be raising these concerns of grave human rights violations when you meet with the Chinese officials in Alaska?
Blinken responded, I have spoken already to my Chinese counterpart, raised those concerns directly with him, President Biden has raised those concerns directly with (President) Xi Jinping in his conversation with him. We will certainly be raising them again in Alaska.
In Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian confirmed the high-level meeting in Alaska, but maintained that Washington should abandon the Cold War and zero-sum mentality, respect China's sovereignty, security and development interests.
"China urges the US side to view China and China-US relations in an objective and rational way, abandon the Cold War and zero-sum mentality, respect China's sovereignty, security and development interests, stop interfering in China's internal affairs," he said.
Zhao said the US should focus on cooperation and manage differences in accordance with the spirit of the conversation between the two heads of state, and bring bilateral relations back on the right track of sound and stable development.
The meeting with the Yang and Wang in Alaska will come just just days after Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin see their Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo and Seoul to reaffirm US treaty alliances with those nations.
It will also come less than a week after Biden holds a virtual summit with the top leaders of India, Japan and Australia to discuss Indo-Pacific policy.
US-China relations nose-dived while Donald Trump was president, with his administration taking multiple actions against Beijing for its actions against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang and in Tibet, its crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, aggressive actions toward Taiwan and staking claims to territory in the South China Sea.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
