Made in China and India: Can Xi and Modi merge world's 'factory' and 'back office'?

China's President Xi Jinping will spend three days in India on an official state visit this week, getting a considerable amount of time with Narendra Modi, India's new prime minister. The two leaders represent not only the two most populous countries on Earth --accounting for a third of the world's population -- they are also the faces of stark changes in their home countries.

Both are new, strong, willful leaders with an agenda for reform. Both have made moves to attack a culture of corruption, and to build their economies. And both seem to have designs on being stronger players in their backyards.

What will their meeting mean for relations between these two Asian giants?

 

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Made in China & India

In an editorial published in The Hindu newspaper Wednesday, China's Xi described how his country could exchange its expertise in infrastructure and manufacturing for India's advancements in information technology and pharmaceuticals.

"The combination of 'the world's factory' and 'the world's back office' will produce the most competitive production base and the most attractive consumer market," wrote Xi. This would be an upgrade in current relations, where China has a significant surplus in bilateral trade.

Modi, in turn, in a press conference Tuesday talked up the potential of a great partnership: "Whenever India and China have worked and grown together, this has also led to the development and economic prosperity of the world," he said.

There are indeed a number of potential synergies. And India has much to learn from China, as I've written previously. According to the World Economic Forum's latest Global Competitiveness Rankings -- an indicator of how business friendly a country is -- China places 28th in the world for overall competitiveness; India ranks 71st. On infrastructure and macroeconomic environment, China ranks 46th and 10th respectively; India tanks 87th and 101st.

In many of his recent speeches, Modi has referred to India's rotting infrastructure. Supply chains are broken; institutions are inefficient; large swathes of Indians are disconnected from modernity. India needs money and expertise to fix these problems. That's where China could come in.

One of the expected headlines from Xi's visit is an announcement to the effect of $100 billion of Chinese investment into India. If that actually happens, the world's two biggest countries by population could finally begin to realize the potential of their partnership.

China may be India's biggest trading partner, but China counts Europe, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and even Brazil as more important partners right now. Given the the two countries share a large border, India will want that status to change. For China, too, there are clear upsides to increasing trade with a neighbor that has growing economic needs and clout.

Regional aspirations

Beyond the rhetoric of business camaraderie, there are fears the two country's regional aspirations could represent a hurdle.

Indian media reported on Tuesday a minor border skirmish between Indian and Chinese forces in Ladakh.

While border scuffles between the two countries have been largely quelled since India and China fought a war in 1962, both sides have made foreign policy moves that have caused angst.

In the past week alone, China's Xi Jinping visited, for the first time, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. In both countries -- close neighbors of India's -- Xi announced large-scale infrastructure projects and deepened ties.

Many Indian analysts see China's economic encircling of India as something to be wary of. But meanwhile, India itself has made moves that have irked the Chinese. India's President Pranab Mukherjee visited Vietnam this week, calling the ties between the two countries historic and "infinite." Vietnam has long had turbulent relations with China.

And earlier this month, much was made of Modi's five-day visit to Japan. Both sides announced increased trade and investment, and have held joint military exercises -- a clear signal to China that it won't have a clear route to supremacy in Asia.

Hedging bets

Both Xi and Modi seem to be foreign policy realists, pragmatic in their world view and partnerships.

In his aforementioned column this week, Xi spoke of a world moving towards "multipolarity" -- a reference to the dwindling influence of the United States, and the increasingly important role of China and India.

If both leaders abide by that theme, then their focus for the next few months and years will be not on rocking the boat on military or defense, but on building their respective economies.

For both Modi and Xi, foreign policy begins at home. For that, they will need each others' cooperation.

Scotland in last day of campaigning before independence vote

Politicians are making their final pleas to Scottish voters Wednesday, the last day of campaigning before they head to the ballot box to vote on independence.

Opinion polls put the two sides neck-and-neck ahead of Thursday's historic referendum, which could see Scotland split from the United Kingdom.

The latest poll of polls, released Wednesday by ScotCen, an independent research center, shows "no" at 51% and "yes" at 49%, with "don't know" voters excluded. It is consistent with results over the past week or so, which have indicated the race is too close to call.

Polls suggest around 8% of voters remain undecided, making their votes crucial to deciding the outcome of the referendum.

As the vote nears, emotions are running high on both sides, dividing families and polarizing communities.

The leader of the pro-independence campaign, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, will tell "Yes Scotland" campaigners in Perth on Wednesday evening that they have run the "greatest campaign in Scottish history," according to an advance copy of his speech.

"We meet tonight on the eve of the most exciting day in Scottish democracy. We do so to catch our breath for the day ahead -- a day which Scotland will never forget," he will say.

"Tomorrow is the opportunity of a lifetime. A precious chance to leave our mark in the pages of history."

Gordon Brown: This is everyone's country

But former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, himself a Scot, called on his fellow countrymen and women Wednesday to vote "no" to independence with confidence.

Speaking in Glasgow, he said, "This is everyone's flag, everyone's country, everyone's culture, everyone's street and let us tell the people of Scotland that we who vote 'no' love our Scotland and love our country."

Scotland's many past and present achievements, Brown said, "happen not outside the union but inside the union. They happen not in spite of the union but because of the union."

There were chaotic scenes as Labour Party leader Ed Miliband met with members of the public on Tuesday, forcing him to cut short a meet and greet.

The issue of spending on social welfare and health care, through the National Health Service, has been central to campaigning. Questions over the economy, North Sea oil reserves and taxation have also been key.

Each side has argued that it is the best equipped to create more jobs for Scotland.

In a rare show of unity, the leaders of the UK's three main political parties penned a vow on Tuesday -- published on the front page of the Scottish Daily Record newspaper -- to transfer more powers to Scotland if it rejects independence in Thursday's vote

12 Nigerian Soldiers Sentenced To Death For Mutiny

A military court sitting in Abuja on Monday found 13 out of the 18 soldiers standing trial for mutiny and other offences guilty.

Twelve of the convicted soldiers were sentenced to death, five were discharged and acquitted while the remaining one was jailed for 28 days with hard labour.

The soldiers had on May 14, 2014 fired shots at the General Officer Commanding the newly created 7 Division of Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Mohammmed, in Maiduguri.

The act is viewed in the military as mutiny.

Those discharged are David Robert, Mohammed Sani, Iseh Ubong, Sebastine Gwaba and Naaman Samuel.

Jeremiah Echocho was sentenced to 28 days with hard labour.

Those who were sentenced to death are Jasper Braidolor, David Musa, Friday Onuh, Yusuf Shuaibu, Igonmu Emmanuel, Andrew Ugbede, Nurudeen Ahmed, Ifeanyi Alukagba, Alao Samuel, Amadi Chukwuma, Alan Linus, and Stephen Clement.

They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, mutiny, attempt to commit murder (shooting of the vehicle of the GOC); insubordination to a particular order; insubordination and false accusation.

The President of the Court Martial, Maj. Gen. C.C. Okonkwo, said the 12 soldiers were found guilty of three of the most heinous charges bars.

The legal team of the convicts pleaded with the court martial to temper justice with mercy.

The team reeled out pathetic stories about the family backgrounds of the convicted servicemen.

One was said to be the only son of his octogenarian widowed mother.

Another is the father of a five-month-old baby.

The defence team argued that giving them maximum sentence would do more harm than good, adding that it would increase the agony of their dependants.

The attack on the GOC and his men reportedly occurred when they visited the cantonment.

The Maimalari Cantonment is the headquarters of 7 Division, the newest Division of the Nigerian Army.

Military sources said that soldiers at the cantonment had been complaining of insufficient ammunition, food and allowances prior to the GOC’s visit.

They were also reportedly unhappy and their morale was at its lowest ebb because there had not been troop rotation for a long time since their deployment to combat Boko Haram terrorists in the North- East.

“The GOC’s visit coincided with the arrival of the corpses of soldiers killed in an ambush in Chibok on the night of May 13, 2014.

“The apparently agitated soldiers, on sighting the corpses of their slain colleagues became hysteric. Some opened fire on the GOC, who was lucky to have escaped unhurt. However, the bullets hit and seriously injured some of his bodyguards, who also fled to safety,” the source said.

http://www.punchng.com/news/12-soldiers-who-attacked-goc-sentenced-to-death/