International Relations 1 Year Current Affairs – Free PDF Download

Topics to discuss

Topics related to Neighbourhood Countries

1. India –China
2. India- Nepal
3. India- Sri Lanka
4. India- Myanmar
5. India- Maldives

Q) Which among the following is correct regarding India-China  relationship?

• China is India’s largest trading Partner
• China has trade surplus of more than $50 billion USD with India

Of these options

1.  1 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 2 both
4. None of the above

WHY IN NEWS

India China Strategic Economic dialogue

• It is a bilateral dialogue platform between the planning bodies of India and China- the Planning Commission of India (now NITI Aayog) and the National  Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China.
• The idea of having such a dialogue was first floated by Premier Wen Jiabao on his visit to India in 2010

India-China Economic Relations

• In 1984, India and China entered into a Trade Agreement, which provided them with
• the status of Most Favored Nation.
• China is India’s second largest trading partner (US is the largest); whereas India is within the top ten of China’s trading partner.

India has a trade deficit of $51.11 billion USD with China.

• Indian imports from china: Electrical machinery and power equipment, Fertilizers.
• Indian Exports to China: Resource-based items such as iron ore and cotton

WHY IN NEWS

Second India-China Informal summit

• The second informal summit between India and China took place in
• Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu)

Important points of the summit

• Establish a High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue mechanism.
• The year 2020 will be designated as Year of India-China Cultural and People to People Exchanges.
• ‘Sister-state relationship’ between Tamil Nadu and Fujian Province.
• Chennai connect to manage differences in such a way that they would “not allow differences on any issue to become disputes”.
• First informal summit took place in April 2018 in Wuhan.

Sister City Relationships

• Sister cities or twin towns are a form of legal or social agreement between towns, cities, counties, states etc. in geographically and politically distinct areas to  promote cultural and commercial ties.

Some sister city arrangements

• Aurangabad and Dunhuang (China) Hyderabad and Qingdao (China)  Chennai and Chongoing (China)  Ahmedabad and Kobe (Japan)  Delhi and Chicago (USA

WHY IN NEWS

Border Dispute in Arunachal Pradesh

• China objected to Home Minister’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh to celebrate its 34th Statehood Day where he has launched multiple projects related to  industry and roads
• India shares a 1,140 km long boundary with China in the eastern sector.
• It runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to the trijunction of Tibet, India and
• Myanmar (in figure). This boundary line is called McMahon Line.
• However, China considers the McMahon Line illegal and unacceptable and claims Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of south Tibet or Tibet Autonomous  Region (TAR).
• It claims that Tibetan representatives who had signed the 1914 Convention held in Shimla which delineated the McMahon line on the map did not had rights to do so.

WHY IN NEWS

• Nepal’s Armed Police Force (APF) has assured India, cooperation in checking doubtful “third country” operatives on its soil.
• The decision was inked during the fourth India- Nepal coordination meeting held between Indian border guarding force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and its  Nepalese counterpart Armed Police Force (APF) at Pokhara, Nepal.

Third Country Operatives

• Third country operatives means people of country other than India and Nepal
• India and Nepal share free border and have some mutual concerns
• like smuggling of arms, fake currency, narcotics, other criminal activities and those related to anti-national elements and terrorists.
• All such concerns are from other neighbouring countries

Sashastra Seema Bal

• SSB comes under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is a part of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)
• It was established in 1963 in the aftermath of the Chinese aggression in 1962.
• It is currently deployed at 2450 kms long Indo- Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders across the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim,  Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It has also been declared as the Lead Intelligence Agency for these border areas

WHY IN NEWS

Motihari – Amlekhgunj Oil Pipeline

• The 69-km long petroleum pipeline from Motihari in Bihar to Amelkhgunj in Nepal has been constructed by India.
• This is the first transnational petroleum pipeline from India, first South Asian oil pipeline corridor and first oil pipeline in Nepal.
• It will ensure smooth, cost-effective and environment-friendly supply of petroleum products to Nepal.
• The Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline project was first proposed in 1996.
• The two governments had inked an agreement to execute the project in August 2015

WHY IN NEWS

• India Nepal    recently inaugurated 2^nd   Integrated Check Post at
• Jogbani (Bihar)– Biratnagar (Nepal).
• The first was at Raxaul, Bihar.

Integrated Check Post

• ICPs are envisaged to provide all the facilities required for smooth cross-border movement of individuals, vehicles and goods under an integrated complex.
• It has integrated 3 main border related functions – customs, immigration and border security.
• Operational Integrated Check Posts:
• Attari in Punjab (Pakistan),
• Petrapole in West Bengal (Bangladesh), Akhaura in Tripura (Bangladesh),  Raxaul in Bihar (Nepal),
• Jogbani in Bihar (Nepal), Moreh in Manipur (Myanmar).

WHY IN NEWS

Major Outcome of the Visit

• Expressed Sri Lanka’s willingness to seek cooperation and progress in

SAARC.

• He asked India to defer debt repayments for 3 years so that other countries can follow suit. Sri Lanka owes approximately $60 billion total foreign and  domestic debt

Development in India Sri Lanka relations

• India signed MoUs to develop Trincomalee port and oil tank farms, and LNG terminals in Kerawalapitiya near Colombo.
• Joint India-Japan agreement to develop the East Container Terminal at Colombo harbour, and offer to operate the Mattala Airport in Sri Lanka.
• India is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner globally, while Sri Lanka is India’s second largest trading partner in the SAARC.

Addu Atoll is in news is present in which of the following ocean?

• Pacific Ocean
• Atlantic Ocean
• Indian Ocean
• Arctic Ocean

WHY IN NEWS

Addu Tourism Zone

• Addu Atoll is also known as Seenu Atoll, and is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives
• There are small lakes,    wetlands,            and        marshy taro fields (a tropical plant  grown primarily for its edible corms i.e. a root vegetable) that are unique to  Addu Atoll.
• This atoll has some of the earliest known settlements recorded in the country
• Addu Atoll is located 540 km south of Malé, the country’s capital.

Atoll

• An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef that surrounds a body of water called a lagoon.

Q) Free movement Regime is seen in news is between India and which of  the following countries?

• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Myanmar

WHY IN NEWS

Important Takeaway of the visit

• Opening of coordinated bus service between Imphal and Mandalay.
• India’s assistance in the construction of Integrated Check Point at Tamu, Myanmar, bordering Manipur.

Free Movement Regime

• In order to facilitate free movement of the tribal people along the border of India and Myanmar, the mechanism of the free movement regime was introduced.
• Free Movement Regime (FMR) allows the tribes living along the border to travel 16 km across the boundary without visa restrictions.

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