News + Media

	In the News July 13, 2020 US says most of China’s claims in South China Sea are illegal Edward Wong and Michael CrowleyThe New York Times M Taylor Fravel quoted: “The statement is a full-throated endorsement of the tribunal’s ruling,” said M Taylor Fravel, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies China’s territorial disputes and its military.
	In the News July 10, 2020 US tells foreign students with online classes to go, universities look at options Karishma Mehrotra Indian Express Vipin Narang quoted: “There’s always been this concern about these online-only, for-profit, F1 scam businesses. But this directive seems a little more carefully crafted to target institutions like MIT. If all they want is some in-person component for online classes, I’ll be happy to do that. If this targets legitimate students in legitimate institutions, then any loophole that would allow faculty and institutions to make a class ‘hybrid’ would be exploited.”
	In the News July 8, 2020 History contradicts new Chinese claims over Bhutan's territory India Today BureauIndia Today M Taylor Fravel heavily quoted: Past Chinese maps, put out by prominent China expert and Director of the MIT Security Studies Program M Taylor Fravel, suggest that China has acknowledged the area as Bhutanese territory in the past. According to Fravel, the old Chinese maps “do not show Sakteng or nearby areas in Bhutan as Chinese territory”.
	In the News July 6, 2020 India-China agree to disengage at Galwan Valley; experts discuss the road ahead Parikshit LuthraCNBC-TV18 After a 60 day long confrontation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India and China have agreed to disengage and deescalate tensions at the LAC. Vipin Narang is among the experts who discuss the road ahead.
	In the News July 3, 2020 Trump slams China’s pattern of aggression Yashwant RajHindustan Times Vipin Narang heavily quoted: Narang said that one of the Trump administration’s foreign policy “bright spots” have been its relationship with India, and his personal bonhomie with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “That does not mean that the relationship is all roses, but there is a lot of sympathy and friendship toward India, across both parties and especially the Trump administration which has remained silent on domestic issues that some members of the Democratic Party have expressed concern about...”
	In the News July 3, 2020 First China, now Pakistan: How India's battling on two fronts Sudhi Ranjan SenBloomberg \| Quint Vipin Narang heavily quoted: “But my general sense is that Pakistan may feel like it needs to show resolve at home and to India in Jammu & Kashmir” after India changed the province's consitutional status in August last year, Narang said. Islamabad may “also be opportunistically taking advantage of India's distraction and focus on the LAC.”
	Analysis + Opinion July 2, 2020 India's Pangong pickle: New Delhi's options after its clash with China Christopher Clary and Vipin NarangWar on the Rocks India was surprised by the scale of China’s incursions and was initially caught unprepared. It now faces the difficult challenge of trying to restore the status quo.
	In the News June 28, 2020 Report: Boston minority communities hit hardest by evictions Michael CaseyAP News Justin Steil quoted: “The results are very troubling,” said Justin Steil, an associate professor of law and urban planning at MIT who authored the report with MIT researcher David Robinson. “It suggest that above and beyond income, housing cost measures that race continues to play a significant role in evictions,” he said. “We see white supremacy and anti-blackness functioning in the housing markets as well as other areas of social life.”
	In the News June 26, 2020 China’s military provokes its neighbors, but the message is for the United States Steven Lee MyersThe New York Times M Taylor Fravel quoted: “When China views it is being challenged in these other sovereignty disputes in this era, it will respond with a very tough line. China never had the ability to assert itself in the maritime domain until really in the last 10 or 15 years,” Mr Fravel said, noting the steady buildup of China’s naval and air forces. He added, “That has enabled China to press its claims in the East and South China Sea more than before.”
	Analysis + Opinion June 26, 2020 China’s sovereignty obsession M Taylor FravelForeign Affairs Beijing and New Delhi are now attempting to de-escalate tensions, but they have sent reinforcements to the border and eye each other warily. The series of events that led to the clash seems to have begun with China’s move into a portion of the Galwan Valley, raising questions about Chinese motives. Provoking India could push New Delhi to pursue closer ties with Washington at a time when US-Chinese relations are on a downward spiral.