News + Media

	Analysis + Opinion June 23, 2020 Covid-19 news and activities Here you can find a running list of Covid-19 news stories, features, and events that involve members of the CIS community.
	In the News June 23, 2020 India-China standoff: Prof M Taylor Fravel speaks on the false claim of Galwan by China Rahul KanwalIndia Today In this special broadcast of Newstrack, Rahul Kanwal exposes the cartographic aggression of China and speaks with Taylor Fravel on the matter.
	In the News June 22, 2020 India has closed military gap with China along border Pramit Pal ChaudhuriHindustan Times M Taylor Fravel quoted: “China has just over 10 percent of its ground forces [in its western theatre], a very large part of the country, and not even all these troops are focused on India.” But because China does not want to deploy a large fraction of its forces in Tibet or Xinjiang, he added, “I think this disparity in the local balance makes China especially sensitive to changes that improves India’s position.”
	In the News June 21, 2020 Xi plays tough, but can China afford to make an enemy of India? Emma Graham-HarrisonThe Guardian M Taylor Fravel quoted: “I feel it’s generally a response to the pressure Xi feels he is under,” said Fravel. “Because of Covid and the criticism China faced internationally, the economic crisis at home, and the concomitant deterioration of China-US relations, [Beijing] has taken a tough stance on a number of sovereignty issues as a way of signalling that China will not be cowed.”
	In the News June 20, 2020 Modi says China isn’t occupying Indian territory after clash Archana ChaudharyBloomberg Vipin Narang quoted: “The biggest implication is that wherever the Chinese have in fact changed the ground status quo—whether in Galwan Valley or Pangong Tso or elsewhere—is tacitly being accepted by the government as de facto Chinese claims,” said Vipin Narang. “One can litigate whether this is in fact ‘Indian territory,’ but it is tacitly accepting whatever faits accomplis China has undertaken.”
	In the News June 19, 2020 China lays claim to entire Galwan Valley Ananth KrishnanThe Hindu M Taylor Fravel quoted: "Chinese maps that I have seen show almost all of the Galwan River as lying within the territory China claims in the area,” M Taylor Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military at MIT, told The Hindu earlier. "The one discrepancy would be the western tip of the Galwan River as it meets the Shyok River. Here, the last few kilometres of the Galwan River are often depicted as lying beyond China’s border. How one defines the parameters of the valley itself might be different than the river, however.”
	In the News June 19, 2020 China Flexes Territorial Muscle – Recent India border clash signals risk Beijing will take in approach to disputes, experts say Chun Han WongThe Wall Street Journal M Taylor Fravel quoted: The use of such forceful tactics "reflects a continuity in China's approach under Xi," said M Taylor Fravel, a professor and director of the MIT Security Studies Program at MIT. "Whether it marks an inflection point in China's foreign policy and a willingness to use force in territorial disputes depends on what happens in the next few days and weeks."
	In the News June 19, 2020 'PLA was acting with higher approval' Pottayil RajendranRediff M Taylor Fravel interviewed on the China-India border dispute. "I don't think China is looking for a wider conflict with India on the China-India border," Dr Fravel tells Senior Rediff.com Contributor Pottayil Rajendran. Read the interview
	In the News June 18, 2020 Modi denies any Indian territory was lost in China clash The Associated PressThe New York Times M Taylor Fravel quoted: From a strategic perspective, Fravel said, China should want to drive a wedge between India and the United States to prevent any kind of counter-balance coalition. "The deaths and the clash on Monday night will probably very quickly and much more rapidly push India closer to the United States, which I think is probably not what China wants,” he said.
	In the News June 18, 2020 Modi finds neighbors silent as India-China tensions simmer Archana Chaudhary and Bibhudatta PradhanBloomberg Vipin Narang quoted: “The optimistic view is that the tragic loss of life will incentivize both governments to energize their efforts to resolve the border dispute,” said Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT and author of ‘Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict.’ “The pessimistic view is that China has no intention of relieving the pressure that it is putting across the entire Line of Actual Control and that this is a long way from being over.”