What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

EDITORIAL 1: Saving lives in the deep

Context

The Indian Navy on Friday commissioned INS Nistar at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

INS Nistar

• Indigenously designed and constructed by Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Nistar is the first of two diving support vessels (DSVs) that were ordered by the Navy in 2018.
• Its sister ship, Nipun, was launched in 2022, and is expected to be commissioned in the near future.
• Meant to support deep-sea diving and submarine rescue operations,these DSVs will enhance India’s operational preparedness in the underwater domain and reinforce the country’s strategic maritime posture across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Nistar & its capabilities

• The original INS Nistar was a submarine rescue vessel acquired by the Indian Navy from the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1969, and commissioned in 1971.
• It remained in service till 1989, during which time it was the centrepiece of the Navy’s diving and submarine rescue operations.
• The new Nistar will carry forward this legacy. But unlike its predecessor, it comprises more than 80% indigenous content, with about 120 MSMEs having participated in its construction.
• This makes Nistar the first indigenously designed and constructeddiving support and submarine rescue vessel in India.
• With a displacement of around 10,500 tonnes, length of almost 120 metres, beam of more than 20 metres, and an endurance of more than 60 days at sea, the new Nistar is also larger and more capable than its 800-tonne predecessor.
• Nistar’s specialised onboard diving complex has both air and saturation diving systems, which are complemented by underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and side scan SONARs.
• Moreover, Nistar will be the mothership of an advanced deep submergence rescue vehicle (DSRV). The Indian Navy acquired two DSRVs from the UK’s M/s James Fisher & Sons in 2018 and 2019 — one each for Nistar and Nipun.
• Nistar can also carry a 15-tonne subsea crane, and support helicopter operations.
• Aboard Nistar is an operation theatre, an intensive care unit, and an eight-bedded hospital with hyperbaric medical facilities, all critical towards meeting the vessel’s operational roles, the Navy said.

Why this matters

• The induction of Nistar into the Navy after the successful integration of the two DSRVs is a major milestone for India’s deep-sea capabilities.
• With the Navy continuing to expand its submarine arm, it has to reckon with increased operational risks of operating in the deep sea.
• These risks demand a technologically capable platform for submarine rescue operations— the primary mandate of the Nistar-class vessels.
• Nistar is built to be both a diving support and a submarine rescue vessel, making it a strategic platform which strengthens India’s position as a net maritime security provider within the IOR and beyond.
• With the induction of the two DSRVs in 2018-19, India entered a groupd of only 12 nations with these dedicated capabilities,and one of the very few possessing DSRVs that can be requisitioned by another country and airlifted for rapid international deployment during emergencies.
• Until now, however, the Navy relied on commercially leased platforms for the deployment of DSRVs,limiting its instant-deployment capabilities and round-the-clock rescue readiness.
• The vessel’s dynamic positioning and diving support features mean that the vessel can operate autonomously in the high seas. Officials said that its high transit speed ensures rapid deployment during emergencies, drastically reducing response time in scenarios where every minute counts.

Conclusion

In a world where underwater operations are becoming more complex and risks more unpredictable, INS Nistar ensures that India not only safeguards its own interests but is also ready and equipped to serve the greater good of global maritime safety.

 

EDITORIAL 2: Respect thy neighbour

Context

Recent developments in India-China relations, including high-level meetings, suggest that ties are on the mend after prolonged estrangement caused by the bloodletting at Galwan in 2020.

New direction to ties

• The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the 16th BRICS summit at Kazan on October 23, 2024, gave new direction to ties.
• The resumption of patrolling and grazing activities in eastern Ladakh at the remaining friction points paved the way for disengagement.
• During recent visits to China for SCO meetings, both Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have spoken of the need for early de-escalation in the border areas to facilitate normalisation of ties.
• The resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this year after a gap of five years has been well-received across India.
• Yet several key issues remain to be addressed, such as direct flights, stationing of journalists, business visas and the issue of upper riparian river waters data.
• In a positive turnaround, the BRICS Joint Declaration issued following the summit meeting in Brazil, attended by PM Modi, specifically condemns the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
• It censures terrorism, rejects safe havens and calls out the double standards in countering terrorism.

BRICS role

• This is the first time that a BRICS statement has specifically condemned any terrorist attack in J&K.
• This vindicates Modi’s proactive stance on combating terrorism as well as the dispatching of all-party delegations to sensitise key nations about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and Operation Sindoor.
• This shows that India and China can reach a consensus on terrorism as part of a broader multilateral context.
• It may instil confidence at the bilateral level. In the past, China has placed technical blocks on listing Pakistan-based terrorists at the UN.
• However, the forthcoming SCO summit declaration may not reflect the BRICS formula on terrorism,given Pakistan’s membership of the grouping.

Peace on the border

• Going by the statements made by the Indian leadership in recent months, it is evident that peace and tranquillity on the border remain integral to the normalisation of ties.  It took years to rebuild ties after the border war in 1962.
• In recent years, the adverse balance of trade with China and the lack of reciprocal market access have shaped public and political opinion in India.
• Fresh concerns have recently arisen over restrictions placed by China on the export of rare earth magnets for EVs to India, wind turbines and electronics,besides tunnel boring machines and certain high-value fertilisers.

China and Pakistan

• China’s “all-weather friendship” with Pakistan has soured bilateral ties with India.
• The strategic cooperation with Pakistan, including in the defence and nuclear fields, is a case in point.
• As Operation Sindoor unfolded, Chinese analysts undertook misinformation campaignsto question India’s military success and cast aspersions on its equipment and tactics.
• India’s non-participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Beijing’s three Global Initiativesis for a valid reason.
• The CPEC, a flagship project of the BRI, traverses Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and violates India’s sovereignty.
• Lack of consultation and transparency in regard to China’s growing presencein the region, including the Indian Ocean, is cause enough for misgivings.

Suggestions

• Equality and mutual respect should form the bedrock of bilateral relations. Respect for core concerns cannot be one-sided.
• China frequently seeks reaffirmation from India of the One China principle with regard to Taiwan and Tibet.
• The presence of the Dalai Lama in India and the succession question are viewed by Beijing as sensitive issues. Yet, Beijing has failed to reciprocate on India’s core interests, whether on Jammu & Kashmir or its nexus with Pakistan.

Way forward

• The positive signs in India-China relations are encouraging. The deep deficit of trust, however, calls for sustained efforts.
• The two sides must move forward with realistic expectations. The road ahead is arduous. Yet, forging a stable and cooperative relationship between the two Asian neighbours is a goal worth pursuing.