Important Articles from The Indian Express Newspaper September 2020

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1) Better late-

GS 2- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

CONTEXT:

On Tuesday, the global pharma major AstraZeneca announced that it is putting a halt to the ongoing clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine, after a volunteer developed inflammation (swelling) in her spinal cord.

ADVERSE REACTION:

  1. The Swedish-British company, which is developing the vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University, has confirmed that the volunteer from the UK, who developed the adverse (unfavourable) reaction, was administered the vaccine.
  2. It has said that an independent panel will investigate what went wrong.
  3. The pharma company’s Indian collaborator, the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, has also put the vaccine’s trials on hold.
  4. It is too early to say if these suspensions amount to a setback in the global efforts to develop a preventive against the novel coronavirus.
  5. But there are enough reasons to suggest that there is no need to jump to pessimistic (negative) conclusions.
  6. The review should, instead, be seen as a part of the rigorous (strict) scrutiny that vaccine candidates must go through.

NOT RARE:

  1. Adverse events during vaccine tests are not rare — in 2014, work on the Ebola vaccine was temporarily stopped because some volunteers suffered arthritis.
  2. Unlike the first two phases of the trials, in which healthy adults are administered the vaccine, Phase 3 trials involve a large number of participants some of whom could have an underlying medical condition.
  3. Oxford AstraZeneca’s UK trials reportedly include volunteers over 70 years of age, which increases the risk of adverse events.
  4. The volunteer who fell ill after being administered the vaccine candidate developed symptoms of transverse Myelitis — a rare neurological disorder that is treated with steroids, though serious cases are known to leave lasting disabilities.
  5. There is also the possibility that the volunteer’s illness has no direct connection with the vaccine.
  6. In July, preliminary trials of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine were temporarily stopped because a volunteer developed neurological symptoms, later found unrelated to the jab (poke).
  7. The review process will tease out whether the latest adverse reaction was coincident with the trial or caused by it.

RACE TO DEVELOP VACCINE:

  1. The pause in the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials comes at a time when there is a virtual scramble to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.
  2. There are concerns in the US that the country’s regulatory agencies could be pressured to approve a vaccine before the presidential elections in November.
  3. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the country’s vaccination drive could begin in late October.
  4. The adverse event at the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials — and the vaccine developers’ response — is a sobering reminder that vaccine development is not about winning a race.

CONCLUSION:

  1. Science must be followed and due procedures should take their course.
  2. Suspension of Oxford trials is a sobering reminder: There are no shortcuts to vaccine development.

2) Five point reprieve-

GS 3- Security challenges and their management in border areas


CONTEXT:

The five-point framework that emerged out of a “frank and constructive” conversation between External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the margins of an international conference in Moscow has certainly raised hopes, if tentative, for defusing the extended military crisis on the Ladakh frontier.

RAY OF HOPE:

  1. But Delhi must keep its fingers crossed amidst the badly shaken trust in Beijing since the People’s Liberation Army’s surprise aggression during April-May.
  2. Jaishankar and Wang agreed that the two armies, now staring at each other at many points in Ladakh, must “quickly disengage” and “ease tensions”.
  3. Skeptics in South Block will note that this is not the first time in the last few months that Beijing has promised to stand down.
  4. In various telephonic conversations between the foreign ministers, Special Representatives on border negotiations, senior diplomats as well as in direct and continuous dialogue between military commanders on the ground, China raised expectations only to dash them quickly.

DISMISSIVE DIPLOMATIC TONE:

  1. The context for the talks between Jaishankar and Wang, however, has been somewhat different.
  2. In the first few months of the crisis, China appeared to have convinced itself that India had no option but to accept the new facts on the ground.
  3. This confidence was reflected in Beijing’s refusal to pull back its forces to peacetime locations, its dismissive diplomatic tone and the aggressive military actions to consolidate its territorial gains from the aggression.
  4. India’s repeated demand for restoration of the status quo ante (previous state of affairs) on the frontier seemed empty rhetoric, until the Indian army ramped up its mobilisation and boldly seized some high ground to challenge Chinese military positions.
  5. These moves on the frontier were matched by a series of economic measures against China unveiled by Delhi.
  6. India’s demonstration of the political resolve to escalate the conflict and the military capability to back it may have probably convinced Beijing that it needs to rethink its approach to the current crisis.

UNCERTAINITY:

  1. Although the change in China’s political tone is welcome, there is no missing the deep differences that continue to complicate the path towards comprehensive military disengagement and de-escalation.
  2. If the joint statement issued after the Jaishankar-Wang talks is a bare-bones agreement, the separate explanatory comments from Delhi and Beijing reveal the challenges ahead.
  3. While India insists that the objective of the exercise is to “restore” the status quo ante, there is no explicit Chinese commitment to that goal.
  4. While Beijing wants to separate the border conflict from the rest of the relationship, Delhi says the two are inextricably interlinked.
  5. As the military commanders and diplomats try and turn the five-point consensus on principles into tangible outcomes on the ground, there will be problems — including over the nature of the steps and their sequencing.

CONCLUSION:

While Delhi must negotiate with China in good faith, it cannot again mistake Beijing’s diplomatic words for PLA’s deeds.

3) A New Equilibrium-

GS 3- Security challenges and their management in border areas


CONTEXT:

  1. The events on the night of August 29-30 once again highlighted the gravity of the situation in the ongoing standoff between the Indian Army and Chinese PLA in Ladakh.
  2. It is to the credit of the Indian Army that the troops were alert and displayed resilience in pre-empting the designs of the PLA on the critical southern bank of Pangong Tso.
  3. There is growing frustration at China’s intransigence (not willing to compromise) vis-a-vis the confrontation that started in April.
  4. There has been no positive outcome on ground, despite diplomatic overtures, innumerable military interactions and three apex-level marathon discussions between the corps commanders.
  5. Talks between at the highest diplomatic levels have not given tangible results.
  6. Instead of withdrawing, there is a massive build-up of Chinese forces in the areas of intrusion.

OPERATIONAL READINESS:

  1. India must not fall into complacency and take measures for not only forestalling Chinese belligerence (aggressive/war-like behavior) but be poised for gaining the upper hand in case of the extreme eventuality of an armed confrontation.
  2. The armed forces need to ensure a high state of “operational readiness” until the onset of the severe winter.
  3. Operational logistics need to be pragmatic (practical/sensible). The administrative challenge of maintaining troop accretions at this altitude, during the winter season, will be of serious concern.
  4. The political-diplomatic initiative will need to be on an overdrive to ensure that the current standoff is resolved without conflict.
  5. But in case of conflict, it must be localised to the Ladakh region. Lastly, it is important to ensure that the country is not faced with a “two-front conflict”.

NEED FOR CLARITY:

  1. There should be no doubt that in any military confrontation we are on our own and have to be prepared accordingly.
  2. Also, irrespective of all the hype of “new-age warfare” and “maritime power”, limited conventional conflict is still the reality for India due to the expanse of its disputed borders.
  3. Therefore, there is a need for clarity at the apex level that expenses incurred for sharpening the arsenal of the armed forces is money well spent.
  4. Till Make in India-Defence matures, there is a need for time-bound provisioning of essential war-waging wherewithal.
  5. The prime minister’s resolute leadership has resulted in a meaningful disapproval of Chinese high handedness.
  6. It has also led to the banning of nearly 200 Chinese applications. These applications were being exploited by Chinese companies, for illegal data mining.
  7. These technologically advanced companies are intricately linked to the PLA and Communist Party of China.

ISOLATING CHINA:

  1. Politically and diplomatically, we must ensure continued US and international pressure at China’s other pain points — the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong.
  2. We need to continue to isolate China on its insidious role in starting the current pandemic.
  3. We need to strengthen the Quad and other multilateral regional groupings of like-minded countries.
  4. There is also a need to create a US-led international consensus that deters Pakistan from any aggressive plans while we are addressing the northern neighbour.
  5. We need to seriously consider signalling with our “strategic assets” that China limit the use of missiles in any conflict, as it is difficult to distinguish between nuclear and conventional missiles in a hot war situation.
  6. To enhance deterrence, India must spell out its red lines, especially when it comes to territorial intrusions.
  7. We need to insist on the reworking of current bilateral agreements with an unequivocal “no war pact” with China and a categorical, time-bound resolution of all border issues.

CONCLUSION:

  1. India-China relationship has been irreversibly altered. The recent posturing in the Chushul sector is indicative of India’s resoluteness to tackle border issues.
  2. It has for the first time taken the initiative to change the narrative. This will presumably lead to breaking the deadlock.
  3. However, the loss of trust and China’s insidious statecraft will also weigh heavily on future engagements.
  4. In the words of the NSA and foreign minister, India has realised that it needs to create a new equilibrium in its future relations with its neighbours, including China.

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