Netanyahu first leader in Middle East to get a call from Biden

US President, Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on phone; nearly a month after Biden assumed the charge. Netanyahu was the first leader in the Middle East to get a call from Biden. The conversation lasted for nearly an hour. 

The two leaders noted their personal ties of many years and said they will work together to continue bolstering the strong alliance between Israel and the US.

The leaders agreed to continue a dialogue between them to promote peace agreements between Israel and states in the region, the Iranian threat and regional challenges.

Biden congratulated Netanyahu for his leadership in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and they exchanged opinions on the matter.

Biden affirmed his personal history of steadfast commitment to Israel's security in call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Biden emphasized US support for recent normalization of relations between Israel and countries in the Arab and Muslim word and underscored importance of working to advance peace throughout the region, including between Israelis and Palestinians.

“It was a good conversation,” Biden later told reporters in the Oval Office, where he was meeting US labor leaders.

The phone call came a day before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to hold a video conference with his counterparts in UK, France and Germany that are party to the 2015 Iran deal. The meeting comes after Tehran announced it would not allow snap inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency if the US does not lift sanctions imposed since 2018 by February 21.

The Biden administration seeks to rejoin the nuclear deal, which former US president Donald Trump left in 2018, as long as Tehran returns to full compliance with its limitations.

Israel is opposed to the deal, which would eventually permit Iran to enrich high levels of uranium that could lead to the development of a nuclear weapon. In recent weeks, Iran has begun enriching uranium to 20%, far beyond the limitations of the 2015 deal, and developing uranium metal.

The delay in Biden’s call sparked speculation that the president was distancing himself from Netanyahu, possibly in light of the prime minister’s tense relationship with former US President Barack Obama, under whom Biden was vice president, and his especially warm one with Trump, including after Biden won the 2020 election.

Netanyahu rejected those theories, most recently in an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday afternoon hours before the call, in which he said “Joe Biden is my personal friend for 40 years” and that he believes Biden will advance further peace agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim states.

Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan each called their Israeli counterparts twice in recent weeks.

Advisers for some of Netanyahu’s political rivals said officials in the Biden administration told them they were maintaining the strong US-Israel relationship while relaying a message that there would be “no special relationship” between Netanyahu and Biden.

Quad seeking collaborative defence arrangement to counter China

The effectiveness with which Russia and China have been able to exploit situations to make territorial gains has exposed a chronic vulnerability for collective defence regimes. Collective defence risks are becoming weaker for an era of strategic competition in the grey zone. The Quad implicitly acknowledges this and has developed as a collaborative defence arrangement that has the capacity to respond to the sorts of threats China poses.

For the Quad to succeed, Australia, India, Japan and the United States need to work together using force—or tactics that is either above or slightly below the threshold of armed conflict to block Chinese attempts to seize territory. They members need a coherent strategy to counter China’s other activities below the threshold of armed conflict.

This requires broad understanding of the defence using different elements of national power to counter a range of coercive threats. Each member needs to understand which levers should be pulled at what times in a coherent strategy that thwarts Beijing’s ability to achieve its political objectives at each stage of competition or conflict.

The more coercive the power China mobilizes, the fewer levers of national power the Quad members would need to pull. In a hypothetical example in the first part of this series, let us explore how Quad members might develop an effective military response to a Chinese attempt to seize Pratas Island from Taiwan. In that case, the four members of the Quad would be pulling down heavily on the military levers of national power—albeit at different stages of the conflict and in different theatres.

Responding to the most coercive of China’s threats is the easiest part of the Quad’s job. It gets harder if China mobilizes less coercive power when threatening the Quad’s interests in the Indo-Pacific. This is where the distinction between collective defence and collaborative defence becomes the key.

Over time, China has reclaimed land and transformed islands into military facilities that have increased its ability to project power across the Western Pacific. This has raised the costs for the US to defend its treaty allies, which undermines its presence in Asia.

For Japan and Australia, China’s South China Sea facilities pose a threat to the freedom of navigation each relies on for trade.

In India, the stakes may not be as high, but any erosion of international norms in the South China Sea would set an unwelcome precedent as the Chinese military increases its presence in the Indian Ocean. The differing stakes for each country in the Quad have made a collective response impossible.

However, an effective response to China’s grey-zone coercion need not be ‘collective’. In 2017, Ely Ratner, Biden’s top China adviser at the Pentagon, argued in Foreign Affairs that the US should ‘abandon its neutrality and help countries in the region defend their claims’.

Ratner suggested that the US help treaty allies such as the Philippines with joint land-reclamation projects, increased arms sales and improved basing access. Other Quad members would also need to draw upon their own bilateral partnerships to help claimant states build resilience to Beijing’s grey-zone operations. The Quad would be a subtle means of helping Southeast Asian claimants defend their sovereignty against China’s creeping expansionism.

Ratner’s proposal shows collaborative defence in action with the aid of the Indo-Pacific’s established great power. While Washington is laying the groundwork to compete with China in the grey zone, Australia could strengthen its maritime capacity-building initiatives and joint naval exercises with Malaysia and Indonesia in archipelagic Southeast Asia.

India and Japan could each increase the frequency of their bilateral naval exercises with Vietnam. The Quad could agree to conduct Exercise Malabar in the South China Sea, while members of the ‘blue dot network’ could jointly finance critical infrastructure projects in littoral states. An effective strategy would require each Quad member to use a mix of diplomacy, aid, military exchanges, arms sales, joint exercises and new basing infrastructure.

None of these initiatives will achieve results immediately, but nor did China’s island-building campaign. Over time, each initiative will shift the burden of escalation back to China. With each Quad member working independently and collaboratively to embolden claimant states to defend their maritime rights, Beijing will incur new risks when rotating new fighters on Fiery Cross Reef or contemplating further incursions into the Natuna Islands.

Collaboration will allow each Quad member to find out how best to draw on its bilateral partnerships to embolden claimant states to defend their interests. The Quad will be invisible, but omnipresent in Southeast Asia. That’s precisely the threat that Beijing doesn’t want to deal with.

To succeed as a collaborative defence arrangement, the Quad needs to be guided by three principles. Its members need to work independently on their bilateral relationships to improve claimant states’ ability to defend their interests; they must exercise together whenever strategic circumstances require it; and they need to share notes on regional strategy, knowing it will be much harder for China to secure further territorial gains if it’s on the back foot.

Israel not to engage with Biden on Iran nuclear strategy

Israel has openly declared, it would not engage with US President Joe Biden on strategy regarding the Iranian nuclear program, urged tougher sanctions and a credible military threat against Iran, its arch-enemy. 

"We will not be able to be part of such a process if the new administration returns to that deal," Ambassador to United States, Gilad Erdan told Israel's Army Radio.

The remarks by Israel's envoy to Washington came at a touchy juncture for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Up for re-election next month, he has revived his hard line on Iran, while not yet having any direct communication with Biden.

Joe Biden has expressed repeatedly, the US return to a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran - which former President Donald Trump had quit, restoring sanctions - if the Iranians recommit to their own obligations. Washington has also said it wants to confer with allies in the Middle East about such moves.

"We will not be able to be part of such a process if the new administration returns to that deal," Ambassador Gilad Erdan told Israel's Army Radio.

Netanyahu aides have privately questioned whether engaging with US counterparts might backfire, for Israel, by falsely signaling its consent for any new deal that it still opposes.

Israel was not a party to the 2015 deal. It has powerful advocates within the US Congress. However, Netanyahu's threats to take unilateral military action on Iran if he deems diplomacy a dead end also figure into big-power planning.

"We think that if the United States returns to the same accord that it already withdrew from, all its leverage will be lost," Erdan said.

"It would appear that only crippling sanctions - keeping the current sanctions and even adding new sanctions - combined with a credible military threat - that Iran fears - might bring Iran to real negotiations with Western countries that might ultimately produce a deal truly capable of preventing it breaking ahead (to nuclear arms)."

The Biden administration has said it wants to strengthen and lengthen constraints on Iran, which denies seeking the bomb.

Android based apps spying on Pakistanis

According to a US based cyber security company, two malware programs based on an Android platform that emerged in India have been spying on sensitive institutions. The report said it has discovered the two malware, Hornbill and SunBird, which are used by a cyber group named Confucius that first appeared in 2013 as a state-sponsored, pro-India actor primarily pursuing Pakistani and other South Asian targets.

"Targets of these tools include personnel linked to Pakistan’s military, nuclear authorities, and Indian election officials in Kashmir," the statement said.

"Hornbill and SunBird have sophisticated capabilities to exfiltrate SMS, encrypted messaging app content, and geo-location, among other types of sensitive information," it added.

Confucius had created in the past malware for Windows operating systems, but the group has been known developing mobile malware since 2017 when the spying app ChatSpy was created.

While SunBird has a remote access function that can execute commands on a device by an attacker, Hornbill is a surveillance tool that can extract data from users.

"SunBird has been disguised as applications that include Security services, such as the fictional “Google Security Framework”, Apps tied to specific locations (“Kashmir News”) or activities (“Falconry Connect” and “Mania Soccer”), Islam-related applications (“Quran Majeed”)," the report said.

The majority of applications appear to target Muslim individuals, the report added.

Both malware, which are circulated as fake Android apps, can access users' call logs, contacts, images, browser history, and they take screenshots and photos with the device camera.

Some major targets included an ''individual who applied for a position at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, individuals with numerous contacts in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), as well as officers responsible for electoral rolls (Booth Level Officers) located in the Pulwama district of Kashmir", the analysis found.

"The data included information on victims in Europe and the United States, some of which appear to be targets of spouse ware or stalkerware. It also included data on Pakistani nationals in Pakistan, India, and the United Arab Emirates that we believe may have been targeted by Confucius APT campaigns between 2018 and 2019," the detailed report added.

 

India trying to widen breach between Pakistan and Bangladesh

Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami on Monday indicated the trial of genocide committed by Pakistan during the 1971 liberation war can take place anytime as there is no statute of limitations in terms of times, reports UNB.

“I think we should be clear about it without getting into legal formalities…in other words, even if something happened long ago,” he said.

The High Commissioner said that there was no statute of limitation on any kind of arrangement that may have been arrived in and this is something entirely within the jurisdiction of the Government of Bangladesh to assess the history and see how this goes forward.

Doraiswami came up with the remarks when asked which provision of the 1974 tripartite agreement is holding back to try the Pakistani Generals who committed genocide during the war of liberation in 1971.

“History is history,” said the High Commissioner noting that the question is historically very relevant in this historic year when Bangladesh is set to celebrate the 50 years of its Independence.

The Indian diplomat was speaking at ‘DCAB Talk’ organized by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the Jatiya Press Club. DCAB President Pantho Rahman and General Secretary A K M Moinuddin also spoke at the event.

Bangladesh has recently reiterated the importance of resolving outstanding bilateral issues with Pakistan, including an official apology from Pakistan for the genocide it committed during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971.

Bangladesh also sought completion of the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh, and settling the issue of the division of assets.

Bangladesh has made it clear that it cannot forget the atrocities committed by Pakistan in 1971 and the pain will remain there forever.

United Arab Emirates appoints first ambassador to Israel

Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has sworn in the country's first ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Khaja, according to the Dubai Media Office.

The UAE's cabinet last month approved the establishment of an embassy in Tel Aviv in Israel, state media said, while Israel announced its embassy had opened in Abu Dhabi, after the UAE and Israel agreed to normalize relations.

Hundreds of Israelis booked flights and went to visit the Gulf state after the historical signature of the Abraham Accords. In light of this, the Tourism Ministry is hoping to attract many new tourists from the UAE as soon as travel returns when COVID-19 infection rates drop.

However, due to Israel closing its border in efforts to contain new coronavirus variants, hundreds of Israeli remained stuck in Dubai. 

In addition to tourism, Israel and the UAE are currently building bridges in a variety of sectors, from hi-tech to space exploration and ag-tech.

The UAE's Hope Probe success in entering orbit around Mars last week places it in the unique club of only five agencies able to reach the red planet so far. The Gulf state even has plans for settlements on Mars, which it hopes would become a reality in less than a century. 

Israel's own Beresheet moon project is meant to launch a second mission in three year's time. The scientific cooperation between the Start up Nation and the UAE is likely to be at the focus of diplomats, and think tanks, from both countries in the near future.

Israel and the UAE both had important milestones last year points to how important the current relations are. Israel and the UAE have many shared interests, whether it is a shared regional outlook about threats and instability, or the fact that both countries are close partners of the United States.

Both countries are also pioneering technology products, whether in fintech or food tech or other sectors, many of which have been on display, or will be soon, in joint ventures and exhibitions in the UAE which Israelis are taking part in.

For instance, Israeli companies flocked to the GITEX trade show last year and hope to be at IDEX in Abu Dhabi this month and also GISEC this summer.

Need for further consolidating Pakistan-Brazil diplomatic and trade relations

Brazil can be rightly termed an emerging economic power in the world – 6th by GDP after US, China, Japan, Germany and France. Brazil has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets and is one of a group of four emerging economies called the BRIC countries.

The relations between Pakistan-Brazil are friendly and face zero issues. Brazil considers Pakistan an important country, and wants to promote relations in areas of trade, agriculture, defense, tourism and education. Brazil has been granting scholarships to Pakistani students and this number has been increasing over the years.

Brazil is keen in boosting bilateral trade ties with Pakistan as both countries have great potential to enhance trade in diverse fields. Pakistan produces a number of products which are in high demand in Brazil. Pakistani exporters should make efforts to enhance their exports to Brazil.

It is worth noting that number of Pakistani products go to Europe and then sold to other countries, including Brazil at high prices. Pakistan has opportunity to focus on promoting direct exports to achieve better results.

Although, Brazil was among the 5 largest world producers in 2013, its textile industry is very little integrated into world trade.

Brazil has great expertise in producing renewable energy. The country has been producing around 65% of its energy from water and using ethanol along with bio-fuels instead of costly petroleum products.

Pakistan has enormous potential for hydropower generation while it is also one of the largest sugar producers in the world. Brazil could cooperate with Pakistan in energy production from renewable sources including hydro and ethanol sources.

Keeping in view that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project will open trade doors for Pakistan with other countries, Brazil can find new markets in Pakistan and adjoining countries.

Pakistani handicrafts, carpets, fresh dry fruit, sporting equipment and other products enjoy reputation in international markets and can also find buyers in Brazil.

It is on record that Brazil is keen in investing in Pakistan. Brazilian government understands the need of international investment in Pakistan, particularly Baluchistan.

In the mining sector, Brazil stands out distinguished in the extraction of iron ore (second largest world exporter), copper, gold, bauxite (one of the 5 largest producers in the world), manganese (one of the 5 largest producers in the world), tin (one of the largest producers in the world), niobium (concentrates 98% of reserves known to the world) and nickel.