QUIZ – 2016: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 20 December 2016

Solution: c.

“Highlighting the need for all weather connectivity to the Ladakh region the Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Bipin Rawat and GoC-in-C Northern Command Lt Gen D Anbu brought out that this region which has high significance from strategic considerations remains cut off with rest of the country for almost six months of the year due to intensive snow fall, avalanche and icing at passes viz Zozila on Srinagar – Kargil – Leh road and Rohtang, Baralacha La, Lachung La and Tanglang La on Manali – Sarchu – Upshi – Leh Road. It therefore needs a special focus and network of tunnel to have all weather connectivity.”

Improvisation: PIB;

Solution: c.

1 and 2 must be interchanged.

“Inter-community tensions, simmering for some time now, are boiling over in Manipur after the state government decided to increase the number of districts from nine to 16 on December 9…Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh may well have been looking to make a move that would make an immediate, visible impact before the assembly elections scheduled for early next year. However, the government did not make the process or the decision on the new administrative divisions a consultative one. The Hill Area Committees, meant to represent and safeguard tribal interests, have claimed they were not part of the decision.”

“…the government did not consult the Hill Area Committees before taking the decision. The Hill Area Committees are formed to protect the rights of hill people, and under Article 371(C) of Constitution, must be consulted on matters relating to tribal people.”

‘Constitutional Position of the Governor’, Ch-26, ‘Governor’, Indian Polity 4^th Edition by M Laxmikanth;

Improvisation: IE: 7 new districts that set Manipur ablaze;

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IE: On the brink;

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Solution: b.

• “This month, in a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court said it had unfettered power to hear an appeal arising from a river water dispute tribunal under Article 136 of the Constitution.”
• “It has interpreted the ouster clause in the Inter-State Water Disputes Act as one that merely bars the court from entertaining an original complaint or suit on its own (no original jurisdiction), but not its power to hear appeals against a tribunal’s decisions.”

Appeal by Special Leave, Article 136:

• Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India
• Nothing in clause (1) shall apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.

TH: Grappling with Water Disputes;

Solution: d.

Statement ‘c’ refers to the ‘1992 consensus’, which is considered a modified form of the ‘One China’ principle (Wikipedia).

• In 1949, after losing a protracted civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communist party, Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang, or Nationalist party, retreated to the island of Taiwan, about 180km off the mainland’s south-east coast. Ever since, the People’s Republic of China has insisted that Taiwan is simply a province of China. Any country wishing to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing must acknowledge a) there is only “One China” and b) severe all formal ties with Taiwan.
• Officially, the “Republic of China” government in Taiwan still claims sovereignty over the mainland (and even Mongolia). But Beijing and Taipei have long adhered to the “1992 consensus” in which both sides agreed there was only China, while disagreeing on which republic was its rightful representative.

In the google search bar, enter “financial times one china policy explained” and click on the first link from the top that appears. We are asking you to do this because clicking on the hyperlink – Financial Times: ‘One China’ Policy explained – opens their Subscription page.

Additional links: BBC;

Improvisation:  TH: Risks of Trump’s China policy;

Solution: a.

Question being repeated.

• Over the last two decades, India-Taiwan relations have progressed considerably despite not having diplomatic status to their ties. Their trade and economic contacts have improved. Taiwanese investments have been promoted in India and educational linkages have also expanded between the two. Although because of the constraints of one-China policy the two sides do not have diplomatic ties, their bilateral working relations have always generated a political context. Political leaders from both sides have intermittently visited each other. This exchange of visits, growth in trade and economic contacts and expanding educational contacts point to the upward trend in their engagement.
• The Diplomat: India, for its part, maintains formal diplomatic relations with Beijing and not Taipei, but has been hesitant to symbolically support the notion of “One China.”

Source (Huge report, released early 2016;  we are just providing the link, no need to glance through it either, unless India-Taiwan relations related issue appears in the news): IDSA Report;

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Improvisation: TH: Risks of Trump’s China policy

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Solution: d.

“The geopolitical context is possibly even more important. China is a caged naval power. It has access to both South and East China Seas, but its force projection capability is limited by the existence of several islands on these seas, such as Taiwan, Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, and the Babuyan Islands of the Philippines.”.. Additionally, the Riau islands is a part of Indonesia.

The islands are not visible/not sharp in the image provided here, but the position of their names indicate their location.

TH: Risks of Trump’s China policy