San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Washington, India bolster military ties
Top defense officials from India and the United States pledged Saturday to expand their military engagement, underscoring the strengthening defense ties between two countries concerned over China’s growing influence in the IndoPacific region.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met in New Delhi and agreed to deepen defense cooperation, intelligence sharing and logistics.
“India is an increasingly important partner in rapidly shifting international dynamics,” Austin said.
Austin is making the first visit to India by a top member of President Biden’s administration. His visit follows a meeting last week between leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the United States, which together make up the four IndoPacific nations known as the Quad.
The Quad is seen as a counterweight to China, which critics say is flexing its military muscle in the South China Sea, East China Sea, Taiwan Strait and along its northern border with India. China has called the Quad an attempt to contain its ambitions.
Austin arrived in New Delhi on Friday and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The timing of Austin’s visit, which follows talks between highranking U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska amid a bitter exchange of words, signals the importance Biden places on New Delhi as a security ally.
THAILAND Demonstration turns violent
Police in Bangkok used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday night to break up a rally by prodemocracy protesters calling for the release of detained activists, constitutional changes and reform of the nation’s monarchy.
The rally was a continuation of studentled protests that began last year and have rattled Thailand’s traditional establishment, which is fiercely opposed to change, especially with regard to the monarchy. Demonstrators managed to break through a barrier made of shipping containers outside the ceremonial Grand Palace. Police behind the containers responded first with warnings and then by shooting water cannons and rubber bullets.
Police said at least six officers were injured. The city’s Erawan emergency services said 11 people in all had been sent to hospitals.
The rally was called by REDEM, a faction of a broader protest movement that started last year. REDEM, which stands for Restart Democracy, claims to have no leaders and holds online voting to decide on rally dates and activities.
JAPAN Strong quake strikes offshore
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Saturday off northern Japan, shaking buildings even in Tokyo and triggering a tsunami advisory for a part of the northern coast. No major damage was reported, but several people sufferend minor injuries.
The quake was centered off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, in the country’s rugged northeast, which was heavily damaged during the huge earthquake and tsunami of 2011 that left more than 18,000 people dead.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued an advisory for a tsunami in Miyagi prefecture immediately after the quake, but lifted it about 90 minutes later. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said seven people were injured.
TEXAS Club shooting kills 1, injures 5
A gunman opened fire at a Dallas nightclub early Saturday, killing one person and wounding five others, authorities said.
The shooting happened during a fight between two groups inside Pryme Night Club, police said in a statement. The shooter fled.
The six people who were shot were taken to hospitals, where one was pronounced dead. The conditions of the wounded ranged from stable to critical condition, police said.
CALIFORNIA Offroading to end at park
The California Coastal Commission has voted to end offroad vehicle use at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area within three years, a decision that follows decades of debate over environmental and cultural impacts.
The vote last week calls for the prohibition to take effect by 2024 at Oceano Dunes, the only California state park that allows recreational driving on the beach and in dunes.
The central coast park covers 3,500 acres along 8 miles of shoreline and inland for about 2 miles near the communities of Oceano and Grover Beach in southern San Luis Obispo County.
Users primarily come to drive cars, trucks and offhighway vehicles on the beach and in the dunes, although some visitors come for beach day use, birdwatching, horseback riding, fishing and hiking, according to the commission.
The vote followed commission findings that driving degraded dune habitats, harmed native species, caused air quality and public health issues, and made other uses such as swimming and walking difficult.