Countries with issues related to democracy:
- These issues happen when there is a conflict between a Government order and the rights of the people. Syria faced this issue. Inspired by Tunisia - led the protest against lack of political freedom (called "Arab Spring") - Syrian people led the protest against their government. In 2013, the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people to stop the protest.
- The cold war between the U.S. and Russia was reflected in Syria. The U.S. supported the Syrian people and Russia supported the Syrian government.
- A similar issue happened in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the U.S. troops. This happened because of the incidents they faced in the period of the Taliban Government even though there was a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban before the withdrawal.
- Similar issues related to democracy happened in some unstable countries such as Myanmar, North Korea, Bangladesh, Hongkong, etc.
Asian Organizations:
ASEAN - Association of South-East Asian Nations - 10 Countries:
Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
SAARC - South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation - 8 Countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation - 7 Countries: 5 countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka from South Asia and two countries - Myanmar and Thailand from South-East Asia.
ASEAN and SAARC are regional organizations while BIMSTEC is an Inter-Regional organization.
SCO - Shanghai Cooperation Organization - 8 Countries: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Oil:
- "India has reduced the share of crude oil import from the middle east in recent years".
- India's 85% of oil need is met by imports.
- Key suppliers of oil - where India imports are: the Middle East / West Asia. Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the U.S., Canada.
- Out of these countries, the Middle East countries are the dominant oil suppliers. These Countries form the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
- OPEC includes 13 countries - Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Former OPEC members are Ecuador, Indonesia and Qatar.
- OPEC+ include Non-OPEC Nations (10 countries) - Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.
- The imported oil reaches India via the Strait of Hormuz.
- There were explosions on board two oil tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman amid increased tensions between Iran and the U.S.
- Hence to protect the Indian flagged barrels, Operation Sankalp was launched by the Indian Navy in June 2019 (since oil is one of the most important resources that will affect economic activity.
- Even though Russia is one of the OPEC+ Countries, it also imports oil from the Middle East.
How does china get its oil?
- The Strait of Malacca is important for china's oil import.
- South China Sea dispute - 9 dash line - the place where china gets its oil through.
- Because of its longer path and disputes between not-so-friendly neighbours (which have friendly ties with the U.S.), China is building its alternative - BRI (Belt and Road Initiative).
- Since Pakistan is a friendly country to China, the Gwadar port in Pakistan is being developed by China. This port is an initiative of BRI.
Significance of this port:
- China is known for its electronic manufacturing.
- Its main energy sources are coal and crude oil.
- If the oil imports are affected on the way by the neighbouring countries, China's economic activity will have an adverse effect.
Energy consumers / Carbon emitters:
- Another important energy source to every country is coal. The burning of coal not only acts as a fuel but also a major source of Green House Gases (GHGs) - which causes climate change.
- Recently the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) was held in Glasgow to discuss the issues related to climate change.
- China is the highest carbon emitter (28%) in the world followed by the U.S. (15%) and India (7%).
- Even though India is comparatively low per-capita emissions, many steps have been taken to move from conventional sources to renewable sources. India has also agreed to attain zero-carbon emission by 2070.
- The developed countries China and the U.S. have agreed to attain carbon neutrality by 2050 to 2060.
How are oil prices fixed?
- There are few global oil benchmarks on which the oil prices are based. Brent crude oil, West Texas Intermediate, Dubai oil are the few sources that serve as the global benchmarks.
- Brent crude price is the international benchmark price used by OPEC while WTI crude price is a benchmark for US oil prices.
Why these benchmarks?
Because these have lower sulphur content (almost pure crude oil).
Can the oil prices be reduced in India?
Yes. Recently it has been reduced in India by both central and state governments. It can also be reduced by adding it under GST but it cannot be done immediately.
