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TTP vs RCEP: USA vs China

GS: Global groupings

I will post a detailed article on each of the agreements later.

TTP	RCEP
They are both free trade agreements (FTAs) designed to lower tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade between countries that conduct the bulk of global commerce. Both agreements cover the critical area of intellectual property rights.
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)	Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
USA is the leader (But acts like a dictator in the Group)	RCEP is not a China-led process, but involves Beijing as a key player.
USA is hell bent for strong IPR regime	Powerful RCEP members advocate strong IPR protection but are willing to dilute certain aspects to accommodate poor countries like India.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership has become the centrepiece of U.S.’s Asia policy	It is equally important for China.
TPP seeks to frame a new agenda for global trade, requiring countries to commit beyond their existing multilateral obligations under the WTO.	No such ambitions.
TPP negotiations broke down earlier this month, after countries were unable to find common ground over IPR protections the U.S. sought to introduce.	In contrast, RCEP negotiations have seen progress.

India

RCEP is an important agreement for India as it involves country’s major trading partners.
Discussion around FTAs and mega-regional agreements in India has focused solely on their economic aspects, with scant attention paid to the underlying strategic dimensions.
On the foreign policy front, it has moved closer to the U.S., but wants to remain invested in RCEP.
IPR protection in cyberspace is one of the most important themes — and a major source of disagreement — in both TPP and RCEP.
TPP provisions would require a major restructuring of India’s IP enforcement framework, and may not be immediately feasible.
But Japan’s prescriptions suggest that it is possible for India to find a middle ground in RCEP.

China is playing it smart

China is willing to engage actors within a pluri-lateral setting, and set aside competing political interests, especially around South China Sea concerns, for overall economic gain.
Beijing leadership is capable of absorbing multilateral instruments into domestic law to secure regional interests even if it goes against established economic policies, especially on IPRs.
China is comfortable with conceiving and implementing international norms while it emerges as a hegemon in the Asia-Pacific.
These conclusions, if affirmed, would signal a decisive shift in the regional locus of power from the U.S. to China.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

GS 2: Important International Institutions.

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has put a “status quo” in the Italian marines case and asked both India and Italy to “suspend” all court proceedings.
ITLOS is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
The tribunal is based in Hamburg, Germany.
The Tribunal has the power to settle disputes between party states.

UNCLOS

International agreement.
Resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III 1973 and 1982).
UNCLOS came into force in 1994.
The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
As of January 2015, 166 countries and the European Union have joined in the Convention.
UN has no direct operational role in the implementation of the Convention.
There is, however, a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

UNCLOS III

The most significant issues covered were setting limits, navigation, archipelagic status and transit regimes, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelf jurisdiction, deep seabed mining, the exploitation regime, protection of the marine environment, scientific research, and settlement of disputes.

Territorial waters

Out to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres; 14 miles) from the baseline. The country has all powers.

Archipelagic waters

Defines how the state can draw its territorial borders.

Contiguous zone

Beyond the 12-nautical-mile (22 km) limit, there is a further 12 nautical miles (22 km) from the territorial sea baseline limit, the contiguous zone, in which a state can continue to enforce laws in four specific areas: customs, taxation, immigration and pollution.
This makes the contiguous zone a hot pursuit area. (Example: Regions in South China Sea)

Exclusive economic zones (EEZs)

These extend from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres; 230 miles) from the baseline.
Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources.
In casual use, the term may include the territorial sea and even the continental shelf.
The EEZs were introduced to halt the increasingly heated clashes over fishing rights, although oil was also becoming important.
Foreign nations have the freedom of navigation and overflight, subject to the regulation of the coastal states. Foreign states may also lay submarine pipes and cables.

Continental shelf

The continental shelf is defined as the natural prolongation of the land territory to the continental margin’s outer edge, or 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastal state's baseline, whichever is greater.

No change in stand on Palestine

Political Science Paper 2: Recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy

India told the Arab League on Monday that its policy on the Palestinian cause remained “unchanged” and its support to the people of Palestine would be “undiluted”.
On July 3, India for the first time abstained from voting on an anti-Israel resolution at the UN Human Rights Council.
The resolution called for accountability from the parties to last year’s conflict in Gaza that killed over 2, 000 people and justice for “all violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Recent reforms to strengthen Indian Economy

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance, defence had increased to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.
FDI in railway infrastructure was increased to 100 per cent.
Easier FDI norms have been introduced in the construction sector.
Diesel price has been de-regulated.
Direct benefit transfer on the LPG subsidy, ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ initiatives by the Union Government will benefit manufacturing activities in India.
Coal and mining bills have allowed the Government to auction natural resources through e-auction mode and it has led to transparency.
In the near future, Parliament will pass Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Land Reform Bills.
Though the global uncertainties will bring along with it volatility in the economy, India will still continue to attract FDI and FII inflow.

Offer-for-sale (OFS) of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday was a relative success.

GS 3: Economy – Disinvestment.

There are two main ways for a company to list new shares.
By an offer for sale, which is a public invitation by a sponsoring intermediary such as an investment bank.
By an offer for subscription, or direct offer, which is a public invitation by the issuing company itself. The offer can be made at a price that is fixed in advance or it can be by tender where investors state the price they are prepared to pay. After all bids are received, a strike price is set which all investors must pay.

How an offer for sale differs from an FPO

An OFS is an auction and the proceeds go to promoters. But the FPO raises funds for company projects.
When the Government put a chunk of its shares in Coal India up for sale two months ago, all the 63 crore shares were bid for and bought in a single day. But when the Government sold part of its stake in Engineers India last year, the issue was open for almost a week.
The difference between the two offers is that the Coal India disinvestment was done through the OFS (offer for sale) mechanism while the Engineers India issue used the FPO (follow-on public offer or offer for subscription) route.
OFS can be done only by the top 200 companies by market capitalization.

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