US Files Charges Against Indian Man For Alleged Bid To Kill Khalistani Terrorist

WASHINGTON, Nov 29: The US Department of Justice has issued a statement alleging a foiled plot from India to murder a US-based Sikh separatist. The foreign ministry said earlier today that it was examining the inputs from the United States.

Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun -- a dual citizen of the United States and Canada -- was allegedly the target of the plot.

In a statement today, the US Attorney's Office accused an Indian government employee of being part of a murder conspiracy.

The US Attorney's Office has filed "murder-for-hire" and murder-for-hire conspiracy charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years.

"We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others. We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already examining the issue," the foreign ministry here has said.

"In this context, it is informed that on November 18, the Government of India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter," the ministry said.

India will take "necessary follow-up action" based on the findings of the committee, it added.

On November 20, the National Investigation Agency filed a case against Pannun, accusing him of issuing social media messages that said people flying with Air India were in danger. He had also claimed that Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19.

Last week, the White House said the US is "treating a reported plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil with utmost seriousness" and has raised the issue with the Indian government "at the senior-most levels".

The Justice Department statement come two months after a diplomatic row with Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Nijjar, who was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India's most-wanted terrorists, was killed in June.

Refuting the allegations as "politically motivated", India said Canada should share evidence — a request Ottawa has so far declined.

US-Canada border closed after vehicle explosion on bridge, FBI responds

NEW YORK, Nov 22: Authorities in New York are "closely monitoring" an incident on the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York governor Kathy Hocul said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Rainbow Bridge connects the two countries across the Niagara River.

The state agencies are on site, the governor informed as US media reported that all four international border crossings between the United States and Canada in Western New York were closed due to an incident involving a vehicle at the Rainbow Bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge is one of four border crossings connecting Ontario to New York. The others are Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge.

The FBI is investigating the vehicle explosion at the border crossing between the United States and Canada, the US law enforcement agency said in a statement as per news agency Reuters.

“The FBI is coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation. As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at this time," it said.

US raised reported plot to kill Sikh separatist with India

WASHINGTON, Nov 22: The United States is treating a reported plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil with utmost seriousness and has raised the issue with the Indian government "at the senior-most levels," the White House said on Wednesday.

The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that US authorities thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved.

The paper identified Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who says he is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, as the target of the foiled plot.

The report comes two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb, something India has rejected.

India's anti-terror agency filed a case against Pannun on Monday stating that he warned flag carrier Air India passengers in video messages shared on social media this month that their lives were in danger.

Asked about the FT report, White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Indian counterparts had "expressed surprise and concern" and "stated that activity of this nature was not their policy."

"We understand the Indian government is further investigating this issue and will have more to say about it in the coming days. We have conveyed our expectation that anyone deemed responsible should be held accountable," she said.

The issue is a highly delicate one for the Biden administration, which has been working to develop close relations with India given shared concerns about China's rising power.

India's foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said when asked about the FT report that Washington had shared "some inputs" that were being "examined by "relevant departments."

Bagchi said the inputs pertained to the "nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others."

"India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well," he said.

The Financial Times said its sources did not say if the U.S. protest to India resulted in the plot being abandoned, or if it was foiled by the FBI. It said the protest was registered after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed on a state visit by President Joe Biden in June.

Apart from the diplomatic warning to India, U.S. federal prosecutors have also filed a sealed indictment against at least one suspect in a New York district court, the FT said.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.

Pannun, like Nijjar, is a proponent of a decades-long but now fringe demand to carve out an independent Sikh homeland from India called Khalistan, a plan New Delhi sees as a security threat due to a violent insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s.

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Pannun under charges related to terrorism and conspiracy, among others. It stated he threatened in video messages to not let Air India operate anywhere in the world.

The case comes against the historical backdrop of a bombing in 1985 of an Air India aircraft flying from Canada to India that killed 329, and for which Sikh militants were blamed.

Pannun told a news agency on Tuesday that his message was to "boycott Air India not bomb."

He said on Wednesday he would let the U.S. government respond "to the issue of threats to my life at the American soil from the Indian operatives."

"Just like Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar's assassination by the Indian agents on Canadian soil was a challenge to Canada's sovereignty, the threat to (an) American citizen on American soil is a Challenge to America's sovereign(ty)," he said.

Pannun is the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, which India labelled an "unlawful association" in 2019, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Pannun was listed as an "individual terrorist" by India in 2020.

Biden, Xi Agree To Restore High-level Military Communications

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 16: US President Joe Biden said talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had yielded progress in repairing strained ties in the bilateral relationship, hailing agreements to restore high-level military communications, combat fentanyl and open a dialogue over artificial intelligence.

"I believe they were some of the most constructive and productive discussions we've had," Biden said at a press conference Wednesday, following a summit aimed at steadying a bilateral relationship under intense strains. "We've made some important progress, I believe."

China described the talks as a "candid and in-depth exchange of views" and said "one country's success is an opportunity for the other," according to a statement released by the nation's Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese added it was "unrealistic for one side to remodel the other," and warned the Taiwan question was among the most "sensitive issues in the relationship."

"China will realize reunification, and this is unstoppable," the ministry added.

Biden highlighted the restoration of direct military-to-military contacts, saying they would prevent miscalculations between the two countries and also indicted he had the ability to speak to Xi directly.

"That's how accidents happen, misunderstandings, so we're back to direct, open, clear, direct communications," Biden said.

"We're going to continue to preserve and pursue high-level diplomacy," he added. "To keep the lines of communication open, including between President Xi and me. He and I agreed that each one has to pick up the phone call directly and be heard immediately."

The leaders of the world's two largest economies had not spoken for a year. Both sides celebrated the meeting, which lasted over four hours, as productive, and a step toward normalizing a relationship battered by a series of diplomatic and economic clashes.

The agreements though largely roll back steps China took following former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan - made over the objection of Beijing.

Asked if he trusted Xi, Biden responded, "Trust but verify as the old saying goes, that's where I am." He said the US intended to "compete vigorously" with China, but added "we'll manage that competition responsibly, so it doesn't veer into conflict or accidental conflict."

As he ended the press conference, though, Biden referred to Xi as a "dictator," repeating remarks that sparked criticism from China earlier this year.

"Look, he is. He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden said.

Biden's off-the-cuff remark followed a day of carefully choreographed meetings that saw the two leaders meet on the sweeping grounds of the Filoli estate in the town of Woodside, about 25 miles south of San Francisco.

The summit went multiple sessions and included a working lunch featuring herb ricotta ravioli, heritage chicken and almond meringue cake, as the pair and top aides huddled in a secluded century-old Georgian manor.

The meeting saw an extended discussion of foreign policy, with US officials saying they believe Xi indicated he wasn't readying plans for a mass invasion of Taiwan. Biden asked the Chinese to respect the electoral process in the island's upcoming presidential vote, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Biden said he reiterated the US's One China policy, and "that I'm not going to change that."

US officials also pressed Chinese counterparts to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas with Iran, which financially supports the militant group categorized as a terrorist organization by the US and EU.

The deal from China on combating fentanyl was characterized by senior US officials as the most important agreement from the summit. The officials said Biden told Xi that fentanyl posed one of the worst drug problems the US had faced. The officials said they would watch closely to see if China follows through on the pledge.

Biden said the agreement helps "significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from China to the Western Hemisphere."

"It's going to save lives and I appreciate President Xi's commitment on this issue," he said.

The move to recharge senior military-to-military communications was also high on the agenda following a series of close encounters between Chinese and American ships and planes in recent months.

China agreed to policy level discussions with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as operational engagements at senior military levels, according to the US officials. That restores communications channels China halted last year to protest Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Since then, US officials have pushed hard to resume the talks. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailed a Chinese jet's intercept of a US B-52 in international airspace over the South China Sea during Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent visit to Washington, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Blinken noted the table he and Wang were sitting at was 10 feet - the same space between the two aircraft during the incident - to highlight the need to restore communications to prevent conflict, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

China said the two countries had agreed to manage disagreements more effectively and have more dialogues and consultations to avoid misunderstandings.

"It is important that they appreciate each other's principles and red lines, and refrain from flip-flopping, being provocative, and crossing the lines," according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On artificial intelligence, the two sides agreed to a dialogue to keep the emerging technology from being deployed in ways that could destabilize global security, according to US officials. The meeting also saw an agreement to work to increase flights between the two countries next year, according to Xinhua news agency.

Ahead of the summit, the US and China also released a statement detailing new commitments to cooperate on climate change, with promises to build carbon-capture facilities, curtail power sector pollution and take aim at the full suite of greenhouse gases helping warm the planet.

Not all of the conversation was serious. Biden and Xi, who have known each other for years and used to meet when both served as their countries' respective vice presidents, traded memories of previous interactions. At one point, Xi jokingly thanked Biden, who is celebrating his birthday next week, for reminding him that his wife's celebration was also coming up.

US airs concerns to China about 'dangerous and unlawful' South China Sea actions

WASHINGTON, Nov 4: The United States and China held "candid" talks on maritime issues on Friday, including on the contested South China Sea, and the US side underscored its concerns about "dangerous and unlawful" Chinese actions there, the U..State Department said.

The talks took place in Beijing between the department's China Coordinator Mark Lambert and China's Director-General for Boundary and Ocean Affairs Hong Liang, the State Department said in a statement.

The meeting follows recent high-level diplomacy ahead of an expected meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the mid November APEC summit in San Francisco.

The U.S. statement said the talks were part of "efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the U.S.-China relationship" and that the U.S. side reiterated the need to resume military-military channels, "to avoid miscommunication and miscalculation."

It described the talks as "substantive, constructive, and candid" and said they covered a range of maritime issues, including the South China Sea and East China Sea, which are contested by China and other nations.

"The United States underscored concerns with the PRC's dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea," it said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Such actions included China's obstruction of an Oct. 22 Philippine resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal and its "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. aircraft on Oct. 24, the statement said.

China said on Monday after a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Washington that the U.S. and China would hold "consultations on arms control and non-proliferation" in the coming days, as well as separate talks on maritime affairs and other issues.

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Mallory Stewart would host Sun Xiaobo, head of the arms-control department at China's Foreign Ministry, at the State Department next week.

"We have continually called on the PRC to substantively engage on arms control issues and reducing strategic risk," the spokesperson said, a reference to U.S. concerns about China's nuclear weapons build-up and frustration that Beijing has shown little interest in discussing this.

A flurry of diplomatic engagements in recent months, largely at Washington's request, has sought to salvage what were rapidly deteriorating ties between the two countries following the U.S. downing in February of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

While Biden and Xi are expected to meet this month, China has yet to confirm this and a senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday important details have yet to be hammered out.