On Saturday, Chhattisgarh Police reported that three Maoists were killed in two anti-Naxal operations conducted by security forces in Sukma and Bijapur districts of the Bastar region. Weapons, a cache of explosives, and Maoist-related materials were recovered from both encounter sites, according to the Hindustan Times.

The identities of the three deceased Maoists have not yet been determined, the Chhattisgarh Police noted.

The first incident occurred in Sukma district near Belpochcha village when a joint team of security personnel was on an anti-Naxal mission, said Kiran Chavan, Superintendent of Police, Sukma.

“The operation began on Friday night based on intelligence about a Maoist gathering in the forests of Belpochcha, Jinetong, and Uskawaya villages in response to their bandh call on May 26,” Chavan stated, as reported by Hindustan Times.

“When the patrolling team approached Belpochcha, an exchange of gunfire ensued. After the shooting stopped, a Maoist’s body, a weapon, a cache of explosives, and Maoist-related materials were recovered from the scene,” Chavan added.

It is significant that the Maoists had called for a bandh on May 26 in the Bastar region to protest alleged fake encounters.

The second encounter, according to Chhattisgarh Police, occurred in a forest area of Bijapur district.

In a statement, Bijapur police reported that two Maoists were killed by security forces in the jungles near Jammemarka and Kamkanaar villages during an anti-Naxal operation.

“An anti-Naxal operation was conducted on Saturday based on intelligence about the presence of senior Maoist leaders, including Pandru, the supply-in-charge of the West Bastar Division of CPI (Maoist), and 15 other Maoists camping in the jungle. A district reserve guard (DRG) team reached their camp, resulting in a firefight. When the shooting ceased, the bodies of two Maoists were recovered,” the statement read.

Recently, China held its most expansive military drills of the year around Taiwan, just a few days after Lai-Ching Te took over as the island’s new president.

The drills on Thursday were intended to “serve as a strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces and a stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a military spokesman.

The “external references” line here likely refers to the United States, Taiwan’s main military backer. President Joe Biden has often said that the US would do anything to defend the democracy of 23 million people if attacked, while China has promised to bring the island country under its control, by force if necessary as well.

The military exercise by China raised pressure on Lai, who took office on the island and made the bulk of the world’s most advanced chips. He has recently said in his inaugural address that China should drop its threat of war, and neighter side of the strait was subordinate to the other.

China has already signaled its displeasure with Lai taking control of the office, saying his speech “sent a dangerous signal of seeking independence.” The country also criticized US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for congratulating Lai, sanctioning a former US congressman who supported Taipei, and hitting US defense companies with symbolic sanctions.

China’s military drills add to the complications for the new government in Taipei. Opposition lawmakers are now pushing through changes to the law that are aimed towards reining in its powers, bringing thousands of people onto the streets of Tuesday night. Those demonstrations are likely to continue on Friday when the legislature takes its next step forward on the changes.

The Chinese drills were carried out in the Taiwan Strait: north, south, east of Taiwn., and around the offshore islands of Kinmen, Wuqiu, Matsu, and Dongyin, Xinhua said.

Although it’s not clear how many ships and planes were involved in the process, China’s military has not held exercises in so many locations around Taiwan since April of last year.

Day, after Canada decided to arrest the fourth Indian connected with the murder of Khalistnai separatist-terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, opened up about the investigation and said that the Canadian authorities didn’t share anything with India to look into the issue.

While addressing a seminar on Indian Capital Markets at the NSR in Mumbai, S Jaishankar stated, “We are open to investigating it, but to date, we have never received anything specific and worthy of being pursued by our investigative agencies.”

S Jaishankar’s remarks come after the day the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team of Canada’s British Columbia province arrested an Indian nation in connection with the June 2023 killing of Hardee Singh Nijjar. 

“We pursued the evidence and gained sufficient information for the BC Prosecution Service to charge Amandeep Singh with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder,” the police statement said. “This arrest shows the nature of our ongoing investigations to hold responsible those who played a role in the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” it added.

Earlier, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar, and Karanpreet Singh and charged them with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed by bike-borne assailants last year outside Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in June of the previous year. He was labeled as an “individual terrorist” by the Indian authorities and played a crucial role in conducting anti-India activities in Canada. 

The killing evoked a massive diplomatic row between Canada and India after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the “agents of Indian governments” of the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India rejected the Canadian PM’s claims, called them “absurd”, and even expelled multiple Canadian diplomats from the country. 

India has decided to exit its military from Maldives after a demand from President Mohamed Muizzu, who is more focused on strengthening his country’s ties with China. 

Indian troops, who were accompanied by two helicopters and an aircraft, were involved in marine surveillance, search and rescue,e and medical evacuation operations on the island. 

The announcement coincided with a visit by Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer to India, the first visit by a senior official since Muizzu took office in November last year. The foreign ministers of Maldives and India met in New Delhi on Thursday. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Maldives counterpart, Moosa Zameer, that India has proven to be a key provider of development assistance, including medical care, infrastructure projects, and health facilities. 

Jaishankar was quoted saying, “It is in our common interest that we reach an understanding on how best we can take our relationship forward,”

Tensions between both countries have grown since Pro-China Muizzu came to power last year. He immediately asked India to take its troops out of the island by 10th May 2024 and decided to replace them with civilians trained for those activities. At least 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives. 

Muizzu ran for president on the theme of “India out,” accusing his predecessor of compromising the country’s sovereignty by giving India too much influence. After taking that office, Muizziu visited China and said the small size of the Maldives doesn’t allow India to bully it.

Since coming into power, Muizzu’s government has entered into several agreements with China to boost its economic ties and even sidelined India in several projects. 

The Maldives decided to sign a military assistance pact with China in March. Maldives has allowed a Chinese research vessel to dock at its port, right in India’s backyard.