Trump is kicking India out of QUAD

 Poor India, wanting to play both sides when both sides are at each other's throat. The consequences of underestimating the superpowers and overestimating India's own importance, India is about to be kicked out of BRICS and SCO as it is not only not trustworthy, but also a spoiler and against the goals of the two organisations. 

What is unexpected and came so fast is that Trump also wants to kick India out of the QUAD. Ouch! India thinks it can do as it likes, sneaking into BRICS, SCO and QUAD and the superpowers cannot do anything to India. India thinks it is so important and can pull the strings to make all the superpowers dance at its calling. Too good to be true. India does not have the weight to play the balancer to tip the scale.

Why would Trump want to kick India out of the QUAD? According to Indian scholar Pravin Sawhney, India is no longer useful to the USA after Operation Sindoor. Modi actually placed a lot of hope in Sindoor to put India into the superpower league. India had two key objectives. One, to beat up the Pakistanis. Two, to show to China how powerful were the Rafales, to tell China that with the Rafales, India can defeat the PLAAF, with air superiority. If the Rafales are more superior to all Chinese aircraft, China is no longer a threat to India. India will rule South Asia and even Asia.

Unfortunately, India's wet dream was just a wet dream, unreal. Trump has seen how useless India is as a counter force against China when India could easily be defeated by Pakistan. India is totally out of the game as far as air power is concerned. Pakistan and China have air superiority in the region and India has no answer to that. India therefore cannot be used as a counter force against China. Its existence in QUAD is meaningless. It is better to kick India out of the QUAD.  Period.

India backs out of F35 deal

Latest report from a source said that India is backing out of the F35 deal with USA on the heels of the increase to 25% tariff on India. How is that for all the winnings that Trump had gloated earlier?

The F35 deal is an investment in a black hole, that India is expected to bear to the tune of US$2 trillion in maintenance costs over the lifespan of those overpriced jets. Wonder how much Singapore had to pay for maintenance of those jets parked in the USA. Must be astronomical.

India is moving back to buying its military equipment from Russia, a slap on the face of Trump. India had been threatened for buying Russian oil which resulted in the increase tariffs. Now Trump is beginning to realize that not all threats are beneficial. Even close allies and lapdogs like India are starting to rebel against. Now India can continue to buy Russian energy without fear, something that India cannot realistically do without.

India's export to the USA at US$80 billion in 2024 is not that big a number and can easily be covered by the Global South countries. 25% tariff on that import from India reaps a mere US$6 billion for Trump. Worth it or not to lose out on a multi-billion F35 deal instead? So much for Trump's 'Art of the Deal' winnings.

By the way, all those tariff negotiation deals are not yet signed into agreements as yet as reported by sources. Who else is going to freak out?


Anonymous

Big population good or bad depends on the clown's agenda

Right or wrong, China is using robotics in a massive adoption to run factories that needs little humans. Dark factories run 24/7, making missiles in the dark. We tend to look at China's problems in the context of how the West looks at it. It is all doom and gloom. Everything China does is all doom and gloom. But China works differently. How long does it take China to be devoid of humans? It is not going to happen. Japan has been able to survive this problem for decades. And the West have been spinning the narrative that the Japanese race will be extinct one day. Really?

China needs to create fewer jobs for a smaller population. In contrast, countries like India with high population growth will be facing huge problems in finding jobs for its younger population. Population dividend mantra is a big fat lie. China needs less of everything, from food to housing if a smaller population does result. Here in Red Dot, do we remember the propaganda years ago that a smaller family equates to a better life for its people. Did Singaporeans go into extinction?

If we are talking about producing humans to fight wars, that is even less detrimental down the road, with drones and military robots doing the job more efficiently, needing no food to feed an army of robots. Countries need not send a army, just sending missiles will be enough.

Talking about critical mass, India would likely rule the world with a population that puts even the USA to shame at 1.62. What kind of life are Indian citizens having? Do we see the dividends they are reaping? What kind of life are some USA citizens leading? Homelessness for some, two or three jobs for others, with housing beyond the reach of most. Is that all there is about a big population?

Goodness, I have not even talked about Singapore today at just 6.1 million population and already human traffic at Bishan MRT station during peak hours is breaking the station with the Circle Line running and more to be added.

There are advantages and disadvantages of a big population, and no one direction is the best. It is how the Government manages the population that is important.


Anonymous

Trump only thinks of the tariffs he is collecting without knowing what is coming tomorrow

Putin just treated Trump like an echo-chamber, talking about more sanctions against Russia within the next couple of days. Joe Biden had been shouting into that same echo-chamber during his term but achieved nothing. Will that goalpost be moved again, I wonder. I would not bet against it.

Now Trump has added additional tariffs on Canada and India. Canada is already moving away from the USA, selling more to the EU and China. Canadian tourists are boycotting the USA for countries that are more friendly and welcoming. Canadians are not buying USA products. Canada is no longer selling discounted energy to the USA. Why sell discounted energy to the USA and yet being punished, when it can sell those oil and gas without discounts to the EU and China. Very soon, Trump may also sanction Canada's energy exports, LOL.

It is so ironic that the two countries, North and South of the USA, are doing good to show the world that threats do not always work and the world is waking up. I may be jumping the gun, knowing the thinking of Anglo-Saxon Whites. These two are the biggest trading partners of the USA, with China just a distant third now. Trump has no more cards to play against China and is backing off, trying to he chummy to elicit an invite to Beijing to meet with Xi. I think China has factored in all the tricks that Trump is trying to pull against China, already maxing out its energy and food supply sources and migrating its export markets. Trump can threaten China with 1000% tariffs if he likes, but to no avail. The USA is no longer the priority market for Chinese products, nor for Chinese rare earth exports. Those days are numbered.


Anonymous

The Americans always win in negotiations, ... and tariff war

KUALA LUMPUR: Three Southeast Asian states involved in ending a recent armed conflict in the region - Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia - hailed the reduction in tariff rates imposed by the United States as a victory after prolonged talks, and a reprieve for their domestic economies.

Experts said the ceasefire, which allowed US President Donald Trump to burnish his peacemaker image, was among several contributing factors that led to substantial tariff discounts for these Southeast Asian countries.  CNA

There is euphoria in the above comments. Wow, so lucky, Trump is so generous, tariff rates reduced for good behaviour. The three countries must be very grateful to Trump now, without knowing that in the first place there is no reason for Trump to punch them. Trump started by saying he wanted to punch them 10 times, and they were worried. Now Trump said he would punch them 7 times and they are so happy, only 7 times. They did not question why they should be punched 7 times or not at all.

The coloured people would always lose when negotiating with the Americans. Prior to every negotiation, the Americans would attack the other party first by making more allegations or making more demands. The real position of the Americans may be to ask for 3 items but attack first to put the other party on the defensive, and then demand 10 items. Very often they even got away with 5 items, more than the 3 items they wanted and the other party would be so happy and even pat their own backs for a good deal, that they negotiated and won.

Now all the countries affected by the tariff war accepted that they must pay more tariffs and getting a little reduction is victory or the Americans are kind and generous to them. And Trump would be saying, thank you very much for being silly.

Stupidity has no cure.