Play The Diplomat’s Quiz: July 10, 2016 Edition

When the rest of the world commemorated the anniversary of the Stonewall Inn movement in late-June with pride marches through the week (and the month), India was not left behind. While some cities like Mumbai held their annual marches earlier in the year, several others joined the world in celebration last week – including Chennai and Delhi which continued their annual tradition, and Nagpur and Gurgaon which had their very first marches, and Visakhapatnam, which raised funds for an official march later this month. This comes at a time when openly gay celebrities are attempting to take a stand in India regarding LGBTQ rights.

For instance, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, the country’s first openly gay prince, led the Los Angeles parade for the AIDS Healthcare foundation and has always been a vocal advocate for LGBT rights as well as better education and awareness of HIV/AIDS. Moreover, earlier this month, five gay celebrities petitioned the Indian Supreme Court to declare Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial-era law, unconstitutional. The 65-page petition is from Navtej Singh Johar (a dancer), Sunil Mehra (a journalist), Ritu Dalmia (a chef and author), Aman Nath (a writer and historian), and Ayesha Kapur (a business executive), each of whom outline both their professional achievements as well as the way they have been hampered by this discriminatory law.

Speaking on Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama, flanked by U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the United States will increase the number of troops it will leave behind in Afghanistan beyond 2016.

Obama said that the initial target of leaving 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016 had been revised up to 8,400.

After a decade of negotiations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed in February this year, is now set to go to legislators among the twelve signatory states for ratification. And they have much to consider: the expected economic gains are disputed; protests have erupted in the USA, New Zealand, Peru, Malaysia, and elsewhere; and critics warn that the agreement – negotiated entirely behind closed doors – carries provisions catering to corporate elites to public detriment. Proponents of the agreement often claim that Vietnam, at least, will be an unambiguous winner. But even here, significant costs and risks have been overlooked.

On Friday morning, following months of bilateral talks, the United States and South Korea announced that the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system would be deployed in South Korea.

A press release from United States Forces Korea noted that the system would be deployed “in response to North Korea’s continued development of ballistic missile technology in contravention of six United Nations Security Council Resolutions.”

It added that the system “will contribute to a layered missile defense that would enhance the Alliance’s existing missile defense capabilities against North Korean missile threats.”

The decision to deploy THAAD has been cleared by both governments. Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the current commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the decision was an important one for the alliance, which has been in place since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

According to a press release issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, its verdict in the arbitration between the Philippines and China will be made public on Tuesday, July 12, 2016.

The Republic of Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China, the official name of the case, was initiated in January 2013 by the Philippines, following a difficult 2012 stand-off with China over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

The arbitration proceedings were initiated under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the primary treaty governing international maritime law. Both China and the Philippines are party to the treaty, but Beijing has refused to participate in the arbitration, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

In an important milestone for indigenous military aviation in India, the Indian Air Force inducted two Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) and one trainer aircraft. The fighters are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar applauded the accomplishment on Twitter, noting it as a “moment of national pride.” “Indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet inducted into Air Force. Tejas will take our air strength to new heights,” he added. The Tejas is a single-seat, single-engine, multi-role light fighter, intended to replace India’s aging fleet of MiG-21 fighters. The program has suffered several delays and cost escalations in the course of its development.

China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy will hold military exercises in the South China Sea, with less than two weeks to go until an international court issues a ruling in the Philippines’ arbitration against Chinese maritime claims in the area.

The Maritime Safety Administration of China’s Hainan Province announced upcoming Chinese military exercises in the South China Sea.

The exercises will take place around the Paracel Islands, which China occupies, but Vietnam and Taiwan also claim. Coordinates given by the maritime security administration cover an area of approximately 106,000 square kilometers and encompass most of the Paracel Islands. The notification notes the words “Entering prohibited” in English.

In July, Taiwan will test-fire its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles at a U.S. missile range. The test, though scheduled under Taiwan’s previous Kuomintang government, stands to raise tensions between Taiwan and China.

Earlier this week, Beijing announced that it had cut off communications with the new Democratic Progressive Party government led by President Tsai Ing-wen.

The PAC-3 missile defense system is one of Taiwan’s most expensive defense platforms, with an estimate cost of $6.5 billion. It is set for use by Taiwan’s Missile Command, a new command created in 2004 combining air and ballistic missile defense and anti-ship missile targeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party swept to victory on Sunday in elections for Japan’s House of Councilors, the upper house in the country’s bicameral parliament known as the National Diet.

With a handful of seats left to declare, the ruling LDP and its coalition partner, the Komeito Party, secured 66 of 121 that were up for grabs in this election.

The opposition Democratic Party, a newly formed amalgamation of the former Democratic Party of Japan and the Japan Innovation Party, won 31 seats.

Critically, as the final seats are declared early on Monday morning, the LDP-Komeito coalition stands to win a two-thirds supermajority, granting Abe the legislative ballast that would be necessary to put any constitutional changes to a national referendum.