Ghaggar River | Andaman Sea | AZEC Plus and Maritime Security

Ghaggar River

Geography

In News

• Villages near the Ghaggar River report rising cancer cases linked to polluted water, but lack of data and poor healthcare hinder action.

Ghaggar River in northern India

• The Ghaggar River is an intermittent, monsoon-fed river in northern India.
• It originates in the village of Dagshai in the Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh at about 1,927 metres elevation and flows through Punjab and Haryana into Rajasthan.
• Its main tributaries include the Kaushalya, Markanda, Sarsuti, Tangri, and Chautang rivers.

Andaman Sea

Geography

In News

• A boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals from Bangladesh to Malaysia capsized in the Andaman Sea.

Andaman Sea

• The Andaman Sea is a marginal sea in the northeastern Indian Ocean.
• It is bordered by Myanmar to the north and east, Thailand and Malaysia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the west.
• It connects to the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca and serves as an important international shipping route, especially between India and China.

Additional Information – Rohingya Crisis

• Rohingya – They are an ethnic group largely comprising Muslims who predominantly live in the Western Myanmar province of Rakhin
• In Myanmar, they are classified as illegal migrants and foreigners residents.

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

• It is also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention.
• It is a United Nations multilateral treaty which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.
• India’s membership – India is not a signatory to this Convention.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 

• Adopted in – It is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations in 1966.
• The covenant commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of individuals including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.

India’s Stand on Rohingyas

• Operation Insaniyat: In 2017, India launched “Operation Insaniyat” to provide relief assistance for the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

AZEC Plus and Maritime Security

International Relations

Context

• India, raised concerns over disruptions in maritime energy routes at the AZEC Plus meeting, amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint.

Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC)

• It is a Japan-led initiative launched in 2023
• Objective – to promote decarbonisation, clean energy transition, and energy security in Asia.
• It provides an alternative, Asia-centric model of energy transition, recognising diverse developmental needs of Asian economies.

AZEC focuses on:

• Facilitating technology transfer in clean energy (hydrogen, ammonia, renewables).
• Supporting carbon neutrality goals while maintaining economic growth.
• Strengthening energy supply chain resilience in the region.
• AZEC Plus is an expanded framework that includes more Asian countries and global institutions such as Asian Development Bank and International Energy Agency.
• It addresses emerging challenges like supply disruptions, critical mineral access, and maritime security.