 "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with EAM S Jaishankar. File image/AP")
It is set to be a busy Tuesday with several events lined up for the day.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to host foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan today.
Meanwhile, senior IPS officer Parag Jain will take charge as the next RAW chief,
US President Donald Trump will attend the opening ceremony of the detention centre in Florida Everglades that state leaders have dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’.
INS Tamal, a multi-role stealth-guided missile frigate, will be commissioned today.
July 1 will also mark the first anniversary of the anti-government student mass protests in Bangladesh.
Here is all that is set to take place throughout the day.
Marco Rubio to host Quad counterparts
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host a Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting today bringing together foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan. The meeting aims to bolster efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
It will be attended by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar , Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya and Australia’s Penelope Ying-Yen Wong in Washington DC. The ministers are expected to discuss shared Indo-Pacific challenges, including maritime and economic security, cyber threats and rising authoritarian influence, especially from China.
Previous tensions such as disagreements over Japan’s defence spending demands, Australia’s AUKUS submarine program and India–US disputes over Pakistan policy are likely to be addressed as well.
Rubio hosted a meeting of the China-focused Quad grouping in his first diplomatic engagement as secretary of state on January 21, the day after President Donald Trump began his second term. “This summit builds on that momentum to advance a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott told a regular news briefing. “This is what American leadership looks like, strength, peace and prosperity.”
Parag Jain to take charge as R&AW chief
Senior IPS officer Parag Jain is set to take charge as the chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) , India’s external intelligence agency.
He will be taking over from outgoing RAW chief Ravi Sinha, whose term came to an end on June 30 (Monday).
The 1989-batch IPS officer from the Punjab cadre will assume charge for a two-year term.
Jain has deep expertise in intelligence operations, strategic surveillance and regional geopolitics and currently holds the second senior-most position in the agency.
He previously headed the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), a critical wing which is responsible for aerial surveillance and reconnaissance.
Trump to attend opening of Alligator Alcatraz
The formal opening of a new immigration detention centre in the Florida Everglades, a facility controversially nicknamed “ Alligator Alcatraz ” by state leaders, is expected to be attended by President Donald Trump today.
The site, constructed on a disused airstrip within the Everglades National Preserve, leverages the region’s dangerous wildlife including alligators, pythons, and swamps, as natural security to deter escapes.
It’s funded through a mix of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state resources.
The project has taken much fire for using funds meant for disaster relief, its potential negative impact on the sensitive ecosystem of the area and costing the taxpayer around $450 million annually, reported Axios.com.
Trump’s appearance, reportedly at the invitation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, aligns with his expanded immigration enforcement agenda.
INS Tamal to be commissioned
The Indian Navy is set to commission its latest stealth multi-role frigate, INS Tamal , in a ceremony in Russia’s Kaliningrad.
The ceremony will be presided over by Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, alongside other high-ranking Indian and Russian defence officials.
INS Tamal is the eighth in the series of Krivak class frigates acquired from Russia over the past two decades and the second ship of the Tushil Class, which features substantial upgrades over its predecessors. Notably, this 3,900-tonne warship incorporates an impressive 26 per cent indigenous components, including the BrahMos long-range cruise missile system which is capable of targeting both at sea and on land.
First anniversary of Bangladesh students protest
Today (July 1) marks the first anniversary of the student protests in Dhaka that toppled Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government. The peaceful protests by students against a quota system for government jobs was what led to students challenging then-Prime Minister Sheikh and her ruling party Awami League.
The demonstrations were a direct response to a Supreme Court ruling that reinstated a controversial quota, which students viewed as discriminatory and a hindrance to merit-based employment.
Initially peaceful, the protests quickly gained momentum as students blocked roads and railways across the country.
The government’s response, which included the forceful suppression of demonstrators, internet blackouts, and clashes with pro-government groups, further inflamed the situation.
With inputs from agencies