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Indias National Security Adviser Ajit Doval arrived in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon for a multilateral security meet but the focus will be on his bilateral interactions with the Chinese leadership against the backdrop of the military standoff near the Sikkim border.

Doval will meet President Xi Jinping with his counterparts from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries on Friday. Security officials from BRICS states are meeting to discuss issues such as counter-terrorism and cyber-security in the run-up to the groupings summit to be held in Chinas Xiamen city in September.

But the focus will be on whether Dovals meetings with Chinese officials, including state councillor Yang Jiechi, will help to resolve or at least ease - the tensions in Donglang, where the standoff is now into its second month.

The BRICS-related meetings, including the meeting with Xi, are slated for Friday but Chinese and Indian officials here were tight-lipped about Dovals schedule.

Beijing on Wednesday repeated its precondition for any dialogue with India to resolve the standoff: New Delhi has to withdraw its troops from Donglang, which is under Beijings control but claimed by Thimphu.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has blamed India for the face-off and importantly chose a foreign country, Thailand, to air his strong views on the situation. Wang told reporters in Bangkok this week the problem was very straightforward and even Indian officials publicly said that Chinese soldiers didnt enter the Indian territory.

This meant, he indicated, the Indian side admitted (crossing) into Chinese territory. The resolution of the problem is very simple, he said: Indian troops have to go out.

India has said it acted in coordination with Bhutan to block the construction of a road by Chinese troops at Donglang as it would alter the status quo and have serious implications for national security.

On Monday, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang indicated Doval is likely to meet Yang in Beijing but ruled out a discussion on the Donglang standoff.

As far as we know, in previous meetings, usually it is arranged for the heads of delegations to hold (bilateral) meetings to exchange views on bilateral relations and other international issues, Lu had said.

He had added: The crux now is Indian border troops illegally stayed on Chinas territory. Once again, we urge India to pull back to the Indian side of the boundary. I want to stress that this is the precondition for any meaningful talks between the two sides.

Dovals visit is part of the build-up for the BRICS Summit to be held in Xiamen city in the first week of September, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

If the standoff between India and China isnt resolved by then, it will cast a shadow of uncertainty over the summit and might put a question mark on the idea of BRICS.

For now, the multilateral element of the BRICS security summit will be on display this week.

On Friday, the five heads of security delegations from the BRICS states will meet to discuss global governance, counter-terrorism, cyber security, energy security, international and regional hotspots, and national security and development.

Besides Doval and Yang, minister of state security David Mahlobo of South Africa, Minister Sergio Etchegoyen of the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of Brazil and Russias Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev will attend the meeting.

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NSA Ajit Doval in Beijing amid standoff as China demands Indian troop withdrawal - Hindustan Times

MUNSTER -- More than 10,000 visitors are expected to be in Northest Indiana this week.

The National Softball Association Northern World Series comes to the Region for the third time in the past decade. More than 190 teams will compete in multiple age groups hoping to be crowned champions Friday.

Munster, Crown Point, Highland, Hobart, Michigan City and LaPorte will host games, with tonight's opening ceremony being held in downtown Crown Point.

Munster parks director Greg Vitale has known about this honor to host for several months. But he got some icing on the softball cake when he learned his daughter's team, the Munster Mayhem 10-and-under All-Stars, were invited to see what they could do against the best in the midwest.

"It takes a lot of coordination," Vitale said on Saturday at Community Park. "With 10,000 people coming to the area that's going to be an economic boom for the businesses around here. Finding out our all-star team was invited was awesome. I knew we would be hosting it and we've done a lot of work to get our fields ready.

"But I didn't know my daughter and her team would get to play, too. The kids are very excited for this opportunity."

The Mayhem is coached by Brandon Siurek. Two weeks ago, his team competed in a travel tournament in Michigan City and finished second against teams that had been playing at a higher level for much of the summer. And last week in Highland, in a traditional all-star tournament, his team won it all.

They will be competing in Munster in the C division again local teams from St. John, C.P. and Hobart, along with some teams from Wisconsin, Missouri and Michigan.

"This is going to give our girls some great memories," Siurek said. "When they heard this was a 'World Series' to them it doesn't get much bigger than that.

"We have a talented team. We work to have the girls lift and back each other up. We want them all to have a positive mentality about the game."

The Mayhem team was competing in a tournament in Munster on Saturday and a smile came to the faces of all the girls when the subject of the NSA World Series came up.

Emily Siurek is a pitcher for the Mayhem. While the parades and gift exchanges are going to be fun, she is looking forward to one thing.

"The competition," she said. "There's going to be a lot of good teams. I can't wait to compete against them."

Kara Vitale has spent a lot of time at softball fields watching her dad work. And, of course, play the game. Vitale is a catcher and pumped to be a part of this.

"Its going to be exciting to see teams from other states," Kara Vitale said. "And also to see players from other states. When I heard we got to play in this I was very excited. Everyone on the team was, too."

Cece Mason is one of five pitchers on the Mayhem. She expressed emotions surely shared by all of these youngsters competing in the NSA World Series.

"I was nervous and excited when I heard," Mason said. "We all can't wait to see how we do against all these teams."

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NSA World Series expected to bring 10000 visitors to the Region - nwitimes.com

In unusually passionate and stark terms, the head of the nations top spy agency made clear on Saturday in Colorado that he will stand up to anyone -- even the president of the United States -- who asks him to use the U.S. intelligence community as a political prop.

We are not about particular viewpoints. We are not about particular parties. We just cant work that way, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers said at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado.

Rogers added that the U.S. intelligence community owes U.S. citizens honesty and integrity.

Saturdays remarks come only months after Rogers and at least two other senior U.S. officials were personally asked by President Trump to publicly rebut news reports laying out details of the federal governments probe into Russias alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Although Rogers has refused to publicly discuss his private conversations with Trump, he has previously vowed to keep politics out of his agencys work. But his remarks today at the annual gathering of senior officials, reporters and others tied to the U.S. intelligence community were noteworthy in their intensity and passion.

Punctuating each word -- one by one -- the U.S. Navy admiral said, I will not violate the oath that I have taken in the 36 years as a commission officer.

Rogers face hardened and his voice cracked as he added: I wont do that.

He went on to say that he often relays this message to his workforce: We are intelligence professionals. We raise our right hand and we take an oath to defend the citizens of this nation and the values that are embodied in the Constitution he said. Your integrity isnt worth the price of me or anybody else. You stand up and you remember that oath that we take.

Rogers comments drew a round of applause inside the room.

Nevertheless, Rogers added he has never been directed to do anything that I felt was illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate. Nor have I felt pressured to do so. Nor would I do so.

Rogers also said hes more than willing to offer Trump his assessment even when he knows the president disagrees.

He has never shut me down, Rogers said. He gives me good, direct feedback, sometimes, Mike I dont agree with that. Mike Im in a different place than you are.

Thats exactly the way this is supposed to work, Rogers insisted.

Rogers joined other senior officials at the Aspen Security Forum in affirming the U.S. governments conclusion that Russia is to blame for a cyber assault on the 2016 election.

No doubt at all, Rogers said.

Read more:
In midst of Russia probe, NSA chief vows: 'I will not violate' my oath to Americans - ABC News

The Hindu

China media set much store by NSA visit The Hindu The NSA's visit will be key to solving the current dispute and if the two sides failed to reach some agreement on the issue, the China-India ties would be severely damaged, Mr. Ma observed. The daily prefaced the anticipation of Mr. Doval's visit by ... Doklam standoff: India-China row may continue till November, says former NSAHindustan Times 'NSA Ajit Doval's Beijing visit key to ease Sikkim standoff'Daily News & Analysis China banking on Indian NSA Ajit Doval's visit to ease current border tensionsIndia Samvad all 182 news articles »

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China media set much store by NSA visit - The Hindu

An hour before the 9 a.m. first pitch for his team's 16-and-under game Friday at Kiwanis Park, Line Drive Express Softball Club coach Doug Hill glanced across the field at his team's opponent, the Illiana Dream Seams, on day five of the National Softball Association Class A Eastern World Series.

Hill's Gold squad hails from Midland in Central Michigan and the Dream Seams from Martinsville in Eastern Illinois. All Hill knew about the Dream Seams is what he could see through the fence: a team beginning its warmups wearing an ensemble with splashes of black, red and yellow similar to the University of Maryland's often bold getups. The night before, he was not even sure which state they were from. Hill said it is his superstition to not get wrapped up in scouting reports during massive tournaments like these, with 20 teams in their age group and more than 85 overall from 10 different states.

That is part of the fun. That is part of the reason why many of the teams including Hill's group, donning Central Michigan University's burgundy and gold colors, visited the tournament that held games Monday-Friday at Kiwanis, and Quarterpath parks as well as Stoney Run Athletic Complex in Newport News.

After running into the same teams in regular weekend tournaments, a change of scenery and exposure to different philosophies and coaching styles makes events like these attractive for some teams, even to the ones that drove more than 12 hours like Hill's.

"It's really immaterial what they're doing," Hill said. "I always tell them to do our work and don't worry about theirs."

If that sounds at all ruthless, it is because Line Drive Express is used to winning. Hill, who owns the club, is a NSA hall of famer having coached the sport the last 27 years. Prior to that, he played football at Northwood University in Midland and semi-professional softball.

Line Drive Express had 13 state championships and three NSA world series titles to its name entering Friday's competition, when it needed to win five games to take another title back to Michigan. The club had only needed to finish first or second in at least one qualifier to secure a spot in the world series field; but it won four separate qualifying tournaments for good measure.

All but two of Hill's players are committed to play in college including his daughter, Bailey, who said staying pumped up is vital in tourneys like these that are made even more grueling by the extreme heat that accompanied this one.

The dugouts of the Line Drive Express and Dream Seams were blaring music Friday morning before most folks in Williamsburg had ventured out to work.

"When I go out there, I always know I have to give it my all even if I'm dead," said Line Drive Express pitcher Faith Barden, a Western Michigan University recruit. "And I always have the defense behind me to be able to back me up."

Line Drive Express was fortunate to make it to Friday after a tough win Thursday night over Chesapeake's Elite Fastpitch, which had to survive four games on Thursday, one more than Line Drive Express.

The Chesapeake team's exit left the Blue Ridge Sudden Impact the only team from Virginia still standing in the bracket.

Lynch Station, south of Lynchburg, is home for Sudden Impact, which took on the Central Illinois Cyclones in game one on Friday.

New York teams from Long Island and West Seneca rounded out the 16-and-under teams that made it to Friday.

Sudden Impact has traveled as far away as Las Vegas for NSA world series tournaments but set its sights on the Williamsburg tournament because they wanted to play in their home state.

Sudden Impact might have been the defacto home team by Friday but Virginia license plates were outnumbered by ones from Michigan and Illinois in the Kiwanis parking lot.

The Cyclones came from Peoria, having qualified in two previous tournaments including the Illinois NSA event.

"The NSA folks here at Williamsburg have been excellent," said Cyclones manager Aaron Barrington. "They treated us well. We got to go to Busch Gardens and do some things we don't get to do in Illinois."

As Barrington and tournament site director Scott Hinders each noted, the Eastern World Series is the big and final tournament of the season for most of the teams. A few of the Cyclones will go on to play for colleges, Barrington said, while others will choose their post-secondary schools of choice solely for educational reasons, meaning competitive softball at this level ended for them in Williamsburg.

Line Drive Express started its season in November before moving indoors for the winter. While not quite a vacation, the Eastern World Series provided the club a chance to enjoy the conclusion of long travel campaign.

"These guys are here because they earned it," Hill said. "That's what I enjoy about this sport. This is their payback for all the hard work."

Holtzman can be reached by phone at 757-298-5830.

Link:
Elite softball teams welcome challenge at NSA world series - Virginia Gazette