_____________________________________
Vol 11, No. 1 Jan-Mar 2016
_____________________________________
DEBATE
Click Here for the full text of all Debate
contributions
AVINASH
GODBOLE: Research Fellow at the Indian
Council of World Affairs.
India-China
Relation: Enhancing Engagement
Promises Better Future
Prioritisation of economic development and the
immense scope of engagement-led development in the last decade have led to
somewhat more mature India-China relations. Pragmatic leadership and an
increase in people to people contact in areas of education, trade, and
tourism will only create a momentum leading to deeper understanding. India
and China have aimed to expand predictability in their bilateral relationship
by enhancing the scope of engagement that promises a better future for both
the countries.
MONIKA
CHANSORIA: Senior Fellow at the Centre for
Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi, where she heads the China-study programme.
Chinese Naval
Presence in the Indian Ocean Region
The future
trajectory of Sino-Indian relations shall be determined by the route that
China undertakes to gain greater strategic primacy in India’s immediate
neighbourhoodmost
importantly in and around the Indian Ocean region. With PLA’s naval
presence in the Indian Ocean now becoming an almost regular feature, it
would only be far-sighted to assume that the growing need to operate far
from home shores is the main driver for China’s new operational maritime
missions. Establishing berthing rights and a possible forward presence are
vital pivots for the constantly improving capabilities of the PLA-Navy. As
China’s presence in the Indian Ocean becomes more established, it expectedly
could challenge Indian interests in the Indian Ocean, thereby placing the
existing Indian deterrence-at-sea under considerable strain.
DOCUMENT:
Joint Statement between the India and China
during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China - May 15, 2015
_____________________________________
ARTICLES
M. MATHESWARAN: Former
Deputy Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff, President Aerospace Business,
Reliance Defence Ltd.
Click
here for the Full Text of the Article
SHARAD
K SONI: Assistant
Professor, Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
Emerging Dimensions of India’s Relations with Mongolia: From Comprehensive to Strategic
Partnership
In terms of
regional dimensions, the North East Asian identity of Mongolia, together
with socio-economic and political ties with other countries (particularly
in Asia) generate much scope for further expansion and concretisation of
India-Mongolian cooperation in various sectors. Herein, the political role
of Buddhism takes precedence in guiding engagements with foreign partners
and institutions. Therefore, Buddhism - both as a religion and as a soft
power foreign policy tool - must be seen in the context of achieving the
goals of peaceful co-existence, ensuring friendship from generation to generation,
and furthering mutual development through cooperation in terms of foreign
policy objectives. Buddhism in Mongolia’s foreign policy perspectives may
prove to be beneficial not only in the smooth execution of relations with
countries like India but also with Russia as well as other countries of
East Asia, including both Southeast and Northeast Asia where Buddhist
communities exist in large numbers.
The convergence of
political, economic and social interests may get a definite push in
Mongolia’s bilateral and multilateral relations if its Buddhist diplomacy
succeeds, especially in the Asian context. In this vein, PM Modi’s Mongolia
visit can be described as a “strategic step” in order to make India’s
strong presence felt in East Asia in general, and Northeast Asia, including
Mongolia, in particular.
_____________________________________
BOOK
REVIEWS
Click here for the full Text of
the Book Reviews
_____________________________________
COMPENDIUM
OF CONTRIBUTIONS
Published in Volume 10, 2015
|
_____________________________________
Vol
11, No. 2 Apr-Jun
2016
_____________________________________
DEBATE
India - Nepal Relations: A Reality
Check
Click Here for the full text of all
Debate contributions
K. V. RAJAN: Former
Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs; and, former Ambassador of
India to Nepal.
Nepal
Today: Bad Politics Trumps Good Economics
There is
nothing new about India-Nepal ties striking the occasional rough patch.
Nepal’s psyche is of a small, landlocked country, overwhelmed by India’s
cultural, economic and physical (indeed, often overtly political)
influence. This, together with India’s apparent inability (or
unwillingness) to factor in Nepal’s sensitivities in day to day dealings
with its neighbour, practically
guarantees abrupt downturns in the relationship every now and then.
The
euphoria generated by the spectacularly successful visit to Nepal of Prime
Minister Modi in 2014, and of much of the goodwill generated by India’s
spontaneous and generous response to the earthquake of April 25, 2015 seems
to have evaporated in the past few months. Both countries have tried in
vain to dismiss this as a routine hiccup.
Perhaps it
would be more realistic to acknowledge that the present phase of
uncertainty is likely to last for some more time. The reasons for this are
complex: some are rooted in Nepal’s internal political situation, others in
the severe mutual trust deficit that appears to be increasingly difficult
to address as time goes on.
HARI
BANSH JHA:
Executive Director, Centre for Economic and Technical Studies, Lalitpur,
Kathmandu, Nepal and formerl Professor of Economics at Nepal’s Tribhuvan
University.
Nepal-India
Relations Gaining Ground
Of Nepal’s
two neighbours, it is only China that supported the constitution. Time will
prove that the Chinese stand on the constitution is counter-productive,
though it seems to have gained certain ground among the ruling elites in
the country now. Nepal has sacrificed its own interest by giving undue
concession to Beijing mostly in the transport sector in lieu of Chinese
support to Nepal’s new constitution. It is the Chinese security interest
that is served more through the agreements made by KP Sharma Oli with China
than Nepal’s own interests.
Despite
the fact that China wants to occupy space in India’s backyard in Nepal,
India’s pre-eminent position in Nepal is unmatched. In this context, the
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae recently rightly said that no one can
stop prosperous relations between Nepal and India. This is one of the major reasons why
Nepal has not been able to implement the constitution so far. Even in the
past Nepal’s Zone of Peace (ZOP) proposal that intended to undermine
India’s presence in Nepal could not become successful, though nearly 114
countries of the world, including China and Pakistan, have endorsed it.
There is a feeling that the Nepalese constitution that has overlooked the
interest of the overwhelming majority of the population in the country will
not succeed because it does not have any support from New Delhi.
SHEEL
KANT SHARMA: Former
Ambassador of India to Austria and former Secretary General, SAARC,
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nepal’s
Democratic Polity and India
... [I]t is
critical for both countries to realise the need to prevent distortion of
mutual public perceptions. Even India and Pakistan at Shimla had agreed to
promote good neighbourliness, and eschew hostile propaganda. Why can’t the
Nepalese leadership and their counterparts in India come to an
understanding that this climate of gratuitous hostility and the airing of
unfounded blame must be stopped? No matter who wins the political
sweepstakes in Kathmandu, there should be a halt to India-bashing or
enflamed hysterics. Likewise, on the Indian side too, despite the
ostensible power of the fourth estate, a concerted attempt is required not
to speak of Nepal in a disparaging or condescending manner. China never
does this, and thus wins public opinion in its favour. It is high time that
this malaise is addressed with adequate political will. It would go a long
way in removing misgivings and misapprehensions between the two countries.
BHUWAN
C. UPRETI:
Presently
ICSSR Senior Fellow and a former Director at the Centre for South Asia
Studies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur,
and a former Senior Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation,
New Delhi.
India-Nepal Relations:
Complexities, Misperceptions and Irritants
...
[T]here are very strong foundations of India-Nepal relations. The deep
rooted socio-cultural linkages that the two countries possess comprise a
rare repository in the arena of bilateral relations. But unfortunately, all
these and many other aspects of India-Nepal relations are overshadowed by
personalised politics and short term gains. For a brighter India-Nepal
relationship, Nepal needs stability, development, and a mature political
leadership. On the other hand, India needs to follow a clear, consistent,
transparent, and more cooperative approach towards a close neighbour.
ANJOO
SHARAN UPADHYAYA: Director, Centre for the Study of Nepal,
Banaras Hindu University; former ICCR Chair at Tribhuvan University,
Kathmandu.
Rise
Above Prejudices and Suspicions: Build a 'Naya Nepal'
Economic
development has long eluded Nepal. It is high time Nepal carries out some serious introspection, and tries to
go overcome its prejudices against its own people. A well integrated
population is a source of strength, but at the same time, if discriminated
or rejected, can be an equal source of weakness. Nepal has been ranked the
33rd most fragile state in the world, according to the Fund for
Peace, a Washington-based research and educational institution . This has
been diagnosed on the basis of demographic pressure, refugee and IDP flows,
group grievances, human flight and brain drain, uneven economic
development, state legitimacy, public services, human rights and rule of
law, security apparatus, factionalised elites, etc.
It will do
Nepal good if it rises above prejudices, suspicions and disbelief,
negotiates a mutually acceptable solution to its current differences, and
starts building a 'Naya Nepal' (a
New Nepal)!
_____________________________________
ARTICLES
AJAI
MALHOTRA: presently
Distinguished Fellow & Senior Adviser (Climate Change), TERI, is a
former Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation. He was earlier
Ambassador of India to Kuwait, to the UN/New York, and to Romania.
Climate Change: Tackling the Challenge
Confronting India
As per
preliminary estimates, over US$ 2.5 trillion would be required between 2015
and 2030 to implement India’s climate-related plans. Scaling up these plans
would require even greater resources. Developing countries like India are
resource constrained, and implementing climate change mitigation/adaptation
actions would require additional domestic and new funds from developed
countries to cover the resource gap. Enhanced action on technology
development and transfer will be central to the implementation of India’s
INDC. Developed countries should help in the transfer of environmentally
sound technologies, in providing climate finance, capacity building, as
well as creating a framework for R&D on clean coal technologies. India
has projected an illustrative list of clean coal, nuclear power and
renewable energy technologies that it would like to see shared.
India
believes that it can achieve a similar level of well-being as the developed
world without going down the path of reckless and wasteful consumption. It
has, in the past, indicated that its per capita emissions would never
exceed those of the developed countries, including their historical
emissions. It is also prepared to share its technologies with others, as
seen from its readiness to develop a satellite specifically for South Asia
by 2016, and its offer of free-of-cost remote sensing satellite data to
other SAARC countries
OBJA
BORAH HAZARIKA
and VIVEK MISHRA: Assistant
Professor, Department of Political Science, Dibrugarh University,
Dibrugarh; and, Doctoral Candidate, School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, respectively.
Soft
Power Contestation between India and China in South Asia
Abstract: Soft power
has become an indispensably critical component of a country’s power and
influence today. It has emerged as a new requisite of present day
geopolitics, even more so for rising powers like India and China.
In South
Asia, India and China both possess abundant resources of soft power. Both
have their spirituality, culture, cuisine, technological advancement,
economic attractiveness, and entertainment industries, along with their
widely spread and influential diasporas. India and China are competing to
increase their influence and power in South Asia by using soft power among
other means as an instrument of power politics.
China is
rapidly making military, economic and cultural forays into the region and
is using soft power as a bridge to South Asia. China’s effort to increase
its influence in the region through its One Belt One Road initiative and
India’s sustained effort to remain a crucial partner in the national
development of Afghanistan are examples of competition between the two
Asian giants.
This paper
attempts to provide an understanding of this competition by exploring the
manner in which soft power is being harnessed by both countries to augment
their influence in the region. Along with this, this paper intends to
examine whether India can use its historical, cultural and civilizational
commonalities with its neighbors to mitigate some of the deep-rooted
animosities and match Chinese efforts to make inroads into the region.
ANAND
KUMAR: Associate Fellow,
Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.
India-Maldives
Relations: Is the Rough Patch Over?
...
[T]hings appear to be changing now. This is particularly so after President
Yameen’s visit to India in April 2016, when India signed six agreements
with his government, one of which was in the defence domain.
Still, it
cannot be said that the India-Maldives relationship is out of the woods.
The legislation passed by the Yameen government to sell islands, and allot
land without bidding has not been repealed. Though things have improved
between India and the Maldives, still, India cannot be complacent.
_____________________________________
BOOK REVIEWS
Click here for full text of all Book
Reviews
SAMEENA
HAMEED: Assistant
Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi
Talmiz
Ahmad, Turmoil
in West Asia: Sectarian Divide Shapes Regional Contestations, (New Delhi, IDSA, April 2016), Pages: 81,
Price: Rs. 150.00
ABDUL NAFEY:
Professor & Chairperson, Centre for Canadian, US & Latin American
Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi
Prem
K.Budhwar, Canada-India: Partners in Progress, (New
Delhi, Vij Books / ICWA,2016), Pages: xvii+216, Price: Rs. 850.00
K.
P. FABIAN: Former
Ambassador of India to Qatar, Finland and Italy.
Kishan S Rana, Diplomacy at the Cutting Edge (New Delhi, Manas Publications,, 2016), Pages: 371, Price: Rs 595.00
DHRUV
C. KATOCH:
former
Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, (CLAWS), New Delhi and presently
the Editor of SALUTE Magazine
Shaida
Mohammad Abdali, Afghanistan Pakistan India: A
Paradigm Shift, (New Delhi, Pentagon Press, 2016),Pages: 208,
Price: Rs. 995.00
|
_____________________________________
Vol 11, No. 3 Jul-Sep
2016
_____________________________________
DEBATE
India and
the Multilateral Export Control Regimes
Click Here for the full text of all Debate
contributions
SHYAM SARAN: former
Foreign Secretary, former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister for Indo-US
civil nuclear issues and later as Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on
Climate Change.
India May Have to Wait for a Possible Opening in
the Future
Even
before the NSG plenary meeting held in Seoul to discuss India’s membership
application in June 2016, China made a rare public statement opposing
India’s membership, insisting that NPT adherence was a key criterion for
entry, even though this is not included in the NSG Guidelines. It was
apparent that unlike in 2008 China was prepared to stand alone, if
necessary, to block India’s application. While consultations are continuing
on the issue, China has given no indication that its position may undergo a
change in the foreseeable future.
.... ....
it is
unlikely that China will allow India’s entry into NSG unless Pakistan’s
entry can be assured at the same time. Pakistan has also applied for NSG
membership this year soon after India’s application was tendered. And since
a majority of NSG members are not all enthusiastic of bringing a serial
proliferator like Pakistan into their ranks, India may have to wait a
longer time for a possible opening in the future.
MANPREET SETHI: ICSSR
Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies New Delhi.
India’s Inclusion into the NSG: A Paradigm Shift
The
benefits of the membership would be many though the process of gaining membership
is likely to be long. China will try its best to tire out India and the
other NSG members by raising one issue after another. India will have to
remain patient and continue its diplomacy quietly and confidently to
address the objections, technical as well as political, of the few nations
still left to be won over.
In the
final analysis, it must be realised that India’s membership into the NSG
could be nothing less than a paradigm shift for the non-proliferation
regime. To include India as a member, a country that triggered the very
creation of the NSG and whose technology sanctions and denials were crafted
to target India, is not an idea easy to stomach for many of the nuclear
suppliers. For China too, having India as a nuclear equal is an unpalatable
thought. However, patience and perseverance in chipping away at the major
and minor objections through proactive outreach to all NSG members will
have to be the key for India to shape a new nuclear order that suits its
national interests and unique nuclear stature.
RAJESH RAJAGOPALAN: Professor, Centre for International
Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, School of International Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
India and NSG: It’s Simply Power Politics
Just as
there are strategies that India needs to consider, there are also
self-defeating strategies that India should avoid. The most important among
these is that India should be careful in directing its retaliation at
Beijing and ensure that any such retaliation does not affect others,
especially India’s friends. .....
....
... ...
Another
self-defeating strategy would be to seek change in China’s opposition to
India with concessions. Considering that India is the aggrieved party,
because of the unprovoked nature of China’s hostile behaviour, it is China
that needs to make-up with India, not the other way around. Indeed, New
Delhi must repeatedly let China know that it is Beijing’s responsibility to
set right the harm done. For example, India put Australia in the dog-house
after its unwarrantedly harsh response to the Indian nuclear tests in 1998.
China is not Australia but this should be the template for treating China.
Offering additional concessions to China to get China to shift its stand
would fundamentally undermine India’s interests, especially given that NSG
is not vital, as stated earlier.
India’s
NSG membership issue demonstrates the centrality of power politics in
China’s behaviour. India has little choice but to join the game.
G.
BALACHANDRAN: Consulting Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses,
New Delhi.
India Should
be Wary of Additions to the 2008 Criteria
There is a distinct possibility of a discussion
on a common criteria resulting in additional elements to the 2008 NSG exemption
criteria. What should be India’s strategy then? India should continue to
insist that any new condition must be strictly in tune with NSG’s
objectives.
If China, at any stage, sees the possibility of
Indian application gaining strength and not that of Pakistan, it would make
sure that the NSG comes up with additional conditions that would be clearly
unacceptable to India. Its basic aim is to deny India membership of the
NSG; the excuse of Pakistani candidature is only secondary.
ROSHAN KHANIJO: Senior Research Fellow,
United Service Institution of India (USI), New Delhi.
Decision Making Process Dictated by Political
Interests
In the
21st Century, India is poised to play a major role in global nuclear governance.
It is a matter of time when India gains membership of the AG and WA. The
question that remains is whether the NSG will continue to allow the
political interests of one member (which has indulged in WMD
proliferationin the past, and continues to dishonour UN backed verdicts) to
dictate the decision making process of the entire group, or whether the
members will unite in upholding the spirit of NSG and induct those nations
who are nonproliferators and have taken steps to align with NSG’s core principles.
Global power play aside, India should also aim to remove any remaining
technical glitches by synchronising its SCOMET list to all four control
regimes lists.
ARUN VISHWANATHAN: Assistant Professor,
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.
India’s entry into the NSG: A Long-winded Process
Despite
India’s relationship with the multilateral export control regimes
undergoing a transformation in recent years, India’s entry into the NSG is
bound to be a long-winded process. This is essentially due to the fact that
India’s accession to the NSG is a clear reversal of decades-old thinking on
international non-proliferation policy. This will, no doubt, take many
countries some time to accept. In addition, India’s membership has also
become embroiled
in geo-politics. This was apparent with the Chinese linking India’s
membership to the NSG with membership of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
SITAKANTA MISHRA: Assistant Professor of
International Relations, School of Liberal Studies, Pandit Deendayal
Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Expose Double Standards - Pursue Pragmatic Steps
China has
been a stumbling block in every bid by India for its legitimate place in
the global order, be it the UNSC or, as now, the NSG. It would be too simplistic
to explain it away as at the behest of Pakistan - but as part of a bigger
aim. That should not stop India from continuing its quest for its place by
exposing its double standards and pursuing pragmatic steps to win over all
the sceptics.
_____________________________________
ARTICLES
SATINDER
KUMAR LAMBAH: Chairman
of Ananta Aspen Centre, New Delhi
and a former Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India.
The
Tragic History of Gilgit-Baltistan since 1947
The history
of Gilgit-Baltistan during the last seven decades has been tragic. The
region is a part of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. There have been
attempts to amalgamate it with Pakistan; but strategic planners in
Islamabad perhaps feel that such a move might weaken their case on Kashmir.
The status of Gilgit-Baltistan is ambiguous and undefined. It is not even a
part of the so called Azad Kashmir. The people of the region thus lack a
national/state identity. There is no transparency or accountability in
governance. Sectarian violence has been on the increase. This is because
outsiders, contrary to tradition and history, have been induced to settle
there. Unemployment has been increasing. The plight and difficulties faced
by the people of the region have gone unnoticed for long.
Click
here for the Full Text of the Article
N.
MANOHARAN and PRIYAMA CHAKRAVARTY: Associate
Professor / Post-Graduate Scholar, respectively, at the Department of International
Relations, Christ University, Bengaluru
Current
State of India - Sri Lanka Relations: From Bitter to Better
India and
Sri Lanka, despite having past common colonial experiences, have certain
strategic imperatives, and differing policies dictated by national
interests, at times conflicting with each other. One such differing phase
emerged after 2009 with the decimation of the LTTE. In a triumphant mode,
the Rajapakse regime started turning a deaf ear to India’s suggestions on
ethnic reconciliation. It also started playing the ‘China card’
disregarding India’s strategic and security interests.
As a
result, bilateral ties hit rock bottom in every aspect of the relations.
However, the surprise victory of Maithripala Sirisena in an untimely
presidential election has brought the bilateral ties on track. The new
coalition government has started going slow on China. It is taking serious
corrective measures on ethnic reconciliation and political settlement. As a
result, India-Sri Lanka relations have improved to the level of cordiality,
but are yet to realise their full potential.
The story
of bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka is the story of ups and
downs. Nevertheless, one factor or the other has come to the fore to
salvage the course before it hit rock bottom. The objective of this paper
is to identify those factors that have pulled the relations back on track
to put the current state of India-Sri Lanka relations in perspective.
GOPAL SURI,
Senior
Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi
India’s
Maritime Security Concerns
India is a
maritime state with a long coastline of more than 7500 km and 274 islands
that sits astride the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, at the head of the
Indian Ocean. The Indian sub-continent juts out nearly 1000 km into the
northern expanse of the Indian Ocean like a wedge and splits this region
into two distinct sub-regions.
As KM Panikkar had once
said, “It is the geographical position of India that changes the character
of the Indian Ocean”. India’s
relation with the Indian Ocean is, therefore, a symbiotic one and history
is witness to the fact that whenever India has neglected this huge body of
water, it has lost its sovereignty, as was seen during the period of
colonisation by the European powers.
The Indian Ocean has a long history of carrying India’s foreign
trade with recorded evidence stretching back to the 9th century BCE. Maritime trade still constitutes the backbone
of India’s economy despite geographical shifts in the pattern of India’s
trade. Considering that most of these commodities will have to come by sea,
maritime security assumes an important dimension in India’s calculus for
national development.
The success of recent
government initiatives like the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and
Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the renewed emphasis on
development of maritime infrastructure has to be underpinned by a guarantee
of maritime security in our immediate neighbourhood. This essay will
examine India’s maritime interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and
understand the security concerns thereof. A glance at the existing maritime
security frameworks in the IOR will then enable a better understanding of
the responsibilities of maritime security of this region.
MALANCHA CHAKRABARTY: Associate
Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Understanding
India’s engagement with Africa
This paper
examines the growing partnership between India and Africa. Post
liberalisation, India’s policy towards Africa has shifted from the
ideological realm to economic diplomacy. Economic realities in Africa have
also undergone tremendous change in the last decade. Many Africa countries
witnessed an economic turnaround in the 2000s. The early 2000s saw a marked
increase in India’s economic linkages with Africa. This paper provides an
overview of India’s trade, investment, and development cooperation linkages
with the African continent from 2000 onwards. Thereafter, it critically
analyses three key dimensions of contemporary India-Africa relations –
energy security, food security, and diaspora. This paper criticises the
view that India is a ‘new coloniser’ in Africa whose interests are limited
to countering Chinese influence and extracting resources. It stresses on
the need for a sophisticated analysis of contemporary India-Africa
relations based on empirical research and concludes that India’s growing
economic ties with Africa have the potential to make an important
contribution to global development.
_____________________________________
BOOK REVIEWS
Click here for the full Text of
the Book Reviews
NEELAM
D. SABHARWAL: Former
Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands, UNESCO and High Commissioner to
Cyprus.
Andrew
Small, The
China-Pakistan Axis; Asia’s New Geopolitics, (Mumbai,
Random House India, December 2015), Pages: 320, Price: Rs. 399.00 (PB):
ASHISH SIRSIKAR: Senior
Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi
Satish Chandra & Smita Tiwari (eds), Insights into Evolution of Contemporary Pakistan, (New Delhi, Pentagon Press, 2015), Pages: 207,
Price: 544.00
PRABIR KUMAR
CHAKRAVORTY: Defence analyst,
former Additional Director General of Artillery, former advisor Brahmos
Aerospace.
Vivek Chadha, Even If Ain't Broke Yet Do Fix It:
Enhancing Effectiveness Through Military Change, (New Delhi,
Pentagon Press, 2016), Pages: 192, Price: Rs 795.00
|
_____________________________________
Vol
11, No. 4 Oct - Dec
2016
_____________________________________
DEBATE
India-Russia
Relations in a Fast Changing Global Order
Click Here for the full text of all Debate
contributions
KANWAL
SIBAL: Former
Foreign Secretary of India, former Ambassador to Russia and to France.
Challenges and Prospects of India’s Strategic Partnership with
Russia
The India-Russia
relationship is and should remain a key pillar of India’s foreign policy.
Despite its reduced status after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia
remains a formidable power because of its size, resources and strategic
capacities. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it exerts
considerable weight on issues of international peace and security. With its
military intervention in the Syrian conflict, it has re-emerged
internationally as a more self-confident and assertive power. It possesses
advanced space, nuclear and defence technologies. If India sees its
interests served by forging strategic partnerships with several countries
that do not possess any of these attributes, the need to nurture a close
strategic relationship with Russia speaks for itself.
P. S. RAGHAVAN, Till recently Ambassador of India
to Russia; former Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic and to
Ireland; Former Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.
India-Russia Strategic Partnership - a Mutual
Commitment
The India-Russia relationship has recently come under
severe scrutiny in the Indian media and in academic writings. The
developing wisdom is that the traditional links are fraying and that, with
India’s political realignment with USA and Russia’s embrace of China, there
is now a strategic disconnect between India and Russia.
This paper reviews the canvas of the India-Russia
dialogue and the range of bilateral political, economic and defence
cooperation. It argues that the legacy of the past continues to have
relevance for the present and future. The geopolitical logic that cemented
the India-Russia relationship remains valid. The extent of defence
cooperation makes disengagement an impossibility, though India’s
diversification of defence acquisitions will reduce Russia’s near-monopoly
in this sector. Investment linkages are growing, though awareness of
opportunities has not fully percolated to corporate India. Cooperation in
nuclear energy and hydrocarbons has made significant progress.
The clouds in the relationship reflect differences in
security perspectives; they can be dispersed with frank dialogue, resulting
in policies, which accommodate the core interests of both sides.
There is a clear commitment from leaders of both
countries to preserve and strengthen bilateral relations. It is therefore
not appropriate to sound the death knell of the India-Russia “special and
privileged strategic partnership”.
ARUN MOHANTY: Professor, Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Time to Reinvent the Indo-Russian Strategic Partnership
Both countries have enjoyed
excellent political relations for decades, with a convergence of views on
most international and regional issues of mutual concern. It is a matter of
concern that, more recently, there seems to have emerged a gap in the
mutual approaches of both countries on some international and regional
issues. There is lack of understanding for each other’s security and
geopolitical concerns. Russia’s growing engagement with Pakistan,
particularly, has raised concerns in India’s strategic community. Russia’s
military exercise with Pakistan and sales of military hardware to that
country, have caused significant concern in India. The growing trilateral
engagement between Russia, China and Pakistan, particularly on Afghan
issue, has angered the Indian strategic community.
On the other hand, Russia
has misgivings about some Indian actions, such as its growing proximity
with the US, Delhi’s agreement with Washington on end use inspection, the
Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), and the USA’s bestowing
of the Major Defence Partner status on India, etc. The Malabar naval
exercises with the US as well as the joint military exercises with Japan,
New Zealand and Australia, are also not to the liking of Moscow. Besides,
there seems to be some sort of difference in approaches to regional issues
(like the Syrian crisis), along with gaps in the UN voting patterns on a
host of international and regional issues. On the whole, there appears to
be a gap for the first time in the understanding of geopolitical issues
between New Delhi and Moscow.
MEENA SINGH ROY: Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses,
New Delhi.
The
Trajectory of India-Russia Ties: High Expectations and Current Realities
India and
Russia are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations this year. Major events in diverse fields have been
worked out to celebrate the long standing partnership, which New Delhi and
Moscow have enjoyed since diplomatic relations were established in April
1947. At a bilateral level, pragmatic considerations form the basis of this
relationship.
After the
disintegration of the Soviet Union, Indo-Russian relations have gone
through some rough patches, the relationship notably weakened during the 1990s.
The geopolitical realities and economic limitations did not allow the
relationship to continue in the same way. However, all that changed after
Vladimir Putin’s election as the head of the Russian state in 2000. He
became the architect of a new strategic partnership between India and
Russia bringing the two countries close to each other. These ties were
further elevated to the level of Special and Privileged Strategic
Partnership in December 2010. India–Russia strategic partnership moved in
the direction of greater cooperation in every respect but remained under
the shadow of the emerging Indo-US strategic partnership. A fresh impetus
was given to this relationship during the annual summit in Goa in October
2016. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin’s
pledge to take the relationship to a new level, the current narrative on
India-Russia relations in India and Russia has raised some issues
questioning the changing nature of strategic partnership.
_____________________________________
ARTICLES
TALMIZ AHMAD: Former
Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia, to the U.A.E, and to Yemen.
ISIS
and the Scourge of Global Jihad: Regional Implications
Almost
every day, there are reports of a jihadi organisation perpetrating some
atrocity or the other in which several innocent victims are killed or badly
injured. Images of widespread carnage at airports, shopping malls, concert
auditoria, hotels, restaurants and busy streets fill our television screens
while solemn reporters inform us that security agencies suspect this to be
an attack by the Islamic State (or IS, also known as the “Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria”, or ISIS) or its local affiliate or even an individual, a
“lone wolf”, who was indoctrinated to carry out a suicide attack by IS propaganda
on social media. This paper discusses the ideological and political bases
of this scourge and its proliferation, and the implications it has had on
West Asian politics.
(An article is based on a lecture
on the subject, under the above title, delivered by the author, at the
regular meeting of the Association of Indian Diplomats on 26 October 2016
at New Delhi.)
SITAKANTA
MISHRA: Assistant
Professor at the School of Liberal Studies (SLS) of Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The
Asian Nuclear Energy Landscape: Major Expansion Post-Fukushima
The
Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan has had an impact on the
overall pace of building of new nuclear reactors in particular, and on the
attitude towards nuclear energy, in general. However, it could not bring an
end to “the nuclear renaissance in several countries”.1 A scrutiny of the
halfdecade of nuclear energy trend worldwide since the Fukushima event
reveals that most countries with, or planning for, nuclear programmes opted
for a slowdown or temporary halt, rather than complete cessation of their
programme, except Germany. The trend in Asia seems to be interesting as
increasing number of states have shown interest in nuclear energy; while
those countries already having nuclear programme like India, China, etc.,
are also planning for major expansion.
_____________________________________
BOOK REVIEWS
Click here for full text of all Book Reviews
B.
S. PRAKASH: Former Ambassador of India to Brazil and to
Uganda.
P.
K. Gautam, Saurabh Mishra and Arvind Gupta (Eds.), Indigenous Historical Knowledge:
Kautilya and His Vocabulary (Volume III), (New Delhi, IDSA / Pentagon Press, 2016),
Pages: ix+166, Price: 795.00.
BHASWATI MUKHERJEE: Former
Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Paris; former Ambassador of India to
the Netherlands
Kanwal Sibal, Snowflakes of Time; Memories and Musings, (New Delhi, Bloomsbury India, July 2016), Pages:
220, Price: ₹ 399.00
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