Indian Foreign Policy

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 09 Dec 2015 18:08

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rukmini_Maria_Callimachi

We will hear more of her, going forward.

panduranghari · Post by **panduranghari** » 09 Dec 2015 18:10

Luttwak’s talent for mythomania relies on his sensual appetite for detail, but it also gestures towards something beyond it. He tirelessly buffs the edges of his own legend; he is competitively interesting. When confronted by anyone who threatens to second-guess him, Luttwak responds either by burying them in a welter of technical detail, or crushing them with timeless, prophetic generalities. The result is that he is nearly invincible in conversation. Everything he has ever read or heard is ready for rapid deployment.

His youtube lectures are very interesting nevertheless.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 05 Jan 2016 05:46

Jan 5 :: Non-alignment to multi-alignment

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 09 Jan 2016 00:27

Not to lose focus will reply here....

Satya_anveshi wrote:Saudi Arabia and Israel are joined at the hips.

I see Israel having carte blanch within Indian security apparatus and therefore has extremely deep influence. By proxy, the same is also exercised by Saudi Arabia in addition to having disproportionate influence in internal matters via its funding of wahabi forces, madrassas in India, and due to large number of expats working in Saudi Arabia and its 'indistinguishable from self' allies (UAE, Qatar etc).

This comes at a cost of alienating Iran to an extent with considerable scope of confusion around who started first, Iranians aiding Puki Nukes as indicated by late K Subramanyam ji vs Iranian fears of India getting too close with Israeli security apparatus.

What all this points to is that our both feet are firmly in the camp of proxies for status quo powers (US/UK) even though our head wants to get out of colonial or balance of power shackles imposed on us via Pak, which is also backed by the same players and powers.

There are no indications that , at strategic level, we realize this inherent confusion and contradiction and therefore also do not see a strategic counter to it.

It seems that we confuse getting by day-to-day affairs without disturbing anyone is a 'strategic' win in itself. In essence 'chalta hai' attitude or in hyd style 'chalne do balkishan.'

Easy part first:

This comes at a cost of alienating Iran to an extent with considerable scope of confusion around who started first, Iranians aiding Puki Nukes as indicated by late K Subramanyam ji vs Iranian fears of India getting too close with Israeli security apparatus.

If you recall that was in early 70s with the Shah of Iran having grand plans of returning to Persian glory days of Cyrus. Besides in the end it was Chinese transfers of nuke weapons and none of this Iranian funding that jeopardized Indian security.
Iran has concerns with Israel which are its own delusions. Having given up pursuit of nukes to get the US removal of sanctions for giving up nukes deal, they have de-facto reconciled to Israel's existence. So its not a factor.

Second

By proxy, the same is also exercised by Saudi Arabia in addition to having disproportionate influence in internal matters via its funding of wahabi forces, madrassas in India, and due to large number of expats working in Saudi Arabia and its 'indistinguishable from self' allies (UAE, Qatar etc).

Precisely why India needs to undercut them where it can. That's what the logic of strategy says. Moreover, Iran provides a gateway to Central Asia (Chah Bahar and rail line via Mashad) and hems a Sunni majority Pakistan on the west. Iran has agreed to Indian Rupee trade for oil.

Hitherto fore India was constrained by the UN sanctions on Iran and now that they are lifted can be more in self interest.

In addition KSA has unleashed the worst barbaric forces in the world by way of ISIS. Even if they don't have a direct hand in the founding of ISIS, they have promoted the ideology that propels the growth of ISIS.

Also read the fact that KSA is now factionally split between the Ibn Saud children suderis vs. rest of the children.
The Shias in Nejed, where the oil fields are also resisting.
Houthis Yemenis are pressing in the south and east.

Besides defeat of Iran will consolidate the Sunni power just as it did beginning of last millennium leading to invasions of India.

I would say transfer heavy weapons to Houthis.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 09 Jan 2016 01:16

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner in goods, and third largest source of remittances. I don't think India will openly work against KSA, such as arming the Houthis. More likely is improved relations with Iran and Iraq (Shia powers), more diplomatic and moral support for Syria's regime, and such.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 09 Jan 2016 03:29

Indian exports to Saudi Arabia represent ~4% of Indian Exports;
Indian imports from Saudi Arabia represent ~9% of Saudi Exports;

Balance of Trade in $s terms is highly favorable to Saudi Arabia; With Iran option opening up, balance of trade will get lower and hence Saudi Arabia will be in losing position.

Between Saudi and Iran, as far as trade is concerned, it will be net neutral at the worst. At best our negotiation potential will improve which should translate in better control on jihadi industry, our economic risk will diversify; our foreign policy will no more be concentrated along Israel/Saudi Arabia axis.

They will have to fight with Russians for access to European market; Russia -China have already stuck long term deal; US production is in high gear, who will Saudis sell their hydrocarbons to?

With jihadi genie out and uncontrollable, Saudis will be wary to import manpower from other muslim nations. This reduces risk of repatriation funds from Indian expats.

I don't see much of the downside if we come hard on Saudis and show their place.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 12 Jan 2016 09:13

India’s strategy for the near west - Editorial, The Hindu

With a series of high-profile visitors and visits planned, New Delhi is indicating its focus on West Asia in the coming year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to travel to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Palestine and possibly Iran. Leaders from those countries and more are expected to come to Delhi as well, beginning with the Syrian Foreign Minister who is in Delhi now. The renewed interest from India is welcome, and indicates the importance this region holds for it. In addition, it is important that the government begins to explore options beyond bilateral relations with countries of this region, as India bids for a place as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This is not a region India can afford to take its eyes off. The explosive discord between Iran and Saudi Arabia despite Iran’s landmark agreement with the P5+1 countries does not augur well for the future of the region as a whole, given that each country has specific areas of influence in it. The devastation of Yemen caused by Saudi Arabian strikes and fighting on the ground hint where that conflict could lead. The spread of Islamic State may have been stopped due to bombing raids by the U.S. coalition in Iraq and the Russian support to Syrian troops in Syria, but this is by no means a solution. The Israel-Palestine conflict has the potential to spark more tensions in this region at any given time, and the burgeoning numbers of refugees fleeing the violence from Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and neighbouring areas pose another potential threat to stability in the region and in countries where these hapless communities are forced to take shelter.

Given the powder keg that the region now stands on, can India have a hands-off approach, and focus only on its bilateral interests in the region? To begin with, the WANA (West Asia, North Africa) region is home to more than seven million Indians who account for more than half of all remittances to India, adding up to $70 billion. India’s energy dependence on the region is another reason for deeper engagement. The turmoil of the past few years in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen has unleashed untold sufferings on Indians working there. India cannot afford to ignore this peril, or simply issue advisories for citizens not to go there. It will have to take a deeper interest in resolving the regional conflicts. Sending troops to these areas is not an option. Given the goodwill it enjoys, and India’s reputation of neutrality, it would be desirable for Prime Minister Modi to use his outreach in West Asia as an interlocutor for dialogue instead. When signing the landmark joint strategic vision document with the U.S. to monitor the South China Sea region, officials had pointed to India’s mandate for a role in upholding international rule of law. Much the same logic would apply for India’s role in West Asia, one that is commensurate with its own ambitions on the world stage.

Vikas · Post by **Vikas** » 12 Jan 2016 11:55

If KSA-Iran ever get into direct shooting war, Would we see exodus of Muslims from India into Iran and KSA to support their sects?
After all Indian subcontinent is the one that provides big numbers to Islam to the order of ~60 Crore and even if a minority of this number erupts in favor of KSA/Iran, we will have repercussions in whole of Sub-Continent Hence it makes more sense for India to stay mostly neutral with a slight bend towards Iran.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 13 Jan 2016 03:47

First they will fight each other in India.

Cosmo_R · Post by **Cosmo_R** » 13 Jan 2016 03:59

ramana wrote:First they will fight each other in India.

Too true. The Iranians were arrogant enough to try and use Indian Shias to put pressure on India re Israel. KSA is no different. The tricks they've tried with Islamic banking/ Mosques and Salafi stuff is eye opening.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 13 Jan 2016 04:00

ramana wrote:First they will fight each other in India.

Both needs to be supported from time to time till the end.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 13 Jan 2016 07:48

VikasRaina wrote:If KSA-Iran ever get into direct shooting war, Would we see exodus of Muslims from India into Iran and KSA to support their sects?
After all Indian subcontinent is the one that provides big numbers to Islam to the order of ~60 Crore and even if a minority of this number erupts in favor of KSA/Iran, we will have repercussions in whole of Sub-Continent Hence it makes more sense for India to stay mostly neutral with a slight bend towards Iran.

If the question is of Indian Subcontinent then both Paki and Bangladeshis are already there in mixed numbers fighting for both sides in Syria as of now.

Some Indians in ISIS is confirmed but Shia fighters from India fighting in Syria has not been reported. As of now the scale is small and will not cause much impact here. The problem that will raise its head is ever increasing presence of ISIS in Indian Subcontinent. With regards to ISIS, the Sunni - Shia division lines are strong.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Jan 2016 19:14

Ramping up ties with Israel even further given the disastrous situ in the ME should be top priority. Syria and Iran deserve our support too in the wake of the Saudi megalomaniacal adventurer,their defence minister labeled as the world's most dangerous man by German intelligence. Hereportedly threatened Pres.Putin with Chechen terror if he did not play ball with ther Soothis! The prince is cobbling together a Sunni mil alliance of 30+ states which he wants to take on Iran.India should tread extremely carefully when it engages with the Soothi Barbarians,esp. their Arab Hitler.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 514023.cms

Is Saudi Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman the most dangerous man in the world?

Prince Mohammed bin Salman also known as the Deputy Crown Prince is now jousting with its regional foe with Iran. O Sunday the heir to the Kingdom throne arrived at Pakistan for seeking their support against Iran

By Zeeshan Shaikh on January 10, 2016

Riyadh, January 10: In December 2015, BND, the German intelligence agency shared a one-and-a-half page memo saying that Saudi Arabia under the leadership of Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman had adopted “an impulsive policy of intervention”.

The intelligence agency pointed out pointed out Prince Mohammed bin Salman son of the ageing King Salman, as the biggest political gambler who is currently destabilising Middle East through his proxy war strategy in Syria and Yemen.

The German intelligence agencies has warned that with the recent intervention of Saudi Arab in Yemen, the country has become an unpredictable wild card. (Also Read: Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic ties with Iran post cleric’s execution)

The foreign adventure of invasion by Prince Mohammed is not been successful and never ever in future he will succeed but these two invasion had won him support for him at Saudi Arab. The BND had warned the German government and European Intelligence community that the concentration of so much power in hands of Prince Mohammed will overreach one day.

Prince Mohammed said in an interview with The Economist: “A war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure, we will not allow any such thing.”

Prince Mohammed bin Salman also known as the Deputy Crown Prince is now jousting with its regional foe with Iran. O Sunday the heir to the Kingdom throne arrived at Pakistan for seeking their support against Iran.

In an interview with The Economist, Prine Mohammed said, “A war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure, we will not allow any such thing.”
Prince Mohammed a graduate in law from King Saud University, choose not to go abroad like his other family members and stayed in Riyadh. He took lessons of politics from his father King Salman when he was just 9-years-old. His friends considered him an earnest young man who never went to parties, neither smoke nor drank.

Among the elite business community it was well understood that if you wanted to see King Salman you had to go through Prince Mohammed. At 79, King Salman is reported to be suffering from dementia and able to concentrate for only a few hours a day. At his father’s gatekeeper Prince Mohammed bin Salman is considered as the real power in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In March 2015, Mohammed bin Salman launched an aerial campaign against rebel Houthi forces, that had run the Saudi-installed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi out of the country.

For Mohammed his adventure began after he started an operation against Houthi rebels started with a propaganda that the rebellions were supported by Iran. With the attack on Yemen, the crown prince has to prove his mettle both to his rival in the Interior Ministry and his own supporter in Kingdom.

In intense aerial bombardments, much of Yemen’s infrastructure has been destroyed while the Houthi rebels remain closely defiant at the capital Sanaa.

With the sudden execution of senior Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a tit-for-tat battle between Iran and Saudi is escalating. In Tehran Saudi embassy was burned, and the Saudis removed Iranian ambassadors in retaliation. The apparent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Sanaa has further ratcheted up tensions.

Enemies within the ruling family of Saudi Arab decried the arrogance of the young prince in a widely spread letter last summer.

The question which still remains unanswered that how far his impetuous nature will take him in the conflict with Iran. The most frightening thought which comes today is that there is a huge sectarian Sunni-Shia divide across the world and how far it will escalate from here.

Modified Date: January 10, 2016

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 25 Jan 2016 16:02

India, Arab League vow to check terror, funding sources - PTI

India and the Arab League on Sunday vowed to combat terrorism and called for developing a strategy to “eliminate” its sources and its funding as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a strong pitch for delinking religion from terrorism.

While addressing the 1st Ministerial Meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum here in the Bahraini capital, Ms. Swaraj also warned that those who “silently sponsor” terror groups could end up being used by them, in an apparent jibe at Pakistan.

“Those who believe that silent sponsorship of such terrorist groups can bring rewards must realise that they have their own agenda; they are adept at using the benefactor more effectively than the sponsor has used them,” Ms. Swaraj told some 14 foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League grouping, with its Secretary General Nabil El Araby in attendance.

‘Turning point’

She said the meeting marked a “turning point” for India-Arab relations, while pointing out that “we are also at a major turning point in history when the forces of terrorism and violent extremism are seeking to destabilise societies and inflict incalculable damage to our cities, our people and our very social fabric.”

“Equally, we must delink religion from terror. The only distinction is between those who believe in humanity and those who do not. Terrorists use religion, but inflict harm on people of all faiths,” said Ms. Swaraj, who arrived here on Saturday.

The Manama Declaration

The meeting, which was opened by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, culminated with the two sides issuing a joint statement called the Manama Declaration.

The two sides discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern, including the Palestinian issue, developments in the Arab region and in South Asia, as well as counter-terrorism, Security Council reforms and nuclear disarmament.

The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejected associating it with any religion, culture or ethnic group.

They also emphasised the need for concerted regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and to address its causes and develop a strategy to eliminate the sources of terrorism and extremism, including its funding, as well as combating organised cross-border crime, the Declaration stated.

In this context, the two sides affirmed their respect to the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq and non-interference in its internal affairs and rejecting infringement of such principles, strongly condemned crimes committed by all terror organisations, especially those committed by the Islamic State. — PTI

member_29325 · Post by **member_29325** » 25 Jan 2016 20:20

Shiv Shankar Menon of US SD think tank Brookings lecture in India

Over seven million Indians live and work in the Gulf and Levant, they send over US$ 35 billion home in remittances every year, and we get over 70% of our oil and gas supplies from the region. India’s stakes in the region are very high, for if these are disrupted our quest to transform India will be disrupted.
<snip>
placed to deal with the possible radicalisation of individuals in our diaspora in these countries. I have no doubt that sooner rather than later India will have to make real political and military contributions to stability and security in this region that is so critical to our economy and security. What has inhibited us since the seventies have been limited capabilities and the fact that other states were providers of security in the area. Now that both those limiting factors are changing, our approach and behaviour should change in defence of our interests.

This Brookings exbert actually wants the India to join the US coalition against ISIS -- thank the stars that he is no longer NSA. Looks like he has gone (american) native with his stint at the brookings. After Brookings' large part in screwing India in Afghanisthan, this tool actually goes and joins the very organization that played a central part in screwing India -- I refer to the hit job on India by William Dalrymple published by Brookings before the US made a charade of getting out of Afghanisthan.

For one thing, there is an oil glut, and Iran has also entered the fray, so there are cheaper options for India than joining the US's new GOAT in West Asia -- US and its arab/turk allies can all burn in their own warmongering without India sacrificing lives Indian soldiers in a war and too for the team that created ISIS and funds them.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Feb 2016 08:48

Raisina Dialogue will start from March 1; top leaders will particiate to debate on Asia’s future - Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Economic Times

India's maiden version of famous 'Singapore-based Shangrila Dialogue' — Raisina Dialogue — to be organised here between March 1-3 will see participation from top leaders and ministers of the region and beyond debating Asia's future.

Likes of former Presidents of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Hamid Karzai and Chandrika Kumaratunga, besides foreign minister of Bangladesh Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, deputy foreign minister of Japan Yasumasa Nagamine, Parliamentarians from Russia and EU and US Pacific Commander feature in the list of speakers, apart from host of domain experts from China, Japan, Australia, the US and UK.

Vyacheslav Nikonov, chairman of the State Duma (Russian Parliament) Committee on Education, EU MPs Jakob von Weizsacker and Geoffrey Van Orden, member and admiral Harry B Harris Jr will be among the non-Asian voices at the three-day forum deliberating on the continent's growing partnerships with other continents. UAE with whom India has forged strategic partnership across sectors in the recent times will also send a high-level representative for the dialogue.

While foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate the dialogue, minister for communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and power minister Piyush Goyal besides foreign secretary S Jaishankar and former MoS foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor are among the prominent Indian participants.

Asian connectivity, Asian security and threats including terrorism, Asia-Pacific region, digital revolution in Asia and energy security in Asia are among the key themes in the Dialogue, organisers informed. India is emerging a key player in most of the domains including expanded presence in the Asia-Pacific or Indo-Pacific region and the Raisina Dialogue would help to generate ideas. Authorities hope that success of this edition of the dialogue would attract bigger ministerial participation from the next year.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Feb 2016 13:56

The latest terror attack in J&K,yet again taking the lives of precious Indian soldiers,only underscores the huge task we hjave at home before we ambitiously "look upon other pastures and other sheep to defend"

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/02/20 ... -security/

Don’t bet on big role for India in regional security
20 February 2016
Author: Ajai Sahni, the Institute for Conflict Management

Is India emerging as a great power? French President François Hollande’s recent trip to India included a joint statement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which focused on security cooperation. This encouraged some speculative enthusiasm regarding India’s ‘widening role’ in Asia’s security.

French President Francois Hollande, flanked by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, waves to the media at a reception in New Delhi, India. (Photo: AAP)

For some years now, there have been rising expectations that India would be part of the Southeast Asian balance of forces and would act as a counterweight in the Indian Ocean to China’s increasing and capricious dominance.

But much of this is misleading. The India–France joint declaration echoes the form and language of numerous such statements in the past, hammered out with other visiting delegations and dignitaries from a host of countries, with marginal effect. Significantly, India has joint working groups on counter-terrorism with at least 24 countries including China. But these have yielded, at best, fitful cooperation — including joint counter-terrorism exercises with multiple countries — and occasional, highly selective, intelligence sharing. This is better than the situation a decade ago, but not dramatically so.

Crucially, despite projections and pretensions otherwise, the idea that India could be drawn into a more active or prominent role in Asian security, or could act as a balancing force in the region is premature, if not entirely misconceived.

Strategy is a function, overwhelmingly, of capacity. On the counter-terrorism dimension, India’s responses to recent attacks — in Pathankot on 1–3 January 2016, and in Gurdaspur on 27 July 2015 — provide anecdotal evidence of the state of disrepair in the security apparatus. Closer scrutiny exposes gaping deficiencies in the system.

To take the most visible indices of this incapacity, India has a severely inadequate police to population ratio of 141 per 100,000. And with multiple insurgencies across the country, this force is required to engage far beyond normal ‘peacetime’ policing. Worse, it has a chronic leadership deficit, with a 19 per cent shortage of apex level positions in the Indian Police Service.

The states spend a pittance on policing, on average 1.40 Indian rupees (about US$0.021) per day per capita. Unsurprisingly, the technical, technological and human resource profiles of state police forces remain abysmal — with a few tiny showcase units standing out as ineffectual exceptions. Similar deficits and deficiencies afflict the intelligence apparatus.

India’s armed forces have often been thought to be an exception to the general rot that afflicts the civilian administrative and security apparatus. But, the parameters that are projected tend to be misleading. India has long boasted that it has the ‘second largest army in the world’ (now, the third, behind China and the United States). But the reality is that the combined armed forces are overstretched and far below the strength and capabilities that are required even for present internal security and external defence requirements. India has a 1:944 active duty uniformed troop to population ratio, which pales in comparison to China at 1:585, the United Kingdom at 1:427, Pakistan at 1:321 and the United States at 1:229

The Indian forces are, hobbled by endemic shortages and obsolescent equipment, overwhelmingly acquired abroad, with little indigenous capacity for manufacturing. The capacity to project power abroad, consequently, does not go beyond token participation in a handful of UN Peacekeeping missions and politically correct pronouncements about development, peace and shared global responsibility. This will remain the case, despite rising expectations that India will take up a more active role in dealing with the global crisis of terrorism.

Crucially, India lacks the economic (and consequently, potential military) sinews to fulfil the ‘pivotal’ role that is being ascribed to it by both domestic and international cheerleaders. There has been much talk about India emerging as the world’s third largest economy by 2030, overtaking the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan, with a projected GDP of US$6.6 trillion at that stage.

What is left unsaid, here, is that these countries have current populations ranging between 64 million (the UK) and 127 million (Japan), while India weighs in at 1.25 billion. In 2030, with a projected population of 1.46 billion, India’s per capita income would still be just over US$4,976. In comparison China, with a projected GDP at over US$18.82 trillion and an expected population of 1.40 billion, would yield a per capita income of over US$13,412. The United States, with GDP forecasted at US$23.85 trillion and projected population at 355.7 million, would still be far ahead of both, with a per capita income of US$67,067.

India has made giant leaps over the past decades, but its ‘great power’ aspirations — and corresponding international expectations — are not backed by the resource profile that must underpin such ambitions. India is still a poor country with an abysmal human resources’ profile, lamentable leadership and a grossly deficient production base. This is certainly changing, but at a pace that will leave the country out of a decisive leadership role, both regionally and globally, for decades to come.

Ajai Sahni is the Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management and South Asia Terrorism Portal, Editor of the South Asia Intelligence Review and Executive Editor of Faultlines: Writings on Conflict and Resolution.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Mar 2016 08:33

India’s maiden version of the famous ‘Singapore-based Shangrila Dialogue’ (Raisina Dialogue), to be organised in Delhi between March 1-3, will see participation from top leaders of the region and beyond debating Asia’s future. The event is organised by the Observer Research Foundation along with the Ministry of External Affairs.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 01 Mar 2016 09:22

^^^ ORF is sponsoring / compering the event?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Mar 2016 11:23

I was surprised too.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 01 Mar 2016 20:43

Not good seeing the way Sudheendra Kulkarni has been turned in by the Paki camp/lobby.
I was watching a Run-D-TV talk show featuring him and Tarek Fatah.It is unbelievable the way kulkarni was talking .He was speaking like an aam paki abdul who blamed Uncle Sam and western imperial powers for all the killings in the world. He rhetorically said that World War I and World War II was not started by Islam and why is islam being blamed for the killings in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and When Tarek asked him why are killings by pakistan in Baluchistan by pakistanis not being talked over in and criticised. He of course did not give any reply.

which gives rise to the 64 million dollar question to what is the Ambani angle in being an useful idiot to the Paki machinations? Why is he acting like an enabling force for pakis to further their agenda through the chai-biskoot circuit?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 02 Mar 2016 10:25

India to hold global meet for assisting developing nations on March 10-11 - Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Economic Times

India is organising an international dialogue in Delhi on March 10-11 to present a model of 'no strings attached' assistance to developing countries that is unlike the western model of conditional assistance followed by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development.

South-South Cooperation has emerged as a parallel mechanism to support global quest for improved quality of life across the world, according to a background note on the conference that is being held by the external affairs ministry in collaboration with the state-run think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries.

Several experts on development related subjects from Asia, Africa and South America will be part of the conference. The shifting of the global centre of gravity from north to south is increasingly evident, especially in the areas which are significant for further economic development in the south.

The areas of development include financing and partnership, peace and security, environment, people centred development, and science, technology and innovation.

This shift has been fuelled by rapid and sustained economic growth over a fairly long period of time in the emerging economies including India over the past decade, officials said.

The conference, which will be inaugurated by oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, will seek to situate SSC [South-South Cooperation] within the context of broader global macroeconomic context. The first plenary session will explore issues associated with the idea of global justice.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 02 Mar 2016 14:33

India kicks off Raisina Dialogue - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

Tensions between India and Pakistan have held back South Asian integration, said former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, calling for greater South Asian cooperation and economic integration.

Ms. Kumaratunga was amongst a high-power panel of former South Asian leaders, as well as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahboob Ali at the first ‘Raisina Dialogue’, hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.

“India-Pakistan conflicts have prevented regional integration,” Ms Kumaratunga said in her keynote address, adding that not just India and Pakistan, but “six of eight SAARC countries (omitting Bhutan and Maldives) have spent the past decades consolidating their identities and inter-state tensions.”

The conference, attended by speakers from 40 countries, is being seen as the government’s attempt to rival conferences around the world that attract global players such as the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore, and the Munich Conference on national security. While Ms. Swaraj didn’t mention India’s relationship with China during her speech on Asian connectivity, other leaders on the panel made a point of speaking about China’s role.

Ms. Kumaratunga called for a more positive view of China’s role in the region, saying that all countries could benefit from doing business with China. “Could we not see Chinese economic power as an opportunity rather than a threat?” Ms. Kumaratunga asked, referring obliquely to concerns in India over projects built by China in Sri Lanka, especially the Colombo port project that was stalled temporarily last year.

Ms. Kumaratunga was joined by former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in the pitch for a greater role for Chinese investment.

Speaking at the inauguration, Ms. Swaraj and her Bangladesh counterpart Mahboob Ali spoke of the importance of building road and rail connectivity through the “BBIN” grouping of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. “If we are able to achieve this vision of connectivity, Asia-Pacific would account for half the world’s output,” Mr. Ali said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Mar 2016 05:39

India boosts aid to other countries - Indrani Bagchi, ToI

The ministry of external affairs is smarting under a Rs 500-crore cut in its budgetary allocation, but the government has actually hiked the assistance budget to several countries.

The Forum for Indian Development Cooperation (FIDC), functioning within MEA's economic thinktank RIS, parsed through the budget to find that the 2016-17 budget has seen the sharpest hike in development assistance for Myanmar, the budgetary allocation jumping from Rs 165 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 400 crore in 2016-17.

In the region, Bhutan continues to get the maximum amount in Indian assistance, taking about 70% of total Indian development assistance this year, getting Rs 5,490 crore, followed by Afghanistan at Rs 520 crore.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Mar 2016 04:33

Does India have a theory of foreign policy?
to what extent elected leader create and shape foreign policy?

We should look at Nehruji, PVN, and NaMo.

I think, JLN, IG, RG, IKG are continuity had same FP with minor tweaks

PVN had a break with past
NaMo we don't know full extent

Rajaram need your assistance here.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 05 Mar 2016 04:58

http://www.newsgram.com/indias-foreign- ... ievements/
India’s foreign policy: Challenges and Achievements

By Arpit Gupta

Strategies are never revealed, they are reflected in the person’s tasks. The Modi government has been working on the strategy of bringing foreign investment and enhancing economic cooperation with the strategically located, powerful, and developed countries of the world. The exploitation of the Indian market by China’s marketing experts had been a matter of concern for Indian government since last 5-6 years. The Modi government has come up with a planned agenda of convincing the countries of Indo-Pacific region to deal with the China’s increasing dominance in the Asian economy.

Modi’s foreign policy and his agenda of “MAKE IN INDIA” to bring foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector have been the prime issues trending in Indian economic and political domains. Modi has inherited foreign policy legacy of the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayi. Modi’s mind has been playing many tricks in these two years of his government and his decisions are not clearly understood by the common people of India. Since the work has not been on the ground, it appears to be only virtual. But for the sake of the country’s development, Modi’s efforts to enhance trade and economic co-operations with neighboring countries have been outstanding and his “ACT EAST POLICY”has gained an unexpected success till now. Modi’s foreign visits have been very much strategic and his visit to Japan, South Korea, US, etc. has given his government a lot to praise.
Modi’s intention to balance the economic upliftment of China in the Asian context has compelled Modi to work with China, which is the reason behind the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) between the two countries. Moreover, China, being the leading exporter of capital and technology and second largest economy of the world can never be ignored by any government in New Delhi. Modi’s focus on Japan is an important step in the Asian context as Japan is the leading country in the field of technology which India needs. Moreover, Japan is the only way for India to enhance its economic importance and its dominance in Indo-Pacific region without any strategic alliance with China. The Indo-Pacific region has its own significance in the economic development of India and the visits of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to the neighboring countries located on the bank of Indian/Pacific ocean (for instance Vietnam) shows how important are they for India to strengthen its hold on the region.
India has often been confused regarding the path it should chose in dealing with the prominent economic giants. Whether to align with Japan-US or to go with China-Russia has been the dilemma facing the Indian foreign policy makers. India guards the sanctity of national sovereignty almost as zealously as China and Russia do. But Indian economic experts are more “tending” towards US-Japan because of their dominance on the world and their economic stability.Only with time, one may be able to make a judgment regarding the success or failure of Modi’s foreign policy, but it is undeniable that world’s economic powers have taken note of India’s emergence economically and have recognized the fact that India is politically stable enough to maintain its economic progress.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Mar 2016 06:08

ramana wrote:NaMo we don't know full extent

The below captures the entire gamut of the approach.

New Strong and Clear Outreach - Nirupama Rao, The Hindu

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Mar 2016 10:46

SSridhar wrote:
ramana wrote:NaMo we don't know full extent
The below captures the entire gamut of the approach.

New Strong and Clear Outreach - Nirupama Rao, The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Garden in New York, in 2014. Photo: Reuters
What he lacked in experience Narendra Modi has more than made up for with zeal and personality. From China to the diaspora, America
to the immediate neighbourhood, visible in the foreign policy narrative and discourse is a greater determination to get things done, and an
emphasis on the bigger and better.

Does the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi mark a significant watershed in India’s foreign policy? Classically defined, the foreign
policy of a country is the product of both geography and history. Changes in leadership or government do not essentially alter its basic and
underlying premises. What Mr. Modi has done is to bring the stamp of his zeal and personality to impact wellentrenched policies, imparting more determination to the process. But the shadows of history and geopolitics are omnipresent.
Mr. Modi’s challenge is to ensure that his country can be a great democracy and also a substantive global power. His task is to align these twin
goals to reinforce the idea of India. Outcomes must ensure both power for the country and happiness for its people. Translated into the
language of Kautilya, power embodies strength, the power of leadership, the state of the economy and the military, the ability to deploy
national strength for national aims. Happiness would signify that which is attained by the effective and wise use of power: righteousness and
internal stability.
Like leaders before him, Mr. Modi wants India to be a peaceful and prosperous country. And, he has been dealt a respectable hand: the
political legitimacy of durable democracy, the country’s ability to manage the deep and extensive pluralism of its society, the geographical
advantage of its positioning in the Indian Ocean, its scientific and technological capital, a reputation for responsible behaviour, and growing
international recognition of India’s credentials to be a leading global player.
Unlike many of his predecessors, Mr. Modi does not come to the arena of foreign policy with decades of exposure through parliamentary
experience or extensive cosmopolitan, global interaction. Yet, his gift of communication skills, his grasp of strategically targeted imagebuilding,
and his innate assertiveness, combine to make for an impressive effect. In Kautilyan terms, he is the vijigishu, the ambitious king or
leader.

The ‘neighbourhood first’ policy

His outreach to leaders in the subcontinent, to attend his assumption of office, was an embrace of risk and openness to fresh solutions. The
image of a rare South Asian conclave captured the imagination of a global audience, the intended target. Serendipitously, a more holistic
appreciation of the logic of South Asia as an integer, a space unified by history and geography but torn asunder by contemporary political and
cartographic divisions, was made evident. The hope for a more interconnected and integrated future was offered.
Delineating a more integrated South Asia is no mean task. In the South Asian context, the centrifuge operated by IndiaPakistan relations
draws the region apart. Mr. Modi inherited a difficult hand in this regard, and the reversal of historic trends is not easy to realise. The
Inchcape Rock of India’s neighbourhood policy is Pakistan. Many a visionary initiative has run aground and the terrain is difficult, the
atmosphere dystopian. Prime Minister Modi commenced his term seeking the ways of peace rather than tension or conflict. But he too cannot
wish away the interminable contradictions in IndiaPakistan relations. For successive Indian governments, the defence of the country’s
territorial integrity and sovereignty against the hubris of Pakistan’s generals and intelligence operatives is a constant challenge.
In the IndiaPakistan context, thus, history is prone to repeating itself. The spectacle of terror never fades and Pakistanbased and nurtured
terror groups chaperone Pakistan’s diplomacy with a malevolent eye. The recent attacks in Pathankot bear testimony to this continued trend,
coming soon as they did after the Prime Minister’s Lahore visit of December 25, 2015. Learning from experience, however, Mr. Modi has been
wise not to jettison the path of dialogue with Pakistan even as he demands that it account for the involvement of the JaisheMohammad in
the attacks at Pathankot. However, like governments before it, this government is yet to deploy effective deterrence against terror attacks
from Pakistan. Sustainable diplomacy by India must be assisted by continued and effective deterrence since the tools of unconventional war
are an intrinsic part of Pakistan’s playbook.
The challenge is at the same time, to work for movazaneh — the Persian word for balance and equilibrium — within South Asia. Greater
economic integration even if it cannot include an unwilling Pakistan, the absence of tension in relationships with India’s other neighbours,
care not to cede strategic space, and catalysing South Asian regional cooperation in trade, economy and infrastructure is how this balance can
be defined. If India’s smaller neighbours (as was the recent case with Nepal) perceive the outcomes of their relationship with her as unequal
or unfair, then cooperation will be difficult to secure, defeating the realisation of a South Asian ‘commons’.
Breakthrough diplomacy on the land boundary with Bangladesh and acceptance of the verdict of international arbitration on the maritime
boundary case with the same country has had a salutary impact. In Sri Lanka, there is need for greater effort to encourage the implementation
of initiatives for constitutional reform and devolution that steer clear of both Sinhala hypernationalism and Tamil chauvinism, and gain the middle ground on both sides of the ethnic divide. Similarly, ties in the defence and strategic sector need to be consolidated with greater
confidence.
Linking Central Asia via Iran
In Afghanistan, South Asia’s gateway to Central Asia, the real challenge is the scenario that ensues after the withdrawal of foreign troops and
the threat to nationhood if the war with the Taliban and Islamist radical and terrorist elements persists. Indian projects and development
initiatives in Afghanistan will be further jeopardised, putting paid to 15 years of dedicated groundlevel efforts to build friendship and
goodwill. In a situation of protracted contest and conflict that is harmful to Indian interests, India needs to step up efforts in concert with
other likeminded regional partners to ensure a relatively stable and united Afghanistan. As the Darwinian struggle among terror groups and
Taliban elements continues, the Afghan government’s capacity to fight terrorism and extremism must be strengthened. India must, despite
Pakistan’s opposition to this, work towards building Afghan government capacity in this field, as also strengthening the training of Afghan
defence forces and their air force capability.
For years there has been talk of India’s participation in the development of Chabahar port in Iran: this is a project that has now become the
responsibility of the Modi government to complete and must acquire critical mass and momentum. It will provide muchneeded access
through Iran into Afghanistan for trade and transit (given the blockages that are Pakistancreated for the entry and exit of IndoAfghan trade
across Pakistani territory.) It also ensures connectivity into Central Asia, thus becoming a vital point of access for energy exports from the
region and facilitating a reimaging of historical geographies that linked India and Central Asia.
Building an IndoPacific entente
“The future of India will undoubtedly be decided by the sea.” This quote of scholardiplomat K.M. Panikkar rings true despite the passage of
time. The morphing of the Look East policy into an Act East policy, as also Mr. Modi’s visits to Mauritius and the Seychelles, together with Sri
Lanka, have helped spell out a more coherently defined maritime policy in the Indian Ocean region. The visit to Fiji in the far reaches of the
Pacific, an island nation with a significant population of Indian origin, conjoins Indian interests and concerns in both the Indian and Pacific
Oceans, providing ballast to the term originally coined by the Japanese of the “IndoPacific”.
In Singapore last year, Mr. Modi rightly said that the most critical need in Asia was to uphold and strengthen rules and norms of collective
behaviour built not on the strength of a few but on the consent of all. Unlike the East and South China Seas, the Indian Ocean is an open and
largely uncontested peaceful expanse of water apart from the threat of piracy in some of its reaches. India’s unique geographical position and
the series of naturally endowed harbours along its vast coastline give her many advantages. When to this are added the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands as sentinels on the approaches to the Straits of Malacca, the picture of this natural endowment is more complete.
The need, as China no longer bides its time and hides its capability, is to ensure that the peaceful equilibrium of the region is not broken. As
India’s foreign and external security policy grows its maritime dimension, besides ties with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Mr. Modi must concentrate on the development of bilateral and regional ties with both the African littoral and hinterland in the Indian Ocean
region. He has made a good beginning both with some visits, as to Mauritius and the Seychelles, as well as the successful IndiaAfrica Summit
in Delhi last autumn, but the effort must be intensified through more top leadershiplevel visits and concrete development diplomacy
targeted at SubSaharan Africa.
Ties with China
The Prime Minister has steered the relationship with China with a steady hand. The continuity of policy over the last three decades, despite
changes of government in India, has worked towards the avoidance of conflict, the consolidation of confidencebuilding measures (CBMs) in
the border areas, regular leadershiplevel dialogue and the exponential growth in trade and commercial ties between the two countries.
Cooperation and competition have defined the relationship and a rising India’s projected economic growth and increased strategic and military capabilities provide the best balancer effect to a consciously assertive China and its growing sense of entitlement. India’s ties with
Japan, Australia and the United States are of particular salience in this context. Militarytomilitary cooperation and closer partnership with
these countries must be addressed by India with less trepidation or hesitancy. Yet, no Thucydides Trap needs to be set between India and
China. Both countries should continue to avoid strategic miscalculations in the transaction of their relationship.
In this context, China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) concept that combines both the continental and maritime dimensions of connectivity in a
structure reminiscent of the ancient Chinese definition of tianxia — a space wherein peoples of varied cultural and regional backgrounds were
brought together under the authority of a single ruler or ruling house — merits close scrutiny. In a reprise of the Great Game, China is clearly
deploying its comprehensive national strength to carve out that space across the Eurasian landmass and in the maritime IndoPacific that will
create a Sinosphere of trade, communication and transportation links that helps realise China’s vision of strategic continental and maritime
advantage.
India has in some ways affirmed the OBOR initiative with its membership stake in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, an institution
where essentially China takes the lead. A complicating factor is the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor arm of the OBOR that bridges Pakistan
and China through territory in the Karakoram, claimed by India. The ‘wiggle’ for India in this scenario is to move with clearheadedness to
completing the Chabahar project, and also concretising initiatives under the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) Corridor so that she
is not excluded from the connectivity superstructure that is implied in the OBOR initiative. Simultaneously, India can illafford to neglect her
Central Asia policy or her maritime vision for the Indian Ocean. Mr. Modi’s outreach to the Central Asian nations is important and timely and must be further consolidated. India’s entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a stepping stone to a more active role for the
country in building a strong stakeholder role in connectivity and counterterrorism strategies for the region.
In many ways, the Middle East, as it is termed in the West, is not endowed with an Asian connotation as it should be. For India, this is West
Asia, and the whole region of the Gulf, because of religious and historical ties, the presence of seven million Indians, trade and foreign
exchange remittances as well as the crucial aspect of energy security, is vitally important. The centuryold definitions of the region from
“Aden to Singapore” as constituting the maritime arc affecting Indian security still ring true. For India, the second largest Muslim country in
the world in terms of population, the protracted turbulence and conflict that affects the Levant, heightened SunniShia strife, and the
attraction of Islamic State ideology for misguided youth are all trends that require unrelenting vigilance and underscore the importance of the
West Asia policy.
Natural partners to best partners
The IndiaUnited States relationship has been one of the star performers in Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy repertoire despite the
persisting irritant of U.S. defence sales to Pakistan. Pragmatism defines Mr. Modi’s approach to a country that denied him a visa through two
successive presidencies. Trade, investment and economic ties fuel this relationship, but the strategic aspect is of accelerating importance,
leading one American official to recently call this a future anchor of global security. The United States is a major defence partner of India
today, and the two countries must engage with less hesitation and more closely in this field — further empowering India’s outreach in terms
of Icarian (air power) as well as maritime (sea power) capability in the Indian Ocean.
Some views have been expressed that the Joint Strategic Vision for the AsiaPacific and Indian Ocean Region, released during the visit to
India of President Barack Obama last year, throws the gauntlet before China. Although there are expressions of Chinese unease over this
development, enunciated in the discussions between Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama was the fact that each country has its interests and
compulsions in dealing with and transacting mutually beneficial relations with China. India’s Act East policy must envision how the visions of
India and China are to be interwoven in the mapping of 21st century Asia. The United States as an AsiaPacific power also has enormous
stakes in the peace and prosperity of continental and maritime Asia.
India’s almost 30millionstrong population of persons of Indian origin across the continents has become an important player in the scheme
of foreign policy priorities for the country. Prime Minister Modi has astutely understood the need to consolidate the linkages between Mother
India and this vast immigrant presence abroad of people from ‘home’. Mega shows at Madison Square Garden or at Wembley Stadium go
beyond mere spectacle; they embody Mr. Modi’s ability to embrace this strategic asset for India with confidence and longterm vision,
asserting blood ties over mere economic necessity and buttressing a more participatory role for the overseas Indian community in the
building of India’s future.
Visible in this foreign policy narrative and discourse is a greater determination to get things done, and an emphasis on the bigger and better.
Hesitation and riskaversion have been replaced with more focus and determination. Mr. Modi’s style is more fortissimo, and yet more
personal — bonding with Shinzo Abe, sitting on a swing with Xi Jinping, tea with Barack Obama, all the things it takes to get India more
noticed. Public diplomacy is better deployed as in getting the world to know more about India’s contributions to global peace and a narrative
that aims at building “our place in the world”. There are new slogans and symbolism: Neighbourhood First becomes a signature segment of
foreign policy; Act East replaces Look East; yoga becomes a leitmotif of Indian soft power; and even on climate change, heritage and lifestyle
are introduced into conversations on the subject. There is a new stress on “obtaining recognition of India’s great power status”.
And yet, running through all this is the inexorable unspooling of a thread known as India’s foreign policy. Core interests and concerns for a
nation do not change. Handholding does not solve strategic headaches. The limited size of the Foreign Service continues to pose a challenge.
Optics do well in diplomacy but cannot usurp the show itself. Tangible outcomes are what the people will ultimately seek.
In all fairness to the Prime Minister, he is driven by the need to achieve results but the world, and particularly the region he operates in, is not
an easy place. He has shown he has a hardwired ability to righttrack foreign policy into a sphere of multiple engagements and a brave new
universe. Now, to paraphrase Herman Melville and Moby Dick, let him square the yards, and make a fair wind of it homeward.
(Nirupama Rao is a former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador of India to the U.S. and China.

She is confusing internal democracy with external foreign policy. And too many metaphors and allusions. What does she really want to say?

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 05 Mar 2016 13:15

The strategic interests of a nation remain more or less constant over long periods of time, irrespective of who rules. The approach to achieving those interests may change tactically as we saw in PVNR's time (economic liberalization or Look East etc) and we are now witnessing in Modi's time.

Pulikeshi · Post by **Pulikeshi** » 07 Mar 2016 03:02

Addendum to the Hindu article posted by SS:

2016 India Conference Keynote: Foreign Policy - Nirupama Rao

(Q&A is about 40 mins into the video)

Pulikeshi · Post by **Pulikeshi** » 07 Mar 2016 10:07

Softpower of India - Shashi Tharoor:

Pulikeshi · Post by **Pulikeshi** » 07 Mar 2016 10:08

Vision of Emerging India - Ravi Shankar Prasad

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 07 Mar 2016 12:30

Definition of power?
Teddy R. "Speak softly and carry a big stick".

The problem with India is that its political elite feel uncomfortable carrying a big stick. Pseudo Gandhism has given us,our babus at least,an anti-military mindset,where even more than the Paki mil apparatus,the babus are doing the greatest damage to our mil capability by excluding the services from access to our political masters -as they had before,listening to their viewpoint in full and on integrating them into creating the contours of our foreign policy ,but on the other hand downgrade their status time after time. The OROP issue saw babudom with its mask off.

The second mindest of babudom/MEA ,is that of inferiority.The current crop of Mandarins of the MEA still have the smell of colonial servility sticking to their suits and salwars.Foxford,Dumbridge,and poison-ivy league backgrounds kept the neo-colonial brown sahib mentality alive.I remember the unabashed joy when a dear friend and classmate ,a former JNU product,won his Rhodes scholarship,"imagine me with boaters and spats" he giggled and gushed! So we look towards Washington to deal with Pak,to deal with China, and whom can forget that most infamous skin-crawling act of a craven chamcha,Snake-Oil Singh gushing India's "love" for Dubya!

The refusal to allow visas to a pernicious US NGO shows that the new dispensation is made of sterner stuff.However,the "rusty frame" of babudom remains,true to its goal of self-gratification.Look how it howled about curbs on foreign travel? A complete spring-cleaning exercise is required of the MEA.Servile lackeys who have the interests of firang entities first and the nation second must be put to pasture. The practice of keeping retd. babus in plum posts must be ended. A beginning was started with the DRDO/scientific establishment.There should also be a 3-yr min. ban on any former/retd. babu from gaining employment abroad,as many do,fixing their plum positions while still in service.Those who abscond must be hunted down like terrorists. It would be illuminating to also see how many mandarins and babus have their wards /close relatives studying abroad,working abroad in lucrative positions,when compared with the national average!

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 11 Mar 2016 07:39

Why India must heed geography - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu

In October 2006, India supported Shashi Tharoor’s bid to become United Nations Secretary General. The battle for the post was closely fought, but what hurt India the most was not losing but the fact that its candidate, who is now a Congress MP, was pitted against two other South Asian leaders — Ashraf Ghani, now the President of Afghanistan, and Jayantha Dhanapala, Sri Lankan UN diplomat — neither of whom bowed out in India’s favour. Worse, the Sri Lankan candidate actually endorsed South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon, underlining India’s regional isolation on the issue.

Ten years later, the prize is much bigger as India hopes to push for a place in the UN Security Council, in the UN’s 70th year. The government has also made considerable efforts to build international consensus around the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which it would like to see progress this year.

As last week’s mega international conference in Delhi, the Raisina Dialogue, showed, the lesson in 2016 remains the same as the one from 2006: it is not possible for India to be a world leader or an Asian leader without first being a South Asian leader. What’s more, it is important for India to work on uniting, connecting, and sharing its prosperity with its neighbours before seeking the same from outside. “If you cannot integrate with your region, you cannot integrate with other regions,” said former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran in a keynote session at the conference.

Participants from the region were more specific. The delegate from Nepal Nischalnath Pandey said that border connectivity, despite India’s promises, remains poor. What’s more, border infrastructure for India’s more peaceable neighbours to the north and east — Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar — is much less developed than for countries to its west. Adding to that, no Indian centre of excellence or modern city has been developed close to India’s northern borders or can be accessed easily by its neighbours, and India’s poorest, least developed States border these four countries. As a result, SAARC road and rail connectivity requires immediate attention, and the still-not-developed Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal corridor compares unfavourably to the 38,400-km ASEAN Highway Network or the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link, while China’s first-ever cargo train to Tehran heralds the way for a China-Afghanistan-Iran rail and road link as well. {While we may not be able to work at the Chinese speed of execution for various reasons, the fact remains that we announce bombastic projects but struggle to complete them within the time frame and with a certain quality}

Desiring cooperation, not competition

The second message was that India’s neighbourhood desires cooperation rather than competition between India and China. Calling for a coordinated approach between India’s Connect Central Asia policy and China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative (OBOR), former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said the two countries need “positive symmetry”. Why can’t India see that its neighbours look to China for its economic power and not see it as a threat, asked former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga. These are powerful words that India can ill afford to ignore. While it is possible for the subcontinent’s largest country with the greatest security interests to cavil at U.S. F-16 aircraft sales to Pakistan, Pakistan’s JF-17 aircraft sales to Sri Lanka, or Chinese submarines docking in Colombo or Male port, it is much harder to stop development projects without evoking a negative response in the region. Leadership comes at a price, and until India becomes a net provider of prosperity in the region, it will be harshly judged for blocking aid pipelines. It was unfortunate that the government didn’t use the conference’s theme of ‘Asian connectivity’ to clarify what India’s position on OBOR is, and how it correlates to India’s plans. Worse, the ministers and Foreign Secretary did not even refer to the project directly.

More worrying is that India aspires for this leadership without an internal assessment of what it costs to project its power on the international sphere. Earlier this month, The Hindu reported on a Finance Ministry memo that seeks to curtail rather than increase visits by Ministry of External Affairs diplomats abroad. The move, along with a diktat to secretaries not to travel above four times a year without prior permission from the Prime Minister, seems absurd {Absolutely agree with that. Our Foreign Office is acutely understaffed and with increasing Indian visibility and ambition, the External Affairs Ministry must actually be given more funds, not less! This shows a piecemeal approach rathen than overall planning} , if not completely out of sync, with India’s ambitions. Likewise, this year’s Budget proposal, that shows a significant drop in developmental assistance to six SAARC countries, casts doubts on the seriousness of the government’s ‘Neighbourhood first’ programme.

Finally, an unspoken but resounding message from the Raisina Dialogue was that India needs to maintain the U.S.-China balance despite its obviously friendlier relationship with Washington than with Beijing over the last few years.

As U.S. President George Washington wrote more than two centuries ago: “The Nation, which indulges towards another habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.” (“Farewell Address”, September 17, 1796). These words ring true for India in this context.

It is important then that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar himself shot down the proposal made by U.S. Pacific Command chief Admiral Harry B. Harris during the conference, when the U.S. commander called for joint Indo-U.S. patrols to secure freedom of movement in the South China Sea. India’s valid concerns about China’s increased aggression towards China’s maritime neighbours must be balanced with India’s desire to resolve land-border issues as well as cooperate on developing the entire region along with China, which despite all the issues has been India’s largest trading partner since 2008.

This is a balance that India will increasingly have to engage with in its neighbourhood as well, as both the U.S. and China make increased overtures to countries of the subcontinent. Future versions of the Raisina Dialogue would do well to look for greater participation from both countries, even as India uses the event to project its power well beyond South Asia.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Mar 2016 08:19

India won’t exploit exchange rate as trade tool, says Modi - The Hindu

Taking a swipe at China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India’s growth rate of over seven per cent was being achieved in a country that is also a vibrant democracy.

Speaking at the Advancing Asia conference here, he said India dispelled the myth that democracy and rapid economic growth could not go together.

India’s rapid economic growth, he said, was also very distinct in Asia, as the country had never tried to gain in trade at the expense of partners, never undervalued its exchange rate; it rather added to the world and Asian demand by running current account deficits. “We do not follow beggar-thy-neighbour macro-economic policies... We are good Asian and good global economic citizens, and a source of demand to our trading partners,” he said, without naming China, at the three-day conference organised by India and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF recently included China’s yuan into its reserve currency basket.

Amid global problems, Mr. Modi said, India was a haven of macro-economic stability. In a difficult external environment and despite a second successive year of weak rainfall, “we have increased our growth rate to 7.6 per cent, the highest among major economies in the world... We have improved our economic governance... Corruption and interference in the decisions of banks and regulators are now behind us.”

He said he laid his dream of a ‘Transformed India’ alongside the common dream of an Advanced Asia, an Asia where more than half of the global population can live with happiness and fulfilment.

This is an enunciation of the concept, 'Vasudhaiva Khutumbakam', which IMO is at the core of the Indian thought process and which directly, indirectly and subconsciously dominates our foreign policy formulations.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 13 Mar 2016 21:26

Our Nehruvian foreign policy heavily bit the dust in '62.It was robustly and brilliantly revived in '71 by IG,making up for hugely her father's foolishness by dismembering Pak.RG too stood upto China and was not lethargic in displaying India's regional pre-eminence in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This is probably the key reason why he was assassinated.The LTTE might have as they say, "pulled the trigger,but who pointed the gun?" ABV cocked a snoop at the West with the P-2 tests,strengthening India's strat. capability despite huge sanctions by the West.

Sadly,(no) thanks to IKG and MMS,our foreign policy ambitions sank to an all-time low during their tenure.Servility and obeisance to western firang entities was the hallmark of the MEA.With the advent of Mr.Modi,there is a new resurgence in marshalling an "India first" doctrine.However,the neo-colonial butlers are still alive and kicking,practising their well-skilled art of bowing,scraping,genuflecting and ars* wiping, as the report on SS Menon's wish that we join a mil campaign against ISIS,only because the US has lost the stomach to fight after decades of blundering in the ME and Asia.
He would like India to "take up the white man's burden" to paraphrase Kipling! It was meant for the US to take up the burden which now want nations like India to do the business!.

member_29350 · Post by **member_29350** » 13 Mar 2016 21:39

Philip wrote: Sadly,(no) thanks to IKG and MMS,our foreign policy ambitions sank to an all-time low during their tenure.Servility and obeisance to western firang entities was the hallmark of the MEA.With the advent of Mr.Modi,there is a new resurgence in marshalling an "India first" doctrine.However,the neo-colonial butlers are still alive and kicking,practising their well-skilled art of bowing,scraping,genuflecting and ars* wiping, as the report on SS Menon's wish that we join a mil campaign against ISIS,only because the US has lost the stomach to fight after decades of blundering in the ME and Asia.
He would like India to "take up the white man's burden" to paraphrase Kipling! It was meant for the US to take up the burden which now want nations like India to do the business!.

Brilliantly put sir. I cannot but cringe at these words. I remember the Iran vote which we were pressurised by the USA. If there is a realpolitik or even a policy on what India stands for and projects, I cannot discern.

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 14 Mar 2016 07:41

ramana wrote:She is confusing internal democracy with external foreign policy. And too many metaphors and allusions. What does she really want to say?

It's just woolly headed verbiage in the mould of Nehru, and even after reading a 1000 words essay, one is never sure what the goofball was trying to say. These are masters of verbiage, not of quiet action.

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 14 Mar 2016 08:12

In the above speech (or transcription), all Nirupama Rao did was expose herself and express her pro-congress posture, and it is a vulgar one. Better to shut up than say a lot of nothing, or revert to writing second rate poems....

habal · Post by **habal** » 14 Mar 2016 10:18

Indian Foreign Policy completely left to hands of IFS is not a good sign. The IFS is just a salaried working force, if it is left to them to formulate policy, we are on pretty weak footing. It has better to have no policy rather than have a weak policy led by IFS. I suppose they are just taking advantage of being a coherant, well run organisation and inserting their personal agenda in what is strategic lacunae and absence of vision or any serious interest. IDSA just churns out articles and does little else.