India’s approach in crafting a good neighbour policy with its South Asian sisters comes from the strategic calculation that our security does not exist in a vacuum
As in economic affairs, the tide in global strategic affairs has
definitely “pivoted” to the East, to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This
shift, coupled with the web of challenges that populate the environment
in India’s immediate neighbourhood in South Asia, and in the Gulf
region, makes policymaking complex. For India, the perils of proximity
have only grown. This does not mean we turn our back on the world or our
neighbours. Rather, we must grow our comprehensive national strength in
the economic, scientific, technological, military and communication
fields, in order to craft astute responses to the challenges.
By virtue of geography, territorial size, economic heft, extent of
development, military capability and, the size of our population, India
has a preponderant and central presence in South Asia. Each of our
neighbours needs to understand, as the late Foreign Minister of Sri
Lanka, Lakshman Kadirgamar noted, where they stand in relation to India,
in terms of geographical location, historical experience and national
aspirations; how the region also needs to collectively understand
India’s “unique centrality” to the region.
Hub for South Asia
None of our neighbours (except Afghanistan vis-a-vis Pakistan and
vice versa) can interact with the other without traversing Indian
territory, land, sea or airspace. India and its neighbours in South Asia
are integrally bound by ties of ethnicity, language, culture, kinship
and common historical experience. The Himalayas and the Indian Ocean are
the physical boundaries for India, and equally for South Asia, as a
region. India exists as the hub for South Asia. There is merit in the
reasoning that India should concern itself with the nature of any
external influence or presence within the confines of South Asia since
threats to its national security can emanate from the working of such
influences.
India’s approach in crafting a good neighbour policy with its South
Asian sisters is no afterthought. It comes from the strategic
calculation and grasp of the core idea that our security does not exist
in a vacuum. Our neighbourhood will remain tough as long as our
neighbours harbour tendencies and foster elements that see the targeting
of India as adding incrementally to their (false) sense of security and
well-being. This is a calculus that is self-destructive as the growing
tide of domestic terrorism and insurgency in Pakistan created out of a
sustained fostering of terror groups by some sections of the
establishment would indicate. The incursions and military provocations
from across the Line of Control are another manifestation of this
calculus. We are yet to see any realisation in Pakistan that pointing
the gun at India in Afghanistan through terror groups and their
affiliates who wage a proxy war can never bring peace to the Afghan
people. Neither will treating Afghanistan as an instrument to build
strategic depth against India help Pakistan. India has always stated its
intention to continue to invest and to endure in Afghanistan because
the Afghans need us and we will not abandon them. The rising tide of
democracy in Pakistan, we hope, can alter the trajectory of mayhem and
violence that emanates from its soil. While bilateral issues that create
conflict and contestation between India and Pakistan need to be
resolved by the two themselves, in the larger international arena India
must step up its campaign. It makes sense for India to substantively
develop its partnership with the U.S. and demonstrate strategic
foresight to plan and provide for this relationship.
As 2014 approaches, and the U.S. and its allied forces prepare to draw
down (and possibly withdraw totally) from Afghanistan, strategic
planners have to assess the options available to India. Taliban
extremism in Afghanistan has shown no sign of muting itself, and any
loss of the Afghanistan we have known since 2001 will have grave
implications for our security. We must assume a scenario in which the
Taliban will seek to destabilise the legitimate government in Kabul.
India must not hesitate to work to strengthen the international and
regional coalition for Afghanistan, and ensure that a democratically
elected government is not left to fight the forces of medieval extremism
and radicalism on its own.
Balance of interests
India’s northeastern States would be benefited by smoother access
through Bangladesh to the rest of India. This will be a significant
development “enabler” for the northeast. While traditionally, foreign
policy is the sole purview of the Centre, we are now entering an era
where the word of the State governments and the parties that run them is
increasingly weighing in on the moves that New Delhi can make. In the
case of Bangladesh we need to develop a “whole of government” approach
that enables a concerted approach of consultation involving all the
States that border that country so that a critical balance of interests
is evolved without sacrificing national interest.
The welfare of Nepalis should be at the core of India’s relationship
with Nepal and the strengthening of mutual trust and strategic
reassurance that Nepal can always count on Indian support and friendship
is essential. Any use of Nepali territory by alien, adversarial forces
to threaten and weaken India’s security concerns us. I believe we can
well afford to be more generous with meeting the needs of neighbours
like Nepal and Bangladesh in order to cement trust and confidence and
also to safeguard our national security.
Myanmar is our land gateway to Southeast Asia. Its northern part defines
the landscape of the India-China-Myanmar triangle. Security cooperation
with Myanmar to counter insurgencies in our northeast is vital as also
the fast-tracking of road and multimodal transportation projects to
build connectivity. Anti Rohingya violence in Myanmar has had its
reverberations in India, and bears close monitoring.
For Sri Lanka, India is the only near neighbour. Our memory drive on Sri
Lanka must encompass the last 30 years of our relationship with that
nation, in particular. The unfolding scenario of ethnic conflict and
civil war spelt disaster for all communities in Sri Lanka, with nobody
more affected than the Tamil population of the North and East. The
repercussions for India in terms of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
were tragic. The end of the civil war is a historic opportunity for
reconciliation and the healing of wounds of a bitter divide that pitted
one Sri Lankan against another. While the final word is yet to be
written, it is in the interest of both of us neighbours, that the pride
and self-esteem, the self-respect of the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka is
not eroded, that they are treated with magnanimity and that they are
able to contribute their talents, their knowledge, and their effort for
the progress of Sri Lanka.
India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have institutionalised their
cooperation on maritime security issues. This is a constructive
development that creates a progressive template for security in our
region. China is our largest neighbour. The challenge is to manage our
relationship with China despite inherent complexities and embed it in
the matrix of dialogue and diplomacy. The China factor has
understandably influenced our security calculus. It subsumes bilateral
issues and China’s regional profile and military capabilities. The
dispute over territory, in our language the boundary question, has
existed for over 50 years. The tried and tested way across the world is
to manage these differences so that they do not escalate, to promote and
sustain mechanisms to maintain peace and tranquillity. Much
responsibility devolves on us, as governments in India and China, to
help chart an enlightened way through what some scholars call “the
cartographies of national humiliation” which confine us to a sense of
what we should feel about boundaries rather than how we handle the
geopolitics that surround them in a mature manner.
West Asia is vital for India, from the point of view of fighting
terrorism, the welfare of the 6.5 million Indians who live there, energy
security and fighting piracy. We have been active in supporting
dialogue processes in the region, whether it is on the Palestinian
question, or seeking a way out of the nuclear conundrum surrounding
Iran.
New contours
Where does all this leave India? Differing challenges require a mix of
approaches to address them – a firm and clear strategic calculation that
ensures the uncompromising defence of our security interests, as well
as the pursuit of foreign policy goals that stress dialogue and
negotiation to achieve solutions to long-standing problems, and do not
forego the people-centred dimension that is an essential ingredient of
all viable diplomatic relationships. The situation is not frozen; it
acquires new contours and shapes year to year, and we must calibrate our
responses with firmness and where required, flexibility. The future has
promise, but to embrace it, we must ensure an objective, clear headed
understanding of the present and its possibilities.
(The writer is a former Foreign Secretary. These are edited excerpts
from the 22nd Sree Chithira Thirunal Memorial Lecture in
Thiruvananthapuram on December 14)
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