Round The World
New Delhi, 11 October
2018
Putin’s
Visit
INDIA HARKING BACK TO PAST
By Dr. D.K. Giri
(Prof. International Politics, JMI)
Russian President
Vladimir Putin made New Delhi revisit its days of non-alignment, on his visit
last week. His visit aimed at selling S-400 air defence systems worth USD 5
billion. New Delhi signed the contract to buy these in its national interest,
and to re-assert the independence in pursuing her foreign policy. As United
States is threatening sanctions against those buying defence equipments from
Russia under CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act),
New Delhi expects the US to provide the presidential waiver in its defence
transactions with Russia.
Obviously, this is a
radical departure from NDA government’s policy of stitching strategic alliances
and partners. New Delhi has, in the recent past, broken several conventions in
making alliances, especially with Israel, Japan and the US etc., formation of
Quad involving the latter countries –the US and Japan. To be sure, one is
amazed at India’s insistence on buying sophisticated weapons from Russia in the
name of defending its national security etc., and with its fascination for an
independent foreign policy.
One expected the NDA
government to learn from our past mistake of non-alignment, and independence.
Being independent and its euphemism non-aligned, is an impractical position. No
country in the world, however powerful, can be independent, if it has to remain
in a relation of interdependence with several countries.
India, since its
independence, a poor country followed an independent policy at a heavy cost. It
had to spend enormously in defence to guard itself against Pakistani aggression
and Chinese expansion fought wars with both and lost against China ceding
territories. Look at other two models, Germany and Japan, and secondly the
European Union. Both the models have succeeded whereas India’s practice of
non-alignment failed.
Germany
and Japan did not spend on defence and rose to be big powers, whereas the
European Union countries ceded their sovereignty partially for the sake of
collective growth and prosperity. India tried to maintain equidistance from
both the Superpowers, remained non-aligned and paid heavily. As it was
correcting the fault lines it fell again into the old trap as evidenced in this
deal.
One would question
the indispensability of buying these weapons. Can India defended itself against
China or compete with it, on its own, despite possessing the S-400s? Will
it not need external support in containing China? Is New Delhi expected to
distance Russia from China and Pakistan? These are the questions South Block
would find hard to answer.
Buying these
weapons in the face of American sanctions is a risk India is taking. The US
considers India an ally in the Indo-Pacific region, and a counter balance to China;
Israel, Japan, Australia have moved close to India, partly at the behest of the
US. The US has disowned Pakistan and is checkmating China in many parts; both China
and Pakistan are antagonistic to India. More important, the US is a donor,
Russia is a seller. The US gives financial and technological support to its
allies, like it did to Pakistan, but the Russians’ sell their weapons, and
extract heavy returns.
What was the need for
India to change partners, preferences and risk its security, and hamper its
economy? India under NDA says it will not be drawn into an “either us or them”
game. But that is not realpolitik. One has friends and adversaries and one
cannot please all, or “run with the hare and hunt with the hound”. It has to
make a choice. New Delhi just undid the choice it had made.
The other perspective
in this recent deal with Russia is the spending on defence.
If New Delhi has the friendly assurance of support from military powers, why
should it be spending heavily on defence? It needs the resources for its
development -- education, health, infrastructure, energy, etc. A strategic
partnership would save India from spending its resources on defence.
I have argued in
this column that India has two options in its foreign policy vis-a-vis its two
adversaries, China and Pakistan, mainly the latter. The options are dialogue
and peace or deterrence and conflict. As India is not able to normalise relations
with Pakistan, it is living with the second option of conflict. So Pakistan in
alliance with China will be a security threat for India. How does India plan to
deal with the escalation of conflict at the borders? Will it do so by
continuously buying weapons from all possible sources, or rely on allies to
save its resources.
The second
course is what is in India’s interest. On a dispassionate
evaluation, this deal will hit India’s fundamental interests, national
security, as well as development imperatives. I know many apologists will kick
the dust to say one is advocating a pro-American policy, compromising our national
prestige, sovereignty etc. I am sure the best way to defend one’s national
interest is to keep the country safe, countrymen healthy, happy and developed.
It does not matter whether you do it through non-alignment or
alliance-building. Standing on a phoney national prestige at the cost of huge
critical resources is uncalled for.
The other areas of
collaboration entered into or reconfirmed are welcome. The two countries signed
eight pacts in the fields of space, nuclear energy, railways, etc. Russia has
been, in more than one way, a close friend. So having multi-sectoral
collaboration with Russia is useful. Russia commissioning a second nuclear power
plant in Kundankulam, training India’s astronauts as New Delhi aims to launch
its first crewed space mission in 2022 are good news.
Coming back to the
arms deal, India is the world’s biggest arms importer. It is not a credit that
India should claim. On the contrary, India, the apostle of peace and
non-violence, should be the biggest arms buyer is an anachronism.
Secondly, Russia is
the clear winner in the biggest arms deals in the recent times. It is opposed
to India’s policy in the Indo-Pacific. It does not accept India as a counter
balance to China on which Russia is dependent upon for energy, army sales, and
investments; with all this, India engaging in such a big deal against standing
sanctions is not a wise step. The decision makers in South Block seem saddled
with the framework of non-alignment. In re-building its foreign policy, New
Delhi, is following the Lenin’s dictum, “one step forward, and two steps
backward.” ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
|