EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

End the policy of ambiguity
Krishna will have to do a tightrope walk in 2011 and take a tough stand on key issues, especially on Iran
Ashok Tuteja

Diplomacy, it is said, is the art of the possible. Assess your national interests and stand up for what you think is right. Indian diplomats, no doubt, performed this task with finesse in the year gone by. But the road ahead is quite bumpy.

While 2010 saw New Delhi’s phenomenal rise on the global stage, the new year will test the skills of our diplomats more intensely, as India will have to do a tightrope walk as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on some contentious global issues. India can no longer remain ambiguous about its stand on issues like Sudan and Iran.

The nuclear standoff between Iran and the West may well bring India into diplomatic confrontation with the US. While sticking to its policy of not wanting another nuclear state in its neighbourhood, New Delhi must seek a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue and oppose any further crippling sanctions against the critical Islamic nation. and China will continue to be the two biggest challenges for the foreign office mandarins. The US and other Western powers are likely to continue nudging India to revive the dialogue process with Islamabad. Indian policy-makers must make it clear to Pakistan that India’s peace overtures should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness. Pakistan must show sincerity in prosecuting those in its custody for masterminding the Mumbai mayhem as also in reining in the jehadi elements spewing venom against India from their safe havens in the Pakistani territory. The likely visit of Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi in the first quarter of this year is quite crucial.

China displayed a new found aggressiveness towards India in 2010. The two countries will find themselves pitted against each other on a plethora of issues in 2011 as well. We need to take note of an increased Chinese presence in our neighbourhood; particularly in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The nuclear nexus between China and Pakistan is another cause of worry for India. If China can question India’s sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir by issuing stapled visas to residents of the state, why can’t India play the Tibet card?

The burgeoning trade between India and China will dictate the status of ties between the two Asian giants. It is in the interest of both the nations to put contentious political issues on the backburner and focus on strengthening economic ties.

The volatile situation in Afghanistan, coupled with the spectre of allied troops starting to pull out of the troubled nation in July 2011, will pose quite a few problems for India but it must stay on the course in contributing to Afghanistan’s emergence as a stable country, governed by the rule of law.

New Delhi must counsel the Rajapakse government to resolve the ethnic crisis. The political impasse in Nepal has been drawing New Delhi’s attention for quite sometime. The Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh has been looking forward to an overdue visit to Dhaka by the Prime Minister. The country has provided unprecedented cooperation to India in dealing with insurgent groups operating from the Bangladeshi territory.

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