International Relations - Next IAS · International Relations 3 tate of Gr o BIG LEARNINGS MADE EA SY important confidence-building measures (CBMs) in 1993 and 1996 designed to reduce

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B I G L E A R N I N G S M A D E E ASY

Civil Services Main Examination 2017

International Relations

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International Relations

Contents

Chapter 1Indian Foreign Policy: Evolution over Years .............................. 1

Foreign Policy ............................................................. 1

The ‘Indira Gandhi’ years ......................................... 2

LPG Reforms 1991: End of Non-Alignment ...... 2

1996: Nuclear Test and Shift in

Foreign Policy .................................................. 3

Chapter 2India and Neighbourhood .................... 4

India-China Relations ............................................... 4

India-Pakistan Relations .......................................... 5

India-Bangladesh Relations ................................... 6

India-Afghanistan Relations .................................. 8

India-Srilanka Relations ........................................... 9

India-Nepal Relations .............................................10

India-Bhutan Relations ..........................................11

Chapter 3India-West Asia Relationship .............. 12

Importance of West Asia to India .......................13

Important Bilateral Relations in West Asia......13

India’s Other Involvements in Western Asia ...15

Other recent Developments in Western Asia ....15

Chapter 4Indian Ocean Region ........................... 16

Significance of Indian Ocean Region ...............16

India’s Policy towards the Indian Ocean ..........18

Chapter 5India-Japan Relationship .................... 20

Indo-Japan Relations in Economic Sphere .....20

Indo-Japan Strategic Relationship ....................21

Chapter 6India-South East Asia Relationship .... 22

India-South East Asia Relationships ..................22

Challenges in Relationships .................................23

Volatility in South East Asia ..................................24

Chapter 7India-USA Relationship ....................... 25

Election of new President of USA ......................25

Other issues affecting India-USA relations .....26

Areas of significant cooperation between India and USA ...........................................................27

Visit of Indian Prime Minister to USA ................27

Chapter 8India-Russia Relationship ................... 28

A brief historical background of India-Russia relationship .......................................28

Recent developments ............................................28

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Chapter 9India-Europe Relationship .................. 31

Background of India-European Union (EU) relations ............................................................31

Current Dimensions in India-Europe ................31

Recent interactions between India and major European countries ....................................32

Chapter 10India-Central Asia ................................ 35

The Central Asian region .......................................35

National Security in India-Central Asia ............37

Chapter 11India-Africa Relationship .................... 38

Opportunities presented by Africa ..................38

Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) ................39

Chapter 12SAARC ................................................... 41

SAARC ..........................................................................41

ASEAN ..........................................................................43

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ......45

BIMSTEC ......................................................................47

BRICS ............................................................................49

TPP, TTIP and RCEP ..................................................53

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ...............................................55

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ................55

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) .....................................................56

United Nations Security Council (UNSC) .........57

International Criminal Court (ICC) .....................58

International Court of Justice..............................60

South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) ..............................................62

Non- Proliferation Regimes ..................................64

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) ..........................64

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) .........................................................65

Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia group .........................................................65

Space Diplomacy .....................................................66

Indian Foreign Policy: Evolution over Years

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Foreign PolicyForeign policy of a nation is a tool to further its legitimate interests. After Independence, there have been many inflection points in the foreign policy paradigm of India. But, the first glimpse of the foreign policy of India was on view in 1920s and 1930s.

Foreign Policy before IndependenceThe shaping of India’s foreign policy was largely influenced by the international development after the Second World War, the weakening of the forces of imperialism and growth of the forces of democracy and progress. Several countries in the post war era in Europe and Asia broke away from the capitalist system to form the socialist system. There was an upsurge in the movements for national liberation that resulted in the collapse of the colonial system of imperialism.

It was mainly due to Nehru’s efforts that since the mid-twenties the Congress party began to take interest in international affairs. The Indian National Congress party had as early as 1920s adopted a resolution expressing a desire to establish cooperation with the neighbouring countries. He also attended the Communist International forum in 1924 in Germany. After 1927 Nehru took an active part in formulating the foreign policy of the Congress that was in effect its first foreign policy statement.

Independence and Non-AlignmentAfter gaining independence in 1947, India began to evolve its own foreign policy in the light of its requirements and the prevailing international situation. The post independent foreign policy was formulated taking into consideration the various factors such as the Congress party resolutions, ideology of national leaders, power politics of the Super Powers, Cold War, colonial experience, imperialism, racial discrimination etc.

By the time India achieved its independence in the year 1947, the Cold War had already started and the world was being bifurcated into two hostile groups, namely, American block and U.S.S.R. Block each jockeying for the supremacy in the globe with conflicting ideologies. As a result, each group entered into military and political alliance with their respective supporters and followers. America through number of alliances such as NATO, SEATO etc., started in organizing its friends and supporters into American bloc. Similarly, to counter American move, Russia also entered into Warsaw Pact with Communist countries that owed allegiance and support to USSR.

To avoid the foreign entanglements by joining either of the blocs, India decided to keep away from the power blocs aligned against one another. India’s opposition to alignment with the power blocs and opposition to imperialism and colonialism gave birth to the concept of non-alignment. India believed that the only way through which it could achieve its goal was to adopt a policy of nonalignment. Later on it not only became the basic principles but also the comer stone of India’s foreign policy. Perhaps, it is the nonalignment, which played a historic role during the Cold War period that helped India to identify and retain its power status and position in the international arena.

Wars of 1962 and 1965The military defeat in 1962 Indo-China war marked nothing short of a watershed in the structure and conduct of India’s foreign and security policies. India embarked on a substantial program of military modernization which was very limited due to policy of Non-Alignment. However, even after Nehru’s demise in 1964, his successors still could not formally abandon the stated adherence to a policy of non-alignment. Consequently, the rhetoric of nonalignment remained a staple of Indian foreign

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policy. India’s foreign policy behavior, however, increasingly assumed a more Realist orientation.

After the 1965 War with Pakistan, India saw many of her old friends turning their back in wake of the Cold War Politics. India was also concerned about the first Chinese nuclear test at Lop Nor in 1964. Some within India’s parliament called for an abandonment of nonalignment and even urged that India acquire an independent nuclear weapons option. After considerable debate, the ruling Congress party and the new Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, reaffirmed the country’s public commitment to nonalignment and eschewed any immediate plans to acquire nuclear weapons

The ‘Indira Gandhi’ yearsPrime Minister Gandhi authorized India’s Subterranean Nuclear Explosions Project (SNEP) which culminated in India’s first nuclear test of May 1974. Under Indira Gandhi, India’s foreign policy sought to sustain two competing visions of world order. On the one hand, India still supported the cause of decolonization and continued to lead the charge on behalf of the weaker states in the international system. For example, it remained a staunch opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa, it was an unyielding supporter of the Palestinian cause and it opposed the Portuguese presence in Angola and Mozambique.

On the other hand, it also came to accept the importance of defense preparedness and increasingly overcame its reservations about the use of force in international politics. Not surprisingly, despite India’s professed commitment to nonalignment it signed a twenty-year pact of “peace, friendship and cooperation” with the Soviet Union in August 1971. With the USSR backing, India achieved a grand victory in the 1971 war and creation of Bangladesh.

The Interregnum: 1971-1991In the aftermath of the 1971 war, India emerged as the undisputed dominant power within the subcontinent. Despite its new-found status, the country was unable to transcend the region. Several factors account for this failure to emerge as a power of any consequence in the global order. Most importantly, thanks to its pursuit of a dubious strategy of state-led industrialization India’s economic growth remained anemic.

At a global level, in the wake of the first oil crisis of 1973, India chose to spearhead the Group of 77, a set of developing nations seeking to fundamentally alter the global economic order. Ironically, while it was a leader of this coalition it benefited little from the global spike in oil prices and failed to obtain any meaningful concessions as a resource-poor developing nation from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Throughout much of the decade of the 1970s thanks to its poor record of economic growth and its diplomatic limitations India became a marginal player in the global order. Its influence remained confined to the South Asian region.

LPG Reforms 1991: End of Non-AlignmentThe Soviet collapse and the transformation of the global order forced India’s policymakers to make drastic changes in India’s foreign policy at multiple levels. The country was also confronted with an unprecedented fiscal crisis partly as a consequence of the first Gulf War of 1991.

Faced with his extraordinary crisis and also confronting the loss of the vast East European market as a consequence of the Soviet collapse, India’s policymakers, most notably the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, chose to dramatically alter India’s domestic and international economic policies. These involved abandoning the country’s historic commitment to import-substituting industrialization, unbundling, though fitfully at best, its vast public sector and dismantling a labyrinthine set of regulations, licenses, permits and quotas which had largely stifled economic growth.

In 1992, in the wake of the Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestinians, India upgraded its diplomatic relations with Israel to the ambassadorial level. Simultaneously, India also directed its gaze toward South-East Asia after a long span of neglect. Now as part and parcel of the opening of its markets to foreign investment and seeking to develop a viable export sector, the country embarked upon a “Look East policy”.

The Narasimha Rao regime efforts continued to improve relations with the PRC, a process that had been initiated during the Rajiv Gandhi regime in the late 1980s. Even though the two sides forged two

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important confidence-building measures (CBMs) in 1993 and 1996 designed to reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control, little or no progress was made in resolving the border dispute.A new course of Foreign Policy was sought by the then Prime Ministers IK Gujaral known as Gujaral Doctrine

1996: Nuclear Test and Shift in Foreign PolicyThe Vajpayee Government chose to exercise the nuclear option and carried out nuclear tests in 1998 in Pokharan. Despite the initial burst of hostility from the United States and the other great powers, the international community grudgingly accepted India as a de facto nuclear weapons state. The Pakistani attempts to revive Kashmir issue through its incursion in the Kargil region led to a limited war 1999. India reclaimed all that had gone under Pakistan army’s possession. However, a full scale war was avoided.

India’s relations with United States Improved and secured a firm footing. The Bush administration helped India to get exempt India from the requirements of the NPT and also the two countries pursued a civilian nuclear agreement, which provided a sound foundation for the relationship.

India’s Foreign policy in 21st CenturyIndia’s foreign policy in 21st century could be understood by explained as India’s grand strategy that divides the world into three concentric circles. The first, which encompasses the immediate neighborhood – where India has sought to consolidate its position and has attempted, though in a limited manner – to keep the ‘outside powers’ from direct influence or interference within region. The second encompasses the so-called extended neighborhood stretching across Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral, India has sought to balance the influence of other powers and attempted to prevent them from undercutting its own national interests. The third, which includes the entire globe, India has endeavored to make its place as one of the great

powers – a key player in international peace and security.

In the last two decades the Indian policy establishment has been confronting multiple existential issues and threats: the inevitable rise of China and the intensified US-China competition in the Asia-Pacific, the revival and reconsideration of India’s relations with Africa and the power volatility of the Middle East in the context of sustained energy supply and energy security, expanding and consolidating relations with South East Asia and Japan, dealing with the nuclear issues etc.

The Indo-US civil nuclear deal put India on the map of nuclear states recognizing its potential and immense capabilities. India has become a member of a wide array of multilateral bodies in economic and other spheres. India’s participation is visible in a number of such bodies like G-20, BRICS, IBSA, as well as with those fora with pronounced thrust towards economic cooperation like ASEAN, EAS, WTO, BIMSTEC etc.

Shift to ‘Realpolitik’

After the decades of Idealism, as rooted in Nehruvian Philosophy, India has finally moved towards pragmatism in the foreign policy. It is evident from our warm relations with Israel, not hesitating to do Military agreements like LEMOA with the US and not cowering under the Chinese Pressure.

India wants a change in the global world order with reforms in UNSC and IMF. It wants a rightful entry in the Nuclear Supply Group (NSG) as a responsible Nuclear Power. It has taken lead in environmental conservation by forging International Solar Alliance. It has also secured a breakthrough by ushering text based negotiation on comprehensive convention on International Terrorism in UN.

Economic Prosperity, Energy security and protection from the hostile neighbors is the trident of Indian foreign policy. The Indian state has embraced realpolitik to secure these interests.

India and NeighbourhoodIndia - China Relations

Why in newsChina and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Doklam area near the Bhutan tri-junction after a Chinese army’s construction party came to build a road. While the Chinese have asked India to withdraw its troops from the area as a pre-condition for any resolution, India has accused the Chinese of directly violating an agreement between the two countries.

Historical Background:The two ancient civilisation, India and China, are historically and culturally associated with each other and share common attributes like huge population, rising economy, conflict with neighbours etc but after the 1962 war China has tried to become more assertive in the region. It is evident from the recent standoff between India and china in doklam plateau which is a tri junction area of three countries namely India, Bhutan and China.

Other conflicts and issues :The two countries have several areas of conflict in recent times which are as follows :

1. Border disputes

(a) In ladakh region: There is still a conflict between the two countries along the line of actual control which was captured by china in 1962 war.

(b) In Arunachal Pradesh: Even after the 1962 war, when it decided to go back to McMohan line, China still lays claims over 90,000 sq Km of Arunachal pradesh calling it South Tibet. However this region belongs exclusively to Indian territory

(c) In Uttarakhand Region: Besides the eastern and western sector, there is a middle sector in Uttarakhand where China stakes claim

over an area of about 10,000 sq km. All these border disputes remain unresolved even after several rounds of talks.

2. Border Trespasses

(a) Because of the British colonial legacy and contrasting understanding of the maps, both countries see their borders at different points on the ground and both are committed to build infrastructure till the last mile. The result is seen in complaints of incursions, evident from the doklam plateau issue. The matter gets complicated as the two nations are militarily very strong.

3. Dalai Lama’s visit to arunachal pradesh in India:

(a) The visit of Dalai Lama to the tawang district of Arunachal pradesh was a religious one but the chinese look at it as the interference in their internal affairs.

4. Stapled visa to Indian citizen

(a) China at many instances issue stapled visa to the residents of arunachal pradesh because china thinks that issuing a proper visa would tantamount to recognizing India’s sovereignty over arunachal pradesh but the Indian position is that the issuance of stapled visa dilute india’s claim that Arunachal Pradesh is India’s territory.

5. River Water Dispute

(a) Brahmaputra river water sharing is the major flashpoint between India and China. China has been building dams after dams in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra which is called Tsangpo in Tibet. India has objected to it but there has been no formal treaty over sharing of the Brahmaputra water.Further, China has not been forthcoming in sharing the details about water level in the Brahmaputra, which puts a large tract in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to the risk of sudden and huge flood.

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6. Nuclear Supplier Group:

• India has been pushing for entry into the exclusive club of nuclear supplier group but china has been blocking the entry on the pretext that all other nations of the group have ratified the Non-proliferation Treaty, which India has not signed.

7. China Pakistan Economic corridor

• China is building China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC), which passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to which india has objected.India considers building of the CPEC as China's interference in India's sovereignty.

8. One Belt One Road Initiative

• The initiative envisages the construction of a maze of road, rail and port projects through a number of countries to connect mainland China to markets in Asia and Europe. The main reason behind India’s opposition towards the policy is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a part of OBOR.

Impact of the conflicts on India• The region of border dispute has been

strategically important and has an immense economic potential which makes the region important both for India as well as Asia.

• Another impact of the conflicts are on the trade relations between the two countries with balance of trade being more inclined in favour of china.

• The construction of OBOR has geopolitical repercussions along with impact on the economy on India. Through the OBOR initiative China tries to ensure that its companies become regional and global players and replace other regional players.

• By blocking India’s entry into NSG, china is building a case for pakistan. India remains wary about china’s strong strategic bilateral relation with Pakistan.

Way forward • Both countries shall make efforts to reach an

understanding on contentious issues like border trade, border transgression and diversion of Brahmaputra waters, and to better coordinate their strategies in international organisations like the World Bank, IMF and WTO.

• They should continue to take a common stand in environmental meetings organised by the UN. It should resolve the issues by peaceful rounds of dialogue .

• Energy diplomacy with a focus on energy security is another area of cooperation which can help the two countries rebuild a peaceful region

• Promotion of business and people centric connectivity with certain confidence building measures.

• Indulging in mutual data sharing and cooperation to deal with the problem of terrorism

• The two countries shall engage more deeply in the areas in areas like the tourism and climate change, where there is a huge scope of cooperation between the two countries.

India-Pakistan Relations

Why in newsPakistan had again rejected India’s request for consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer who was sentenced to death for espionage and terrorism by a Pakistani military court in April this year for which the matter has been pending in International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Historical backgroundHistorically the relation between India and Pakistan has been bitter from the beginning of the birth of pakistan

Other conflicts and issues1. Indus water treaty issue

• There has been a conflict on the construction of dams for kishanganga and rattle hydroelectric power plants on tributaries of jhelum and chenab river. According to the treaty pakistan has right over the Indus, Jhelum and chenab rivers whereas india has the right over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The treaty was brokered by world bank in 1960.

2. Cross border terrorism issue

• The cross border terrorism has been a major challenge to india’s security and sponsored by certain groups like lashkar-e-taiba which is supported by Pakistan. For example the uri attacks that was held in Uri in India in 2016, to which India replied in a surgical strike.




3. Balochistan issue.

• The largest province of pakistan that is balochistan saw many waves of conflict and is similar to the kashmir issue in India but unlike pakistan, India never interfered in the internal affairs of pakistan. However in recent times Prime Minister made reference to atrocities on Balochistanis, which is demanding freedom from pakistan.

4. Jammu and Kashmir Issue

• It is one of the longest dispute India has been facing with pakistan since Independence but in recent times it has gain different dimension where the outside support to the separatist leader by Pakistan in form of funding to stone pelters and the their leader and thereby maintaining disturbance in the valley.

5. Ceasefire violation by Pakistan

• It has become a persistent issue where the pakistani army officially backed by Pakistan breaches the ceasefire and cross the borders which has deep impact on the Indian-Pakistan relation. This is one of the major issue which hinder the process for creating a peaceful environment in the border region.

An Assessment of India-Pakistan RelationsThe continuous turmoil between the two countries has roots in the history. However, despite continuous attempt by the two countries they are not able to have a cordial relation because of the presence of some non-state actors like the military coup of Pakistan and organisations like lashkar-e-taiba and tehrik-e-taliban, which has a major role in making pakistan a terrorist state and the terrorist activities by pakistan creates intense pressure on india to adopt more robust and aggressive policy.

Such activities pose more difficulties to decide on future steps and also rule out the possibility of having any peaceful negotiation in near future. These activities have been criticised at various international organisations. For example the SAARC summit was called off so as to exclude Pakistan. However, countries like China, which sees Pakistan as not merely an ally but a crucial partner in achieving success for its one belt one road initiative, and Russia which has in recent times a friendly inclination

towards pakistan, is a matter of concern for India. For bringing peace between the two countries, proper dialogue and regular meeting of high level delegates shall be held to resolve the issues amicably.

Way forward• Cooperation in sectors like cultural and sport

activities with ease of movement between the two countries to engage in more people to people contact.

• Creating an international pressure on pakistan to curb state sponsor terrorism

• Resumption of dialogues between the two countries and deep engagement of the two where the chances of conflict is less and coordination is more. For example working together on climate change, technological exchange of information etc.

India-Bangladesh Relations

Why in newsRecently india and bangladesh has signed numerous agreements on various sectors like defence, energy, cyber security etc on the state visit of Bangladesh P.M. to India.

Historical BackgroundIndia is one of the most pioneer country who helped the erstwhile east pakistan to become an independent country in 1971 as what we call today as Bangladesh. India's links with Bangladesh are civilisational, cultural, social and economic. There is much that unites the two countries – a shared history and common heritage, linguistic and cultural ties, passion for music, literature and the arts. However there are certain areas which are still needed to be worked out to develop more cordial relation between the two countries

Issues and conflicts1. Teesta Water issue

• Sharing the waters of the Teesta river, which originates in the Himalayas and flows through Sikkim and West Bengal to merge with the Brahmaputra in Assam and (Jamuna in Bangladesh), is perhaps the most contentious issue between two friendly neighbours, India and Bangladesh. Bangladesh has sought an



“equitable” distribution of Teesta waters from India, on the lines of the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996 but the objection of West Bengal CM is that it will obstruct the flow for north bengal and as water is a state subject the centre cannot overrule the concern of the state of West Bengal.

2. Illegal Migration and insurgency issue

• The porous border and lack of proper fencing along the country’s longest international border is one of the main reason for huge amount of illegal migration. These illegal migrants sometimes pose a serious threat to the internal security of the country.

This porous border and the cattle haats along the border has led to cattle smuggling on a large scale

3. Border Disputes:

• The non-demarcation of a 6.5 km land border along the Comilla — Tripura makes the border question unresolved. India’s reluctance to resolve this issue is attributed to the concerns of the Hindus living in the lands likely to go to Bangladesh after demarcation

Areas of cooperation1. In defence sector : Bangladesh buys around

80% of its defence equipment from China. To counter the increasing military presence of chinese in Bangladesh India has offered a new line of credit, which allows Bangladesh to buy around $500 million worth of Indian defence equipment

2. In tackling Terrorism : The two sides had in past a common enemy which is known for spreading terrorism and sponsoring the terrorist. Both the countries are vulnerable to terrorism and thus should jointly cooperate each other in tackling the terrorism

3. Power and Connectivity Sector : Along with transport connectivity, India and Bangladesh are also bound through power and fuel links. Bangladesh already draws 600 megawatt from the Indian grid, with another 500 megawatt to be added through the Bheramara-Bahrampur inter-connection. The two countries have agreed on a power evacuation scheme between Assam and Bihar, from which Bangladesh can draw 1000 MW power supply.

One of the transport links that the two premiers remotely launched was the delivery of a diesel consignment, which is the harbinger of a much closer relationship on fuel supply. India is already constructing a Indo-Bangla friendship pipeline from Siliguri to Parbatipur for supply of high speed diesel as a grant-in-aid. Indian Oil Corporation and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation are also constructing a LPG terminal and pipeline.

Yet another area of connectivity is through Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) corridor, which is given assistance by the Asian development Bank, will integrate the subregion as a whole.

Importance of India-Bangladesh relationsIndia and Bangladesh had a roller coaster kind of relationship. However, despite this ups and downs the relation between the two countries is largely a peaceful one. The bilateral ties between two countries have seen an exponential curve which is evident from the fact that between 2010 and now there has been four exchanges of visits at the level of heads of government and each one has been laced with cordiality, and fond utterances for each other.

However, increasing chinese presence in Bangladesh in the form of aid given to the country for their infrastructural development is a cause of concern for India. The Indian side has however tried to counter it by extending the third line of credit since 2010, during the recent visit of sheikh hasina to India.

The other major cause of concern for the relation between the two countries is the issue of illegal migration of bangladeshi into India which has not only created socio-economic and political turmoil in the migrant-receiving states but also strained bilateral relation. Given these challenges, the Government of India tried to contain illegal migration through a mix of laws and executive interventions aimed not only at expelling the foreigners from the country but also deterring potential migrants to cross the border illegally and defer them from creating the problem of insurgencies in the host country.

Way forward• Strong political will and bilateral resolve are

crucial in overcoming the tension-ridden, State-centre relations in India




• It seems to be a good time for the industry in India to look for opportunities for collaboration in defence, such as in military hardware, space technology, technical assistance, exchange of experience, and development of sea infrastructure.

• The renewing of the 25-year treaty of friendship and cooperation on the basis of sovereign equality can help India gain trust among Bangladeshi people.

• The long pending Teesta River sharing agreement where a middle path has to be carved so that both countries are benefitted

• Efforts should be made to integrate the region’s economies with road, rail and shipping routes that can yield rich dividends.

• India can expand sub regional cooperation among BBIN countries to cover initiatives in rail which would open opportunities in land ports and land customs stations, air connectivity

• Special emphasis has to be laid on promotion of exchanges in the fields of music, theatre, art, painting, books, etc. A bilateral Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) 2009-2012 provides the framework for such exchanges.

India - Afghanistan Relations

Why in newsIndia in December 2016 has hosted the 6th ministerial conference of Heart of Asia summit in Amritsar. The declaration made by the conference is known as Amritsar declaration.

Historical BackgroundThe history of India- Afghanistan relation dates back to ancient times. India and Afghanistan have strong cultural links with each other. In recent past, Indo-Afghan relations have been further strengthened by the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in 2011. The Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) between the two sides, inter alia, provides for assistance to help rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure and institutions, education and technical assistance to re-build indigenous Afghan capacity in different areas.

Importance of India- Afghanistan Relations• Afghanistan is one of the most crucial partner

for India. It is important for india for its strategic location because a cordial relation with Afghanistan will help India to have a connectivity with the central Asia.

• India has invested in the infrastructure sector and has lent more than $2 billion since 2001 and now India has promised to provide $1 billion in aid for development, reconstruction and economic progress in september 2016 in areas such as education, health, skill development, energy, infrastructure etc.

• The salma dam has been constructed in 40 years and is named as India Afghanistan Friendship dam which symbolises the importance of India-Afghanistan relations

• India is helping Afghanistan-Iran Connectivity where it has been building Chabahar port in Iran and has built the zaranj delaram highway. This connectivity will help india bypass pakistan which will help India in developing trade relations with the central asian countries and thereby giving a boost to Indian Economy

• India has been closely associated with afghanistan in providing stability after the NATO forces left the country.

• The recently held Istanbul process or heart of Asia conference had focused on tackling terrorism with an attack on pakistan to sponsor terrorism along with other issues like commitment to human rights, leveraging cultural ties, eliminating non tariff barrier to trade and prevention of drug trafficking. This declaration is known as Amritsar Declaration

• India is also keen to join Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit trade agreement (APTTA), where Afghanistan can use Pakistan’s territory for transit trade while Pakistan’s goods can move through Afghanistan to nations bordering Afghanistan. However, Islamabad has not agreed to allow using APTTA for goods to be transported from India to Afghanistan through Pakistan’s territory (via the Wagah-Attari route ). It has been backed by afghanistan.



• India’s main export items to Afghanistan are textiles, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, iron & steel and electrical machinery, while its imports from Afghanistan are fruits and nuts, gums and resins, coffee, tea and spices

• Afghanistan is also important for india for its energy security. For this there is ongoing development of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project which will be a trans-country natural gas pipeline from Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has been funded by Asian development Bank.

• The importance of India for Afghanistan is evident when in 2016 the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi was awarded Amir Amanullah Khan Award which is Afghanistan’s highest civilian award.

Way forward• There is a strong economic, politico-strategic

and security component in the India-Afghanistan relations. However to maintain the strong ties the first important step is providing stability in the country and India shall not miss the opportunity to help afghanistan in securing stability

• Deeper economic engagement and minimising the trade barrier which shall will be a win win situation for both the countries

• The two countries shall engage in more people to people contact and shall promote tourism sector since the two countries are culturally linked to each other

India-Srilanka Relations

Why in news Recently Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe visited India with the refreshed Indo-Lanka ties that followed the regime change in Colombo. The two prime ministers have signed a Memorandum of understanding on long-term collaboration in spheres ranging from energy and infrastructure to special economic zones.

Historical backgroundThe relationship between India and Sri Lanka is more than 2,500 years old. Both countries have a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic

interaction. In recent years, the relationship has been marked by close contacts at all levels. The nearly three-decade long armed conflict between Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE came to an end in May 2009. During the course of the conflict, India supported the right of the Government of Sri Lanka to act against terrorist forces. However, India has consistent position on negotiated political settlement, which is acceptable to all communities within the framework of a united Sri Lanka and which is consistent with democracy, pluralism and respect for human rights.

Importance of India- Srilanka Relations• In the Energy sector India and Sri Lanka have

agreed to jointly revive a World War II era oil storage facility in the strategically located eastern port town and build infrastructure around it

• There is considerable private sector investment in each other’s territory. The areas both of cooperation between both the countries are petroleum, Information Technology, Financial Services, Real estate, telecom, hospitals, tourism, banking, food processing etc.

• Indian railways are offering special package for Sri Lankan tourists to come to India. India has introduced e-visa for Sri Lanka

• The Cultural Cooperation Agreement signed by the Government of India and Sri Lanka forms the basis for periodic Cultural Exchange Programmes between the two countries.

• Given the proximity of the territorial waters of both countries, especially in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar, incidents of straying of fishermen are common. The country regularly arrests Indian fishermen for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) that demarcates Indian and Sri Lankan waters. India also detains Sri Lankan fishermen for the illegal fishing.

• The construction of Hambantota port in sri lanka by the chinese is a cause of concern for India. India should have deeper engagement with sri lanka and should build an amicable relation to counter the presence of the chinese government.

• Tourism also forms an important link between India and Sri Lanka. Government of India also launched the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme for Sri Lankan tourists in 2015.




• Another problem in the relation which needs faster resolution is the kachchatheevu island, which was an uninhabited island that India ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974 based on a conditional agreement called “Kachchativu island pact”. But the the government of Tamil Nadu is of the view that the sufferings of Indian Tamil fishermen is a direct consequence of ceding Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka and sacrificing the traditional fishing rights enjoyed by Indian fishermen.

• India is pushing for a new trade pact called the Economic and Technical cooperation Agreement to build closer ties with sri lanka. It will replace the CEPA and establish an agreement on trade in services and technological exchange. ETCA will boost standard of goods and services, and will be able to compete on global market and improve opportunities for manpower training and human resource development.

Way forward• An institutional framework shall be developed

in which the fishermen’s cooperatives of both countries must be involved and committed with an oversight power to resolve the dispute of fishermen that has become a continuous conflicting subject for both India and Sri lanka.

• Deeper economic involvement with Srilanka has become an imperative for India to counter chinese presence and influence in sri lanka. Hence the trade barrier should be relaxed and promotion of cross border trade shall be encouraged in favour of India.

• Geographic,strategic,economic,cultural,citizen-centric international concerns warrant that India should actively engage with Sri-Lanka with a short term targets and long-term vision through stronger diplomacy.

India-Nepal Relations

Why in newsNepal has rejected India’s ‘open sky’ offer to allow unlimited flights between the two countries

Historical backgroundIndia and Nepal share a unique relationship of friendship and cooperation characterized by open borders and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts

of kinship and culture. There has been a long tradition of free movement of people across the borders. Nepal has border connectivity with five Indian States – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal. Under the provisions of this Treaty, the Nepalese citizens have enjoyed unparalleled advantages in India, availing facilities and opportunities at par with Indian citizens. Nearly 6 million Nepali citizens live and work in India.

Conflicts in India-Nepal relations• The major discontent in the India Nepal relation

is on the issues of the blockade by madhesis. India has being criticised in nepal for having sided with the “discredited” Madhesi leaders, and shutting its eyes to the blockade that hurt the aam Nepali.

• According to nepalese government, another issue of conflict in recent times is on anti dumping duties imposed on export of jute and have also imposed countervailing duty of 5% which is against the spirit of the Nepal India friendship treaty.

• Yet another area of concern for India is the increasing presence and influence of china by financing and providing aid and grants to build their infrastructural sectors like building of roads, energy, electricity etc.

• Nepal has rejected India’s ‘open sky’ offer to allow unlimited flights between the two countries which is important for india since India has been keen on countering Nepal’s recent engagement with China on the road, railways and port connectivity.

Areas of Cooperation• As Nepal is a himalayan country and is vulnerable

to natural calamities, India should always be ready for assisting and providing aid to any kind of disaster that may take place. Also it shall help Nepal in preparing the disaster management plan in case any natural calamity takes place.

• India in the past has provided substantial financial and technical development assistance to Nepal focusing on creation of infrastructure, health, water resources etc. It shall continue to do so in future.



• Both the countries have strong cultural links with each other since ancient times and the institutions like indian cultural center in Nepal shall develop a roadmap for future cultural engagement.

• India shall aid Nepal in the providing stability of the new constitution of Nepal and strengthen the democracy in Nepal

India-Bhutan Relations

Why in news• Bhutan has announced that it is unable to

proceed with the Motor Vehicles Agreement with Bangladesh, India and Nepal (BBIN) project.

Historical Background• The two countries has a special bond due to its

historical and religious linkages and share a lot of things in common. Bhutan was once a part of Indian subcontinent which later seprated from each other. The diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968 with the appointment of a resident representative of India in Thimphu. The basic framework of India-Bhutan bilateral relations is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1949 between the two countries.

Importance of India-Bhutan relations • Under the India Bhutan friendship treaty 2007,

India is to guide Bhutan for foreign and defence policy which means that India is virtually responsible for protecting Bhutan from the kind of external threat.

• The practise of Buddhism on a large scale by

Bhutan and India binds the two country culturally

to each other . This cultural tie shall be promoted

by providing scholarship to student of each

other’s country in the universities and promoting

people to people ties.

• Established in 2003, the India-Bhutan Foundation

(IBF) focuses on education, cultural exchanges

and environment preservation initiative by

Indian and Bhutan for effective bilateral cultural

relationship

• The concept of Gross National Happiness

is being adopted by Indian state of Madhya

pradesh to measure the happiness level of the

people of the state.

• Hydro-electric power generated by Bhutan’s run-

of-the river dams is the economic bedrock of the

India-Bhutan relationship.India has sponsored

financing the dams through a combination of aid

and loans and buys the excess electricity at very

low prices

Way Forward• Mutually beneficial economic inter-linkages

between India and Bhutan shall be encouraged to strengthen the bilateral relations

• The two countries shall involve with each other in areas of climate change and environment prepare a roadmap for tackling any kind of disaster since the region is tectonically weak area.

India-West Asia Relationship

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India-West Asia Relationship

West Asia consists of Gulf Council countries, Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. The strategic importance

of West Asia lies in its geography and an essential natural resource, namely petroleum. Oil-Diplomacy or Petro-

Dollars was the term used for western engagement with this region.

The region also has strong undercurrents of Shia (Led by Iran) and Sunni divide (Led by Saudi Arabia). In the

recent times, the region is also facing existential threat from the Islamic State which is trying to establish a

caliphate. There is a political crisis going on in Syria and Yemen, which makes the region highly volatile



Importance of West Asia to India• Energy Security (Oil & Gas): India imports

almost 80% of its crude oil requirement and of this about 60% is supplied from the Gulf Countries in the Western Asia. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the largest oil suppliers to India. There are also plans to construct a gas pipeline from Iran, through Oman (As Pakistan is non-cooperative) to India.

India has recently signed a deal with United Arab Emirates (UAE) to fill half (about 6 million barrels of oil) of an underground crude oil storage facility at Mangaluru, Karnataka as part of its quest for energy security and strategic reserve system.

• Interests of Indian Diaspora: There are approximately 7.3 million Indians in West Asia. Most of them are the blue collar workers from the southern states of Tamilnadu and Kerala. The Diaspora is an asset for the country as they are the source of high remittances and also strengthens cultural ties with these nations. But, in the recent times, the Indian Diaspora has to face many challenges in West Asian Region. Some of these are:

w The Nitaqat law of Saudi Arabia has resulted in unemployment of thousands of Indians. It has also resulted in starvation of hundreds of Indians due to non-payment of salaries.

w There have been incidents of Indians working on projects in the west Asian region captured by Non-state actors such as IS. About 120+ Indian workers have been recently abducted.

• Trade and Investments: India and the economies of West Asia have had a natural economic relationship defined by geographical proximity, cultural linkages, stronger presence of the Indian Diaspora and economic complementarities defined by India’s need for oil and West Asia’s need for human capital and food products. The Western Asia has emerged as India’s largest trading partner constituting for about 20% of India’s total trade. India hopes to attract the cash rich Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) of these countries for investment in India's massive infrastructure expansion plans.

• Strategic Angle:w Support of Islamic world: In the wake

of Pakistan-Sponsored terrorism in Indian territory, the support of Islamic world is

crucial for India to put pressure of Pakistan and also to project its secular image on world forum. It would also help in getting permanent membership of UNSC and IMF reforms.

w Gateway to Central Asia & Europe: The Central Asian states are crucial for India due to their energy resources, but access to them is restricted due to non-cooperative western neighbor. Therefore, the development of Chabahar Port in Iran, the trilateral agreement along with Afghanistan on International North South Transit corridor (INSTC) would help in getting access to these regions.

w Defence Procurement: Israel, has came out as a significant bilateral partner for acquisition of state –of-art defence weaponry and technology. The Barak missiles and the proposed Anti-Missile system will boost the offensive and defensive capabilities of Armed forces.

Important Bilateral Relations in West Asia

India-Israel RelationshipIndia formally recognized Israel post independence in September 1950. However its Israel policy was driven by the principled stand of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Israel assisted India during the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars, but full-fledged relations were not established. It was in 1992 when India finally established full diplomatic relations with Israel.

Since 2000, the bilateral relations have shown a great traction and improvement. The basic dimensions of the relationship are:

• Israel has emerged as the third most important arms-exporter after US and Russia, and is said to be supplying arms worth about $1 billion a year to India. India has signed a $2 billion missile defence deal with Israel for purchasing sophisticated medium-range surface-to-air missile systems (MRSAM). Israel’s willingness to share technical know-how would boost the domestic manufacturing of defence products.

• India and Israel together have implemented a large number of cutting edge research projects in applied areas covering Agricultural and Medical




Biotechnology; Human Genomics; Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology; Imaging Sensor & Robotics; Solar Energy; Communication & Information Technology; and Lasers & Electro-optics.

• Agriculture is one of the main pillars in India-Israel relations. Israel has state-of-art technical expertise in Dry-Land Agriculture and Micro-Irrigation Techniques. With Indian agriculture is pre-dominantly rain-fed these technologies are highly required.

Indian Prime Minister has recently visited Israel in month of July on completion of 25 years of diplomatic relationships. Apart from various agreements, the visit was significant, as this is the first visit of Indian Prime Minister to Israel. Also, it marks the de-hyphenation of Israel-Palestine relationship in India’s Diplomatic stand, as the visit to Israel was not coupled with the visit to Palestine.

India-Saudi Arabia RelationshipIndia and Saudi Arabia have, in recent years, shared a healthy bilateral equation based on mutual interests – extensive trade, energy imports, cultural contacts, and growing security cooperation.

Currently, India-Saudi relations revolve around two important areas: 1) trade and investment and 2) defense and security cooperation. Bilateral trade has been rising since the mid-2000s and has grown substantially in the last five years. Saudi Arabia remains India’s third largest trading partner and the largest supplier of crude oil. Saudi Arabia has shown signs of being a major source of investments given its large sovereign wealth fund.

The other sector where India-Saudi relations have been strengthened significantly under Modi’s watch is defense and security specially in combating terrorism and counter-radicalization with the Gulf countries. The Indian Prime Minister visited Saudi Arabia in 2016 and their joint statement made it quite clear that India and Saudi Arabia are seeking greater intelligence sharing to combat terror. India’s concerns about cracking down on illicit finance rings controlled via the Gulf and preventing material support from the region to extremist groups in India requires better coordination between Indian and Saudi security agencies.

India-Iran RelationshipsIran and India have long had historical, cultural, and commercial ties. India’s geographical position and proximity to Iran make it a natural customer for Iran’s vast oil and gas reserves. Over the past decade, their economic ties, because of nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the international community, have centered on limited energy and agricultural products.

Since sanctions were lifted this year after P5+1 agreement, Iran has doubled crude exports to India and has become its third-largest supplier. Iran has reserved the Farzad B gas field in the Persian Gulf exclusively for Indian investment. Given its history of conflict with Pakistan, India seeks an undersea gas pipeline that transports Iranian gas from Chabahar, through Oman, to the Indian port of Porbandar.

Given Iran’s large and educated youth populations under thirty that is technologically savvy, but limited in its development due to Western sanctions, India can serve as a model in developing a bustling IT and pharmaceutical sector. India’s private sector, banks and large corporations can offer their Iranian counterparts access to technology, credit facilities and know-how.

India-UAE Relationship

The UAE has a special place among the Gulf countries due to its syncretic culture, business-friendly atmosphere, willingness to invest in the Indian economy and its important role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.

The political and diplomatic engagements with the UAE have seen a substantial increase in recent time. A new momentum was given to the relationship in January 2017 when the two sides signed the agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). The landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2015 and the return visit of the crown prince in 2016 on republic day set the momentum for enhancing the bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership.

The growing engagements between India and the UAE has to be seen within the broader contexts of UAE’s policy of engaging with Asia to improve economic prospects and India’s search for foreign investments to expedite economic growth and address the threat of extremism and terrorism.



India’s Other Involvements in Western Asia

Operation Rahat:In 2015, Indian Navy conducted a rescue operation under the name ' Operation Rahat' to evacuate civilians stuck in strife-torn Yemen. The crisis in Yemen has left thousands of people homeless and stranded in the country. The airports and seaports of Yemen. More than 4,000 people have been evacuated in the operation, including foreigners from 26 other countries.

Position on Syrian Crisis:India's position on the Syrian crisis in adherence to the UN charter of non-interference for a political dialogue and looking at the aspiration of Syrian people. India is not directly involved in attack against ISIS but the peacekeepers from India are working in Iraq and Syria. India is more involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the displaced people in the conflict zone. India has also taken part in Geneva-II conference for resolution of crisis but the talks eventually failed.

Other recent Developments in Western Asia

Failed Coup in TurkeyTurkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its political history on July 15, 2016, when a section of the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities to topple the government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They

attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them. The Council cited an erosion of secularism, elimination of democratic rule, disregard for human rights, and Turkey's loss of credibility in the international arena as reasons for the coup.

Loss of Territory by ISIslamic State has lost almost 1/3rd of the territory it has held in Iraq and Syria since 2014. At the height of its power, the militant group controlled about 40 percent of Iraq and about 25% of Syria. This has been possible due to the coordinated efforts of West Led forces along with the Iraqi forces.

The Qatar CrisisSaudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and UAE have suspended their diplomatic ties with Qatar. All the six countries have announced that they withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar and eject Qatar’s diplomats from their territories. They have also planned to cut air and sea traffic.

The countries have accused Qatar for embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups that are aimed at destabilizing the region such as the Muslim Brotherhood, al—Qaida, the Islamic State group and other groups supported by Iran.

Oil prices have seen a jump after the six countries announced suspension of diplomatic ties with Qatar as it affected some of the world’s biggest oil and gas exporters. Qatar, a gas rich nation is also the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a major seller of condensate (a low-density liquid fuel) and refining product derived from natural gas.

Indian Ocean Region

Significance of Indian Ocean RegionThe significance of Indian Ocean Region is usually attributed to following three factors:

• Critical Navigational Routes: More than 60 per cent of all oil and petroleum product exports are shipped through the Indian Ocean waters

and over 70 per cent of global container traffic is carried through the waters of this ocean. Therefore, Indian Ocean is crucial for energy security of Nations around the world.

• Littoral States: The states surrounding the Indian Ocean region are marked by very high population density and are home to more than 2 Billion people. This creates opportunities,

Indian Ocean Region has emerged out to be the Geo-political Hot Spot of the world. The primary reason is its

strategic location, the littoral states and the presence of critical navigational routes.

Indian occupies a central and strategic location in the Indian Ocean area. Its national and economic interests

are inseparably linked up with Indian Ocean. Hence to keep the Indian Ocean as a zone of Peace free from

superpower rivalry and increasing cooperation among littoral countries in the region has always been India’s

foreign Policy’s goal

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Indian Ocean Region



especially given the high rates of economic growth around the Indian Ocean rim, including in India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and Eastern and Southern Africa. However, the densely populated littoral is also vulnerable to natural or environmental disasters e.g. Cyclones and Tsunami. There are also issues of terrorism and piracy in these waters.

• Natural Resources: Forty per cent of the world’s offshore oil production takes place in the Indian Ocean basin. Fishing in the Indian Ocean now accounts for almost 15 per cent of the world’s total. Mineral resources are equally important, with nodules containing nickel, cobalt, and iron, and massive sulphide deposits of manganese, copper, iron, zinc, silver, and gold present in sizeable quantities on the sea bed. Indian Ocean coastal sediments are also important sources of titanium, zirconium, tin, zinc, and copper. Additionally, various rare earth elements are present, even if their extraction is not always commercially feasible.

India as a ‘KeyStone’ in Indian Ocean• Geographical Advantage: India has a pre-

eminent position in Indian Ocean, which could be understood by the fact that it is the only ocean named for a country. It has more than 7500 Km of coastline, an exclusive economic zone of 2.02 lakh sq km and all the strategic Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) passing through the vicinity. India is usually the first country to respond in any case of emergency or disaster in littoral states. In Strategic terms, India considers Indian Ocean as its sphere of Influence.

• Stakes of India in Indian Ocean: The significance of Indian Ocean for India can be understood under below mentioned points:

w Energy Security: India almost imports around 80% of the crude oil requirement from the West Asian nations. The import is primarly across the Arabian Sea, a sub branch of Indian Ocean.

w Trade & Commerce: Almost 95% of the India’s trade by volume and 68% by value, happens through the Indian Ocean region

w Blue Economy: Blue Economy is based on the idea to use locally available resources and employ renewable inputs to address the

problems of resource scarcity and enables sustainable development. This marine-based economic development will reduce environmental risks and mitigate ecological challenges. New technologies are opening frontiers of marine resource development from bio-prospecting to mining of seabed mineral resources. The sea also offers vast potential for renewable “blue energy” production from wind, wave, tidal, thermal and biomass sources.

w Projection of Soft Power: As mentioned earlier, India’s policy is to project its soft power in the Indian Ocean region with steps such as Humanitarian and Disaster Relied (HADR), Anti-Piracy operations, environmental conservation etc.

Challenges in Indian Ocean Region• Non State Actors: The Indian Ocean is

surrounded by some volatile and weak nations, and thus non-state actors like pirates, smugglers and terrorists remain a persistent threat. The 8/11 attacks in India were executed through the sea route and the Somali pirates were a grave threat to vessels until very recently.

• China’s Assertiveness: As mentioned earlier that bulk of oil tankers pass through the Indian Ocean, and there are presences of choke points like Straits of Malacca which can jeopardize the energy security of China. Hence, China is increasingly trying to assume a leadership role in Indian Ocean. Some of its activities are:

w Encircling India (String of Pearls): It refers to the network of Chinese military and commercial facilities and relationships along its sea lines of communication, which extend from the Chinese mainland to Port Sudan. It includes a facility in Gwadar and a port in Karachi (both in Pakistan); Construction of new facility at Colombo and construction of new port Hambantota (both in Sri Lanka); container facility in Chittagong (Bangladesh); and ports in Myanmar.

w Maritime Silk Route (Part of OBOR Project): China has aggressively worked towards Infrastructure development in its Maritime Silk Route project which is a component of its ambitious One-belt, One-Road Project.




The littoral states of Indian Ocean are been influenced by China to be a part of OBOR and few of them have agreed. Though, It has overtly declared as commercial in nature, India believes that MSR would be used by China to project its Naval Power in Indian Ocean region. (Like docking of nuclear submarines in Sri Lanka).

• Arena of Global Conflict: The Indian Ocean is being considered by the experts as the principal theatre of conflict among the world’s established and ascendant powers. Apart from the apparent conflict between US, India, Pakistan and Chinese interests, there are some other conflicts going around eg Chagos Archipelago Dispute.

The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 km south of the Maldives. It had been part of Mauritius since the 18th century when the French first settled the islands. Before Mauritian independence, in 1965, the UK split the archipelago from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory and permitted the US to use it for defence purposes for 50 years (until December 2016) followed by a 20-year optional extension. Following this US Military Base was setup in Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. In November 2016, the U.K. ruled out the resettlement of the islanders, who were alternately settled in Mauritius and Seychelles, on the grounds of feasibility, defence, security interests and the cost. Mauritius has threatened to go to International Court of Justice on the matter.

India’s Policy towards the Indian Ocean• SAGAR and 5-Point Formula: India’s objectives

in Indian Ocean, as outlined by Indian Prime Minister in 2015 SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative are:

w Preserving freedom of navigation for commercial shipping

w Sustainably and equitably harnessing the Indian Ocean’s natural resources

w Establishing protocols for enhancing disaster prevention and relief as well as search and rescue operations

w Countering piracy, terrorism, smuggling, and illegal weapons proliferation

w Managing international naval competition

• Blue Water Naval Capabilities: A blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally; essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. India initially outlined its intentions of developing blue-water capabilities under the 2007 Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan, The navy operates on single carrier task force centered on INS Vikramaditya and also possess an amphibious transport dock, INS Jalashwa. In addition, the Indian Navy currently operates INS Arihant, an indigenously developed nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine and also leases one Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia.

• India as Net Security Provider in IOR: India’s role as a ‘net maritime security provider’ in the region is not only its responsibility as a regional power, but is closely interwoven with the nation’s own economic growth and prosperity. Indian Navy's maritime strategy is to be built on strategic deterrence, maritime cooperation and capacity building. In order to achieve these goals, Indian Navy will continue to be the 'Net Security Provider' in the Indian Ocean Region and has already taken several initiatives like anti-piracy operations, Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium and resource-sharing with other navies in the region.

• Institutional Engagements:w Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA): IORA

is an international organization consisting of coastal states bordering the Indian Ocean, established in 1997 to promote cooperation in IOR. IORA comprises 21 member states (including India) and 7 dialogue partners and is based on the principles of Open Regionalism for strengthening Economic Cooperation particularly on Trade Facilitation and Investment, Promotion as well as Social Development of the region.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Leaders’ Summit was recently held in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia from March 5 to 7, 2017. The theme of the Summit was ‘Strengthening Maritime Cooperation for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Indian Ocean’.



w Indian Ocean Naval Symposium: The ‘Indian Ocean Naval Symposium’ (IONS) is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues. In the process, it endeavors to generate a flow of information between naval professionals that would lead to common understanding and possibly cooperative solutions on the way ahead.

• Other Alternative Strategies:w LEMOA: Logistics Exchange Memorandum

of Agreement (LEMOA) meant to build basic ground work and promote interoperability

between militaries of US and India by creating common standards and systems. The agreement will primarily cover four areas - port calls, joint exercises, training and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. Any other requirement has to be agreed upon by both sides on a case-by-case basis.

w Spice Route/Project Mausam: India is trying to regain its lost pre-eminence in the Indian Ocean region and negate the Chinese Maritime silk route policy by revitalizing its historical trade links with Arabian and African countries through Spice Trade. Project Mausam and Spice route initiative are steps in that direction.

India-Japan RelationshipThe friendship between India and Japan has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilization ties. Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. Indian culture, filtered through Buddhism, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people's sense of closeness to India. Over the years, the two countries have built upon these values and created a partnership based on both principle and pragmatism. Today, India is the largest democracy in Asia and Japan the most prosperous.

Dynamism in Relationship: Post 2000The bilateral relations between India and Japan witnessed a major transformation in the 21st century, with both countries realizing the mutual benefits arising out of engagement. Some of the timelines in forging of strong relationship are:• On visit of Japanese PM Yoshiko Mori to India

in 2000, led to the establishment of "Global Partnership between Japan and India"

• The annual summit meeting between India & Japan are being held since 2005.

• In 2006, Japan-India relationship was elevated the "Global and Strategic Partnership".

• In 2014, during the Prime Minister’s visit for annual summit in Japan, the relationship was upgraded to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Apart from the above, Japan is the first country, with which India has established2+2 dialogues mechanism (Discussion on Security and External Affairs). A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has also been concluded between India and Japan in 2011.

Indo-Japan Relations in Economic Sphere• Existing Complementarities: In the economic

sphere, the complementarities between the two countries are particularly striking e.g.

(i) Japan’s ageing population (23% above 65 years) and India’s youthful dynamism (over 50% below 25 years)

(ii) India’s rich natural and human resources and Japan’s advanced technology

(iii) India’s prowess in services and Japan’s excellence in manufacturing

(iv) Japan’s surplus capital for investments and India’s large and growing markets and the middle class.

Economic relations between India and Japan have vast potential for growth, given the obvious complementarities that exist between the two Asian economies.

• Offshore Development Assistance (ODA): India has been the largest recipient of Japanese ODA in South Asia since 2003. In 2014, for instance, India received 57 percent of Japan’s South Asia ODA budget Japanese ODA supports India’s efforts for accelerated economic development particularly in priority areas like power, transportation, environmental projects and projects related to basic human needs.

Japan is a particularly attractive source of investment for India because of its technological expertise, long experience in implementing development projects, and commitment to timely delivery.

Some of the key projects in which Japan has invested through ODA are:(i) Commissioning of Delhi Metro(ii) Industrial Corridors such as Delhi-Mumbai

Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The key agenda of the DMIC project involves the development of nine industrial zones; a high-speed freight line; three ports; six airports; a six-lane intersection-free expressway; and a 4,000-megawatt power plant.

(iii) For running Bullet Trains in Mumbai-Ahemdabad Corridor.

(iv) Japan has decided to be associated with the development of Chennai, Ahmadabad and Varanasi as smart cities.

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• CEPA & Bilateral Trade: The India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into effect on 1st August 2011 and is the most comprehensive free trade agreement that India has entered into with any country. It consists of agreed measures on liberalization of trade in goods, trade in services and investment and an agreement to implement cooperation in a number of identified areas. About 94% of the tariffs between Japan and India will be eliminated within 10 years (about 97% by Japan and about 90% by India).

Indo-Japan Strategic RelationshipApart from a strong economic relationship, India & Japan have forged strong bilateral strategic relationship. Both the nations are part of G-4, and are co-operating on UN reforms and securing a seat in UNSC. India is also pitching for IMF reforms where Japan is a significant player. From the Japan’s point of view, the strategic relationships provide it strategic leeway in shedding its post Second World War ‘pacifist ideology’ and to play more assertive role in global arena.

The recent visit of Prime Minister to Japan in 2016 for annual summit has following significant developments on strategic front:• Indo-Japan Civil Nuclear Deal: The broad

contours of the landmark civil nuclear cooperation deal that provides for collaboration between their industries was finalized during the PMs Visit and came into force on 20th July 2017. The Agreement will pave the way for enhanced cooperation in energy security and clean energy and it allows the US and French nuclear firms, which have alliances with Japanese companies, to conduct nuclear commerce with India.

Apart from obvious benefits, the deal further enhances the India’s standing in the global community as responsible nuclear nation and is a big step in securing the membership of Nuclear Supply Group (NSG).

• Amphibious Air-Craft Deal: During the PMs Visit India and Japan had broad level agreement on Sale of ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft by Japan to the Indian Navy. The aircraft will provide a huge boost to operational logistics in areas like the far-flung but strategically critical Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It can also land spares and equipment in close proximity to warships on the high seas

Indo-Pacific Geo-politics• The ‘China’ Angle: In an increasing developing

multi-polar and multilateral world order, both India and Japan are concerned about the expansionist and aggressive attitude of China. While Japan and China are at loggerheads on the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in East China Sea, India & China have issues on land boundary, China’s support to Pakistan and its presence in the Indian Ocean Region. The efforts to contain China has become a cementing force in the Bilateral relationship with India & Japan

• Trilateral Front in Asia: Along with India and Japan, United States is also a key stakeholder in Indo-Pacfic region. With China being increasingly assertive in South China Sea, Upholding of International laws of Sea and ensuring freedom of navigation has become very important. India-Japan and US are involved in trilateral summit meetings and recently Japan has resumed its participation in trilateral maritime ‘Malabar’ exercise.

• The Possible ‘Quad’: The geo-political experts talk about formation of a Strategic Quadrilateral partnership between India, Japan, US and Australia to contain the rise of china and further their mutual interests in the region.

Obstacles in Indo-Japan PartnershipDespite presence of many complementarities, some obstacles which have hindered the realization of the true potential of bilateral relations are:• Bureaucratic Hurdles: Bureaucratic complexity

is the most commonly cited problem, in fast tracking the projects and obtaining tangible outputs. Despite strong political will on both sides, the slow-moving machineries of the two states have yet to become intimately acquainted.

• Cultural Factors: Cultural factors coupled with poor communication have also been a major impediment. It has been witnessed that although India and Japan share a sound bilateral relationship but still minimal people to people contact proved to be important predicament in their relationship. This results in both sides not fully appreciating the concerns of each other.

• Strategic Angle: Both countries have an interest in countering China’s rise without provoking conflict or any form of escalation. Consequently, neither is willing to commit to the types of security cooperation that one might find in other strategic relationships like the U.S.-Japan alliance.

India-South East Asia Relationship

India-South East Asia Relationships• From ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’: Initiated in

1991India's Look East policy was an effort to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia. India became a sectoral dialogue partner with ASEAN in 1992 and has developed multilateral organizations such as, the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation and BIMSTEC, forging extensive cooperation on environmental, economic development, security and strategic affairs.

India’s ‘Act East’ policy, upgraded from the ‘Look East’ policy in 2014, serves as a platform for deepening and strengthening its relationship with ASEAN and the East Asian economies. The Objective of ''Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region including Arunachal Pradesh with other countries in our neighborhood.

The geostrategic signifi-cance of South East Asia can be understood from the following facts:

It acts as a gateway be-tween the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and lies in vital sea lanes of commu-nication.

Many Countries in the re-gion have vibrant econ-omies and form a sig-nificant regional trading block (ASEAN)

The resources in the South China Sea and is-sue of control over them have seen conflicts be-tween China and rest of the world.

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India-South East Asia



• Trilateral Highway: India-Myanmar-Thailand: The trilateral pact between India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) will provide a seamless vehicular movement between SAARC and ASEAN nations. The Trilateral Highway starts from Moreh (Manipur) in India up to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar. Construction of 130 km length stretch of road connecting Moreh (India)/Tamu (Myanmar) to Kalewa in Myanmar has already been completed by Border Roads Organization of India.

• Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project: The Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project was jointly identified by the India and Myanmar to create a multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar as well as to the North-Eastern part of India through Myanmar. This project, which will connect Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border, is expected to contribute to the economic development of the North-Eastern States of India, by opening up the sea route for the products. It also provides a strategic link to the North-East, thereby reducing pressure on the Siliguri Corridor. In the absence of an alternate route, the development of this project not only serves the economic, commercial and strategic interests of India, but also contributes to the development of Myanmar, and its economic integration with India.

• Economic Relationship: South East Asia-India economic relationship has grown remarkably starting 2002, there is immense potential to grow the relationship further through both trade and investment and by India integrating into the Asian value chain. The recently implemented investment agreement along with the ‘Make in India’ initiative should help such integration, targeting sectors like electronics and pharmaceuticals. India’s trade advantage as an exporter of professional services and IT-related services should see greater exports with the implementation of the services agreement.

India is looking to negotiate Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with the South East Asian nations so as to

integrate almost 40% of the global population into an economic block. India has also concluded CEPA with Singapore and is having Free Trade agreements with various Nations. Various emerging economies in the region are interested in investing into Infrastructure projects in India (Singapore Investing in Amravati in Andhra Pradesh) and also contributing towards ‘Make in India’ project

• Energy Security: India, in need to diversify the sources of its import of oil, is looking towards the hydro-carbon reserves in the Continental Shelves of South China Sea. The recent leasing of sector to ONGC from Vietnam is a step in this direction. Though, China is expressing its opposition, the visit of President to Vietnam and Cambodia in 2016, further cemented the bilateral relationships.

Challenges in Relationships• China’s Impact: China’s bullying behavior has

been evident in its actions and pronouncements in the South East Asia, particularly in the South China Sea. India’s policy towards the reason was more towards trade and investment while keeping out of the strategic tussles. But , in the current context, India need to be more decisive in its approach towards the region as other countries look towards it as counter-balancing force.

• Integration to APEC: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. India should work towards to push for its membership in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for better economic integration

• ASEAN-India FTA: ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in goods has shown some incremental progress, the trade volumes remain quite low as compared to that with India-China trade. Similarly, while India hoped to address some imbalances in its economic relationship with the ASEAN through FTA in services sector, that has not turned out the way India had envisioned.




Volatility in South East Asia• South China Sea Dispute: There are a few hundred small islands in the

South China Sea, a part of the Pacific Ocean. Some of the main ones are Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands and Scarborough Shoal — the bone of contention between China and the Philippines. China laid claim to the SCS with the communist party in 1949 demarcated its claims with a U-shaped line made up of nine dashes on a map, covering most of the area.

• Verdict of Permanent Court of Arbitration Philippines raised the matter of Scarborough

Shoal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and the court has rules against the Chinese

Stand. But, China refused to obey the order creating further tensions is region. China is also involved in creation of artificial islands and reefs in South China Sea to strengthen its position.

• Global Outlook Towards South China Sea Dispute:

US and the other western nations are wary of the aggressive stance of the China in the South China Sea. US have called for freedom of navigation in the South China sea, and have frequently sent Warships in the reason for Patrolling Purpose.

India has also exhorted all the related parties to develop a code of conduct for responsible behavior in the South China Sea. It has asked all the parties to adhere to the United Nations Convention on laws of Sea (UNCLOS).

Nine-Dash Line:

The ‘nine-dash line’ stretches hundreds of kilometers south and east of its southerly Hainan Island, covering the strategic Paracel and Spratly island chains. China buttresses its claims by citing 2,000 years of history when the two island chains were regarded as its integral parts.

India and USA are two major players at the international stage. The relationship between the two countries

has strengthened over time. It has seen a transformation from minimal cooperation during the Cold War days

to solid partnership from the first decade of the 21st century. Though there has been constant progress in the

relationship, certain impediments have come up time and again which threaten to de-stabilize the partnership

and counter the progress achieved.

India-USA Relationship

Election of new President of USAMr. Donald Trump became the 45th President of The United States of America in 2017. During his election campaign Mr. Trump had caused ripples at the global scale following the steps he proposed to take up on becoming the President. His focus on “America First” has the potential to drastically change the relations at the international level. India is equally concerned about the upcoming world order under the Trump Presidency.

Impact on India following certain decisions of Mr.Trump :1. To withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership

(TPP):w USA was the biggest partner in the TPP

and with its backing out the partnership has weakened drastically.

w This to some extent augurs well for India as a strong TPP would have meant serious losses for India.

w TPP could negatively affect India’s exports, caused issues with the patenting norms of India and could hurt India’s pharma sector.

w With weakening of TPP India is placed at a comparitively comfortable position.

2. Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Deal:w USA is a significant emitter of the Green

House Gases (2nd after China) and has been a major contributor to global warming.

w However, Mr. Trump decided to pull out from the Paris Climate Deal alleging that it gave

a better deal to "some of the world's highly polluting countries" like India and China and left the US hamstrung.

w India, he said, "makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid, India will be allowed to double its coal production; we're supposed to get rid of ours".

w India however denounced such allegations and asserted her commitment towards the global effort to curb climate change and its associated consequence.

w India is one of the most affected country from climate change, and a non functional Paris climate deal might further increase India’s vulnerability.

3. Crackdown on H1-B visas :w Following the America First policy and

ensuring that enough jobs are created for the American people, there has been a concerted effort to bring down the number of H1-B visas allotted. This is followed by making the regulaions for attaining such a visa stricter and increasing the fees for registration.

w US issues 85,000 H1-B visas every year, a sizeable chunk of the applicants are Indians. Indian students migrating to the states for pursuing a higher degree and tech companies that send their workers on off-site projects will be among the most affected by the changes to the visa policy.

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w The effects of the Act have already been felt in the Indian markets, with share prices of major tech companies plummeting. Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL were among those badly hit.

w The Act could also lead to a decrease in interest in students flocking to American universities, thereby minimising the brain drain.

About: H-1B Visa It is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa category for temporary workers. For such a visa, an employer must offer a job and apply for employees H-1B visa petition with the US Immigration Department. If approved, this work permit allows the employees to obtain a visa stamp and work in the U.S. for that employer.

Other issues affecting India-USA relations1. W.T.O. Dispute Between India-USA

• India had lost the domestic content requirement (DCR) case related to the solar cell manufacturing against U.S.A. in the dispute settlement system of WTO.

• The Appellate Body of WTO has declared that the domestic content requirement (DCRs) in India’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) violated the provisions of WTO trade agreement.

• WTO members are not supposed to insist on national content requirements that discriminate against foreign products. Governments are also required to provide “national” treatment, under which imports must be treated on a par with domestically manufactured products.

• This could cause some blemished in India’s shift towards renewable energy and its target of harnessing 100GW solar energy by 2022. This can lead to increase in cost of production due to increase in the import cost as compared to materials sourced from the domestic market which would have been comparatively cheaper.

2. USA’s contentions against India’s patent regime :• The US government efforts have focused on

ensuring that American companies receive the best treatment in markets abroad. However, the economic and commercial barriers to US companies attempting to operate in India have placed them at a disadvantage. Chief among those barriers are the long-standing issues with India’s IP framework.

• Many of the long-standing challenges remain the same: Online and hard goods piracy continues to plague the Indian market, undermining the economic contributions of India’s thriving film industry. The biopharmaceutical industry continues to face challenges in securing and maintaining patents. Most notably, Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, which mandates that products must demonstrate “enhanced efficacy” in order to be patentable, undermines the growth of biopharmaceutical innovation in India

• Additional complications like putting a ceiling on the stent prices by NPPA and confusion regarding the granting of patents to computer software have further flared the disagreements between India and USA in this regard

• As a testimony to this fact India ranked 43 out of 45 countries in the US Chamber of Commerce’s (USCC) annual IP index, just above Pakistan, which was added to the index this year, and Venezuela. Last year, India was placed 37 out of 38 countries.

• However, under India’s first National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy a number of positive administrative changes were included and it called for the creation of IP education programmes. But India refused to budge under the US pressure to agree to all the demands presented by USA.

3. Totalisation Pact between India and USA :• India had repeatedly pitched for a totalisation

agreement at meetings with US officials. Typically, Indian workers immigrating to the US stay in the country for a period of three to seven years and contribute about 15 per cent of their salary to the US social security



system. With no totalisation pact in place, these workers lose the entire social security contributions unless they complete 10 years of mandatory contributions.

4. India has also been pushing for a greater market access for agricultural export and better institutional mechanisms to improve food export• Problems faced by Indian exporters of

mangoes, Basmati rice and grapes due to unwarranted requirements and restrictions were raised. US’s Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA) and Food Safety Modernisation Act have created an elaborate system of inspection and high inspection fees, affecting smaller exporters.

Areas of significant cooperation between India and USA :1. Fight against terrorism :

• USA declared Pakistan as a “safe haven” for terrorists and flaked the country for not doing enough for controlling the menace of terrorism

• USA declared Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, a global terrorist.

These gave a short in the arm to India’s crusade against terrorism and were in line with long standing demands of India.

2. Defence cooperation :• Malabar exercise 2017: The trilateral

naval exercise between India-USA-Japan is a significant show of unity and strength between the countries to maintain the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region. The technological competence of USA would greatly enhance the potential of Indian Navy too. The sharing of best practices between the Navies could further strengthen the striking and operational capabilities.

• LEMOA : It stands for Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), a tweaked India-specific version of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), which the U.S. has with several countries it has close military to military cooperation. LEMOA gives access, to both countries, to designated military facilities on either side for

the purpose of refuelling and replenishment.

• There has been a reaffirmation of India's designation as a Major Defence Partner

• Defence has emerged as a major area of cooperation with USA emerging as the second largest supplier, after Russia, of sophisticated equipment to India.

Visit of Indian Prime Minister to USA:• Mr. Modi completed a successful meeting with

the American president in June 2017 which reaffirmed the strong partnership between the two countries. It reduced the building skepticism regarding the course that Mr. Trump was likely to follow for India and clearly showed that the partnership is expected to strengthen further.

• Joint Statement released at the conclusion of the meet include increased intelligence sharing, operational-level counterterrorism cooperation, exchange of information on known and suspected terrorists for travel screening, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, rule of law, and environmental protection. Principles of freedom of navigation, unhindered over flights, and commerce as well as the need to resolve territorial and maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law have been reiterated. This reaffirms that India and USA are on the same page with respect to dealing with the rapidly growing influence and presence of China in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region.

Way Forward:• The Indian foreign policy establishment can

justifiably feel upbeat with the results of the visit. Given the uncertainties in the run-up to the visit, the results have been most gratifying.

• The real test of the commitments assumed by the two countries will lie in action taken by them in the coming months.

• The two countries have several point of convergence and should compliment each other. A strong partnership between the two enterprising democracies would be in the benefit of the entire world order.

India-Russia RelationshipRelations with Russia are a major component of India's foreign policy. Russia has been a longstanding, all-

weather and time-tested partner of India. India-Russia ties have acquired a qualitatively new character with

enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship including political, security, trade

and economy, defense, science and technology and culture.

A brief historical background of India-Russia relationship :• India has always found in Russia an enterprising

friend supporting her in each and every endeavour.

• Be it in the field of equipping our defence forces or industrialisation of the country or strategic support in the UN Security Council, Russia has always come to India’s help.

• Relations between India and Russia have been based on defence acquisition, hydrocarbons, nuclear energy, space cooperation, trade and commerce, science and technology, culture and people to people ties.

• The already strong relations were up-graded from "strategic partnership" to "special and privileged strategic partnership" in 2010.

Recent developments1. Defence cooperation :

• Russia is the largest supplier of defence equipment to India.

• BrahMos missile-the supersonic cruise missile is a dominating example of cooperation between India and Russia in the defence sector.

• Deal for S-400 Triumf air defence systems from Russia: The long-range air defence missile system has the capability to destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km

• A joint venture to build Russian Kamov helicopters in India has been signed too. The plan is to build at least 200 helicopters in India,which is part of India’s drive to build a defence industrial base in India.

• India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is is a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India.

• The relation in defence sector thus is very strong, However, it has been a long-standing grievance of Indian armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time affecting maintenance of military systems procured from that country.

• India and Russia also have been conducting naval military join exercise named INDRA.

2. Nuclear energy Cooperation :• Russia is an important partner in peaceful uses

of nuclear energy and it recognizes India as a country with advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable nonproliferation record. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Russia’s Rosatom had signed the Strategic Vision for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy between India and Russia.

• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India with Russian cooperation.

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• The two countries dedicated the unit two of Kudankulum nuclear power plant and∙ witnessed foundation laying of its Unit 3 and 4. The dedication of Kudankulum 2 is an example of tangible result of India-Russia cooperation in the nuclear field.

3. Trade:• Bilateral trade has continued to perform far

below potential. It is essential for private business in the two countries as well as governments and financial institutions to identify commodities that enjoy good potential. Bilateral trade needs to be brought to a decent level of USD 30 billion by 2025 as against the current level of below 10 billion.

4. Boost to India’s Infrastructure sector:• Moscow’s Russian Direct Investment Fund

(RDIF) and India’s National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) would pump in $500 million each to create a Russian Indian Investment Fund. Announcements were also made to boost ties in sectors like trade and investment, hydrocarbons, space and smart cities. This will help advance infrastructure partnership between the two nations

5. India and Russia are partners in many international organizations like BRICS, G20, UN and SCO(where India’s membership was approved recently).

• The President of the Russia Mr. Putin had visited Goa in October 2016 for attending the BRICS Summit. Moreover, he attended the 17th India-Russia Annual Summit along with Prime Minister of India. At the bilateral Summit, the leaders reviewed the entire gamut of India-Russia relations and reviewed the progress made since the last summit held in Moscow in December 2015.

6. In 2017, India and Russia are celebrating 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between them.

However, there are certain issues that have recently cropped up as sources of tensions, as:

There has been a recent shift in the geopolitical setup with Russia clearly inclining towards Pakistan and China in the face of India’s strengthening relationship with USA.

The Pakistan angle :

• Russia is looking at Pakistan as a potential market of his arms and ammunition is a worrying factor for India.

• Russia’s supply of lethal armaments like MI 35 attack helicopters and SU 35 aircraft to Pakistan have raised concerns in India as all such equipment is ultimately used by Pakistan against India.

• Russia’s military exercise with Pakistan in 2017 has also antagonized India.

The China angle:

• Russia and China are gradually coming closer owing to their compulsions against West.

The USA angle :

• Russia is concerned at the rapidly expanding ties between India and USA, which started with the India-US nuclear deal in 2008.

• Also the growing defence relationship between India and USA has caused tensions in the India-Russia relations. India has so far been heavily dependent on Russian armaments with more than 70 per cent of its weapons being sourced from Russia. Although in absolute terms Russia is still the largest supplier of defence equipment to India, its share in overall imports has progressively declined.

• Most recently, India’s reported decision to sign the three ''foundational'' defence Agreements with USA, viz., Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geo-spatial Cooperation, has surfaced as a cause of serious concern for Russia.

• The latter feels that India is virtually entering into a military alliance with USA, which will severely restrict Russia's ability to share sophisticated defence technology with it.

Way forward for India-Russia relations:• Both the countries should look to consolidate

further the already strong ties and minimize the recent blemishes.




• Exchange of visits among reputed and established Think Tanks of the two countries needs to be stepped up. Collaboration between educational institutions also needs to be promoted. Scholars and academics have always played a critical role in promoting cooperation between the two countries.

• The recent agreement of India with Iran on the construction of the Chabahar seaport, associated rail-road linkages and development of the International North-South Transport

Corridor has the potential to spur ties between India and Russia as well. This opportunity must be capitalized upon properly.

• India and Russia are natural allies. It is in the interest of both countries to have vibrant relations. The leadership of the two nations represented by impactful persons as Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin need to strengthen bilateral ties in the spheres of strategic, political, security, nuclear energy, hydrocarbons, defence procurement, academia and people to people relations.

INDIA-EUROPE RelationshipThe European continent is characterized by high standards of life, developed countries marked by prosperity

and affluence, presence of immense opportunities for learning and growing, strong economic credentials and

robust political institutions. In the light of this background, it becomes imperative for India to establish solid

and valuable links with the European countries. India is seen to achieve the same through her relations with

the European Union at large.

Background of India-European Union (EU) relations :India-EU relations date to the early 1960s, with India being amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community. A cooperation agreement signed in 1994 took the bilateral relationship beyond trade and economic cooperation. The first India-EU Summit took place in Lisbon in 2000 and marked a watershed in the evolution of the relationship. Since then, thirteen annual Summits have been held with the latest being held at Brussels in March 2016 adopting the India-EU Agenda 2020. This Agenda lays down a road map for cooperation on a wide range of issues including nuclear cooperation, investments, Internet Governance, climate change, 5G communications etc.

Current Dimensions in India-EuropeSome Current Dimensions in India-Europe Relations can be seen as :1. Brexit and its impact on India : (a) Meaning of Brexit

(i) It is a word that has become used as a shorthand way of saying the UK leaving the EU - merging the words Britain and exit to get Brexit

(ii) A referendum was held in 2016, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union. Leave

won by 51.9% to 48.1%. Thereafter the process of Britain exiting from the EU has begun and is expected to take atleast 2 years to reach its completion.

(b) Possible Impact of Brexit on India: (i) The overall impact in real terms is not

objectively clear at present but it is likely to be broadly neutral — as the flows of trade and investment would likely continue in the regular course.

(ii) The Indian manufacturing companies that have set a broad base in UK might face some problems in case UK is slapped with tough EU terms as conditions for leaving the Union.

(iii) Information technology firms by Indian companies in UK are also deemed to lose business as a Brexit may create recession risks that could dent IT demand further

(iv) India will feel the heat through heightened volatility in the global financial markets due to uncertainty caused by Brexit. This can also lead to depreciation of global currencies making the recovery of Indian exports more difficult.

(v) It is likely that the UK will seek trade agreements with non-EU partners, including India. Thereafter, for India, a bilateral trade agreement with the UK might become viable as an alternate to the tough and drawn-out negotiations on the EU Free Trade Agreement.

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2. Issues regarding India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) :

The FTA which is known as EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) has been in consideration between India and EU since 2007. But the two side have failed to arrive at a final conclusion of the deal owing to several roadblocks. These include :

(a) Demands by EU : (i) EU wants India to overhaul its financial

sector and has requested for various regulations pertaining to bank branches, , foreign ownership, equity ceilings, voting rights and investments by state-owned companies in foreign banks in India removed, among other changes.

(ii) Further EU has asked India to cut taxes on wines and spirits and reduce tariff on the dairy sector as well as duties on automobiles.

(iii) The IPR provisions in India-EU draft FTA also raise concerns as they will limit the capacities of both India and the EU to use public health safeguards and flexibilities allowed in WTO’s TRIPS Agreement

(iv) Apart from these EU has been imposing non-tariff barriers in the form of technical regulations, phytosanitary measures, industrial standards, conformity assessments or barriers to services exports.

(b) Demands by India : (i) India’s demographic advantages have

provided it with a skilled, competitive, English-speaking workforce, of which Europe will be lacking in the near future. Considering this, India places considerable importance to Mode 4 liberalisation. Mode 4 refers to the delivery of a service within the territory of a member with the service provider being present as a natural person. In essence, this enables free movement of individual professionals by committing to measures such as relaxation of immigration norms.

(ii) India wants the EU to give it greater market access pharmaceuticals sectors provide data secure nation status (beneficial to India’s IT sector) and

(iii) liberalise visa norms for Indian professionals.

(iv) India is apprehensive about demands of EU(like further reducing tariffs on EU goods) which might hamper the growth of domestic industries.

More recently India’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with many European countries are about to expire. India thus has formulated a Model BIT to apply to all countries which includes some clauses unacceptable to European nations.

India’s Model Bilateral Investment Treaty excludes matters relating to taxation. Also it states that foreign investors investing in India can seek the option of international arbitration only when all domestic legal routes have been exhausted. These provisions have further acted as impediments in finalizing any deal between EU and India.

3. Refugee crisis in Europe :• Europe has been facing huge influx of

refugees owing to the continuous war in the nearby Middle eastern countries. This has led to large scale problems in the European countries among which many have put restrictions along their borders in order to stop refugees from coming in. on the other hand, Germany has been quite supportive in helping the refugees in such dire circumstances.

• India has always been sympathetic to the cause of refugees. India though has not signed the Refugee Convention of 1951 but have always put forward a helping hand for refuges whther in the case of Bangladeshi, Isreali or Rohingya refugees.

• Under such circumstances India hopes that the European refugee crisis is resolved at the earliest and that the European countries take collective steps to deal with the issue.

Recent interactions between India and major European countries :

India-Germany :• The Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi

visited Germany to participate in the fourth Inter-Governmental Consultations [IGC] between India and Germany.



• India and Germany have a Strategic Partnership which the leaders of two countries have resolved to further strengthen.

• Germany is currently also one of the leading foreign direct investors in India, with around 1,800 German companies operating in India. From April 2000 to March 2017, various German companies have invested about $9.7 billion in India, which is about 3 percent of total FDI flows the country has witnessed.

• India and Germany also cooperate closely on the issue of the expansion of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) within the framework of G-4 with Japan and Brazil

• The India-Germany Defence Cooperation Agreement, established in 2006, provides a framework for defence cooperation. The High Defence Committee meetings at the Defence Secretary level take place annually and atlernately in New Delhi and Berlin.

• PM Modi and Chancellor Merkel underlined their common concern about the threat and global reach of terrorism and extremism. They agreed on the need to take strong measures against all those who encourage, support and finance terrorism

• Further, there are strong links between the two countries in the domain of environment conservation and mitigating climate change. Germany has also agreed to share its experience in cleansing rivers for making Ganga’s flow pure in nature .

India-France :• Relations between India and France are multi-

faceted, close and special.

• The Prime Minister of India in his four nation official visit of Europe visited France on 2nd and 3rd June.

• As strategic partners, India and France consult and support each other on international matters in a spirit of mutual understanding and commitment to the benefit of the international community at large.

• Leaders of the two countries reiterated their support to CoP 21 to UNFCCC at Paris and expressed confidence that the Paris Conference is significant to fight against climate change issue for the post 2020 period. In the context of America’s decision

against Paris summit, both nation reaffirmed their commitments regarding Paris Summit and criticized the decision of America.

• The Leaders reiterated their strong support for ongoing efforts aimed at defeating terrorism. They called for dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure, denying safe havens to terrorists, bringing perpetrators and conspirators of terrorist attacks to justice.

• France was the first country with which India entered into an agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation. France has been a steadfast proponent and supporter of India’s candidature for permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council

• India and France has collaborations in various fields as :

w Defence : Rafale aircraft, Scorpene class submarine under Project 75, Joint Army exercise- ‘EX-SHAKTI,air exercise EX- GARUDA, naval exercise EX – VARUNA

w Space : ISRO and CNES(French space agency) had jointly developed the Satellite for ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL), Arianespace- France has been the major provider of launch services to Indian Geo Stationary satellites., CNES MoU on Megha Tropiques satellite has been a major achievement

w Climate : International Solar Alliance has been formed under the leadership of India and France, the Paris climate deal is also an important source of cooperation.

The dimensions stretch in several directions reflecting the great bond between the two countries. These dimensions point towards further harnessing the available potential which will be a win-win situation for both the countries.

India-Spain :The Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Spain on 30th- 31st May. This was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Spain in almost three decades.

Some of the agreements signed were :• MOU on Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation.

• MOU on Cooperation in organ transplantation between India's Directorate General of Health Services and the National Transplant Organization of Spain.




• MOU on Cooperation in Cyber Security.

• MOU on Cooperation in Renewable Energy

At present Spain is a not a major player in India’s foreign policy. This can be reversed by increasing interactions and drawing convergences favourable to both the countries.

India-Portugal :• Prime Minsiter Mr.Modi visited Portugal in the

month of June.

• Interestingly Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa traces his origin to Goa and was described by his Indian counterpart as representing the best of the Indian diaspora across the world. Mr.Modi also presented the Overseas Citizen of India card to Mr.Costa.

• Major agreements agreed between the two countries included cooperation in outer space, double taxation avoidance, nano technology, improving cultural ties, youth and sports, higher education, scientific research, and setting up of a Portugal-India Business Hub and an Indian Chamber of Commerce

Way forward :India and Europe stand to gain a lot from each other. The relationship is particularly beneficial for India and therefore steps must be taken to resolve the impending issues like BTIA to fully capitalize upon the partnership. The differences must be ironed out by adopting a cooperative path by both the entities.

INDIA-CENTRAL ASIAIndia has traditionally attached great importance to its relations with Central Asia. But, unfortunately, the

relationship despite close historical & cultural contacts has not progressed to the desired extent. The key

constraint India faces is the lack of direct access to Central Asia. The unstable situation in Afghanistan and a

highly problematic India-Pakistan relation have deprived India from the benefit of relations with Central Asia.

The Central Asian region :Central Asia, central region of Asia, extends from the Caspian Sea in the west to the border of western China in the east. It is bounded on the north by Russia and on the south by Iran, Afghanistan, and China.

The region consists of the former Soviet republics of: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.

Importance of Central Asia for India :• The region is richly endowed with commodities

such as crude oil, natural gas, cotton, gold, copper, aluminium, and iron, the increasing importance of the region’s oil and gas resources has generated new rivalries among external powers.

• All Central Asian States are rich and well endowed potentially with mineral and hydroelectric resources.

• Kazakhstan has the world’s second largest reserves and is the world’s largest producer — 23,000 tons of uranium in 2014. It has almost all major minerals including iron-ore, coal, oil, gas, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum etc. in commercially viable quantities.

• Uzbekistan has large reserves of gas, uranium and gold.

• Turkmenistan is endowed with world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas.

• Tajikistan is blessed with huge hydroelectric

potential. Kyrgyzstan is rich in gold and hydroelectric power.

These essential features of the region can be highly beneficial in ensuring India’s “Energy Security”.

‘Connect Central Asia’ policy• Due to increasing presence of China, India

formulated its Connect Central Asia Policy which is a broad-based approach including political, security, economic, and cultural connections.

• The primary goal behind the Connect Central Asia policy was re-connecting with the region which has a long shared history with India.

• The key elements of this policy cover many important issue areas, including political cooperation, economic cooperation, strategic cooperation, regional connectivity, information technology (IT), cooperation in education, people-to-people contact, medical cooperation, and cooperation in regional groupings.

Trade and connectivity between India and Central Asia :• India’s trade volume with Central Asia is less than

USD 1 billion, compared to China’s 50 billion and Russia’s 30 billion with the region.

• India’s trade with the region accounts for a mere 0.11 per cent of its total trade.

• Similarly, India’s share in Central Asia’s total trade is only about one per cent.

• This is mainly because Russia and China have direct physical proximity as well as established transportation links with Central Asia.

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Even though India’s northern regions are closer to Central Asia than its own states in the South, India’s trade with Central Asia has fallen short of realising its full potential because of the constraints imposed by geopolitical factors (Pakistan’s non-cooperative nature in providing India passage to Central Asia),. This imbalance suggests an obvious rationale for increasing India’s connectivity with Central Asia.Therefore, India has been exploring different variants of realistically attainable transport connectivity with Eurasia.

Some of the efforts in this regard can be seen as :1. International North South Corridor (INSTC) : INSTC, is a 7200-km-long multi-modal (ship, rail and road) transportation system for connecting the Indian

Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and thence to Russia and North Europe.

• In the absence of viable surface transport connectivity, Indian goods to Russia and Central Asia move

either through the sea route via Rotterdam to St. Petersburg or from the Chinese port of Qingdao that takes

over 50 days.

• Recent studies show that INSTC can reduce the time and cost of container delivery by 30-40 per cent.

• It can compliment the Chahbahar Port being built by India in Iran and further increase India’s access to the

region.

2. Ashgabat Agreement :

• It is an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia

and the Persian Gulf. The Ashgabat Agreement has Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as founding

members. Kazakhstan has also joined this arrangement subsequently.

• Accession to the Agreement would enable India to utilise this existing transport and transit corridor to

facilitate trade and commercial interaction with the Eurasian region.

• Further, this would synchronise with our efforts to implement the International North South Transport Corridor

(INSTC) for enhanced connectivity.



National Security in India-Central Asia

Dimension of National Security in India-Central Asia relations :• The importance of Central Asia for peace and

stability in the region is immense. This region if turned as a source of religious extremism and radical Islam may present a serious threat.

• Any advance by Islamic extremist groups could invigorate similar elements active in Kashmir. Thus these activities need to be checked.

• What is of interest to India and other nations in this region is the volatile situation in Afghanistan. Peaceful and stable Afghanistan is a perquisite for the whole regions stability.

Recent exchanges between India and Central Asia :Visit of Kyrgyzstan’s president to India:• India and Kyrgyzstan agreed to cooperate in

areas like- fight against terrorism and extremism, defence cooperation(defence exercise – Khanjar) and enhancing trade and economic exchanges received particular attention. Both sides agreed to enhance collaboration in fighting the forces of militarism and violence.

• Tourism was identified as an important sector in which significant untapped potential exists.They agreed to work on simplifying and facilitating issuance of visas.

• Six Agreements including collaboration in tourism, agriculture and food industry, youth development, training of diplomats, National Cadet Corps, and broadcasting and exchange of audiovisual programmes were signed. These will further strengthen official and people-to-people linkages.

Visit of Tajikistan’s President to India:• What makes Tajikistan particularly significant

and attractive for India is its critical geographical location on the northern tip of Afghanistan.

• Security and defence cooperation have emerged as a significant area of cooperation

• Bilateral trade between the two countries is in the range of USD 55 to 60 million which is much below potential

The China angle :• In the recent past there has been deepening

in the relations between China and Central Asia. China already has a much larger share of trade with the region as compared to India and is aiming to increase it further by its efforts to integrate the region with its Belt and Road initiative.

• China’s primary thrust has been to make use of Central Asia’s vast mineral resources for its economic development — to supply the much needed consumer goods to Central Asia and to protect itself against the threat of “separatism, extremism and terrorism” from its Uyghur minority from Central Asian territories.

Way forward for India to further strengthen the relationship with Central Asia:• India should increase the use of the

instrumentality of soft power in Central Asia to strengthen bilateral ties. There is immense interest in Indian classical dance, music, Bollywood films, yoga, literature etc. in these countries.

• More energy and vigour needs to be imparted to the area of commercial and economic ties.

• India’s inclusion in the Shanghai cooperation Organization (SCO) is deemed to provide a major boost to India-Central Asia relations.

• Strengthening of relations between India and Central Asia is to the mutual benefit of all countries involved. It is not directed at countering China’s presence in the region. India is interested in expanding its ties with the region as it will promote security, stability, economic growth and development of all countries.

India-Africa RelationshipIndia’s relations with African countries are surging ahead in the political, economic and multilateral spheres.

To an extent, this reflects India’s recognition of the economic and political transformation of Africa in the recent

years. Africa presents a huge source of opportunities and India would surely not like to miss upon these. In this

regard India is making strides towards strengthening its partnership with African countries.

Opportunities presented by Africa • In recent years African countries have

experienced high economic growth. The average annual growth rate of real output has increased from 2.6 percent in 1990-2000 to 5.3 percent in the period 2000-2010.

• Further according to the World Bank, seven out of ten fastest growing economies in the world during the last decade are from Africa.

• Africa has a significant young population who can act as agents of change and bring in growth of the African region provided they are sufficiently skilled for that.

Development partnership between India and Africa :• India has forged a development partnership

with the African countries. This development partnership is unique as it is based on a consultative model and is driven by African needs.

• The focus of the development partnership is on human resource development and capacity building in Africa.

• New Delhi had become a vigorous provider of lines of credit as part of its aid programme.

Domains of cooperation between India and Africa :• Trade and industry

• Agriculture• Energy

• Blue/Ocean Economy• Infrastructure• Education and skill development• Health / pharmaceutical development• Peace and security

The India-Africa Forum Summit :• These summits are held between leaders of

African countries and the Indian Prime Minister to further strengthen the ties between the two entities.

• It was decided to hold the summits every three years, alternately in India and Africa.

• New Delhi was the venue in 2008 (first IAFS); Addis Ababa in 2011. The third summit, scheduled to be held in 2014, was postponed because of the Ebola outbreak and was later held in New Delhi in 2015.

The 3rd IAFS was a major event with the participation of all 54 countries of the African continent. It led to several important decisions like :

• It reaffirmed that development cooperation was the cornerstone of the India Africa partnership and offered an additional USD10 billion concessional credit over the next five years.

• An offer was made of a grant assistance of $600 million

• which will include an India-Africa Development Fund of

• $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million.

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• It was announced that India’s cooperation will be in line with the objectives set by the Agenda 2063 initiative of the African countries

• Given the African focus on education and skills enhancement, India pledged 50,000 scholarships for African students over the next five years.

• Finally, since security and development are closely linked, he announced support for African efforts in diverse fields such as peacekeeping training, counter-terrorism, maritime, space and cyber security.

Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) • The idea of Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)

emerged in the joint declaration issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November 2016 at the conference of African Development Bank ( AfDB). The conference was itself special because AfDB help its meeting in India for the first time, marking a significant confidence on India as a valued partner.

• The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor highlights the growing importance of Africa in Indian foreign policy and also signals India’s willingness to partner with like-minded countries, such as Japan, in this region.

• The main objective of the corridor is to enhance growth and connectivity between Asia and Africa. The corridor will focus on four areas: Development Cooperation Projects, Quality Infrastructure and Institutional Connectivity, Enhancing Skills, and People-to-People Partnership. Agriculture, health, technology, and disaster management have been identified as the main areas of development cooperation.

Points of concern in the India-Africa relations :1. The China angle :

• Over the past few decades, China’s rapid economic growth and expanding middle class have fueled an unprecedented need for resources. The economic powerhouse has focused on securing the long-term energy supplies needed to sustain its industrialization, searching for secure access to oil supplies and other raw materials around the globe. As part of this effort, China has turned to Africa.

• China is a significant source of foreign direct investment in Africa; offers development loans to resource-rich nations, like Angola; invests in agriculture; and develops special trade and economic cooperation zones in several states, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia.

• Integration of African continent under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is also planned at a mega scale.

• China’s has also established its first permanent naval installation overseas at Djibouti.

• However, it seems India has greater acceptance in Africa as compared to China. In contrast to the economic powerhouse China, which has been accused of exploiting the continent's vast mineral and energy resources, India positioned itself as a fairer partner to a continent tipped as the global economic growth engine of the coming decades. India is committed to holistic development of Africa and ensuring the human resource development rather than exploiting Africa for commercial purposes.

2. Recent attacks on African nationals in India :• African nationals have repeatedly come

under attack in the recent past which has led to injuries and even deaths in some cases.

• Most of these incidents are seen to have a prejudiced bias against the African nationals who are often deemed to be involved in Drug trafficking and other anti-social activites.

• Though Indian official severely criticised the violent attack but refused to acknowledge the racism and projecting such incidents as cases of urban violence

• In order to improve the situation India has launched a series of racism sensitisation programmes in neighbourhoods that had a large African population. There is need to make concerted efforts to sensitise the police and the public at large about how racism contradicts the nation’s past and present ideals.




Way forward for India-Africa relations :• The journey of cooperation between India and

Africa has been going at a good pace in the last few decades. There is all round development in the relations. Trade between the two has grown from $1 billion in 1990-1991 to $71 billion in 2014-2015

• There has been a growing convergence between India and Africa on peace and security issues. Africa like India has a long coast line and is concerned about the threats such as piracy, drug trafficking and security of sea lanes. Thus the possibility of India – Africa maritime cooperation are immense.

• More recently, there has been a rise of terrorism in Africa. India has long been a victim of terrorism and therefore can share its experience in countering terrorism with the African countries if they so desire.

• India’s interaction with Africa is based on the principle of bottom-up and not top-down. This resonates well with Africa, enabling a positive understanding of India in Africa and auguring well for India-Africa relations.

• With India’s huge acceptance in Africa, India needs to further increase its presence in the continent and help it to prosper into a developed entity.

SAARC

SAARCSouth Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was founded in 1985, with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8th December 1985. SAARC is an intergovernmental organization and geo-political union of South Asian nations.

Membership:• It comprises of 8 Members: Afghanistan,

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• Observers: Australia, China, European Union, Japan, Iran, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea and USA

• Potential future members: Myanmar has expressed interest in being upgraded from observer to a full member of the grouping.

Its Secretariat was set up on 17th January, 1987 at Kathmandu.

Summits:• 17th Summit was held in 2011 in Maldives

• 18th Summit was held in 2014 in Nepal

• 19th Summit was to be held in 2016 in Pakistan, but it was cancelled due to 6 countries (all except Nepal and Pakistan) pulling out of the summit in the aftermath of the Uri attack in India.

Objectives and Principles:Objectives of the association as per the SAARC Charter are:

• To promote the welfare of the peoples of SOUTH ASIA and to improve their quality of life;

• To accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials;

• To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of SOUTH ASIA;

• To contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;

• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields;

• To strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;

• To strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests; and

• To cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

The key principles of the association are:• Cooperation within the association will be based

on sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and non-interference in internal affairs of other states, political independence and mutual benefit.

• Such cooperation will not substitute, rather it would complement bilateral and multilateral cooperation

• Such cooperation should not be inconsistent with bilateral and multilateral obligations.

• The charter stipulates that decision would be taken unanimously.

Importance of SAARC:• The region represents 3% of world's area; 21% of

world's population and 3.8% of global economy.

• 11 stated areas of cooperation are: agriculture; education; culture and sports; population, health and child welfare; environment; rural development; transport; tourism; science and technology; communications; prevention of drug trafficking and drug abuse; women development.

• All the member countries share a natural boundary in the form of Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, thus they are termed as natural allies.

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• All the member countries have several convergences in terms of culture and a common history. This makes the grouping more important, and also provides for many opportunities of cooperation.

• All the countries share common problems like poverty, unemployment, ethnic and religious diversities etc., and a common regional platform can help tackle these issues with far more vigor.

• All the countries share borders with India, and a common market can easily be created among the members, which could give a boost to intra-region trade and lead to economic development. SAARC can develop on the lines of ASEAN, which is one of the most successful regional grouping.

Developments:• SAFTA: South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)

was launched in 2006.

w It was envisaged as a first step towards a Customs Union, Common market and Economic Union.

w As per the agreement, SAARC members brought their duties down to 20% by 2009. SAARC exports increased from $ 206.7 billion in 2009 to $ 354.6 billion in 2012.

• SAARC Satellite: India launched the SAARC satellite, for use by SAARC members. It is a navigation satellite, and the total cost of launching the satellite was met by the Indian Government.

w Beneficiaries of the satellite will be: Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives (all SAARC members except Pakistan).

w The satellite has a mission life of 12 years.

w PM Modi hailed the satellite as an invaluable gift from India to South Asia, and that it would help address South Asia's economic and developmental priorities.

w The launch of the satellite has been hailed as a great step in making SAARC grouping functional again.

• 2nd SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism was held in New Delhi in 2016:

w Delegates from all 8 members participated in the conference.

w The discussion involved key issues of terrorism and measures needed to strengthen SAARC anti-terrorism mechanism.

w The members agreed towards operationalizing SAARC Terrorist Offences Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and SAARC Drugs Offences Monitoring Desk (SDOMD)- in order to strengthen the combat efforts against terrorism.

• Mahashangarh, a 3rd century BC site in Bangladesh was declared the SAARC cultural capital for 2016-17. As the cultural capital, the historic place will host festivals on films, food, literature and dances for a year.

• BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement: BBIN consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. The sub-grouping aims to promote safe, environmentally sound and economically efficient road transport in the sub-region.

w Except Bhutan, the other 3 countries have signed the agreement.

w SAARC Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) was not signed during the 18th SAARC Summit due to reservations from Pakistan. But the SAARC Declaration of the 18th summit encouraged member states to initiate sub-regional measures to enhance connectivity, and thus the BBIN MVA was pursued among these 4 SAARC members.

• Disaster Mitigation:

w SAADMEx (South Asian Annual Disaster Management Exercise): It is a simulation exercise on disaster management in the SAARC region, which is being led by India.

w It aimed at augmenting current levels of preparedness (individual as well as joint) of member countries in rescue, relief and response operation during disasters.

Analysis:• In more than 30 years of its formation, as

compared to other regional organizations like EU and ASEAN, SAARC is far behind. Multiple factors have led to this state, and SAARC is largely seen as a non-functional body.

• It has not yet delivered on its promises. Though SAFTA was signed, it has had limited impact on intra-region trade and has not been able to achieve its potential.



• Failure of SAARC can be clearly highlighted by the fact that in spite of being more than 30 years old, the grouping has failed to come up with transport linkages among its members. This should be treated as a priority, as it could give immense boost to trade in the region.

• The reasons for SAARC being retarded are:

w Fear psychosis among SAARC members’ viz-a-viz India's achievements in many spheres (military strength, economic growth, technology, nuclear strength etc.). Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc. feel dwarfed by the Indo-centricity of the region.

w The success of SAARC has remained a prisoner of Indo-Pakistan rivalry.

w The security and political deviations among member countries over-shadows the prospects of economic and socio-cultural convergences. Conflicting issues among the members operate as a stumbling bloc in the way of their cooperation.

w Failure of civil society organization, which is present in the region, to act as a link between the member states has also led to slow growth and cooperation among the member countries.

• Inter-regional trade among SAARC members is very as compared to ASEAN. The reasons for this are:

w Most South Asian countries are primary producers, therefore they tend to export similar items and thus compete with each other.

w South Asian countries (except Sri Lanka) have high rate of tariff and non-tariff barriers, which constraints expansion of intra-regional trade.

w The region lacks transport and information linage among the members, which poses a serious problem for expansion of trade in the region.

w There are political differences and a lack of willingness to create trade complementarities among the leaders of the member countries, which is contributing to low level of intra-regional trade.

Way forward:• A functional SAARC can act as a bridge between

East Asia which is rich in human resources and technology; and the West and Central Asian

countries which are rich in natural resources and finance. SAARC's massive population and educated population could complement the needs of both the areas (East and West).

• India should address the genuine concerns of the member countries, as it is the leading and largest country of the region. It should try to address the power differentials and gain trust of other member countries.

• SAARC Charter should be amended, and the clause of bilateral and conflictual issue not being discussed on the forum should be removed. An effective dispute resolution mechanism could help shrink areas of conflict and expand areas of trust and cooperation.

• Member countries should change their security perceptions, and aim to tackle the common issues they face like: poverty, unemployment, economic slowdown, decreasing sec ratio, corruption, environmental threats etc.

• If SAARC members make sincere efforts to make the grouping a strong dispute settlement forum, it can help make SAARC a very successful regional organization. SAARC countries should come out of the 'state-centric model' and move towards regional mindset to bring about development of the entire region.

ASEANAssociation of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8th August, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Founding Fathers of ASEAN (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) signed the ASEAN Declaration (or Bangkok Declaration) to establish it. (2017 marks the 50th anniversary of ASEAN).The grouping was formed to accelerate economic growth, cultural development, social progress, and promote peace and security in the South East Asian countries.

Membership:• It has 10 members presently.

• Members are: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam

• Observers: Papua New Guinea, East Timor

• Permanent Secretariat is present in Jakarta, Indonesia

• ASEAN is an official United Nations Observer.




Summits:• ASEAN Summits are held by the 10 member

South East Asian countries annually.

• 28th and 29th Summit was held in September 2016 in Laos.

• 30th Summit was held in April 2017 in Philippines

• 31st Summit will be held in November 2017 in Philippines.

Aims and Purposes:As per the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:

• To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;

• Promoting regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;

• Promoting active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;

• Providing assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;

• Collaborating more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;

• Promoting Southeast Asian studies; and

• Maintaining close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

The grouping is based on the following fundamental principles:• Mutual respect for independence, equality,

territorial integrity, sovereignty and national identify of all nations

• Non-interference in internal affairs of other countries

• Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner

• Renunciation of threat or use of force

• Right of every state to leads it national existence from external interference or coercion

• Effective cooperation among the members themselves

• Decisions are taken through consultation and consensus.

Importance of ASEAN:• The region has a population of approximately

625 million people, covering an area of 1.7 million square miles (3% of the land area of the Earth), and having a combined GDP of $ 2.8 trillion. If ASEAN would have been a single entity, it would have ranked as the 6th largest economy in the world.

• The grouping promotes pan-Asianism, intergovernmental cooperation and it facilitates political, economic, military and cultural integration among its members and Asian countries.

• Though the individual member countries of ASEAN are small, collectively they have become highly successful. The collectivity is seen as a string force in Asia and at the international level.

• ASEAN is an important part of Indian diplomacy, USA diplomacy as well as Chinese diplomacy. The formation of East Asia Summit (EAS) is an example of the importance of ASEAN for the other countries.

Developments:• ASEAN Charter was adopted in 2007, which

provided the grouping with legal status. The charter sets a blueprint for a community built on 3 branches:

w ASEAN Economic Community

w ASEAN Political-Security Community

w ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

• Regional Security: ASEAN faces security challenges like border disputes, natural and manmade disasters, food security, human trafficking, cross-border terrorism and insurgencies. Regional security issues are dealt through the following ASEAN led forums:



w ASEAN Plus Three: ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea are its members.

w East Asia Summit (EAS): Its members are ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and USA. It seeks to promote security and prosperity in the region.

w ASEAN Regional Forum: It is a 27 member multilateral grouping, which was formed to facilitate cooperation on political and security issues, and for regional confidence building, and preventive diplomacy.

Analysis:• The end of Cold war in 1991 allowed ASEAN to

exercise greater political independence in the region, and it has emerged as a leading voice on regional trade and security issues.w ASEAN adopted a declaration to resolve

disputes in the South China Sea, it promoted dialogue on regional security aspects by establishing the ASEAN Regional Forum.

• ASEAN Free Trade Area was created in 1992 by its members to reduce intra-regional tariffs and ease restrictions on foreign investment.

• ASEAN Economic Community's 4 pillars are: creation of a single market with free flow of goods, services, labour and investment; fair economic competition; sustainable economic development; and integration of ASEAN into the global economy.

• Economic cooperation has been highly successful for the region. As per Asian Development Bank, the bloc's economy is expected to grow by 5.3%.

• USA sees ASEAN as being vital to the success of its strategic rebalance to Asia.

• ASEAN has contributed significantly towards regional stability by building norms and fostering a neutral environment to address shared challenges. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation signed among its members to promote peace, friendship and cooperation to build solidarity is a proof of their commitment to peace and prosperity in the region.

• Issues and Challenges:w Biggest challenge the bloc faces is

negotiating a unified approach to China, especially in response to the widespread maritime claims of China in the South China Sea.

w Many experts have argued that the emphasis on consensus, not losing face, and voluntarism has meant that the politics of the lowest common denominator has tended to prevail, and difficult problems have been avoided rather than confronted.

w Maritime disputes in South China Sea are seen as the biggest irritant among the member countries.

w ASEAN members have been divided by their ties with USA and China. The region lacks investment, which is needed for infrastructure development. China has moved to fill this void, but many members are anxious of becoming over-reliant and dependent on China, and they are looking towards the USA for support. This rift between countries is also a very big issue.

w ASEAN countries have varying economic, political and social systems. Such diversity means that full agreement on an issue is very difficult.

w ASEAN has failed to confront human rights issues like that of repression in Cambodia, or the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Way forward:• In the economic sphere, ASEAN is doing great

and is seen as an example by other groupings including SAARC.

• But several experts argue that ASEAN should relook its decision making process, and remove the condition of unanimity in decisions, which is difficult to come about due to the huge diversities among the countries.

• Its Secretariat should be strengthened, and it should be empowered to take decisions.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China).

The founding members were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Except for Uzbekistan, all other countries were members of Shanghai Five group, which was founded in 1996.




The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St. Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003. This is the fundamental statutory document which outlines the organization’s goals and principles, as well as its structure and core activities.

New members: India and Pakistan joined the SCO as full members on 9th June, 2017 during the Astana Summit held in Kazakhstan.

Membership:• SCO comprises 8 member states: India, China,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

• 4 Observer states: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia

• 6 dialogue partners: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

Summits:• 2016: Tashkent, Uzbekistan

• 2017: Astana, Kazakhstan

• Theme: Future Energy

Purpose and structure:SCO's main goals are:

• Strengthening mutual trust and neighborliness among the member states;

• Promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas;

• Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and

• Moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order

SCO pursues its internal policy based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, respect for cultural diversity, and a desire for common development, while its external policy is conducted in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, non-targeting any third country, and openness.

Heads of the State Council is the supreme decision making body in SCO.

Main areas of cooperation:• Political and diplomatic cooperation

• Trade and economic cooperation

• Cultural and humanitarian cooperation

• Cooperation on security: SCO is centered on its member nation's Central Asian countries security related concerns. The problems they face are that of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

w SCO signed the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in 2007 to broaden the cooperation on issues such as security, crime and drug trafficking.

• Military activities: The organization's activities are expanding towards increased military cooperation, intelligence sharing and counter terrorism. Member countries are also taking up joint military exercises.

Relations of SCO with the West:Many people are of the belief that the original purpose of SCO was to serve as a counterbalance of NATO, and also to avoid conflicts that would give an opportunity to the USA to intervene in areas bordering Russia and China.

Recent developments:• India and Pakistan were admitted as full

members in 2017 during the Astana summit. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40% of humanity and nearly 20% of the global GDP.

w With the expansion, SCO has become the world's most populous and largest regional cooperative organization, which will bring unprecedented development capacity and cooperation potential.

• SCO focused its attention in combating terrorism in Central Asia and especially at the borders of Xinjiang, China’s Uygur Muslim province where Beijing is battling against separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

• In Astana, SCO leaders signed a convention on combating extremism and a declaration on joint fight against international terrorism.

• China will assume the rotating presidency of the SCO after the Astana summit and will host the organization’s next annual gathering in 2018.



Benefits for India joining SCO:• India, one of the largest energy consuming

countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas.

• With India as its member, SCO can play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.

• India is keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

Analysis:• SCO is being seen as an organization which

can bring about change in the world order and international organizations due to its membership which includes of India, China and Russia.

• All members of SCO are facing terrorism; hence such a grouping can play a very great role in combating terrorism. The recent convention on combating extremism, and the declaration on joint fighting against international terrorism are proofs that SCO is heading towards the right and much needed direction.

• Some issues that the grouping is facing are:

w Lack of an economic agenda has limited the scope of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

w SCO has not been able to develop a constructive economic agenda:

s Energy cooperation (one of the key goals of SCO) has remained dormant. Most energy cooperation between SCO members is happening bilaterally.

s China had proposed a SCO Development Bank in 2010, which remains a non-starter till now.

w One of the key reasons behind the SCO’s stunted growth in regional economic and strategic matters is the complicated dynamics between China and Russia. Neither has been willing to concede each other greater turf. India’s entry in the forum at this point in time would be visualized as a balancing factor for both.

Way forward:• The combined population of China and India

makes it an international grouping covering largest populations.

• SCO is the only platform where India, China and Pakistan come together, hence the grouping can be used to improve the bilateral relations between these countries.

• SCO can play a key role in stabilizing Afghanistan, which is country of interest to almost all its members.

• SCO should cooperate with United Nations and other international organizations to tackle issues of security and drug trafficking from Afghanistan and surrounding areas.

• In the face of rise of protectionism and regional security, SCO should adhere to and support trade liberalization, and facilitate and promote the process of economic integration.

• SCO should promote security cooperation to combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism in a more precise and efficient manner, so as to safeguard the sovereignty and homeland security of all members and maintain the regional peace and stability.

• The SCO has the potential to play a strategically important role in Asia given its geographical significance.

• The economic relations between the countries need to be strengthened so that one of the primary objectives of forming the grouping is attained.

BIMSTECBay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization which comprises of 7 member states which are in the littoral and adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal, thus constituting a contiguous regional unity.

Formation: Formed in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It was initially formed with 4 member states (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand). Myanmar became a member in 1997, followed by Nepal and Bhutan in 2004. BIMSTEC is celebrating 20 years of its formation in 2017.




Membership:• South Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan,

India, Nepal and Sri Lanka

• 2 South east countries: Myanmar and Thailand

• Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh

Summits:• 1st Summit was held in 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand

• 2nd Summit was held in 2008 in New Delhi, India

• 3rd Summit was held in 2014 in Myanmar

• 4th Summit will be held in 2017 in Nepal

Objective:As per the BIMSTEC Declaration, its objectives are:• To create an enabling environment for rapid

economic development through identification and implementation of specific cooperation projects in the sectors of trade, investment and industry, technology, human recourse development, tourism, agriculture, energy, and infrastructure and transportation.

• To accelerate the economic growth and social progress in the sub-region through joint endeavors in a spirit of equality and partnership.

• To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, technical and scientific fields.

• To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional and technical spheres.

• To cooperate more effectively in joint efforts that are supportive of and complementary to national development plans of Member States which result in tangible benefits to the people in raising their living standards, including generating employment and improving transportation and communication infrastructure.

• To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

• To cooperate in projects that can be dealt with most productively on a sub-regional basis and make best use of available synergies among BIMSTEC member countries.

• It was formed to harness shared and accelerated growth through mutual cooperation in different areas of common interests by mitigating the onslaught of globalization and by utilizing regional resources and geographical advantages.

• It is a sector driven cooperative organization, with 14 sectors identified for cooperation. Some of these sectors are: energy, transport, tourism, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people to people contact, climate change, agriculture, poverty alleviation etc.

• Founding principles of BIMSTEC are:

w Cooperation within BIMSTEC will be based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and political independence, no-interference in internal affairs, peaceful co- existence and mutual benefit.

w Cooperation within BIMSTEC will constitute an addition to and not be a substitute for bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation involving the Member States.

Importance of BIMSTEC:• BIMSTEC countries are home to around 1.5 billion

people, constituting 22% of global population, and represent a combined GDP of 2.7 trillion $.

• The region constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia, and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.

• BIMSTEC has established a platform for intra-regional cooperation between SAARC and ASEAN members.

• Importance of BIMSTEC for India:w India is the biggest member of BIMSTEC;

therefore India has to make BIMSTEC effective to show leadership at the international level.

w With SAARC being rendered virtually ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation from Pakistan in many areas, India is giving more importance to BIMSTEC in recent times.

w BIMSTEC is an opportunity for India to engage with Southeast Asian countries.

w It provides India with scope for: s Direct connectivity with Southeast Asia

via North East India, and Myanmar s Potential access to alternative energy

resources in Myanmar s Economic opportunities which are

available in ASEAN region s The PM recently described BIMSTEC

as a natural platform to fulfill India's key foreign policy priorities of 'Neighborhood First' and 'Act East'.



• Connectivity projects are of importance:

w Kaladan Multimodal Projects: It seeks to link India and Myanmar, by connecting Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar, and then to Mizoram by river and road.

w Asian Trilateral Highway: It seeks to connect India and Thailand via Myanmar. The highway will run from Moreh (Manipur) to Mae Sot (Thailand), and represents a significant step towards establishing connectivity between Indian and South East Asian countries.

w BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal): The 4 countries have signed a pact for movement of goods and vehicles among them (Bhutan Parliament has refused to sign it citing environmental reasons; other 3 members have signed it).

Developments:• BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach summit was held

at Goa in October 2016. This highlights the importance of BIMSTEC for India.

• India has announced that it is seeking to expand UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme to BIMSTEC countries.

• The grouping has identified 14 priority sectors, and has signed a Free Trade Agreement (in 2004), and a Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking (in 2009).

• India has signaled its renewed interest in the grouping. It is already the lead country for 4 priority sectors: transportation and communication, environment and disaster management, tourism, counter-terrorism and trans-national crimes.

• BIMSTEC is trying to sign a Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

• Goa declaration stated that BIMSTEC needs to have a Coastal Shipping Agreement to allow member states to trade feely within the sub-region.

• Indian Cabinet has approved a proposal for signing a MoU with BIMSTEC member states for establishing BIMSTEC grid inter-connections.

Issues/Challenges:• Despite its huge potential in terms of enhancing

regional cooperation, BIMSTEC has long suffered from lack of resources and proper coordination

among its member states. This can be seen by the fact that so far only 4 summits have been held; and it took 17 years for BIMSTEC to establish its permanent secretariat in Dhaka in 2014.

• Country specific criticisms are:

w Thailand and Myanmar are criticized for ignoring BIMSTEC in favour of ASEAN.

w India (largest member in the grouping) has been criticized for not providing a strong leadership to the grouping.

• Key institutional factors which held back BIMSTEC were absence of a permanent secretariat for a long time, and lack of commitment to invest in several priority areas.

Way forward:• The renewed interest among the members should

be harnessed by India by providing the grouping a strong leadership, and taking initiatives. The ongoing projects should be implemented efficiently, and new projects should be initiated.

• For BIMSTEC to become an enabler of regional cooperation, it would have to evolve as an organisation that works through a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach.

• People centric approach might work for BIMSTEC as it seriously lags behind ASEAN and other regional organizations in terms of people-to-people contacts.

• The organization needs to focus on fewer priority areas for purpose of better implementation.

• Projects which are economically feasible and result-driven should be taken up at this point. This would make BIMSTEC more credible, and boos the enthusiasm of its members.

• BIMSTEC region is notable for its diversity, so its member states should build on the regional synergies, and work towards utilizing the available resources in the most optimal manner.

BRICSThe acronym BRIC was formulated by Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs in 2001, in a report on growth prospects of Brazil Russia, India and China, which together represent a significant share of the world's population and GDP. As per the report, these countries would be amongst the world's largest economies in the next 50 years. BRIC converted to BRICS with the addition of South Africa in 2010.




All the 5 members of BRICS are leading developing or newly industrialized countries, but they have distinct features like large, fast-growing economies having significant influence on regional affairs, and all the 5 are member of G-20.

Membership:Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

Summit:• 1st Summit: Russia, 2009• 2nd Summit: Brazil, 2010• 3rd Summit: China, 2011• 4th Summit: India, 2012 (New Delhi Summit:

Proposal to create a joint BRICS Development Bank was introduced)

• 5th Summit: South Africa, 2013• 6th Summit: Brazil, 2014 (Fortaleza Summit: This

summit led to creation of the New Development Bank or BRICS Bank)

• 7th Summit: Russia, 2015• 8th Summit: India, 2016

Objectives:The grouping was formed for mutual interest in the economic sphere, but the agenda of BRICS has widened over the years to encompass topical global issues too.

The objectives of BRICS are:

• It aims to enhance market access opportunities and facilitate market inter-linkages

• It aims to promote mutual trade and investment, and create a business-friendly environment for investors and entrepreneurs in all BRICS countries.

• They aim to strengthen macro-economic policy coordination, and build resilience to external economic shocks

• They strive for inclusive economic growth in order to eradicate poverty, and address issues of unemployment and promote social inclusion

• Overall, the platform aims to promote peace, prosperity, security and development in a multipolar, interconnected and globalized world.

With respect to the world, the objectives of BRICS are:

• BRICS countries act as a group to promote a more legitimate international system, including advocacy for reform of the UN Security Council.

• BRICS is a South-South framework for cooperation.

• It aims to act as a bridge between developed and developing countries. Example, in WTO, BRICS countries are trying to promote a fair order regarding the agricultural policies.

• BRICS can play an increasingly important role in assisting developing countries in gaining an advantage in trade and climate change negotiations at the global level.

• Creation of New Development Bank and Contingency Reserve can increase the bargaining power of developing countries.

• All these countries have a shared interest in challenging the current governance of Western financial institutions like IMF and World Bank.

Principles:BRICS works on the following principles:

• Full respect for the sovereignty of the member states

• Commitment to international law and recognition of the central role of UN on peace, security and development

• Bilateral relations among these countries have been conducted on the principles of non-interference, equality and mutual benefit.

• Openness, sharing of information and consensus in decision making

• Recognizing the multipolar nature of global economic and financial system

Importance:• The 5 countries combined represents 43% of

global population, their combined GDP is 30% of global GDP, and they have a 17% share in world trade.

• BRICS represents Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America which gives their cooperation a trans-continental dimension which makes it more valuable and significant.

• BRICS economies have been regarded as the engines of the global economic recovery, which underscores the changing roles of these countries in the contemporary world scenario.

• In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, BRICS countries were influential in shaping the macro-economic policies in the G-20 meetings.



• In the present multipolar world, BRICS countries are helping the cause of developing countries and are key stakeholders in global decision making involving developing countries.

• With negotiations in WTO and climate change becoming important, the coming together of BRICS as a grouping has become more significant

Developments:• BRICS bank or New Development Bank (NDB)

has been set up.

• BRICS agrees to set up credit rating agency: to set up an independent rating agency based on market oriented principles. This would further strengthen the global governance architecture.

• There is proposal for establishing a BRICS Agriculture Research Platform, BRICS Railway Research Network, BRICS Sports Council, and various youth-centric fora; and also to fast track the setting up of a BRICS Rating Agency” based on market-oriented principles to “further bridge the gap in the global financial architecture.

• BRICS Business Council was established to represent many industries and economic sectors of these 5 countries.

• BRICS perceives power concentration in hands of Bretton Woods’ institutions as unfair and seeks to promote alternative models of development. They have targeted governance of IMF in every summit since 2009, including Goa. They have asked for a new quota formula that would ensure that the increased voice of the dynamic emerging and developing economies reflects their relative contributions to the world economy.

• BRICS agreed to intensify cooperation against terror groups like IS in West Asia and North Africa region (WANA).

• BRICS Think Tanks Council (BTTC) in 2013 was an important milestone in the institutionalization agenda.

• South Africa to host BRICS office: South Africa is set to reinforce its position as a regional economic hub as it prepares to open a regional office that would channel funding drawn from the New Development Bank (NDB) of the Brazil-Russia-China-India-South Africa (BRICS) grouping. The office to look at funding for South Africa and the nearby region.

BRICS BankStructure• New Development Bank will have an initial

subscribed capital of $50 billion which will be raised to $100 billion.

• The five members will have an equal share for each in the bank, so no one member dominates the institution.

• Headquarters – Shanghai

• Bank will have African Regional Center in South Africa

• India has assumed the first presidency of the bank.

• Chairman of Board of governance will be Russian

• The emergency reserve fund - which was announced as a "Contingency Reserve Arrangement" will also have $100bn and will help developing nations avoid short-term liquidity pressures.

• It will have $41 billion from China, $5 billion from South Africa and $ 18 billion from remaining nations.

Need of a BRICS bank• Global financial institutions like IMF and world

bank are dominated by U.S and western countries

• IMF and world bank follows different voting power based on quota system. Though China is second largest economy after U.S it has fewer voting rights.

• The financial institution created by BRICS will reduce the importance of US dollar as a global currency and eventually it will increase importance of Yuan

• IMF cash assistance program is conditional. If a country's foreign policy clashes with US then it will be difficult to obtain a loan.

• It will provide resources for infrastructure development of developing countries.

Analysis:• BRICS has been seen as a very important force

in the present multi-polar globalized world. They have been able to put pressure on IMF to bring about reforms in quota, and they are trying successfully to reform other global level institutions and make them more relevant as per the contemporary world.




• The establishment of BRICS Bank is a step in the right direction, and has created pressure on the global architecture to accommodate the developing countries further.

• But many Western commentators have already declared its failure to sustain itself due to its inability to institutionalize and therefore implement a programmatic agenda. Without commitment towards institutions, multilateral forums have a very slim chance of success.

• Overall, BRICS has been performing well, but it has far more potential than what it has accomplished till now.

• There are multiple issues surrounding BRICS countries which have limited their ability to perform as per expectations. They are discussed below:

• Issues:

w China related issues:

s The dominance of China in BRICS is a major issue for others. The Chinese economy is now not only the second largest in the world but also larger than the economies of all the BRICS together.

s China's political aspirations are creating challenges that have made it difficult for it to make consensus.

s Manipulation of its currency by China has resulted in significant problems for the manufacturing sectors of other emerging powers. Central banks of other countries have registered protest against undervalued Yuan

s China’s ‘not so peaceful rise’, alongside its growing economic and military muscle, its growing strategic congruence with Russia, and a further tightening of its links with Pakistan pose a pre-eminent challenge for India in the competition of influence in the region and beyond. It may have other graver implications as well.

s The One Belt, One Road initiative and the new Maritime Silk Route/Road also have the potential to bottle up India and Indian initiatives in Asia.

w Due to diverging interests, there is doubt if BRICS can emerge as a unified political force.

w BRICS is a loose grouping of countries that share interests in particular areas but that play by different rules. It is not a formal international alliance. This has led to speculation of BRICS not being very effective.

w Security issues: They maintain a low profile on security issues. BRICS will never attempt to make the group into a traditional security framework.

w The BRICS have little in common. The Chinese economy is 28 times the size of South Africa’s. Income per person in India is one-tenth that in Russia.

w Types of government: Brazil, India, South Africa are democratic countries while Russia, China are authoritarian regimes

w Russia, Brazil and South Africa export different commodities, while China exports manufactured goods and India exports services.

w In the case of BRICS, the weakening of the so-called strategic triangle between Russia, China and India does affect its image.

s Diminishing economic fortunes of Russia, Brazil and South Africa, of late, have also dented its image as a flag-bearer of newly emerging economies.

s Still, the idea of BRICS remains valid though it will require hard work and skilful diplomacy to reproduce the previous plan, and avert a pincer move against India by Russia and China as they move closer strategically and economically.

Way forward:• As the BRICS grouping continues its institution-

building mission, it is important to remember that equity, redress and fairness should become cross-cutting ideals informing all initiatives.

• It is very likely that unless China is effectively checked, BRICS (like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization) will become another vehicle to advance Beijing’s global agenda. Against the backdrop of these developments, India’s instinct might be to declare BRICS irrelevant and opt out (as it is doing with SAARC and the Non-Aligned Movement). However, this is unlikely to serve India’s long-term interests.



w Opting out of existing groupings will simply allow China a free hand (even in those organizations where it is not a member but has loyal proxies). Instead, it might be better for India to remain engaged and to counter China where possible.

• Clearly, there is a need to revive the forgotten India, Brazil, South Africa group (IBSA)-perhaps enlarge it to include Turkey, Indonesia, South Korea and the like to develop alternatives to China-centric groupings.

• Similarly, India also needs to invest more in building groups that bridge the north-south divide. One such group is the G4 (Brazil, India,

Germany and Japan) aspirants to the UN Security Council.

w The group has solely focused on UNSC till now, might be time for them to enlarge agenda to other avenues.

• BRICS countries should now begin to work together on establishing Free Trade Area (FTA).

• BRICS, like ASEAN and SCO, can invite 'dialogue partners and observers' from various parts of the globe, especially the developing countries. This would provide them with greater responsibility of the developing countries, and might give them with a much needed enthusiasm to fast track processes and institutionalization.

TPP, TTIP and RCEP

TPP TTIP RCEP

Full form Trans-Pacific Partnership Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

What is it TPP is an agreement among the Pacific ocean countries to deepen economic ties among them.

Proposed trade agreement between European Union and USA

Proposed free trade agreement between ASEAN and 6 other countries.

Members 12 countries:

• USA

• Japan

• Australia

• Peru

• Malaysia

• Vietnam

• New Zealand

• Chile

• Singapore

• Canada

• Mexico

• Brunei

All 28 countries of EU and USA.

10 ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and

6 countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements:

• Australia

• China

• India

• Japan

• South Korea

• New Zealand




TPP TTIP RCEP

Aim • Pact aims to deepen economic ties between its member countries, slash tariffs and foster trade to boost growth. It may also lead to a closer relationship on economic policies and regulations.

• It could lead to creation of a single market, like the EU.

• It also aims to balance the trade dominance of China and India in East Asia.

• To promote trade and multilateral economic growth in the Trans-Atlantic countries. It is one of the largest bilateral trade agreements ever negotiated.

• It would liberalize one-third of global trade, and create millions of new jobs.

It is viewed as an alternative to TPP, and aims to promote trade and economic growth for the member countries.

Intended benefits

• It removes tariffs on goods and services, sets reciprocal trade quotas, and removes non-tariff barriers to trade.

• It is expected to increase exports by $ 300 billion per year by 2025.

• It has the potential to create a huge number of jobs.

As per the European Commission, TTIP could boost EU's economy by 120 billion Euros; it could boost the US economy by 90 billion Euros and rest of the world's economy by 100 billion Euros.

It could boost the trade among the member countries, and lead to increased intra-region trade and investment.

Issues • Agreement regarding patents will reduce the availability of cheap generics, which could have an impact on the developing countries and poor people.

• It has been argued that Free trade agreements contribute to income inequality.

• It sets very stringent intellectual property rights, and labour laws.

• It has been criticized for reducing regulatory barriers to trade for businesses, which include food safety laws, environment legislations etc. which can have a negative impact.

• It has been criticized for being closed door discussions, thus making it undemocratic.

• Criticized for forcing India to end its cheap supply of generic medications.

• The negotiations include countries which have divergent interests, which is delaying the negotiation process.

Present status

USA has withdrawn from the agreement; hence it has not come into force as of now, and might die out due to USA withdrawal.

It is being negotiated. It is being negotiated.



TPP TTIP RCEP

Impact on India

TPP was expected to have a negative impact for India in the short term, and could have led to reduction of exports from India to the members of TPP.

Also, the agreement has very stringent intellectual property right rules, which will impact India's trade with the member countries significantly.

USA and EU account for 29.6% of India's exports, therefore TTIP would have a negative impact on India's exports. Indian exporters will be disadvantaged—should the TTIP facilitate the emergence of an integrated, and arguably more inward-looking, trans-Atlantic market.

RCEP is expected to give a boost to Indian exports, but it could also lead to an increase in dumping from China due to lower tariffs.

India is against any clause which may impact the generic drug industry present in India, and this is a point of contention till now.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Why it was in news?• United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention had nullified Chinese claims on practically the whole of South China Sea and their right to Spartly islands.

• India to lose permanent membership at Commission on Legal Continental Shelf part of UNCLOS due to failure to apply on time for the elections.

Introduction• United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea (UNCLOS) or Law of the Sea Convention defines the right of the countries with regards to the water bodies surrounding them and the distribution of marine resources among the nations of the world.

• It acts as guideline in case of any marine disputes and international institutions like Permanent Court for Arbitration uses it to pronounce its judgments.

• It became effective in 1994 and has 160 signatories to it.

• The purpose of the convention was to settle the disputes arising due to the territorial claims on water bodies by nations.

• It sets the territorial limits, navigational limits, transit regimes, Exclusive economic zones, continental shelf , sea bed mining and deep sea

exploration rights and research rights on a given ocean area.

UNCLOS and INDIA• India became a member of the UNCLOS in 1982.

• India was among the first nations to sign the UNCLOS.

• India has always respected the decisions by the UNCLOS in terms of all maritime disputes. India respected the decision of UNCLOS on the maritime dispute with Bangladesh.

• In the recent South China Sea dispute India has urged China to respect the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as the decision is based on UNCLOS.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)India hosted the 50th anniversary celebrations for UNCITRAL at New Delhi.

Introduction• United Nations Commission on International

Trade Law or UNCITRAL was established in 1966 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to promote and harmonize international trade by developing an international trade mechanism.

• In international trade it is UN`s core legal body. It specializes in commercial law.




• The term of membership is of 6 years and it has a total of 60 members. The member distribution is 14 from Asia, 14 from Africa, 10 Latin American and Caribbean, 8 Eastern European and 14 western European and other states.

• Its prime objective is to reform, modernize and develop a consort for the international trade and business. By this UNICTRAL wants to achieve faster growth, higher living standards, and new opportunities through commerce.

• UNICTRAL has tried to achieve this objective by making new, relevant, equitable and harmonized rules on business and trade transactions.

w UNICTRAL has tries to achieve its objective by:

w Universally acceptable conventions, model laws and rules.

w It provide support in law making and has also made model Legal and legislative guides and recommendations for the same

w Database is maintained by UNICTRAL for uniform commercial law and is periodically updated.

w Case laws are also updated and maintained under CLOUT (Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts).

w Knowledge sharing sessions for spreading awareness about uniform commercial law are conducted at both regional and international level in form of seminars

UNCITRAL and India• India from the past has been the supporter of

Uniform commercial law. This commitment was shown in case of it being the founder member of UNICTRAL.

• India has based its major international trade laws on the basis of UNICTRAL laws. The Indian Arbitration and Conciliation act,1996; the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 etc

Being a member of the UNICTRAL has helped in India put considerable influence in international trade law. With the help of UNICTRAL it has helped in trying to make business accessible to all and not a party to some.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

Why it was in news?During the universal periodic review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the peer-based scrutiny of a nation’s human rights situations in a nation, New Delhi again came under fire for growing case human rights cases in India. It has also urged India to change the recent amendments to FCRA which has let to crackdown on foreign funding of NGO`s.

Introduction• United Nations Human Rights Counci (UNHRC)

is an intergovernmental body that deals with the promotion and the protection of Human rights based in the universal human ideals of dignity.

• It is a United Nations System.

• It has 47 members that are elected for 3 year terms.

• UNHRC helps the nation to educate, promote and uphold human rights.

• UNHRC has four major divisions

w Research and Right to Development Division (RRDD) which is responsible for the research and development of the policy for the guiding various stakeholders and world for better human rights

w The Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD) assists stakeholders in making human right related treaties

w The Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD) it is the engagement team on ground of the UNHRC which helps countries with promotion and implementation of human rights and monitor for possible violation of human rights.

w The Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Division (HRCSPD) helps in the organizational support of UNHRC and sister institutes, meetings and procedures like the Universal Periodic Review mechanism and special procedures for UNHRC and its subsidiary institutes.



Indian and UNHRC• India as a nation has always been committed

towards protection and promotion of human rights. In the 1947-48 India took an active part in Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• India was the one of founding members of UNHRC and has one of the 47 seats at UNHRC from its inception.

• India has been an active member of the UNHRC and participated in the all the issues that were raised during the Universal Periodic Reviews.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Why it was in news?• India is eyeing a permanent seat at the United

Nations Security Council through its expansion.

Introduction• The UN charter puts the United Nations Security

Council (UNSC) at the center of the maintenance of international peace and security.

• It is the second most important unit of the United Nations after its United Nations General Assembly.

• It is a powerful body as in case of dispute among nations it can issue ceasefire directives, dispatch military observers or a United Nations Peacekeeping Force(UNPKF) to help reduce tension, enforcement of sanctions of economic and military in nature, sever diplomatic ties, put a blockade or even take collective military action.

• It was established in 1946 and has 15 members-5 Permanent (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) and 10 members elected for a term of two years.

Issues related to UNSC• There has been a clamor for need for the

expansion of UNSC permanent council to accommodate the changing global political scenario. The reforms are needed in the power sharing, structure, norms and rules of the UNSC.

• Lack of representation from the African and Latin American countries to the UNSC.

• The unchecked power given to the permanent member through veto power has been another bone of contention between the nations. The reforms to UNSC are generally blocked by the Veto power.

• Perception problem: The UNGA has always seemed to be subordinated by the UNSC in terms of maintenance of international peace and security.

Suggestions for the issues:• Expansion of the Permanent group of UNSC:

It is a general consensus among the UNGA that it should be expanded. The expansion should be done either by accepting the proposal to add new permanent members or adding members which have equal rights on a 4 year renewable basis as suggested by blueprint for Security Council reform by the United Nations Panel.

• Reforms in the veto power given to the permanent member: The veto power should be reformed to have a cool off period once used. There should be case to review the veto power by the UNGA. The UNGA can also be given an overriding power over the veto.

• The perception that UNGA is subordinated by UNSC should be done away with. There should be a balance of power between decisions made by UNGA and UNSC. In some cases overriding should be given to UNGA for decisions made by the UNSC.

India and United Nations Security Council (UNSC)• India has been a member of UNSC since 1950

and been a temporary member 7 times.

• India has always held the just UNSC positions at all times.

• India is the largest contributor of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.

• Indian has been bidding for permanent seat at UNSC table for a long time. It claims can be substantiated by:

w India was one of the founding member of United Nations

w It is largest contributor of United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.

w India has an image of a soft power and a non aggressor which suits the mandate of UNSC.




w It is the largest democracy of the world and has 1/6 of world`s population.

w India is 3rd largest economy in terms of Purchasing power Parity and 6th largest in nominal terms and such a large economic force can also not be kept out.

w It has support from majority of the UNGA.

• However its claims have been countered by

w India not taking substantial leadership roles at the global arena.

w India`s soft power status has often been taken as a weakness to take hard decisions.

w China as a permanent Council member will leave no stone unturned to block India`s entry.

• How can India further strengthen its claims

w India can outmaneuver China diplomatically by using its new relationships with the United States, Japan, Russia, The EU, United Kingdom etc.

w India should keep on increasing its support from the members of UNGA.

w India should also play the emerging nations no representation card at the UNSC and ask for reforms.

w India should take up more global leadership roles like the International Solar Alliance.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Why this was in news?• Burundi, South Africa and Gambia have quit

ICC. They justified its decision to quit the Rome Statute of ICC was due to the apparent conflict with its obligations to the African Union to grant immunity to serving heads of states. Partiality towards African nations. The African Union has been persuading its member nations to withdraw from the ICC over the court’s alleged institutional bias against Africa and its leaders.

• Russia withdrew from International criminal court after published a report on Crimea`s annexation of Russia and declared it as an occupation by Russia. Russia countered charges by saying that Crimea voluntarily joined Russia after a referendum. The report declared this as an occupation because according to the report the report the referendum was a hasty one.

• Palestine has formally joined the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Introduction:• What is the International Criminal Court?

The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

• Why was the ICC established? Many of these violations of international law have remained unpunished. The idea of a system of international criminal justice re-emerged after the end of the Cold War. However, while negotiations on the ICC Statute were underway at the United Nations, the world was witnessing the commission of heinous crimes in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. In response to these atrocities, the United Nations Security Council established an ad hoc tribunal for each of these situations. These events undoubtedly had a most significant impact on the decision to convene the conference which established the ICC in Rome in the summer of 1998. The ICC does not replace national criminal justice systems; rather, it complements them.

• What is the Rome Statute? On 17 July 1998, a conference of 160 States established the first treaty-based permanent international criminal court. The treaty adopted during that conference is known as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Among other things, it sets out the crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC, the rules of procedure and the mechanisms for States to cooperate with the ICC. The countries which have accepted these rules are known as States Parties and are represented in the Assembly of States Parties. Over 120 countries are States Parties and have agreed to the Rome Statute.

• The seat of the Court is in The Hague in the Netherlands.

• The Court is funded by contributions from the States Parties and by voluntary contributions from governments, international organizations, individuals, corporations and other entities.



• How does the ICC differ from other courts? International Court of Justice: ICC tries individuals on basis of crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression where as International Court of Justice tries States for the settlement of disputes between States. Ad Hoc Tribunals: ICC is a permanent autonomous court while the ad hoc courts are temporary.

• The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations

• ICC`s jurisdiction: The Court may exercise its jurisdiction in situations where the alleged perpetrator is a national of a State Party or where the crime was committed in the territory of a State Party. Also, a State not party to the Statute may decide to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC. ICC has jurisdiction only with respect to events which occurred after the entry into force of its Statute on 1 July 2002. If a State becomes a party to the Statute after its entry into force, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction only with respect to crimes committed after the entry into force of the Statute for that State, unless that State has made a declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC retroactively

• Structure of the ICC: The ICC is composed of four organs: the Presidency, the Chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry.

• Crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICCw According to Rome Statute, Genocide

means any of the acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

w According to Rome Statute ,Crimes against humanity include murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, form of sexual violence, persecution against an identifiable group on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious or gender grounds, apartheid.

w War crimes include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict and in conflicts

“not of an international character”, when they are committed as part of a plan or policy or on a large scale.

w Crime of aggression means the planning, preparation, initiation or execution of an act of using armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State.

Problems with ICC:• Founding member nations withdrawing:

Russia, South Africa and Burundi have recently withdrawn themselves from the Rome Statute sighting ICC as a biased body. This has led to the loss of credibility of the nation.

• Inadequate jurisdiction: It does not have jurisdiction on some of powerful nations like India, the permanent members of UNSC, Israel etc.

• Lack of enforcement agencies and investigation units: It was seen that investigations led to flawed results as they were not done properly by the ICC`s investigating units. The infrastructure for punishments used by the courts is the state machinery only which can be manipulated by the culprits.

• Political prosecutions: In some cased the prosecutions have been found to be politically motivated by the State parties. These cases further debase the credibility of ICC.

• Need for state`s help in the case: ICC cannot prosecute a case successfully without successful state`s participation. So a convict knows if he becomes the head of the state he hamper the ICC`s case a lot.

Suggestions to the above problems:• Increase the jurisdiction of ICC to cover all the

nations of the world.

• ICC should have dedicated investigative agencies with greater autonomy so that cases can be investigated without any interference.

• The permanent members of UNSC should be brought under its ambit.

• ICC should make it clear that ICC does not replace national criminal justice systems; rather, it complements them.

• ICC should develop a correct funding mechanism which cleans its image of being a stooge in the hand of its funders.




• ICC should try to shun the perception of being politically motivated while giving its judgments.

India and ICC• India is not a member to Rome Statute the enabler

of ICC. The reasons o are :

w Since ICC does not have jurisdiction on major powers so it fails in its purpose as an international criminal court.

w Terrorism and nuclear weapons usage is not in the purview of ICC.

• AFSPA, abuses in Naga movement, Kashmir conflict, atrocities in the Naxalite region would be some of the cases India would have to deal with if it comes under ICC.

International Court of Justice

Why this was in news?• Kulbhushan Jadhav case: Pakistan claims

is an Indian RAW agent, was found guilty and awarded death sentence at a military court. India claims he was allegedly kidnapped from Iran and says Jadhav is a businessman with no links to government of India. India had moved to International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an immediate injunction against the death sentence on the basis of for violating the Vienna Convention on consular relations. India has won the case and the ICJ has granted consular access to India.

Introduction:• Article 33 of the United Nations Charter lists the

following methods for the pacific settlement of disputes between States: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional agencies or arrangements, to which good offices should also be added.

• After the failure of the Permanent Court of International Justice, at the end of the second world war the Four Powers at Dumbarton Oaks i.e. China, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States made a declaration that resulted in the publication on 9 October 1944 of proposals for the establishment of a general international organization, to include an international court of justice.

• In pursuance of powers conferred upon it by the Statute, the ICJ has drawn up its own Rules of Court. It is an organ of UN with the UNSC having Veto powers its decisions,

• It is seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

• The court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.

• The composition of ICJ: The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of people nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The ICJ could also appoint Ad hoc judges when the parties feel they the judges may be biased for any reasons.

• The Funding for ICJ is done by the United Nations.

• Jurisdiction of the ICJ: It is the function of the ICJ to decide in accordance with international law disputes of a legal nature that are submitted to it by States. Its objective is to bring about the settlement of disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law. Only member States can be party to the cases in ICJ not individuals, corporate or a group of people. A case can only be submitted to the Court with the consent of the States concerned. There are two types of case the ICJ Deals in,

w Contentious issues: An contentious cases (adversarial proceedings seeking to settle a dispute); the ICJ produces a binding ruling between states that agree to submit to the ruling of the court. Only states may be parties in contentious cases. Individuals, corporations, parts of a federal state, NGOs, UN organs and self-determination groups are excluded from direct participation in cases although the Court may receive information from public international organizations.

w Advisory opinions: An advisory opinion is a function of the Court open only to specified United Nations bodies and agencies. On receiving a request, the Court decides which states and organizations might provide useful



information and gives them an opportunity to present written or oral statements. Advisory opinions were intended as a means by which UN agencies could seek the Court's help in deciding complex legal issues that might fall under their respective mandates.

Problems with ICJ:• Acceptance of cases by ICJ only when both

state parties to case agree. The ICJ cannot entertain a case when one of the parties to the case is in disagreement to go to ICJ.

• Veto by the permanent members on UNSC on ICJ`s decisions. This dilutes the purpose of having an international court of justice.

• Only state party to the charter of ICJ can apply for cases at ICJ. No individuals, NGO`s and private enterprises could file a case in ICJ.

• Lack of autonomy: The ICJ lacks autonomy in choosing the judges as the seats are fixed region wise and have representatives of permanent members who are huge in number and hence may influence the decisions made by the ICJ.

• No enforcement agencies: There is no, agency to enforce and implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice and in needs to look up to United Nations. This again dilutes the purpose of having an international justice mechanism.

• Overlapping jurisdictions by other international courts like the International Criminal Court. These overlapping jurisdictions have led to the dilution of purpose of the International court of Justice.

Suggestions to the above problems:• The ICJ could take cases even in the parties

don`t agree as their might be cases of States using this to not participate in any cases at all.

• There should be provisions made that may allow individuals, NGO`s and private enterprises could file a case in ICJ.

• The ICJ should gain more autonomy and the veto power of the UNSC permanent council should be done away with.

• The ICJ should at least have the power to enforce its decisions or an agency of its own to do the same.

• The overlapping jurisdiction mechanisms should be done away with. There should be only one international justice mechanism for a given purpose.

India and the ICJ:• India has been a member of the International

Court of Justice since its inception and many of the cases have been arbitrated by the International court of Justice for India.

w Right of Passage over Indian Territory (Portugal vs. India, 1955): In 1960, the ICJ ruled in India's favor, saying that 'Portuguese sovereignty over the enclaves was subject to the regulation and control of India'.

w Appeal relating to the jurisdiction of 'civil overfly' treaties(India vs. Pakistan, 1971)

w Trial of Pakistani Prisoners of War(Pakistan vs. India, 1973)

w Aerial Incident of August 10, 1999(Pakistan vs. India, 1999)

• Justice Dalveer Bhandari currently serves as permanent judge at ICJ.

• India has always tried to abide by the decisions of the ICJ and helped in the smooth functioning of the international justice body.

International Court Of Justice International Criminal Court

Established 1946 2002

Headquarters Peace Palace, Hague, Netherlands Hague, Netherlands

Relationship With U.N. It comes under the United nations No relation to United Nations

Jurisdiction Only adjudicates for Member states. Can

give advisory opinions to UN bodies.

Individuals only

Deals In Cases All international laws Only in crime of genocide, crimes

against humanity, war crimes and

the crime of aggression.




International Court Of Justice International Criminal Court

Established 1946 2002

Was formed under The United nations Charter and gets its

powers from the charter only

Rome statute and gets its powers

from that only

Appeal mechanism Decision is binding if accepted by the

parties involved. No appeal mechanism

Appeal mechanism is there

Funding mechanism United nations fund it No proper funding mechanism. The

Court is funded by contributions

from the States Parties and by volun-

tary contributions from governments,

international organizations, individu-

als, corporations and other entities.

Autonomy Permanent members of UNSC may veto

its decisions.

Enjoys slight more autonomy than

ICJ. Although Permanent members

of UNSC may veto its decisions.

Enforcement agency United Nations No enforcement agency. Depends

on the party states for enforcement

of the decision

South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)

Why this was in news?Myanmar becomes a member of SASEC: South Asia Sub regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program of Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expanding towards the East with Myanmar formally becoming the 7th member of SASEC in 2017.

Introduction:• South Asia Sub regional Economic

Cooperation (SASEC) program is an initiative of Asian Development Bank which was stated in 2001 and is headquartered at Manila, Philippines.

• The participating members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka. They are seven in number.

• The SASEC program is a project-based partnership to promote regional prosperity by improving cross-border connectivity, boosting trade among member countries and strengthening regional economic cooperation. The various projects have been implemented in field of energy, transport, trade

facilitation, economic corridor development and information, communications and technology sectors by the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

• In the year 1996, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal formed the South Asian Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ) aimed at boosting cooperation in environment, energy and power, trade and investment, transport, and tourism. This group was formed as a subset of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and was recognized by it.

• ADB serves as the SASEC Secretariat, working with member governments to provide capacity and knowledge building, provide technical support and development partners to the member nations.

• SASEC priority areas of cooperation:w Transport: To create and improve the

regional connectivity and intraregional connectivity through air, water and land linkages for bolstering of trade and economic growth.

w Trade Facilitation: To reduce trade barriers like tariffs, speeding up border customs clearances and reducing the cost of trade between the partners.



w Energy: To Improve cross-border electricity transmission connectivity through power trade and capacity development. SASEC will also increase cooperation in energy efficiency and clean power development.

w Economic Corridor Development (ECD): ECD will be used to promote synergies and linkages between economic corridors across SASEC countries to optimize development gains. It will also help to link transport infrastructure with urban and industrial development. It will help in optimizing opportunities to bring innovation into public-private partnerships.

w The final objective of SASEC is to create a common market like the EU in their region.

Problems with SESAC:• Dependence on ADB for funds: SESAC is too

much dependent on ADB for funds which will may lead to the group being manipulated to do projects which only serve ADB`s needs.

• India is seen as a dominant member: This perception may lead to the failure of the group as a whole as the other individual members may lose their identity. This big brother image may also lead the small members to always see India as a threat to their objectives.

• There has been no emphasis on security collaboration in the SESAC group.

• Human Trafficking: This region is notoriously famous for human trafficking and with more porous may lead to a significant increase in such cases.

• Drug and Arms trafficking: This region is notoriously famous for Drug and Arms trafficking and with more porous may lead to a significant increase in such cases. The Golden Triangle falls in this region. This may also lead to terrorism elated problems in the region.

Suggestions for the problems:• A separate funding mechanism must be

developed by the members of SESAC so that they may fund their own projects and help in the betterment of the region

• India has to change the perception of being a dominant player in the group and make the other members realize that they are all equal partners.

• There should be agreements for security measures in the SESAC area as this region is susceptible to human, drug and arms trafficking.

• There could be more emphasis on cultural contacts between the people which will act as confidence building measures and help develop SESAC as a common market.

India and SASEC:• Geo Strategic benefits:w To counter China`s influence in the

region: Japan and US backed ADB has invested heavily in this area which will help India reduce Chinese influence in the region.

w Group may be more effective than SAARC: Time and again SAARC has suffered as a group because of hostilities between India and Pakista

w Gives India more connectivity for North East: With ADB support, India is presently developing two priority road corridors. The first road corridor will connect India with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan through the “chicken neck” area of North Bengal. The second road corridor will establish India-Myanmar connectivity in the state of Manipur.

• Economic benefits:w Reduction in trade barriers: s Motor Vehicles Agreement: India has

successfully negotiated Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement. This will help in fast and easy movement of goods through the region.

s Implementation of Information Communication and Technology at trade checkpoints: This has helped in significantly reducing the time in custom clearances.

s Integrated Check Posts: Have improved Land Customs Stations at key border points with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan to ease the movement of goods and people within the sub region.

w East Coast Economic Corridor: This will help increasing the trade of India`s natural resources like coal and iron ore and act as node for extractive and downstream value-added industries.




w Energy trade: India has successfully negotiated many agreements for trade with SASEC nations like Nepal, Bhutan for energy trade.

w Increase tourism significantly: Through more or less open borders between SESAC nation’s tourism has increased significantly in members like India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

• Environment benefits:w Clean Energy: SESAC is a region with a

huge potential to produce clean energy and hence will help in the conservation of nature and protection of environment.

• Sagarmala initiative: Sagarmala which is a major port-led development initiative will get boost from SESAC as it will help in increasing the chances of trade in South East Asia.

Non- Proliferation Regimes

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)

Why this was in news?India’s bid for getting into NSG was rejected after China along with New Zealand, Ireland, Turkey, South Africa and Austria were opposed to India’s admission at NSG plenary in Seoul in 2016.

India is making attempts to enter the NSG by being a member to groups like the Wassenaar Agreement, Australia Group etc

Introduction:• The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group

of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.

• Non-Proliferation Principle which states that supplier only authorises a transfer only when satisfied that the transfer would not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons is followed by NSG.

• The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was created following the explosion in 1974 of a nuclear device (Operation Smiling Buddha) by a non-nuclear-weapon State (India), which demonstrated that nuclear technology transferred

for peaceful purposes could be misused.

• The NSG has 48 members and every decision has to be unanimous. It is an informal and voluntary partnership.

• The NSG members are signatory of legally binding instruments in the field of nuclear non-proliferation like the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

• The Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or Non-Proliferation treaty is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. India, Israel, Pakistan, North Korea and South Sudan are non signatories to this treaty. The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1 January 1967.

India and NSG:• India has been trying to be a part of the NSG for a

long time as being a member of NSG allows India to

w Access to state of the art nuclear technology from other NSG members. This will allow India to manufacture nuclear energy equipments in India.

w It will be able to buy nuclear fuel, equipments and technology from any country without any problems

w India can innovate on the advanced transferred technology and export it also

w Limit China`s growing influence in the Asian region

w Help in scaling India’s Nuclear power generation and achieve energy sufficiency

• India`s bid was blocked by China on the grounds that it is not a signatory to NPT rest all states that blocked wanted to discuss the NPT criteria for entry into NSG.

What India tends to loses if it is not a member of NSG:• India will not be able to access to state of the art

nuclear technology from other members

• It cannot commercialize production of nuclear power equipment which leads to economic losses



• Always depends on NSG to grant waiver for technology transfer agreements like in the 123 Agreement that was done with United States.

• India cannot innovate on the advanced transferred technology and export it

Way forward for India:India could diplomatically push for a waiver from the NSG citing its commitment to Non Proliferation of nuclear technology. India has a good track record in nuclear proliferation and distinction of its civilian and military nuclear programs. India has signed a pact with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which lets IAEA inspect the civilian reactors at any time. India could site France case as it became a member of NSG without being signatory to NPT.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)

Why this was in news?India became the 35th member of the MTCR in June 2016.

Introduction:• The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation

of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles, and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload at least 300 kilometers, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

• The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) established in April 1987 by the group of 7 the G7 i.e. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

• It is an informal and voluntary partnership.• The category of the prohibited materials

according to MTCR are

w MTCR Equipment

w Software and Technology Annex

• The MTCR led to the formation of the International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (the Hague Code of Conduct).

India and MTCR:• India formally applied for membership to the

group in June 2015 and got it on 27 June 2016,

• India will tend to gain a lot from entry in to the MTCR club.

w Technology transfers:

s It will get access to the latest state of the art technologies.

s India can now build missile systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload at least 300 kilometers and even take assistance from other MTCR members. Like India did in increasing the range of Brahmos with the help of Russia.

w Economic benefits: India can transfer technology and missiles to non-MTCR members. This has led to trade for Brahmos between India and Vietnam.

w Strategic Advantages: This has led India to strengthen its position against China in the region. With MTCR in its kitty India can now target whole of China and Pakistan through its missiles. This will create strategic deterrence against China and Pakistan

Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia group

Why this was in news?India has been pitching for NSG for a long and after rejection from the group it has now pitched in for the Wassenaar agreement and Australia group for getting entry to help India`s case at NSG.

Introduction: Wassenaar Arrangement (WA)• The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) has been

established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations. The aim is also to prevent the acquisition of these items by terrorists.

• The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies is a multilateral export control regime (MECR). This also known as Wassenaar Arrangement (WA).




• Participating States seek to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities which undermine these goals. This is done through their national policies.

• It has 41 participating states.

• The Wassenaar Arrangement was established to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilizing accumulations.

• It is the successor to Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls, and was established on 12 July 1996.

• Every six months member countries exchange information on deliveries of conventional arms to non-Wassenaar members that fall under eight broad weapons categories: battle tanks, armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), large-caliber artillery, military aircraft, military helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems, and small arms and light weapons.

Australia group• Australia group is an informal group that seeks

to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons through the harmonization of export controls. Australia Group participants need to fulfill their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible.

• It has 42 members including the European Union.

• Australia group maintains export controls on a uniform list of 54 compounds that can be used in the manufacture of chemical weapons.

India and Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) and the Australia group• Following the debacle at the NSG India has left no

stone unturned to enter into the nuclear regimes. India is already a member of MTCR. Now India eyes for the Wassenaar agreement and Australia group.

• India has already made itself compliant with the norms of both these groups. The government came out with a Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies

(SCOMET) which align it with the terms of Wassenaar Arrangement (WA).

• India has tried to make itself complaint with the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Conventions. India has a good history in non proliferation and use of Chemical and biological weapons. After its endorsement by the US, Australia the entry to Australia group may not be difficult. The government came out with a Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) which align it with Australia group.

• With China out of both the groups entry to India`s opposition to these groups will be minimal but it will not be a cakewalk,

Advantages:Advantages that may come with the membership of Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) and the Australia group:

w Technology transfers: s It will get access to the latest state of the

art technologies

s India can innovate and build upon the technologies provided

s India can develop more advance weapons for commercial use

w Economic benefits: s India can transfer technology and

weapons to non member nations

s India can develop industries for the same in India boosting economy and provide with job creation.

w Strategic Advantages: s This will create strategic deterrence

against China and Pakistan.

s It will help in making India as a defense and technology partner to nations.

s India can emerge as a power to counter China.

Space Diplomacy

Why this was in news?• South Asia satellite (GSAT-9) was launched

recently by ISRO. This satellite was launched in 2017 and was fully funded by India. This satellite is for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region. Along with India Afghanistan,



Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka would be the beneficiaries of the satellite.

• In 2017 ISRO from PSLV successfully launched the 714 kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite along with 103 other satellites today morning in one go from Sriharikota. It contained satellites for USA, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan and UAE.

Introduction• India has made giant strides in the area of space

research and technology in the past decade. From being an importer of space technology and dependent on other countries it has now grown into a perfect place to launch satellites in space. With the cost and technology advantage ISRO has become one of the pioneer space research institute of the world and exporter of space technology to the world. This has made India a prime force in the field of Space diplomacy.

• The major attraction that ISRO has is its cost effectiveness in launching the space satellites.

• The 100% success rate of ISRO from 2010 till now is phenomenal.

• These factors have led to the growth of India as a preferred destination for satellite launches by various countries like USA, France, Netherlands, Indonesia, Singapore, Switzerland, Israel, Kazakhstan and UAE.

• India has taken a step further ahead and used this space technology in disaster management, checking on the forest cover, monitoring of the coastal, rural, urban spreads, finding mineral deposits, tracking climate change and promotion of climate smart agriculture.

• This has given a huge boost to space cooperation agreements and collaboration between the world and India. India has MoU`s in space cooperation and technology with almost all the developed nation of the world.

Space diplomacy has been done by India in following fields of geographical, social, strategic, economical and technological.

Some of the examples in the fields are:-

• Geographicalw Providing with Navigation data: With the

help of NAVIC (NAVigation with Indian Constellation) or the Indian Regional

Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) India can now provide accurate real-time positioning and timing services. This has helped India boost its ties in the SAARC region as it can help the countries as it reduces the dependency of these nations on the Global Positioning System owned by the US.

w Disaster management: India has National Remote Sensing Centre which has helped in the prediction and mitigation of the natural disasters. The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT helps in the search and rescue operations. This was used during the Nepal disaster and has helped Indian improve its position as a soft power. India shares remote sensing data with other nations under the ambit of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER).

w Finding mineral resources: With the remote sensing data of the satellites the mineral exploration has become more fruitful and less time consuming.

w Smart agriculture: INSAT has helped in predicting the weather to high accuracy and has helped the government to issue weather related information which in turn has helped in increasing agriculture productivity. India can help the South Asian region in countering the growing threat to agriculture in the region.

w Setting up of base stations in different countries: India through its diplomacy has setup base stations in different areas like Mauritius, Brunei and Indonesia and plans to establish ground stations in Fiji. This will help India in technology transfer and reducing the cost of satellites launches.

• Socialw Help in creating a prosperous

neighborhood: With the help of the space technology India can significantly improve the standard of living not only in India but in the neighboring regions also. It can help in increasing agriculture, navigations, disaster management, creation of jobs and boosting cultural tie ups through cultural exchanges.




w Solving the problems of basic needs: It can help achieve the SDG like no poverty, zero hunger, clean water by solving the problems of food and water with the help of space technology. Space diplomacy can hence improve the quality of life in the region.

w Economical w Space products services and

technologies: Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO and has gained a lot from the recent success of ISRO in Space products services and technologies. India has made many agreements with countries like Singapore, for assisting in space technology and launching satellites.

• Technologicalw Technology Exchange: India has now

become a leading power in affordable space technology. India has made MoU`s with many countries like UAE, Armenia, Bangladesh Qatar, Israel in the fields of space technology transfer.

w Gaining access to new technologies: India has now partnered with the leaders of space technology like Russia, United States to gain access to new technologies. It will help India to offer more efficient products which may help India gain significantly in the space diplomacy.

• Strategicw Enhanced Soft Power status: India after

its South Asia satellite launch had gained a lot more as soft power. Prior to India there were not many examples of such regional cooperation in fields of Space technology. This move has made India a champion of space diplomacy in its neighborhood.

w Countering China: s Increasing influence in its

neighborhood: India used its Space programme well to counter China in terms of regional engagement. The method id cost effective and very efficient. When China builds One Belt One Road (OBOR) which requires the participating countries to invest in infrastructure what India did was use its space diplomacy to counter China.

s Monitoring of Indian Ocean: India by the help of NAVIC has provided good inputs to its own military, navies as well as its neighbors in the Indian Ocean. This has helped in monitoring and countering the growing Chinese incursions in the Indian Ocean region.

s Setting up base station in Fiji: It will give India access to South China Sea and would be a concern for Chinese South China Sea ambitions.

The Problems with the Indian space diplomacy:• Competition from China: If China succeeds

in countering Indian Space diplomacy in the neighborhood it would lead to huge impact on India`s neighborhood diplomacy. India could be again looking at a scenario of Chinese presence all across itself. This threatens India`s control over Indian Ocean.

• Competition from the Private Players: Recently the private players like SpaceX have launched a reusable rocket which has significant reduced the cost of launching a satellite per kilometer. This cost advantage is on what ISRO banks upon. If the competitiveness is gone then the Indian space industry may die a slow death.

Suggestions for the above mentioned problems:• More investment in Research and

Development: The main thing in Space technology is to provide the leading technology at affordable cost. This can be done by investing in research and development of technology.

• Collaborations with the major advanced Space research centers: Efforts should be made for more technology transfer agreements in the fields of Space technology from advanced space research centers like NASA, Roscosmos State Corporation by means of collaboration and agreements.

• Encouraging private sector to invest in space technology: India could encourage private investment in Space sector by liberalizing up the space sector and promoting it by giving concessions like subsidies or tax waivers, providing them with infrastructure and training the human capital.

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International Relations - Next IAS · International Relations 3 tate of Gr o BIG LEARNINGS MADE EA SY important confidence-building measures (CBMs) in 1993 and 1996 designed to reduce