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Asia’s regional tensions surface at defence seminar
View(s):The presentation by Dr Subramanian Swamy, chairman of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Committee on Strategic Action at the Defence Seminar 2014 this week brought no surprises in relation to Sri Lanka, reinforcing the message that India, in its own national interest, gave high priority to having good relations with Sri Lanka. It was during the question and answer session following his talk on Wednesday – the final day of the conference held at the Galadari Hotel – that sparks flew.
Dr Swamy could not have been unaware of the presence in the audience of diplomats and representatives of defence establishments of other countries including China and Pakistan, when he made wide-ranging references to regional issues. “We don’t want a power vacuum in the region,” he said, and observing that Sri Lanka is strategically located, added that it would be against India’s national interest if Sri Lanka was forced to accept the support of powers inimical to India. He said that’s what happened in the case of Hambantota port when the Chinese accepted the building contract, which had initially been offered to India. Karunanidhi with his objections had allowed a power vacuum to be created, he said. “If a country is almost as large or larger than us and has bigger capacity than us – we feel threatened.”
This drew a response from a delegate from the National Defence University of China, who said with regard to Hambantota port, that the idea was not to compete for power with India. It was in China’s interests for Asia to be peaceful, stable and prosperous she said. “As a country doing relatively well, we think we should help our neighbours.”
India not targeting China
Swamy said India was not part of any strategic tie-up targeting China. If China gets into conflict with any country India was not going to take sides. India looked forward to a ‘strong partnership’ with China he said. Observing that India respected Sri Lanka’s right to decide who it wanted to be friends with, he said “We can tell Sri Lanka when we have difficulty. We had a problem with one particular country which was encouraging terrorists to come to Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka immediately responded by taking action.”
These comments come at a time when Sri Lanka has been deporting asylum seekers, mostly Pakistan nationals, whose numbers have increased to over 1500 in the past year. A day earlier External Affairs Minister G L Peiris told Colombo based foreign correspondents, in the context of arrests of suspected terrorists in Tamil Nadu and alleged involvement of Pakistan, that “We have consistently assured the government of India that under no circumstances will Sri Lankan soil be used for such activities.”
The BJP stalwart also made it a point to emphasise that the new Indian government would not have ‘continuity’ with policies of the previous Congress regime. Referring to India’s recent decision to cancel planned talks with Pakistan, he said it came after India found that those who supported Kashmiri secession were invited by the Pakistan High Commissioner for consultations. The secessionists had protested that this was nothing new and it had happened in the past (during Congress rule). Swamy said “This is a distinctively new party come to power.”
New situation in Pakistan
Responding to a question from a delegate from Afghanistan relating to the situation following the US withdrawal of troops from that country, Swamy said India was not sure if Afghanistan wanted its ‘concrete support on the ground,’ and that if they got such a signal they would like to join China on this issue. In this connection he also referred to the ‘new situation’ developing in Pakistan where he said civil society was ‘under siege.’ A delegate from Pakistan, an army brigadier, intervened after these remarks to retort that the ongoing political issue in Pakistan was a purely internal issue. “I suggest, let’s not talk about it” he said. Pakistan was not against Indian economic cooperation with Afghanistan, or even political cooperation. “We only have our security concerns, and they are very much legitimate” he said. Pakistan was opposed to any cross-border interference from Afghanistan in whatever was going on in Pakistan. Regarding Kashmir he said it was ‘the major issue between our two nations’ that needed to be resolved, and this could only be done through dialogue.
In response Swamy asked “if they (Afghanistan) want us to come is it fair for another to tell them what they should think?” Regarding Pakistan he said India had its high commissioners there and was in the process of trying to have talks. “We have a right to be concerned” he said, querying (in the event the prime minister was forced to resign) “Who are we going to deal with? Is it to be military rule, religious cleric’s rule? We need to know.” On the Kashmir dispute Swamy asserted India’s long-held position that it was an integral part of India, “including the part illegally held by Pakistan” that needs to be “retrieved.” If India could do so by dialogue it would be happy he said but “if we have to use other means we would not rule it out.”
Secret talks on Afghanistan
The controversial Dr Swamy, who is still not a part of the BJP government and holds no portfolio, said India would not enter Afghanistan without the cooperation of China. He revealed that ‘secret’ talks between China and India, started by the previous government, have taken place on the question of Afghanistan post-US withdrawal.
His remarks sympathetic to Israel in relation to the fighting in Gaza drew a sharp response from the Charge d’Affaires of Cuba, who suggested it would be better if he recognized ‘the right of both states instead of only one state.’
While India has signaled that it wants good relations with Sri Lanka, the fact remains that China and Pakistan are also Sri Lanka’s close friends. Dr Swamy’s comments from the platform of Sri Lanka’s defense seminar should alert Colombo to the dangers of being caught up in power play among neighbouring states in the context of a rapidly changing regional scenario.