New Delhi, Dec 25 (Inditop.com) A contentious India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm-el-Sheikh and a deepening chill in bilateral ties, strains in Sino-Indian relations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US as the first state guest of the Obama White House…Here are some defining diplomatic moments of 2009:
1. Victory in Colombo, concern in New Delhi: Asia’s longest-running insurgency ended with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by Sri Lankan troops in May, triggering loud rejoicing in Colombo and concern in New Delhi about the plight of nearly 300,000 displaced Tamil civilians living in crowded refugee camps.
Sri Lanka promised to resettle the refugees within six months, but as the year ends that deadline looks set to be extended by a couple of months.
2. Clinton charm offensive: Interacting with students, businessmen, talking green and dancing with women activists, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went on a charm offensive during her five-day visit to India (July 17-20) and announced the first state dinner by the Obama White House in honour of Manmohan Singh Nov 24.
The two sides finalised a crucial end user defence monitoring agreement that allows the US to inspect high-tech weaponry sold to India.
3. Raising India’s profile brick by BRIC: In times of recession, India, backed by its relatively resilient economy, pitched for the inclusion of emerging economies in international financial institutions at the G20 summits in London in April and Pittsburgh in September, the first summit of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in Yekaterinburg in June and again at the G8 summit in La Aquila.
India’s economist prime minister’s interventions in the global fora signalled the country’s surging confidence and global stature.
4. Signs of India-Pakistan thaw: Marking the first summit contact between the two leaders since the Nov 26, 2008, Mumbai attacks, Manmohan Singh met Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari June 16 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. With the cameras zooming and microphones blaring, Manmohan Singh told Zardari bluntly that Pakistani territory can’t be used for anti-India terror activities.
5. False start in Sharm el-Sheikh: In a much-misunderstood move, after holding talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani July 16 in the Egyptian resort, Manmohan Singh agreed to delink composite dialogue from Pakistan’s action against terror and decided to include Balochistan in the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration, the first-such reference in an India-Pakistan joint statement.
There was jubilation in Pakistan at perceived Indian concessions and consternation in India as the political opposition accused the government of surrendering vital national interests. The strong domestic reaction led to a hardening of India’s stand and with Pakistan doing little to address its concerns, the chill has deepened.
6. India-US ties move to Phase III: Under a glowing white tent with a glass ceiling and chandeliers, US President Barack Obama Nov 24 toasted Manmohan Singh on the lawns of the White House at the first glitzy state dinner of his presidency, marking the “great and growing friendship” between India and the US.
The two sides set out an ambitious agenda of “global strategic partnership for a better world” and signed six pacts, including a key counter-terrorism initiative, and agreed to complete their nuclear deal at the earliest, taking ties to what Hillary Clinton has called “Phase III.”
7. India-Russia ties back on track: India and Russia Dec 7 signed a landmark nuclear deal, widely rated as better than the India-US 123 agreement, assuring fuel supply guarantees in the event of New Delhi conducting a nuclear test and a consent to reprocess spent fuel. The two countries also finalised the price of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, removing an irritant in their ties.
8. India-China ties under strain: The dragon hissed, but the elephant did not panic. Fed by media reports of increasing Chinese incursions and an unsigned article by a Chinese analyst warning of a plan to split India into 30-40 states, China-bashing became a sport in Indian media and strategic circles.
China opposed an Indian loan proposal at the Asian Development Bank and protested Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, over which Beijing claims sovereignty. But India refused to buckle.
Although both sides tried assiduously to downplay strains in their ties, Manmohan Singh partially admitted it when he told a US think tank in Washington that he had taken note of “certain assertiveness” on the part of China.
9. Battle for Afghanistan gets hotter: More than a year after the July 7, 2008, attack, the Indian embassy was again the target of a suicide bomber Oct 8, 2009. Although no one was killed, the incident once again underlined the hostility India faces from Pakistan-based Taliban militia as it continues the reconstruction of Afghanistan for which it has already pledged $1.2 billion. India has reacted cautiously to Obama’s new AfPak policy.
10. Climate change: When the global climate deal was on the verge of collapse, India, along with China, Brazil and South Africa, emerged as a link between the developed and developing world and played the saviour in striking a compromise accord at Copenhagen.
In a last-ditch effort, US President Barack Obama held talks with the leaders of the four countries to rescue the tottering deal. Manmohan Singh asked the world not to abandon the Kyoto Protocol and made it clear that the interests of the poor in developing countries can’t be sacrificed at the altar of a global warming deal.
