HVK Archives: Say o to US
Say o to US - Mid-Day
P M Kamath
()
September 4, 1998
Title: Say o to US
Author: P M Kamath
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: September 4, 1998
United States President Bill Clinton carried a lot of ideas on
his visit to Moscow. One such idea, which he publicly offered
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, was to ask him to stop all
military cooperation with India. Reason: India is in the vicinity
of Russian borders. With their newly acquired nuclear weapons, a
nuclear war in South Asia between India and Pakistan is
inevitable. But more important than saving Indians and
Pakistanis, Clinton, in a typical cold war mind set, saw therein
a possibility of a global nuclear war between the two of them.
Clinton, as Pakistan's patron, has better access to the nuclear
unclear thinking in Islamabad than the Indians. If Pakistanis are
really preparing to attack India to grab Kashmir, he ought to
have exercised greater control over the policy making process in
Islamabad. In the interest of international peace and security,
he also ought to have pressurised Pakistan's mentors in Beijing
to restrain their client state, when he visited China in June.
As far as India and Russia are concerned, there is no such alarm
over a likely nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan.
Therefore, Russia automatically getting engulfed in a nuclear
confrontation with the US, because Clinton feels a moral
obligation to run to Pakistan's aid in the event of Pakistan
starting a nuclear confrontation does not arise. Russians have
done well to tell the US President that such a proposal could
only be discussed in the context of the US military-technical
cooperation their 'NATO allies in the close vicinity of the
Russian borders'.
But will such a cessation of military cooperation between India
and Russia help Clinton's favourite cause of nuclear non-
proliferation? I doubt it. On the other hand, in the absence of
conventional weapons, India will be forced to rely more on her
nuclear weapons than merely possessing them for a minimal
deterrence as she now proposes.
And why should Russia listen to Clinton? heir accepting the US
advice will have a telling effect on the already fragile Russian
economy. A cash-starved Russia would lose a reliable market for
their arms which is annually to the tune of $2 billion.
However, Clinton has not brought any assurance of further aid or
investment to Russia except the promise of help if Russia stays
on its course of democratic development. Yeltsin cannot commit
the sin of losing sources of money.
The US, on the other hand, is smarting over its partial success
in forcing Russia, in 1993, not to sell cryogenic engines to the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The US had then
provided an alternate source of revenue to Russia by offering six
billion dollars worth of contracts. There was also a collective
aim of slowing down the Indian space programme so as to reduce
another competitor in space. Russians, on the hand, have learnt
to withstand US pressure on their independence of foreign policy
making. Recently, when US pressurised the Russian government not
to sell nuclear reactors to India, after the Indian nuclear
tests, Russians were firm on their promise to provide them.
Similarly, after the Indian nuclear tests, Russians did not join
the G8 bandwagon in criticising India. There was no question of
their imposing economic sanctions against India. On the other
hand, Russia offered to provide the Anti-Ballistic Missile System
to India which can provide security against the Pakistani Ghauri
missiles. Russia has also collaborated with India in several on-
going defence related projects, like the development of
submarines. Why should it forego a long-standing, time-tested
friendship with India to please Clinton?
And what does Clinton get by trying to further alienate Indian
public opinion? Already, the US is widely and correctly perceived
as pro-Pakistan and kow-towing to China in international affairs.
He has already made China a partner in the hegemonic management
of South Asia.
As such, India need to tell Clinton firmly that we are no longer
interested in his visit to India, if it is another exercise in
lecturing to less-informed Indians the dangers of nuclear
weapons. That is simply a racist thought. Actually, each time an
American official visits India, he also makes it a point to visit
Pakistan. For a change, Clinton can visit only Pakistan, if he is
unable to understand the security compulsions of democratic
India.
Back
Top
|
