Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: June 5, 2002
Excerpts from Defence Minister George
Fernandes's speech at the 'Shangri-La dialogue' during the recently concluded
security conference, organised by the UK-based International Institute
of Strategic Studies in Singapore
MOST analysts concur that Asia holds
the key to the future of mankind's eternal quest for peace and progress.
The demographic profiles will themselves ensure that close to half of humanity,
will reside in Asia-Asia will be the cradle for interplay between all major
powers particularly, USA, China, Japan, India and Russia. India's parameters
of security concerns dearly extend beyond the confines of the conventional
geographical definition of South Asia.
There are a variety of challenges
for Asian security. At present, the war against terrorism holds centre
stage. The evolution of events since September 22 and the December 13 terrorist
attack on the Indian Parliament, the symbol of the largest multi-ethnic
democracy in the world, has challenged conventional notions about security,
vulnerability and strategy. Re-affirming the indivisibility of international
security, these events have shaken the comity of nations out of the ambivalence
of the post-Cold War decade. These events have sensitised them to the threats
posed by terrorism, which India had long since identified as the principal
destabiliser of the world order.
No one imagined that the pattern
of medieval violence that stalked Afghanistan was a prelude to more shocking
violence to come. The supporters of the Taliban felt that this cycle of
violence could be a profitable 'export', apart from being an instrument
of state policy. It was indeed an 'export' but of a different kind, where
destinations varied from Kerala to Kashmir in India, from Aceh in Indonesia
to Mindanao in the Philippines to Chechnya in Russia and Xinjiang in China.
Today, open, pluralistic and democratic
societies have become particularly vulnerable to the destablising effects
of the close nexus between international terrorism, drug trafficking, money
laundering, criminal groups operating across borders, and illicit trafficking
in small arms. Except Afghanistan. governments elsewhere which harboured
and supported the Taliban and the al Qaeda are intact and, in one case,
are pretending to have emerged stronger. India however continued to remain
steadfast in its commitment to promoting stability based on democracy.
India has consistently followed
the principle of voluntary restraint. We have called for consensual initiatives
to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons, which still remain outside any
normative restraint, by subscribing to such political measures as no-first-use,
non-use against non-nuclear weapon states and a move away from deployment
in the hair-trigger alert mode. India's nuclear weapons capability is meant
only for self-defence and seeks to ensure that India's independence and
integrity are not threatened by any misconceived plan to nuclear aggression.
India will not get drawn into a
nuclear arms race. With this objective, India has also constructed several
CBMs with both Pakistan and China. These include early warning of missile
tests, hotline communications, limitations on the movements of military
forces near the international borders. India and China are engaged in a
security dialogue, resolution of border disputes and further CBMs through
strengthening of mutual trade links.
Major powers such as China. Japan,
India and Russia, have a crucial role to play in fostering regional cooperation
in the Asian continent. We also view China as a crucial peg of the emerging
security and political architecture of Asia. Much of Asia's future security
will depend on the way China's leadership shapes its policies vis-a-vis
many of its neighbouring countries. China has embarked upon a path of rapid
modernisation and ambitious economic growth. It is our hope that economic
development in China will help it to play a benign role in all Asian matters,
including the peaceful settlement of its boundary disputes with some countries
in the region.
INDIAS birth as a nation came through
a non-violent freedom movement led by that apostle of peace, Mahatma Gandhi,
with a commitment to economic development designed to restore dignity to
the deprived millions of our countrymen. When misconceived Islamic nationalism
was used by a section of the Muslim leadership to divide India to car\e
out a theocratic state, named Pakistan, the founding fathers of our nation
preserved and fought to make India a secular and democratic republic. For
the record, let me state here that India is the second largest Islamic
country in the world.
Some pointed questions have been
raised about the possibility of a war between India and Pakistan. Similarly,
there have been widespread concerns whether such a conflict may result
in nuclear exchange. May I, therefore, place the entire issue in perspective.
In an unintended way, the current
Indian challenges distills all the complexities that the global community
is facing apropos terrorism, post September 11,2001. India has been facing
terrorism for almost two decades. A proxy war of low Intensity conflict
has been waged against the Indian state and society by our neighbour -
Pakistan. Over the last twelve years India has been subjected to a deadly
pattern of cross border terrorism. The resilience of our democratic polity,
secular structure and the professionalism of our armed forces ha-s helped
us withstand this challenge. We have lost more than 60,000 people over
the years in the proxy war by Pakistan - "to bleed India by a thousand
cuts".
You will all appreciate that despite
all the threats it faced, India has conducted itself with characteristic
restraint. We refrained from bombing the swamp that was breeding terrorists.
Even after September 11, we have been subject to a series of attacks. On
October 1,2001, the J&K Assembly was attacked leaving 40 innocent persons
dead. India showed restraint. On December 13, 2001, there was an attack
on the Indian parliament. This was not just an attack on the structure
but actually aimed at eliminating the entire political leadership of the
country. It was an attack on everything that India stands for.
The subsequent speech of General
Musharraf on January 12 was encouraging. While words were spoken, we still
wait for action. The crackdown on terrorism by Pakistan was merely cosmetic,
as subsequent events have shown to the entire world. And then we had the
brutal massacre of women and children in an Army residential complex near
Jammu on May 14. It was a diabolical act. Innocent people were mowed down
by the terrorists including a two month-old baby. Mr. Chairman, I am 70
plus and I have seen a lot of violence, blood and gore. But the Kaluchak
killing churned my insides.
The country is angry and anguished.
The pressure on our PM, Mr. Vajpayee, to launch an attack on the terrorists
is intense. But we held back - only to have Mr. Abdul Gani Lone, a voice
of moderation in the politics of Kashmir-assassinated by terrorists.
Over the last few days, there have
been intemperate assertions from Islamabad that Pakistan may use nuclear
weapons if India takes any military action. The global community has been
periodically alarmed at this. We must look at why Pakistan is crying "wolf'
and threatening to use weapons of mass destruction. Why, after all, did
they test their missiles at this particular point of time in even the face
of global condemnation? Mr. Chairman, I feel, the attempt is to obfuscate
the real issue. I would also like to ask, why the world opinion is not
strongly reacting to such open threats of Pakistan on use of nuclear weapons.
Is this not an attempt to blackmail India and the rest of the global community?
India is focused on terrorism -
with determination. We are not threatening the territorial integrity of
Pakistan, nor do we have any animus against the people of Pakistan. We
have resolved to address the problem of terrorism both tactically and strategically.
All we expect of the Musharraf regime is that it desist from supporting
terrorism. These commitments have been made in public by the General in
his speeches of January 12 and May 27. India expects Gen Musharraf to match
word with deed.
Pakistan is ostensibly supporting
the US led coalition against terrorism. We recognize the relevance accorded
to Islamabad by Washington. Yet it is common knowledge that jehadi groups
including the al Qaeda and Taliban cadres have escaped into the north-west
province of Pakistan and also into Pakistan occupied Kashmir. We are deeply
concerned that these cadres would be encouraged to indulge in terrorist
violence against India.
What concerns us more than anything
else is that while we show restraint we are faced almost daily with tragic
news of brutal attacks on innocent men, women and children. We are regularly
faced with pictures of young children being killed along with the mother
who was trying to protect them. Of women who lost their husbands and children,
of people who are homeless, of thousands who now have nowhere to go.
The question is, where do we go
from here?
Perhaps we need to change the semantic
of war when we address terrorism. Mr. Paul Wolfowitz dealt with the complexity
of the challenge to like-minded states in the global community. His is
going to be a long campaign against terrorists and the infrastructure and
the motivational force that feeds the gene-pool
India has been grappling with the
challenge of terrorism for many years. We recognise that the military is
only one of many tools in the quiver of the state and society. We need
to deliberate at length and identify the contents of the problem. Short-term
interests should not allow contours to make imprudent choices.
In this specific case, I believe
the global community, led by the USA, can prevail upon Pakistan to live
up to its responsibilities to the global community and its commitment to
UN Security Council Resolution 1373. This is the co-operation we seek from
those who advise India to be restrained.
In India, the Defence Minister is
called the "Raksha Mantri". Raksha in Sanskrit is protection. As Raksha
Mantri, I am committed to protecting India's core interests. Terrorism
is the challenge. I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, India will not be
impulsive, neither will we waver in our determination for the simple reason
that what we have been fighting and will continue to fight is the war against
terrorism - the same terrorism which hit the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, as a part of the global war presently being fought for Enduring
Freedom by the coalition forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.
