INDIA: Permanent UN Seat No Pie in the Sky

• Analysis by Ranjit Devraj (new delhi)
• Wednesday, November 10, 2010
• Inter Press Service

''The fact that Obama chose to make the endorsement in a speech delivered in Indian Parliament, the country's most august institution, as part of a summit- level meeting, is hugely significant,'' says Prof. K.P. Vijayalakshmi of the American Studies Progamme at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in the Indian capital.

'In the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed UNSC that includes India as a permanent member,' Obama said. The U.S. has so far only supported Japan's candidature in an expanded Security Council.

Vijayalakshmi told IPS that in the run up to the Oct. 6-8 state visit, Indian diplomats had actively signalled to the U.S. that support for India's long- standing demand would be appreciated.

''India got what it asked for,'' Vijayalakshmi said responding to criticism in the press and by other analysts that a seat in the UNSC was not an immediate deliverable.

A senior fellow at the independent Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Rajeswari Rajagopalan, said the reforms were not going to happen overnight and that Obama had nothing to lose and a lot to gain by making the endorsement during his visit.

''The chances are he won't even be in power at voting time and there could still be resistance from other permanent members of the Security Council: Britain, China, France and Russia.''

The five permanent Security Council members have the power to veto United Nations resolutions and this fact is at the heart of reforms to meet the power realities and equations of the 21st century.

So far, however, only China, which rivals India for power in Asia, has shied away from openly voicing support for India's bid for a seat at the UNSC.

Beijing's response to Obama was guarded. ''We hope all parties can have democratic and patient consultations to reach a package of consensus on the issue,'' an official spokesman was quoted as saying. ''China values India's status in international affairs and understands India's aspirations to play a greater role in the U.N.''

India's apprehensions may be seen in an intervention of Hardeep Singh Puri, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, at the informal meeting of the plenary on the intergovernmental negotiations on equitable representation in the membership of the Security Council on Jun. 28, when he called on permanent members to look beyond national interests.

''Permanent members are expected to act in such a manner that transcends narrow national interests when dealing with issues relating to international peace and security. It is, therefore, important that the category of permanent membership reflects contemporary realities and includes adequate representation from all regions of the world,'' Puri said.

Rajagoplan said Obama's announcement changed the ''atmospherics'' of the summit between two countries which have had indifferent relations through the cold war years. ''It showed that the U.S. understood Indian sensitivities and was prepared to accommodate them,'' she told IPS.

''It can be said definitely now: with U.S. President Barack Obama's India visit, the long shadow that the Cold War cast on India-U.S. ties has been dispelled,'' said the Times of India (ToI) daily in a Nov. 10 (Wednesday) editorial.

The ToI editorial described the support for India's ambitions as the ''culmination of the process begun by Bill Clinton and furthered by George W. Bush, to dissolve the lingering scepticism holding back the India-U.S. relationship.''

Rajagopalan, who is currently working on a book, 'U.S. Missile Defences: Implications for Asia and India', said a more tangible gesture by Obama was the complete relaxation of embargos on sensitive technologies, again a legacy of the cold war and of India's refusal to sign ''discriminatory'' arms control treaties.

She said that by trying to accommodate Indian demands Obama risked annoying Pakistan and China with which India has unsettled border issues.

''We will continue to insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe havens within their borders are unacceptable and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice,' Obama told clapping Indian parliamentarians.

By choosing to stay at Mumbai's iconic Taj Hotel, which took the brunt of the November 2008 terrorist attacks on the city by a squad of 'fedayeen' fighters, who had sailed in from the Pakistani port of Karachi, Obama made a silent but even more eloquent statement concerning its ally in the war in Afghanistan.

Obama carefully avoided mentioning China by name. ''This may have suited India as well,'' commented Vijayalakshmi. ''But, it is significant that he did suggest a role for India in East Asia and this is a signal that Washington is determined to remain a player in Asia.''

'Like your neighbours in Southeast Asia, we want India to not only 'look East', we want India to 'engage East' - because it will increase the security and prosperity of all our nations,' Obama said in his address.

India's optimism in being able to swing for itself a permanent seat in the UNSC, over other contenders, notably Japan, Germany and Brazil, stems partially from the fact that it gained a record 187 votes in the October elections for non-permanent seats. Out of the 191 countries one abstained and three member-states polled against India.

India demonstrated its acceptability again, last week, when it won 164 votes for a seat on the U.N. General Assembly's advisory committee on administrative and budgetary questions, while Japan received 140 votes and China 130.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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