Ray

India was keen to have Afghanistan on board and so it has come on board!

The Pakistani PM said "trust deficit: and Manmohan stated that there should be "trust surplus" instead!

__________________


"Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

HAKUNA MATATA

Neo

Not sure what to thing of it yet
India wanted Afghanistan, Pakistan yet again played the China card.

SAARC was intended to become an Indian Subcontinental block, solving political issues and enhancing economic cooperation.
How do Afghanistan or China relate in here?
They are no part of the sub continent.

Neo

Delhi knocked out over China
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - India for a long time has taken for granted its primacy in the Indian sub-continent comprising Pakistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The notion was rudely shaken at the 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit that concluded this week in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Playing the spoiler in the region (for India, that is) is China, which is very keen to nose its way into the affairs of the sub-continent, with other nations willing to play ball in order to counter New Delhi's perceived overbearing presence.

Consider how events unfolded.

On the eve of the summit it was a foregone conclusion that Afghanistan would become the eighth member of the SAARC



grouping, a move strongly backed by Pakistan, before the China factor came into play. India's Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said: "Before we came to Dhaka, we had come prepared for allowing the membership of Afghanistan to SAARC ... but there was also another application, and that from China, to be associated in some cooperative manner with SAARC."

However, matters took a different turn when Nepal's King Gyanendra, who is increasingly leaning on Beijing for moral and logistical support against the Maoist insurgents and the pro-democracy movements in his country, linked the inclusion of Afghanistan to China's application to be associated with SAARC. This held up the consensus on Afghanistan for two days before the final announcement of Kabul's entry. Under the SAARC charter, new admissions to the regional grouping require consensus of member states.

It became apparent during the course of the summit that India was not too keen on an early entry for China into the seven-nation grouping, either as an observer or a dialogue partner, arguing strongly against Beijing's inclusion being clubbed with Afghanistan. India supports Kabul as a member of SAARC as it opens a window of opportunity to minimize the influence of Pakistan in the affairs of Afghanistan. Failing to find much support on China, India cited procedural delays to Beijing being included, saying these could only be ironed out during a special session of the standing committee of the organization, which will be convened early in 2006.

To India's surprise, the reasoning against an immediate inclusion of China found support only from Bhutan, which does not have any diplomatic relations with Beijing. Perhaps sensing India's discomfiture on the issue, the five other members of SAARC, namely Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, made it apparent that they preferred China's immediate association.

Given the recent positive engagement between Thimpu (capital of Bhutan) and Beijing, it will be a matter of time before Bhutan jumps to join the chorus favoring China. The writing was there for New Delhi to see: that the Indian sub-continent that comprises nations on the south of the Himalayas will no longer be its own backyard, with the smaller powers wresting for the influence of Beijing.

"We have agreed to induct Afghanistan as a new member. We also welcome China and Japan as observers since they have shown interest," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a news conference at the conclusion of the summit, setting at rest uncertainty over Afghanistan's inclusion as well as over the nature of China's involvement in SAARC. "Afghanistan is very close to us. It is now in our group."

Saran later clarified India's stand, "The standing committee meeting of the council of ministers of SAARC will finalize the status of China and Japan while it is now only for Afghanistan to sign an agreement of the SAARC charter and join as a member."

Echoing the views of other member countries, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the inclusion of Afghanistan would "undoubtedly enrich our organization and add to its strength". On China, he said, "We welcome the interest of our friend and neighbor to be associated with the organization as an observer or dialogue partner." It may be recalled that China and Pakistan have enjoyed close military relations and that China is often accused of planning Islamabad's nuclear arsenal.

Aziz later told a Pakistani daily newspaper that Islamabad would push for full SAARC membership for China. "If and when the issue of inducting China as a full member comes up in SAARC, Pakistan would strongly support it because it sees the organization as an inclusive one, which must be strengthened by greater institutionalization."

Various media reports have quoted Pakistani officials who have claimed credit, along with Nepal, for trying to secure observer status for Beijing and accused India of "blocking" the move. Giving an indication of the behind-the-scene parleys, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said a couple of delegations had raised technical issues to requests of both Afghanistan and China. Without naming any country (which everybody knew was India), Khan said "reservations" were voiced mainly on account of first settling guidelines for granting such a status before considering such a request.

A comment in the Indian Express newspaper reads: "Chinese interest in South Asian multilateralism, however, is only the icing on top of a layered but powerful engagement with the sub-continent. Like in all its other neighboring regions, China is keen to deepen its cross-border economic and transportation links with South Asia. India can hardly object to that, given China's long border with the sub-continent. Just as Beijing cannot stop India from developing abiding economic and political links with China's neighbors elsewhere in Asia, Delhi should not smugly believe it could forever keep China out of the sub-continent. While India's relations with each of its South Asian neighbors is weighed down by a different degree of complexity, China has had a free hand in expanding economic, political and military links with them."

Indeed, the differences over China are a reflection of the individual distrust that exists between nations, chiefly India and Pakistan, that has also prevented substantial economic integration in the region. It remains to be seen whether the SAARC nations will be able to iron out differences to bring into force the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) on January 1, despite the pledges at Dhaka.

"SAARC is mired in conflict, you cannot deny it," Aziz told a news conference. "The truth is we need to take issues head-on and come up with solutions, whether it's Pakistan-India or any other countries in the region."

Raking up the bilateral issue of Kashmir, which is against the multilateral charter of SAARC, Aziz reiterated: "We must make progress on Kashmir and then move in parallel on other issues. We do not subscribe to the view that let's do everything else and Kashmir will resolve itself. For sustainable peace, we must address Kashmir."

In response, addressing a news conference, Manmohan said Pakistan was still not doing enough to dismantle the terror outfits operating from its soil. "There has been some reduction. But, unfortunately, we feel all that needs to be done has not been done." In a pointed reference to Pakistan and India's anxiety on the matter, Manmohan said, "India could choose its friends but not its neighbors."

On the recent Delhi triple blasts that killed more than 70 people, he said "available clues did suggest external linkages" of the terrorist outfits involved in the incident. But he refrained from saying anything substantial since investigations are underway.

"We have to do business with the Pakistan government," he said. "There is a trust deficit between the two countries but it's our obligation to convert it into a surplus. Nothing great is achieved by using harsh language in full public glare." Manmohan has also ruled out any demilitarization or troop-reduction in Indian Kashmir until cross-border terrorism is stopped.

Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist.

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GK16Df03.html

Ray

Neo

Afghanistan could have become an oberver instead of a full member aswell.
Why include Afghanistan and not China?

Ray

Neo

You think?
How long befor China gets full inclusion?

Ray

Neo

Uncle Sam has no foot on the solid ground here.
Remember that only China and Japan have been given observer status, Uncle stays empty handed here.

Ray

Neo

I bet uncle doesn't feel comfortable about this.
China is expending its politiacal influence in the region faster than US.
Indo-US relationships are partly meant to curb China's influence in Southern Asia.
This is a very interesting situation.

Neo

True, very true as per today!
But the quote will be outdated in say 15-20 years from now?
Better have good relationship with neighborz than a far friend.

Ray

Neo

Maybe...time will learn.

You would make a good politician.
Imo, only coutry sofar that has been able to understand and never underestimate US is Pakistan.
After so many years of On and Off relationships, we're still friends.

bull

what we all write over here might also be outdated in the coming 15 yrs.

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