Address by M K Narayanan, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, India

 

 

 

 

          I am delighted to be able to participate in the Manama Dialogue.  I would like to thank Dr. John Chipman and the IISS for the invitation to this major event and for giving me the opportunity to speak.  I would also like to express my appreciation for the excellent arrangements made. My presence here will, I hope, signify the importance that we attach to the Gulf and to this key Dialogue.  It brings together many minds and should help focus on some key challenges facing contemporary politics in the region.

 

2.       I have been invited to speak on how India views the Gulf and the East, a subject of seminal interest to us in India.  India’s relations with the Gulf are both multi-faceted and historical.  Ties of trade have connected us over the ages.  We are both located at the heart of what has been described as an ‘empire of the monsoons’. 

 

3.       Our shared cultural heritage is equally strong and old.  Where trade stopped and culture began – or the other way round – is still hard to tell.  Our communities have intermingled, as indeed have our habits and traditions.  Religion has been a powerful bond, with pilgrimages occupying a special place in our people to people relations.  The colonial era did not snap our historical connectivity; in many ways, it brought us closer.  The natural civilizational affinity of our peoples is reflected in the enormous popularity of Indian films and music.

 

4.       More material forces have also been at work in building bridges.  More than four million Indian citizens live in the Gulf and contribute to their economies.  Their annual remittances to India are in the range of $ 6-8 billion.  Our trade, excluding oil, is currently in the range of $ 16 billion annually.  India imports 70% of its energy requirements from the Gulf.  The point I wish to stress is that India not only has a natural interest in the Gulf but also has vital stakes in its stability and continued prosperity.

 

5.       The Gulf, as also its immediate neighbourhood, clearly have a direct relevance to all aspects of our growth.  As one of its closest neighbour, with a modernizing economy, the synergy that the Gulf has with India is obvious. Human flows across the region have, of late, created a great deal of economic inter-dependence. These to-day provide the lifeblood for the global industrial economy of which India is an increasingly integral part. To-day, investment, trade and services are key priorities for a polity focused on rapid improvement of the quality of life of its people.

 

6.       India’s policy has, hence,  been to engage with most countries in the region through offers of economic incentives and strengthened structures for functional cooperation. It has generally favoured an integrated approach, combining political and economic and other levers of ‘soft power’. A whole new set of cross-linkages also exists today and relationships have been developed at the very highest levels. 

 

7.                 The importance of the Gulf in India’s strategic vision has, simultaneously, grown far beyond all previous expectations.  This is happening at a time when the region, as much of the rest of the world, faces daunting challenges.  Trends such as globalization and migration are one. The competition for resources and livelihood which is getting still more intense is another. National and ethnic aspects, often advanced at the cost of the other, is a third.  Democratization of society has further added to the churning in the region.

 

8.       There is a growing recognition that a cohesive strategy for sustainable energy security is now an essential component of regional and global security, as more and more countries view energy security as directly affecting their defence and security needs. In this regard, the situation in the Gulf is seen as a barometer of global perceptions affecting Energy Security. For a developing country such as India with high rate of economic growth, we believe that there is enough scope for cooperative action to bring about an optimal balance between security of supply and demand requirements, with sufficient emphasis on diversification of the energy mix, including increase in the share of renewables, nuclear power and higher energy efficiency as essential measures to promote energy security. Wide ranging regional partnerships will be necessary in this regard.

 

9.       Several factors have contributed to and also aggravated volatility in the region.  As in much of Asia, multi-dimensional conflicts ranging from terrorism and aggravated militancy to inter-State and intra-State conflicts, are awash in the region.   The challenges faced by multi-layered societies are also becoming evident here. Each of these are daunting by themselves. In combination they pose a formidable threat to regional as well as international peace and security.

 

10.     Some lessons from the Indian experience might be of some relevance.  During the past 60 years India has faced grave challenges that might have fragmented nations of lesser intrinsic strength or lesser will.   In seeking the right responses to challenges, we had, therefore, to often look within ourselves and draw upon our known intrinsic capabilities.  At the same time, we remained open to the best of influences from outside.  Fusing ideas and concepts into a composite framework proved extremely useful in such situations.

 

11.     I mention this only since peace and stability and ensuing prosperity are of utmost value to all of us.  A shared view of peace and prosperity will add to our sense of security and ensure the fullest exploitation of the region’s economic and other potential.  The multiple and parallel causes of tension and conflict hence need to be addressed.  The sources of instability, actual or potential, have to be suitably dealt with.  We must recognize the dangers inherent in both extremism and fundamentalism, as also the use of religious identities, as much as secular ones, for mobilization purposes.  What is particularly dis-concerting is, however, that as problems have increased and intensified, the reach of diplomacy and the ability to influence events through diplomatic means seems to be declining.  This trend must be reversed.

 

Let me address the various aspects one by one.

 

12.     Take the case of Afghanistan, where India’s involvement in rehabilitation and re-construction efforts has been extensive. Our commitment here is towards a return to stable conditions, accompanied by economic progress. We are involved in as many as 60 projects across the country ranging from infra-structure to the social sector. We have contributed to the tune of over 700 million Dollars for the re-construction and rehabilitation of the country. Unfortunately, we see contrary efforts by extremist and fundamentalist forces, such as the Taliban, to reverse the course of events and return Afghanistan to the pre-2001 period. Taliban’s incursions into Southern Afghanistan have been made possible by the existence of support structures across the border from Afghanistan. Any destabilization of the moderate and democratic Afghan Government would have incalculable long-term consequences, not only for Afghanistan but for almost all countries in the region, including India, and also Central Asia. It could, in turn, also have a domino effect with extremist and fundamentalist elements gaining the upper hand, endangering peace and stability along a very wide arc.    This could have incalculable global consequences. Thus, the international community has a vital stake in ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for extremist and fundamentalist forces.

 

13.     Checking extremism and fundamentalism, rather than compromising with such forces however pragmatic or opportune it might appear, is hence vitally important.  We have lately seen some compromises of this kind being made, as a palliative and an alternative to, effectively countering forces engaged in violence and terrorism.  It is our belief that such compromises would have the opposite effect, and would only encourage those very forces that have been responsible for the onset of terrorism.  Furthermore, the adverse effect of this could be felt far beyond the immediate region where such compromises are being effected to-day.

 

14.     There is also widespread concern over the current situation in the Middle East – essentially Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.  India shares these concerns Any impression that might have been created by recent developments in the region - of the existence of a major sectarian divide within countries - needs to be comprehensively addressed.  Greater accommodation of contrarian views and opinions may be needed, but not the encouragement of divisive tendencies.  Instead manifest attempts must be made to promote a greater confluence of perceptions and ideas.  As a democracy, and a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India stands for consensus building, rejection of sectarianism both in thought and action, and endorsement of the rights of people and the countries in the region to determine their future.

 

15.     I believe this has special relevance for Iraq which is undergoing severe turmoil at present, with ordinary Iraqis suffering the greatest hardship.  We appreciate the fact that there is no ready solution for what is clearly a complicated issue, made more critical by the volatile nature of the ground situation.  I reiterate that accommodation, consensus-building and a willingness to give and take appears to be the only way to deal with the situation.  There is also perhaps a need for a larger political vision.  Given Iraq’s heterogeneity such a vision must necessarily be a consensual one and encompassing the interests of all sections of society in that country, in order to protect such unity and integrity.

 

16.     Proximate to the Gulf, is an issue that all of us recognize and is central to the shared objective that India has consistently stood for.  I refer here to the struggle of the Palestinian people.  We believe that lasting peace in the Middle East can come only if the rights of the Palestinian people – including an independent Palestinian State – are fully respected.  No issue in contemporary politics has, however, proved to be more intractable.  Realization of the two States – Palestine and Israel – co-existing in peace and security, offers the possibility of a dramatic improvement in the region.

 

17.     There are other issues as well which demand close attention.  Any calibration of effort to create stable conditions cannot, for instance, ignore the role of Iran.  India has long-standing ties with Iran.  It is an important trade partner, apart from providing for India’s access to Central Asia.  Like any other nation, Iran has its security concerns and perceptions;   these need to be suitably addressed.  Regional security quite clearly requires that there is a dialogue between the concerned parties in this regard.  Non-engagement cannot be the basis of a long-term strategy.

 

18.     No analysis of the stability of the region would be complete without factoring in the threat posed by terrorism and fundamentalist political forces advocating the use of violence. To-day, with several concentric circles of linked-terrorist relationships viz. among organizations, support structures and funding mechanisms, terrorism has become a far more ubiquitous phenomenon than ever before.

 

18.     The taxonomy of recent terrorist attacks in our region, and even outside it, confirms the validity of the thesis that terrorism is one of the greatest scourges that the world has ever known. The rise of non-state global actors, dispersed fanatical terrorist networks who have the capacity to wage war internationally, is the grim reality of global terrorism to-day. These terrorist outfits to-day have common operating procedures, common funding structures, common training facilities, and a degree of cross-cultural compatibility that has paved the way for deadly attacks in different locales. An earnest effort, hence, needs to be made to understand what drives current-day terrorism and come up with practical answers to this problem.

 

19.     Nations across the region must guard against those corrosive forces that foment attitudes to sustain terrorism. The temptation to use such methods where there are political differences must be eschewed.  Those who make use of such elements for their tactical purposes would soon discover that these elements tend to devour their own. There cannot, hence, be any compromise with either extremist forces or extremism itself.

 

20.     The Gulf has historical, political, economic, strategic and cultural significance for India. It is part of our extended neighbourhood, linked by the Arabian Sea. It is an area of special priority for India. Over the next decade, this focus will only intensify further. We share common concerns with Gulf nations, as we do with other stakeholders. Intensified cooperation amongst us can enhance our capabilities to meet many of the challenges that I have outlined. India has always been a stabilizing force in the region and remains committed to the security and prosperity of the Gulf.