By giving up its position of Azhar Masood, China, in fact, may have scored a major diplomatic victory over India. But, nevertheless, let us celebrate this last major foreign policy victory of the outgoing Narendra Modi government.
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| Masood Azhar is now a global terrorist |
Why is Azhar Masood so important for India?
Honestly speaking, nobody has the slightest clue in this regard. From a foreign policy angle, India has to achieve more important goals than getting this Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist declared a global menace.
Masood though has an imminent value for India.
First, he is the main guy behind the Pulwama attack in which India lost more than 40 policemen. But Pulwama wasn't Masood's crowning glory. Ever since he was released by the India government in 1999, Azhar Masood has staged many violent attacks on the Indian security forces and other assets in Kashmir and elsewhere. For years, we could just wring our hands in despair. All that we could do was to appeal to the UN and other countries, chiefly the United States, to declare Masood a global terrorist. The world hardly cared for us as we were a pygmy.
Things changed quickly under the Modi government. Just a week after the Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force staged a brilliant strike on Jaish's camp in Balakot (Pakistan) and gave a thumbs down to Pakistan. The nuclear 'threat' of Pakistan now lay in shambles. The world at large now saw India in an entirely new light- gone were the days when India begged the global community to take action against Pakistan and its terrorist assets.
Now it was only a matter of time when the global community, particularly China, backed India's demand for terming Masood as a global terrorist. Now that the world has worked on India's bidding, we have indeed scored a massive foreign policy victory.
For Modi's BJP, the Masood factor has limited significance. The Balakot strikes have already turned the popular mood in favor of Modi. Most political watchers agree that he will return to power in May 2019. The only thing that matters is the margin of victory.
Blind spot
One thing that worries me and many others is the nature of our debate on foreign policy.
If you will notice, China, by blocking the ban on Azhar Masood, has successfully derailed our debate on the NSG issues, its military buildup in the Himalayas, and also the massive Indo-China trade deficit.
That country continues to block our entry into the Nuclear Supplier Group. China refuses to acknowledge India as a nuclear weapon and this impacts our global nuclear trade.
China also continues to buildup its military strength in the Himalayan region and Tibet but nobody in India takes notice of this phenomenon.
Finally, China also does not give trade concessions to India. Currently, the trade deficit between both the two countries is 2% of India's global deficit. However, the bright side is that India has managed to cut its trade deficit with China by $10 billion, lately.
Why did China act on Masood Azhar?
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| Is there a secret deal between India and China on Masood Azhar? |
There are several theories floating around. Let's look at some of them.
1. Recently, there were reports of 200 American companies leaving China and heading for India as an investment destination. This could spell disaster for the Chinese economy.
2. Perhaps, China does not want to risk its investments in India. Last time, when China blocked the UN resolution on Masood Azhar, Indians called for a boycott of Chinese goods and services.
3. Or maybe, India and China have struck a secret deal on OBOR and Masood Azhar.
4. Or, does China anticipate that Modi will return to power with a bigger majority and by supporting India on Azhar, that country hopes to mend it relations with us?
The last hasn't been heard on the Masood Azhar issue. Let's wait for a few weeks to understand the real implications of this ban.
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