International Relations Class 12

 International Relations Class 12

QUESTION: INDIA & JAPAN ARE THE LYNCHPINS TO RULE-BASED ORDER IN INDO-PACIFIC REGION. COMMENT. (5:11 PM):

Approach:

• Start with an overall description of the Indo-Pacific region, and mention that the region is now becoming a theatre of global geopolitics.
• Mention that Chinese incursions (LAC, Taiwan Strait, South-China Sea, etc.) are posing a threat to the rule-based order.
• Mention(not describe in detail) Chinese actions like String of Pearls and its actions regarding Arunachal Pradesh.
• Mention how India & Japan can protect rule-based order in the region by mentioning points like:
• I. India and Japan are natural leaders of the region.
• II. Both are strong economic powers with good levels and scope of cooperation.
• III. We can mention the four principles of Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) & India's Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative but without covering them in depth.
• IV. Participation in QUAD.
• V. Both nations have common intentions to establish a rule-based order in the region and have territorial disputes with both Japan & India.
• 
• VI. A stable Indo-Pacific would have freedom of navigation in the region, which is critical to both trading nations.
• VII. Mention the military capabilities of India- 4th largest standing army, and nuclear state.
• Japan has removed the 1% of GDP ceiling in its defense expenditure and wishes to hike it to 2%.
• Japan is to overtake India to become the third largest defense spender after USA & China.
• Under Shinzo Abe, Japan has undone self-imposed constraints on its military as per its post-World War II constitution.
• Both nations have no historical baggage in their relations they have no major strategic disagreements.
• Both are neo-liberal economies with vibrant liberal democracies.
• The conclusion must always be on a positive note with recommendations to strengthen the Indian position.

PACIFIC ISLANDS (5:51 PM):

• They include Micronesia, Melanesia & Polynesia.
• 
• The difference is based on the geographic, cultural & ethnic composition of the inhabitants.
• These islands mostly span south and west of the Pacific Ocean.
• Australia is sometimes but not always included in the region of Oceania, or included as Pacific Islands as it is a continent.

Micronesian Islands:

• Guam, Caroline Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, etc.

Melanesian islands:

• Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Polynesian Islands:

• Tonga Islands, French Polynesian Islands, Cook Islands, American Samoa, French Samoa, etc.

Pacific Island Forum:

• It was formed in 1971.
• It comprises 18 member countries & dialogue partners, along with associate member Tokelau.
• Its secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji.
• The work of the forum is guided by the framework of Pacific Regionalism.
• Decisions are taken by consensus.

Forum For India-Pacific Islands Cooperation(FIPIC):

• It has India and 14 Pacific Island Countries.
• The 14 are Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
• It was launched in 2014 when the first FIPIC was organized in Suva.
• The next FIPIC was organized in 2015 in Jaipur.
• The third FIPIC 2023 was co-hosted by India and Papua New Guinea at Port Moresby.
• The primary aim is to boost trade & investments.
• This is to be done by providing information and holding meetings between businessmen.

Importance of FIPIC:

• Indian primary focus has largely been on the Indian Ocean, trying to protect & promote its strategic and commercial interests.
• FIPIC marks a serious effort to expand Indian engagement in the Pacific region.
• Fiji and Papua New Guinea(wanting ASEAN membership) have significant populations of Indian origin.

India-USA relations:

• Both are liberal constitutional democracies.
• Both of them practice civic nationalism- the nationalism that is not based on cultural & ethnic grounds.
• Both follow neo-liberal democracies.
• India & USA were estranged democracies for almost 50 years of Indian independence.
• India and the USA started becoming engaged democracies only after 2000.

Evolution of India-USA relationship:

1950's & 1960's:

• That was a phase of cooperation & competition.
• Competition:
• India was the leader of NAM and the USA led the capitalist camp.
• USA referred to NAM as Indian opportunism and a "group of dictators seeking democracy in the world".
• The USA got Kashmir enlisted as a "disputed territory" when India took Kashmir to UNO.
• India was the first non-communist country to recognize the People's Republic Of China (PRC) or mainland China.
• India also advocated giving the PRC the UNSC permanent seat instead of Taiwan (Republic of China).
• Till 1979, ROC had the UNSC permanent seat,
• In 1979, the USA recognized the One-China Principle and One-China Policy.
• One China principle:
• There is only one sovereign  China, with the PRC serving as the sole legitimate government of that China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.
• One China Policy:
• Any nation can only recognize/maintain diplomatic relations with the PRC or ROC.

Cooperation:

• The USA wanted India to join the capitalist camp.
• Some evidences were:
• I. The food aid under PL 480.
• II. Scientific aid for Indian green evolution.
• III. The USA did not provide military aid to its ally Pakistan in the 1948 & 1962 wars.

THE PHASE OF 1970'S & 1980'S(6:35 PM):

• After the 1969 war between the PRC and the USSR, the USA tried to improve its relations with China.
• By that time, the USA understood that India would not align with the USA.
• USSR was anxious about the USA-Pakistan-China axis.
• In August 1971, the Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation was signed.
• Indian non-alignment developed a tilt towards USSR and India started Reflexive Anti-Americanism.

Examples of Reflexive Anti-Americanism:

• The USA sent its naval vessel USS Enterprise to the Indian Ocean to threaten India during the 1971 war.
• India tested the nuclear weapon technology(not bomb)( Smiling Buddha), and the USA established the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in 1975.
• The formation of NSG marks the beginning of nuclear apartheid( discrimination).
• India was even denied nuclear technology and raw materials for peaceful purposes.

The Phase after 1990's:

• India lost its closest economic, and strategic ally as the USSR disintegrated.
• The word order becomes unipolar with a  single superpower.

1998-2000:

• India had become a de facto nuclear power in 1998.
• There were 16-18 rounds of negotiations were held.
• The USA wished to prevent a nuclear war in South Asia.
• After 2000, we have seen an upward trend in cooperation.

INDIA-USA RELATIONS AFTER 2000 (7:00 PM):

• In the 25 years, we have seen diplomacy in the fields of :
• Summit-level Diplomacy- Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Bill Clinton.
• Nuclear Diplomacy- Manmohan Singh- George Bush, Manmohan Singh- Barack Obama.
• Military & Trade Diplomacy- Modi-Obama, Modi-Trump.
• Technology Diplomacy- Modi- Biden; Initiative on Critical & Emerging Technologies (i CET), 2023.
• The relations have gotten stronger over the years.
• India overcame hesitations of history and reflective anti-Americanism.
• Stephen Cohen- The USA is going to prefer its relationship with Pakistan(Ally/Junior Partner) over relations with India( a friend).
• India believes in sovereignty and strategic autonomy, and will never settle as a junior partner in strategic matters.
• The USA also shed its insistence on pursuing only alliance-based partnerships( making countries, its allies).

The American policy of exceptions:

• The USA has been following a policy of exceptions for India.
• It was seen in the Civil Nuclear Deal 2008 and the associated  NSG waiver- ending the nuclear apartheid on India.
• India was not sanctioned under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) despite purchasing the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.
• Turkey and China saw sanctions for this same action.
• India saw no sanctions from the USA despite its continuing oil imports and defense relations with Russia.
• Germany saw action by the USA for its continued Russian oil imports from the Nord II Pipeline.
• India has made clear that it will never be an ally of the USA.
• India maintains good relations with adversaries of the USA like Iran & Russia.
• India is also a member of anti-west groupings like SCO and BRICS.

Reasons for American Indian Exceptions:

• Economic angle:
• India is the fastest-growing large economy.

Geopolitical angle:

• The USA's NSA Jake Sullivan mentioned India is more dependable than the USA's European allies against China.

Diaspora:

• Indian diaspora is 4 million strong and is the second largest diaspora in the USA after the Mexican diaspora.
• Indian diaspora has earned the image of being law-abiding, hard-working, and high-achieving people.
• The presidential system of the USA sees a high influence of pressure groups.
• Indian diaspora was instrumental in the 2008 India-USA Civil nuclear deal.

Bipartisan Consensus:

• There exists a bipartisan consensus among major political actors in both nations regarding better bilateral relations.

Public Perception:

• There exists a positive public perception in both nations for each other.

Need of the USA:

• USA is a hegemon in decline and even its European allies are trying to improve relations with Russia and China.
• India is a large economy, poised to be a $5 trillion economy soon.

AREAS OF INDIA-USA COOPERATION (7:30 PM):

Defense:

• The strongest push in India-USA relations came after the 2008 nuclear deal. 
• But the deal has been largely a non-starter because of the Nuclear -Liability clause.
• The clause puts legal responsibility on nuclear plant operators in India and the parent companies.
• As Russian companies were PSUs, they could take the responsibility.
• The private companies of the USA were reluctant to take up the responsibility.
• Indian defense imports from the USA started only after 2005, and it rose to around $ 20 billion now.
• Factors of growing India-USA defense cooperation:
• Civil Nuclear Deal 2008.
• India trying to diversify its import basket- the bilateral trade rose from $20 billion in 2000 to $ 140 billion in 2019.

Pieces of evidence for stronger India-USA ties:

• In 2005, a framework for defense cooperation was signed for 10 years and was renewed in 2015.
• The signing of Foundational Agreements :

LEMOA: 2016

• It stands for Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement.
• This provides the framework for sharing military logistics.
• For example refueling and replenishment of stores and other related things during the transition.

COMCASA: 2018

• It stands for Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement.
• This deals with the sharing of strongly-encrypted communications equipment and systems(Centrix), fitted on USA Navy vessels.
• Now imported military equipment could come with communication systems.
• The agreement is also known as the Communications and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement(CISMOA).  
• The name was changed because India-specific changes were made.
• Due to strong encryption, other nations could not get access to the communication done through imported military equipment.
• But it was possible that the USA could access them.
• Changes were made in communication systems to ensure India that the USA won't eavesdrop on communications.

GSOMIA: 2002

• It stands for General Security of Military Information Agreement.
• It is related to military information sharing.
• No other similar deal was signed for some time to assert strategic autonomy.

Some landmarks of India-USA relations:

• 2016- India became the only country to have the status of a “major defense partner” of the USA.
• 2018- India placed under category 1 of Strategic Trade Authorisation. 
• The USA was used to dealing with adversaries or with its juniors.
• To the American astonishment, India demanded parity in status.  
• 2019: The Industrial Security Annex was signed to facilitate the exchange of classified information between the defense industries of both countries.
• 2023: Deals have been signed regarding purchasing drones, ship repairs, etc.
• India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) has been launched which will include private participation in defense manufacturing.

High-Tech Partnerships:

• Among other things, India will become the fifth country to manufacture jet engines.
• As of now only the USA, Russia, the UK, and France can manufacture jet engines.
• Micron Technologies of the USA  will invest in India for manufacturing semiconductor chips.
• Minerals Security Partnership will reduce Chinese dependence on critical minerals like rare-earth minerals.
• China had stopped the supply of rare-earth minerals to Japan to exert pressure on the Senkaku islands issue.

Indo–Pacific:

• TheUSA supports a free, open, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
• India supports a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

QUAD :

• Quad is a security dialogue forum between India, the USA, Japan, and Australia.
• It has identified itself as a non-military grouping.
• It calls for a free, open, inclusive regional architecture.
• Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Rule-based international order.
• Free sea lanes of communication.

Background:

• The idea started in 2004 as a loose partnership after Tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
• The rest members saw Indian naval capacities.
• In 2007, the first Quad meeting, but after that, Quad became dormant.
• India and Australia were wary of the Chinese response.
• India was also looking for an NSG waiver.
• The idea was revived in 2017 after all 4 faced the burnt of Chinese belligerence.

Reasons for the revival of QUAD:

• Growing Chinese belligerence- Between 2013 and  2020, each QUAD member experienced Chinese aggression under the reign of Xi Jinping.
• Japan experienced Chinese coercive behavior near the Senkaku islands in 2012.
• China also banned the exports of rare earth minerals to Japan in response.
• Trade imbalance caused tensions between Washington and Beijing.
• The Doklam Standoff in 2017 and the Galvan incident in 2020 soured Sino-Indian ties.
• China has built artificial islands in the South China Sea and militarised them.

Institutionalisation of Quad:

• In March 2021, the first Quad Leaders Summit took place.
• In September, the first in-person summit took place.
• In March 2022, another summit in virtual format.
• In May 2022, the summit was held in person.

Lacunae of Quad:

• At a time when the USA’s funding to Ukraine has crossed $54 billion, the $50 Billion QUAD commitment in 5 years for infrastructure development from the four countries cumulatively seems relatively small.
• QUAD fellowships would be primarily privately funded.
• The strategic depth is quite shallow as there exist no QUAD-level military-to-military arrangements for example in SCO.
• Within QUAD, India’s close relationship with Russia, and its membership in RIC, BRICS, and SCO stand out.
• All the rest three countries have sanctioned Russia, but not India
• Thus, QUAD is still a work in progress and primarily driven by top-down summits.

Advantages for India:

• To counter-balance China in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Through Quad, India can rise above its middle-power status and project its influence beyond the Indo-Pacific.

Challenges posed by Quad for India:

• Possibility of reactivating tensions with China on different fronts.
• Among the QUAD members, only India shares its borders with China.
• If India engages militarily with QUAD, there emerges a risk of Chinese aggression at the borders.
• While QUAD is important to contain China in the maritime domain, India seeks partnership with Russia through platforms of SCO and RIC to continentally balance China.
• Other QUAD members have also been openly critical of Russia.

Concerns vis-a-vis AUKUS (Australia, UK, and USA) undermining QUAD:

• It is a security grouping to contain China.
• Under it, the USA has agreed to share sensitive nuclear submarine technology with Australia.

What does it mean for India and QUAD:

• QUAD can maintain its broad agenda and it does not have to commit to an explicit anti-China security framework.
• This augurs well for India since India was reluctant to militarily balance China under the Quad.
• Under AUKUS, the USA is sharing coveted technology(Nuclear Powered Submarine) with one QUAD partner (Australia) and not with others.
• India wishes to balance China without being the one to balance China.

Chinese criticisms of QUAD:

• It terms QUAD as “Asian NATO”.
• Since the QUAD countries are collectively trying to challenge China’s growing influence.
• China has accused the QUAD of forming enclosed small cliques as the sure way to destroy the existing international order.
• Some time back, the Chinese foreign minister had dismissed QUAD as a “Seafoam” that would eventually dissipate.

The topics for the next class are AUKUS, India-USA relations continued

QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

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1)

Choose the correct statements about FIPIC:

1. FIPIC was formed in November 2014, to strengthen India’s relationship with the Pacific Island Countries.

2. The first FIPIC summit was held at the level of Heads of Government in November 2014 in Jaipur, India.

(a)1 only

(b)2 only

(c)Both 1 and 2

(d)None of them

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2)

With respect to QUAD, which of the statements given below is/are not correct?      

1. Quad is a military platform involving 4 major democracies in the Indo-Pacific.
2. India is a member of it.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

(a)1 Only

(b)2 Only

(c)Both 1 and 2 

(d)Neither 1 nor 2

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3)

With respect to the One China Policy, consider the following statements:

1. There is only one true China in the world
2. The government of the Republic of China (ROC) is the only legitimate government representing the whole of China
3. Hongkong violates the principle of One China Principle

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

(a)1 only

(b)1, 2

(c)2, 3

(d)1, 2, 3

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4)

QUAD refers to :

(a)It is a formal organisation of India, USA, Japan

(b)It is an informal organisation of India, US, Japan and Australia for the security in Pacific region

(c)Formal organisation of China, Pakistan, Russia and Nepal. 

(d)None of the above

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5)

Consider the following statements:

Statement I: Countries seeking diplomatic relations with the People"s Republic of China (PRC) must break official relations with Taiwan/Republic of China (ROC).
Statement II: China follows One China Policy.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and StatementII is the correct explanation for Statement-I

(b)Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and StatementII is not the correct explanation for Statement-I

(c)Statement-I is correct but StatementII is incorrect

(d)Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

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6)

Classification of Pacific Islands	Examples
Micronesia	Guam, Kiribati, Nauru
Melanesia	Tonga Islands, Cook Islands, French Samoa
Polynesia	Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji

How many of the above matches are correct?

(a)Only one

(b)Only two

(c)All the three

(d)None of the above

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7)

Which of the folloiwng is the best description of Centrix ?

(a)An association to improve trade relations between Pacific islands

(b)Disputed island between China and Japan

(c)Name of QUAD military exercise

(d)The encrypted communication system installed of USA .

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8)

Consider the following statements about Operation Smiling Buddha:

1. Operation "Smiling Buddha" was the name given to evacuation mission from Ukraine.

2. It led to formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

3. It was also called the "Sub-terranean Nuclear explosion project".

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

(a)Only one

(b)Only two

(c)All the three

(d)None of the above

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9)

Discuss the evolving architecture of QUAD and its limitations(10 marks/150 words)

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10)

Trace the development of India-USA relationship in the 20th century. (150 words/10 marks)

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11)

Do you think the USA practices a policy of exceptionalism with India? Giver reasons for your answer. (150 words/10 marks)

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12)

Why does the USA sees India as an important partner in South Asia, despite presence of Its ally Pakistan ?(150 words/10 marks)

Answers
1) a
2) a
3) a
4) b
5) a
6) a
7) d
8) b

Q1.

Why India and Japan are considered lynchpins or pivotal to the rule-based order of the Indo-Pacific region? (150 words, 10 marks)

(10 marks)