Why did Turkey support Pakistan against India, competition for dominance in Islamic world or....
Why did Turkey support Pakistan against India, competition for dominance in Islamic world or....
Turkey-India relations: During the tension between India and Pakistan, Turkey's stance was the most discussed as it openly supported Pakistan after the action taken by India. Following which, India also took many strict steps against Turkey.
Turkey had long maintained silence over the thaw in relations with India and adopted an ambiguous stance on differences, but in 2019, when the Indian government revoked Article 370 from Kashmir, Turkey came out against India.
Talking about the present time, amidst the India-Pakistan tension, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even said, 'We stand with the people of Pakistan. I called brother Shahbaz Sharif and told him that we are together. We will continue to stand with Pakistan in the future as well.'
Turkey looking for opportunities in South and Central Asia
Turkey and India have a much more stable relationship than Pakistan, but despite this, Turkey has made up its mind to support Pakistan in the tensions between these two South Asian countries. Both Turkey and Pakistan have lost their relevance in the security structure of Western countries. In the changing times, both countries are fighting to save their credibility.
According to experts, there can be two reasons for Turkey's behaviour. Firstly, Turkey is trying to establish its identity in the Islamic world. Secondly, it is also a member of NATO, so Turkey wants to remain a bridge between the East and West countries
Is Turkey isolated in NATO?
In the past few years, Turkey's NATO allies have been objecting to its decisions, whether it is purchasing the S-400 anti-missile system from Russia or its growing closeness with China. So is Turkey feeling isolated and Pakistan seems to be its only option for defence partnership?
Turkey and Pakistan supported Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. At the same time, according to media reports, India is planning to give Armenia a second consignment of Akash-1S surface-to-air missile system under the 2022 treaty. Along with this, it is also planning to send a wide range of weapons including howitzer guns and Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems. The first consignment of missiles was sent in November last year.
Russia was Armenia's biggest arms supplier for many years, but the relationship between the two countries lost steam due to Russia's lack of open support in the war against Ukraine. Since then, India has emerged as a major arms supplier to Armenia.
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