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The Hindu
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Drift in India's foreign policy a matter of serious concern; time for course correction: Congress
The Congress on Thursday (July 17, 2025) accused the government of departing from India's traditional position on foreign policy matters without consulting Parliament and said it was time for recalibration, honest introspection and course correction to reclaim the country's stature globally. The main Opposition party also alleged that the government was weakening national consensus on the country's foreign policy, claiming that it had lowered and weakened the country's position globally, and demanded a comprehensive discussion on the issue in both houses of Parliament. The party also took strong exception to India abstaining on the UN Resolution on Gaza ceasefire, claiming this was not just unfortunate, but a painful and unacceptable decision. Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said that the 'drift' in India's foreign policy was a matter of serious concern as it had weakened India's voice in the comity of nations and suggested the government recalibrate its policy, do honest introspection and course correction in the country's foreign policy approach. He also said the Indo-U.S. trade agreement, talks for which were continuing, should be done keeping national interest foremost and no trade pact should be done under pressure. 'There's a matter of serious concern: that is a drift in our foreign policy — a visible decline of India's influence in the world and the very fact that there had been fundamental departures to the detriment of India's standing in the comity of nations at the United Nations,' Mr. Sharma said at a press conference. The Congress leader called for a comprehensive debate on India's foreign policy matters in Parliament and said no country in a democracy avoids or evades a discussion on its foreign policy. '...more damage is done by being non-transparent or opaque and not communicating with their own country first in a correct manner, so that we retain the strength of our voice in global affairs. Today, the multilateral world order of governance is under siege,' he said. 'Foreign policy of a country and in case of India, historically, is meant to promote India's national interest and also to take our worldview to our strategic partner countries to mobilise in support of what we feel is right and what would serve the larger cause of peace and humanity,' Mr. Sharma, a former Union Minister who handled key ministries including commerce and external affairs, said. Foreign policy, as it had evolved since Independence, always had the backing of a broad-based national consensus, he said, adding that it had never been captive or hostage to partisan politics. The Congress leader said the government of the day had the mandate to make decisions, but when it came to foreign policy, it involved everyone, and that's why consensus was important. 'Unfortunately, that national consensus has been weakened in recent years, if not completely broken many occasions the government has arbitrarily chosen to depart from India's traditional positions without consulting either the Parliament or informing it,' he alleged. Mr. Sharma said India commanded an authority and respect in the world not because 'we were a major economic or military power, but because we had the moral authority'. 'We were acknowledged as a voice of humanity. And that's why wherever the crisis came in the world, those affected countries looked up to India. Unfortunately, that's no more the case,' he noted, adding that it was up to the government that how it retrieves India's standing and rebuilds national consensus. 'Looking at the situation as it is, it's time for recalibration, honest introspection, and course correction in our foreign policy approach,' the former Union Minister asserted. Stressing that equally important and integral to this was the neighbourhood policy, he said India was acknowledged as the pre-eminent power of South Asia. 'Nobody can say that today. It's for us to rethink our strategy, to engage in a manner that despite the challenges and complexities of the neighbourhood, India regains its strength and standing in its own region.' 'Our advice to the government will also be that while engaging with the neighbourhood, we have to be cautious. A foreign policy is meant to engage with other sovereign countries. It must not be linked to the furtherance of any domestic, partisan or political agendas,' he stressed, cautioning 'that would be not only a mistake but a blunder'. 'Our purpose is not to just criticise or score points. It is to caution, to share our concerns,' he said. Mr. Sharma also said that on June 12, when the UN General Assembly discussed the issue of Israeli attacks on Gaza and a resolution for immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities was brought on the matter and voted upon, 149 countries voted for the resolution, while India, the land of Gandhi, chose to abstain and didn't vote for peace and ceasefire. 'That's painful and unacceptable. This one action diminished India's credibility as the leader of the Global South. All the countries of the Global South voted for peace. How come the leader did not?' he asked. Mr. Sharma claimed that not just the Global South, major European countries, including two permanent UN members, as well as 'our traditional partners in BRICS, all four', voted in favour of a ceasefire. 'These countries in Europe also have good relations with Israel and the U.S., yet they voted for humanity, but we did not,' he said, adding that this was a fundamental departure from India's traditional position. 'We would urge the government that they should, as we wish to be, reclaim our moral standing as the voice of the Global South by speaking on this and prevail on our strategic and traditional partners to work for bringing peace in Gaza and the region,' the Congress leader said.
Globe and Mail
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Canada's UN vote on Israel criticized as departure from past position
Canada joined 148 other countries in voting in favour of a United Nations resolution that calls for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza, despite opposition to the motion from the U.S. and Israel. The vote Thursday took place days after Ottawa imposed sanctions against two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers for 'inciting violence against Palestinians' in the West Bank, in a rare rebuke to an allied country. It's another example of how Canada's policy toward Israel appears to be shifting under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office in March. A major Jewish-Canadian lobby group condemned the Canadian government's vote, saying it marked a significant departure from Ottawa's previous position at the United Nations. 'The resolution makes no demand for Hamas to disarm or be excluded from Gaza's future. It ignores Israel's right to self-defence, dismisses its legitimate security concerns, and says nothing of the existential threat posed by a genocidal terrorist group,' the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) noted in a statement. CIJA noted that last September, when Justin Trudeau was still prime minister, Canada abstained from a similar UN resolution vote on the grounds, according to the Department of Global Affairs, that Canada could not 'support a resolution where one party, the state of Israel, is held solely responsible for the conflict.' The Jewish-Canadian group argued that Canada's vote will only embolden Hamas, the Palestinian militant group fighting Israel. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by Ottawa. Canada, Western allies sanction two Israeli lawmakers for incitement of 'extremist violence' The resolution also called for the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and unrestricted access for the delivery of desperately needed food to 2 million Palestinians. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly was 149-12, with 19 abstentions. Speaking before the vote, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon vehemently opposed the resolution. He denied that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war, calling the accusation 'blood libel,' and insisted that aid is being delivered. Experts and human-rights workers say hunger is widespread in Gaza and that Palestinians are at risk of famine if Israel does not fully lift its blockade and halt its military campaign, which it renewed in March after ending a ceasefire with Hamas. Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations in New York, told the General Assembly Thursday that the Canadian government 'profoundly regrets' that the resolution 'does not with explicit language, condemn Hamas's horrific terrorist attacks on October the 7th, 2023, in which over 1,200 people were killed' in Israel. He said Hamas's taking of hostages, 'many of whom were killed, still remain in captivity, and is entirely unacceptable to us and frankly, I think, to this assembly.' Mr. Rae said he is sorry that an amendment could not be made to the resolution, adding that Canada continues to condemn Hamas and 'it is clear that Hamas must disarm and that the organization cannot have any role to play in the future governance of Gaza.' Thursday's vote also comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to attend. NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said voting for the resolution is the 'bare minimum' Canada should be doing to help Gaza. She said Ottawa should be suspending its free-trade agreement with Israel, take more action to end all weapons trade with Israel and recognize the state of Palestine. Asked about the criticism of the Canadian government from CIJA, Ms. McPherson said the group 'seems very out of touch' on some things. 'There are children that are dying right now of hunger.' With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Taiwan alleges China is using cash to win developing nations to its stand on the island
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's foreign minister on Wednesday alleged that China is using cash and other inducements to win over developing countries to its position on the self-governing island but claimed that such tactics are losing their effectiveness, Lin Chia-lung told reporters that China's goal is to persuade these nations to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and stand with Beijing on issues it says prove Taiwan is part of China. Lin offered no proof for his allegations and there was no immediate reaction from Beijing. The minister said that key to that argument is a 1971 U.N. resolution that handed the China seat at the Security Council to Beijing, effectively kicking out Chiang Kai-shek's representatives who had held it even after fleeing to Taiwan when the Communists took over China in 1949. The resolution says nothing about self-governing Taiwan's representation, but China and its allies have been using it as proof that there is only one China, of which Taiwan is an indivisible part. Lin also alleged that in developing nations, 'China is using cheap construction' of projects from stadiums to railway lines to win the countries over. 'We must not let China have what it wants in terms of using legal warfare to make the Taiwan issue its domestic issue,' Lin said, adding that Taiwan needs to harness the support from the United States and the European Union in defying Beijing. Chinese economic pressure has reduced the number of Taiwan's formal diplomatic allies to just 12, mainly small island nations in the South Pacific and Caribbean. Taiwan also lost allies from among Central American countries in recent years. In deference to Beijing, the U.S. maintains only unofficial relations with Taipei, but remains its chief economic backer and source of weaponry to defend itself from China's threat to invade the island. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomatic pressure, often won through gifts to poor nations, has kept Taiwan out of the United Nations and most other international forums, Lin claimed. China refuses to deal with Taiwan's pro-independence government and has been pressing its diplomatic campaign to isolate the island. In February, the South Pacific country of Cook Islands signed a largely secret deal with China to boost cooperation on matters such as mining seabed minerals. It provoked a rare diplomatic clash with the Cook Island's chief benefactor, New Zealand, and protests at home. That came after the Solomon Islands switched ties from Taiwan to China and signed a secret security arrangement with Beijing, despite considerable opposition from political opponents and parts of the public at home. Most recently, Somalia has said it will cease accepting visitors or transit passengers with Taiwanese passports. South Africa has demanded Taiwan move its unofficial representative office from the capital of Pretoria, to the city of Cape Town. Before becoming a democracy three decades ago, Taiwan was accused of using similar tactics, but an active legislature and open budgets have made secret payments untenable.
