‘India will have to take sides if it joins UNSC’

BENGALURU: India’s standing among countries over the next few years will depend on whether it chooses to take sides in any major international issue instead of trying to distance itself from making its viewpoint clearly, a retired diplomat and former ambassador to South Korea has opined.
Delivering the Dharmaprakasha L S Venkaji Rao Memorial endowment lecture on Tuesday, N Parthasarathi of the Indian Foreign Service spoke on India’s diplomatic relations with the world and with our close neighbours.

Discussing India’s recent intervention at the Dokalam tri-junction with China and Bhutan, Parthasarathi said that India was being watched closely by all its neighbours in South East Asia to see if it would take up the mantle of standing up to an aggressive and assertive China. “India choosing to stand its ground in the issue helped heal psychological wounds. Indians now know that we might not go to war with China but will definitely not shy away from standing up,” he said.

However, Parathasarathi opined that Russia’s intervention into Crimea had resulted in a new cold war. “Sanctions against Russia after the Crimea affair led to them becoming closer to China. Today, Russia has sided with many countries, including Iran and more in the Middle East against the United States. “So far we have managed to keep everyone happy. But tomorrow if India joins the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), India will have to take sides. If it takes up leadership of countries against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, it might have to stand against Russia and China,” he said.