Trilateral 'axis' to challenge US presence

From Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI–In a significant development, India, China and Russia have agreed to form a trilateral “axis” to challenge US presence close to their borders.
Stepping clear of calling it an “axis” or a “block”, an official spokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry Nirupama Rao here confirmed that the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov had mooted such a proposal during his meeting with Indian leaders.
She said India has agreed to the Russian proposal for frequent meetings between Delhi, Moscow and Beijing to coordinate a common position among the three on important international issues. She, however, refused to call it an “axis” or a “block” directed against any country. She repeatedly emphasised that the arrangement will involve an informal consultation between the three important Asian nations to exchange views and fight global terrorism menace.
Igor Ivanov, who was here on a two-day visit left for Kabul Monday afternoon. Besides holding talks with External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Ivanov here met Defence Minister George Fernandes. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klabnov is also arriving here Tuesday on a four-day visit to carry forward the proposal of “trilateral axis”. He will also sign several agreement including a defence protocol with Indian leaders.
Weary of presence of American troops close to their borders, jittery Russia, China and India are moving closer to give a clear signal to Washington that if need be, the three together could pose a challenge. A few days ago at an informal get-together of editors of national Hindi dailies, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had opened his heart by voicing concern at the presence of American troops in Pakistan.
Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov had floated the proposal for the trilateral axis three years ago. But, it was shot down by China, since the proposal had come soon after the May nuclear tests and India’s relations with China were strained.
Sources in the Indian External Affairs Ministry here told The Nation that this time Russia has dusted the axis proposal at the instance of China. The presence of US troops in the region has become a source of worry for China. At this juncture, he said, it suits Beijing to join the Russia-proposed trilateral axis. He said the issue had been discussed when Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji was here last month.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had agreed that the three countries should coordinate positions on issues of mutual benefit, but made it clear that it should not be described as an axis or bloc.
India’s diplomatic balancing act is aimed at ensuring that its new friend, the US, does not misunderstand the move. Till recently, it had played down the axis proposal. But there seems to have been a slight shift in its position this time, mainly for two reasons. One, the Russians are keen on the axis and Singh does not want to disappoint India’s “time-tested” ally. Second, and perhaps a more important one, stems from the successful visit of Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji last month.
Indian officials here believed that China might have second thoughts on its relations with Pakistan as a result of Pervez Musharraf cosying up to the US and allowing its troops to use Pakistani territory. India has decided it would be better to engage with China and Russia on issues that may be important and beneficial for Delhi.
In a joint statement issued Sunday evening, India and Russia asked Pakistan to take “sustained, irreversible steps” to end cross-border terrorism and create a conducive atmosphere for resumption of dialogue in accordance with the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.
While Russia extended full support to the Indian position mandating resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue on the basis of concrete steps by Pakistan on the ground, Ivanov said he emphasised the need for “settlement of regional conflicts”. Ivanov mentioned West Asia and Iraq and Singh spoke of Afghanistan and terrorism.
Official sources here also said that during his one-hour-long meeting on Monday with Fernandes, Ivanov discussed military cooperation. They said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov would follow up the discussions with talks on sale and lease of nuclear-powered submarines and long-range bombers to India during his visit.
The stand-off on the Indo-Pak border and India’s request for emergency supply of spares and arms also figured prominently in the talks between Fernandes and Ivanov. Fernandes briefed the Russian Minister on the troop mobilization on the border.
The Ivanov-Fernandes meeting comes in the backdrop of the presence of a high-level Russian delegation in the Capital which is working on a Defence Protocol on Moscow’s offer to New Delhi for a joint programme for development of futuristic weapons systems. The protocol is due to be signed on Wednesday.
According to sources, Russia has already made a formal offer to India to join its project for development of a fifth-generation fighter jet.
The two nations interacted on development of the Sukhoi Su-30MK1 multi-role fighter for the Indian Air Force, have a joint venture for production of the Brahmos-PJ-10 anti-ship cruise missile, and are jointly developing the Ilyushin-IL-214/MTA multi-role transport plane. Sources said Russia is building three Krivak-class stealth frigates for the Indian navy and is to supply advanced weapon systems for India’s stealth frigate Project 17.