International Relations: June 2022 Current Affairs | UPSC Mains: International Relations PDF Download

India-Israel Relations

Why in News?

Recently, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister visited India and held bilateral Meetings and agreed to deepen defence ties.

What are the Key Highlights of the Visit?

• Joint Declaration:
  • The two Ministers presented a joint declaration marking 30 years of Israel-India relations.
  • The declaration reiterated the commitment of both the countries to deepen defence ties.
• India-Israel Vision on Defense Cooperation:
  • Both sides adopted the India-Israel Vision on Defense Cooperation to further strengthen the existing framework of the Indo-Israeli defense cooperation architecture.
• A Letter of Intent was Exchanged:
  • A Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of futuristic defence technologies was exchanged.
  • Bilateral Cooperation will be in line with Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India vision.
• Military-To-Military Activities:
  • Both countries reviewed the existing military-to-military activities which have increased despite the challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic.
  • They discussed ways to increase cooperation in all domains with a focus on Research & Development in future technologies and defence co-production.
    

How has the India-Israel Relations been So Far?

• Diplomatic Ties:
  • Though India officially recognised Israel in 1950, the two countries established full diplomatic ties only on 29th January 1992. As of December 2020, India was among 164 United Nations (UN) member states to have diplomatic ties with Israel.
• Economic and Commercial Relations:
  • From USD 200 million in 1992, bilateral merchandise trade stood at USD 4.14 billion (excluding defence) during the period April 2020 – February 2021 with the balance of trade being in India’s favour.
  • Trade in diamonds constitutes about 50% of bilateral trade..
• Defence:
  • India is the largest buyer of military equipment from Israel, which, in turn, is the second-largest defence supplier to India, after Russia.
  • The Indian armed forces have inducted a wide array of Israeli weapon systems over the years, which range from Phalcon AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control Systems) and Heron, Searcher-II and Harop drones to Barak anti-missile defence systems and Spyder quick-reaction anti-aircraft missile systems.
• Cooperation in Agriculture:
  • In May 2021, “a three-year work program agreement” for development in agriculture cooperation, was signed.
  • The programme aims to grow existing Centres of Excellence (CoE), establish new centers, increase CoE’s value chain, bring the Centres of Excellence into the self-sufficient mode, and encourage private sector companies and collaboration.

Way Forward

• The ties between the two nations have flourished since 1992, primarily due to common strategic interests and security threats.
• Indians are sympathetic towards Israel and the government is balancing and recalibrating its West Asia policy on the premise of its own national interest.

India-Bangladesh Railway Links Restored

In News

• The commercial services on the Haldibari-Chilahati railway link between India and Bangladesh, which had been defunct for over 50 years, commenced recently with a goods train travelling to the neighbouring country.

About

• The distance between Haldibari Railway Station to the international border is 4.5 km and 7.5 km from Chilahati till the ‘zero point’.
• With the addition of this link, there will be five operational rail routes between the two countries

Brief History of Rail Link

• The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was operational till 1965. 
• However, the (Indo-Pak) war of 1965 effectively cut off all railway links between India and then East Pakistan.
• The construction of a new broad gauge line from the Haldibari station to the Bangladesh border was sanctioned by the Railway Board following the joint declaration at the Inter-governmental Railway meeting in May 2015.
• The restored rail link was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India and his Bangladesh counterpart on December 17, 2020.
• However, no trains officially operated on the route after that due to the pandemic situation.

India-Bangladesh Bilateral Relations

• About:
  • India and Bangladesh share bonds of history, language, culture, and a multitude of other commonalities. 
  • The excellent bilateral ties reflect an all-encompassing partnership based on sovereignty, equality, trust, and understanding that goes far beyond a strategic partnership. 
  • The multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries ranges from traditional sectors of tourism, health and education to frontier technologies of nuclear science, space, and information technology. 
• Economic and Commercial:
  • Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh. 
  • Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has grown steadily over the last decade and the exports of Bangladesh have tripled over the last decade to cross $1 bn in 2018-19. 
• Power Sector:
  • Cooperation in the power sector has become one of the hallmarks of India- Bangladesh relations. 
  • Bangladesh is currently importing 1160 MW of power from India. 
  • The Joint Working Group (JWG)/Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on power provides an institutional framework to promote bilateral cooperation in cross border trade of electricity. 
• Development Partnership:
  • Bangladesh is the biggest development partner of India today. 
  • India has extended 3 Lines of Credits (LOC) to Bangladesh in the last 8 years amounting to US$ 8 billion for the development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports. 
  • In addition to LOCs, the Government of India has also been providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects including the construction of the Akhaura-Agartala rail link, the dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh and construction of the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

Capacity Building and Human Resource Development:

• Human resource development is a key component of India’s development cooperation efforts in Bangladesh through its several ongoing training programs and scholarships. 
• The Government of India has been training 1800 Bangladesh Civil Service officials from 2019 at National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mussoorie. 
• Bangladeshi police officials are also being trained at various premier training institutes in India on various modern policing and new investigative techniques of this information age. 

Connectivity:

• Both the governments are undertaking various measures to restore the pre-1965 rail links and other connectivity links that existed between India and Bangladesh. 
• The two Prime Ministers jointly inaugurated the newly restored railway link between Chilahati (Bangladesh) and Haldibari (India) on 17 December 2020. 
• To enhance people to people contacts, the frequency of two passenger trains, i.e., Maitree Express and Bandhan Express was increased from 4 days a week to 5 days a week and from one day a week to two days a week respectively from February 2020.
• Both countries also started using side-door container and parcel trains to maintain uninterrupted supply chains during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

Recent Developments:

• In 2020, the two Prime Ministers held a summit on a virtual platform and discussed all aspects of bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues. On this occasion, both countries signed seven bilateral instruments in various sectors including hydrocarbons, agriculture, trade, development projects, and conservation of heritage. 
• The two Prime Ministers also jointly unveiled a postal stamp issued by the Government of India to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 
• On this occasion, two bilateral projects, the Beautification and City Development Project in Rajshahi City and the Construction of Khalishpur Collegiate Girls School in Khulna were also inaugurated.

UN Report on the Taliban Regime

In News

• Recently a report on Taliban Regime was published by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Major findings of the Report

• It states that foreign terrorist organisations continue to enjoy safe haven under the new Taliban regime. 
• The terrorist groups are currently in consolidation mode and not likely to launch major attacks outside Afghanistan before 2023.
  • This may be due to financial constraints, and possibly under political pressure not to embarrass the Taliban internationally at this juncture.
• It says about internal division in the Taliban, between the moderate and hardline blocs. 
  • Wherein moderates want working relationships with foreign partners and integration with the international system and hrdliners are declining such possibilities.
  • Independent of both these blocs is the Haqqani Network which, which is inclined towards a pragmatic rather than ideological approach to securing Taliban interests.
• The report believes the Kandahari (Durrani) Taliban to be in the ascendancy among the Taliban leadership, with Pashtuns getting precedence over non-Pashtuns (like Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek communities).

Report findings on terrorist organisations affecting India:

• Two India-focussed terrorist groups, Jaish-i-Mohammed (JiM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are reported to have training camps in Afghanistan. 
  • The JiM maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control. 
  • The LeT was said to maintain three camps in Kunar and Nangarhar. 
• Both the groups enjoy close links with the Taliban leadership
  • LeT also has a history of providing finance and training expertise to Taliban operations.
• The report also says that the al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) has 180-400 fighters in Afghanistan. “
• Fighters included nationals from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Pakistan. 
• AQIS outfit has also been forced to adopt a “less aggressive posture” due to financial constraints. 

Steps taken by India in countering terrorism:

• India has taken steps for setting up Joint Working Groups (JWGs) on counter-terrorism/security matters with countries. 
• Bilateral treaties on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLATs) in Criminal matters to facilitate the investigation, collection of evidence, transfer of witnesses, location and action against proceeds of crime, etc. have been signed with other countries.
• In 2018, India highlighted its demand for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
• Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System: 
  • It vastly improves the capability of Border Security Force (BSF) in detecting and controlling the cross border crimes like illegal infiltration, smuggling of contraband goods, human trafficking and cross border terrorism, etc.
• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967:
  • It enables more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities, and other related matters.
• National Investigation Agency: 
  • It is India's counter-terrorist task force and is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states.

 Way ahead:

• National action, coupled with international and regional cooperation: 
  • China, India, Russia and Iran may also find a common interest in controlling radicalism and stabilising the region. This has to be consciously explored.
  • There should be a concerted effort from the countries affected by the scourge of terrorism to pressurise countries that engage in state-sponsored terrorism.
• Timely and Appropriate Action: 
  • Intelligence gathering and sharing are not enough, timely and appropriate action is required on the intelligence received.
  • Intelligence agencies have to be empowered both monetarily and through modern infrastructure to be able to respond in time.

China’s Presence in the Horn of Africa

Why in news?

• China has been investing across the African continent throughout the last decade.
• The conference held in Ethiopia witnessed the participation of foreign ministries from the following countries of the Horn: Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda.

Major objectives

• No doubt that china predates small nations with debt-trapping the countries.
• It focuses on increasing the infrastructural investments in African countries and converting them to security assets.
• It asserted three objectives in Africa:
  (i) Controlling the pandemic
  (ii) Implementing a Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) outcomes, and
  (iii) Upholding common interests while fighting hegemonic politics

How has China garnered goodwill in HOA?

• HOA have benefited from China’s vaccine diplomacy.
• Beijing has also initiated the “2035 vision for China-Africa cooperation”; it aims to transform the health sector, alleviate poverty, promote trade and investments, and expand digital innovation.
• The vision also focuses on green development, capacity building, improving people-to-people exchanges and facilitating peace and security in the continent.

What are China’s primary interests/investments in the Horn of Africa?

• China’s interests are related to four major areas: infrastructural projects, financial assistance, natural resources and maritime interests.
• Infrastructure:
  • Looking at Chinese investments in infrastructure, one of its landmark projects was fully funding the $200 million African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.
  • It has also made significant investments in railways; it is building the Addis-Djibouti railway line connecting the land-locked country with Eritrean ports in the Red Sea.
  • China has also invested in the Mombasa-Nairobi rail link in Kenya, and has already delivered on railway projects in Sudan.
• Debts and ‘assistances’
  • With respect to financial assistance, Ethiopia, is one of the top five African recipients of Chinese investments, and also has a debt of almost $14 billion.
  • China accounts for 67% of Kenya’s bilateral debt.
  • In 2022, China promised to provide $15.7 million assistance to Eritrea
• Mineral explorations
  • The third major Chinese interest in Africa is the presence of natural resources — oil and coal. Beijing has invested $400 million in Mombasa’s oil terminal.
  • China is also interested in minerals such as gold, iron-ore, precious stones, chemicals, oil and natural gas in Ethiopia.

Why is HOA important?

• In the last decade, the region lying between Suez Canal and the Seychelles has emerged as a new geopolitical hotspot.
• It has factors like impressive economic growth of regional countries, emergence of new security threats, and the ensuing major power rivalry driving the strategic trajectory of the region.
• The straits of Bab el-Mandeb, which lies at the heart of this region, connects the energy-rich Middle East to Europe and, along with the Suez Canal, is considered a jugular vein for global trade.

Indian footprints in the region

• India has been paying greater attention to the region but still lags behind China.
• India has bolstered defence cooperation with Oman and France (which holds territories in the Southwestern Indian Ocean).
• It has signed logistics support agreements with these countries to ensure greater naval access in the region.
• Reportedly, India was in talks with Japan to grant access to Indian naval vessels at the Japanese base in Djibouti.

Lessons for India

• China’s move towards peace in Africa indicates a shift in its principle of non-intervention.
• It is China’s message that its presence in the continent has a larger objective and is not likely to be limited to the Horn of Africa.
• This includes an aim to project itself as a global leader and boost its international status.
• Further, the recent developments imply that China is focussing on a multifaceted growth in the continent for the long run.

Partners in Blue Pacific 

In News

• The US and its allies — Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom — have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations.

What is Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) initiative?

• The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism” to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region.
• It speaks of enhancing “prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation.
• Through the PBP, the counties — together and individually — will direct more resources here to counter China’s aggressive outreach.
• The initiative members have also declared that they will “elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum.
• The areas where PBP aims to enhance cooperation include “climate crisis, connectivity and transportation, maritime security and protection, health, prosperity, and education”.

How is China trying to transform its ties in the Pacific?

• Recently China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands, the deal flagged serious concerns about the Chinese military getting a base in the southern Pacific, close to the US island territory of Guam, and right next to Australia and New Zealand.
• Its failed attempt to push 10 Pacific nations to endorse a “game-changing” agreement called the “Common Development Vision” – where it intended to work with “traditional and non-traditional security,” and expand law enforcement cooperation with these countries.
• China indicated that it would continue pursuing this goal.

What is being done by the US and its allies to counter China?

• The US and its partners started the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a trade-boosting play in the region with 13 nations
• Recently G7 announced a plan — Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) — to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative by promising to raise $600 billion to fund development projects in low and middle-income countries.
• And now the new initiative ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations

Why is the Pacific region strategically important?

• In its 2019 strategy report, the US Department of Defence called the Indo-Pacific the “single most consequential region for America’s future”.
• Spanning a vast stretch of the globe from the west coast of the United States to the western shores of India,
• the region is home to the world’s most populous state (China),
• most populous democracy (India), and largest Muslim-majority state (Indonesia),
• and includes over half of the earth’s population.
• Among the 10 largest standing armies in the world, 7 reside in the Indo-Pacific;
• and 6 countries in the region possess nuclear weapons.
• Nine of the world’s 10 busiest seaports are in the region,
• and 60 percent of global maritime trade transits through Asia, with roughly one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea alone.

Pacific Island Forum

• Pacific Island Forum is an ‘Inter-governmental organization’.
• It was established in year 1971.
• The objective of the organization is to work in support of Forum member governments, to enhance the economic and social well-being of the people of the South Pacific by fostering cooperation between governments and between international agencies.
• The summit of the organization held annually and which is presided by the host country.
• The summit discusses about decisions related to the development and implementations of policies in the region.
• The forum has 18 members, which are as follows- Australia, Cook Islands, Federation of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kribati, Nauru, Palau, Republic of Marshal Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

WTO’s Appellate Body 

Why in News?

• There was no discussion to revive the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body (AB), which has been redundant since 2019, at the recently concluded 12th ministerial conference.

What is WTO’s Appellate Body?

• About:
  • WTO was established to provide a platform for negotiations for liberating trade and creating rules, as well as to monitor and administer multilateral trades.
  • One of the key objectives was also to address the grievances between its members by acting as a court for global trade.
  • The Appellate Body, set up in 1995, is a standing committee of seven members with a limited four-year term that presides over appeals against judgments passed in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members.
  • Disputes arise when a member country observes that another member government is breaching a commitment, or a trade agreement made at the WTO.
    
• Structure:
  • The Appellate Body is composed of seven Members who are appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to serve for four-year terms.
  • The DSB has authority to establish dispute settlement panels, refer matters to arbitration, adopt panel, Appellate Body and arbitration reports, maintain surveillance over the implementation of recommendations and rulings contained in such reports, and authorize suspension of concessions in the event of non-compliance with those recommendations and rulings.
  • Each person may be reappointed for another four-year term.
• Appointment:
  • Each member of the Appellate Body is required to be a person with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the subject-matter of the covered agreements generally.
  • They are also required to be unaffiliated with any government and are to be broadly representative of the membership of the WTO.
  • A Chairman is elected among the Members to serve a one-year term, which can be extended for an additional period of one year.
  • He is responsible for the overall direction of Appellate Body business.
  • The current Chairperson is Hong Zhao of China.
  • A Division of three Members is selected to hear each appeal and each division elects a Presiding Member.

What are the Issues?

Stopping of the Judges’ Appointment:

• The United States stopped the process of reappointing judges, after their terms expired in 2017. In December 2019, the number of judges in the court fell below three — the minimum required.
  • It believes the WTO is biased against it, and has criticised it for being “unfair”.
• At least three people are required to preside over an appeal, and if new members are not appointed to replace the two retiring ones, the body will cease to be relevant.

Very Less Efficient at Rulings:

• Over 600 cases reached the body since its formation in 1995 and rulings were issued in some 350.
• It has even blamed that the AB has failed to issue rulings within the 90-day deadline.

What are the Implications?

• With the Appellate Body unable to review new applications, there is already great uncertainty over the WTO’s dispute settlement process.
• If the body is declared non-functional, countries may be compelled to implement rulings by the panel even if they feel that gross errors have been committed.
• Countries may refuse to comply with the order of the panel on the ground that it has no avenue for appeal. It will run the risk of facing arbitration proceedings initiated by the other party in the dispute.
• This also does not bode well for India, which is facing a rising number of dispute cases, especially on agricultural products.
• In the backdrop of rising trade tension between the US and China, the overall weakening of the WTO framework could have the effect of undoing over two decades of efforts to avoid protectionism in global trade.

What are the Disputes Involving India at the WTO?

• The disputes where India is a complaining party are countervailing duty by the US on Indian steel products, measures by America concerning non-immigrant visas, renewable energy programmes of the US, and import duties imposed on steel and aluminium products by America.
• WTO disputes where India is a responding party include prohibition by India on import of poultry and poultry products filed by the US, and import duties on certain information and communication technology goods filed by the EU, Japan and Taiwan.
• In January 2022, India appealed against a ruling of WTO trade dispute settlement panel which ruled that the country's domestic support measures for sugar and sugarcane are inconsistent with global trade norms.

Way Forward

Support Proposal to get New Members:

• Usually, new appointments to the Appellate Body are made by a consensus of WTO members, but there is also a provision for voting where a consensus is not possible.
• The group of 17 least developed and developing countries, including India, that have committed to working together to end the impasse at the Appellate Body can submit or support a proposal to this effect, and try to get new members on the Appellate Body by a majority vote.
• But, this may be an option of the last resort, as all countries fear unilateral measures by the US as a consequence of directly opposing its veto.

Suitable Punishment if Breaks Law:

• If a country has done something wrong, it should swiftly correct its fault. And if it continues to break an agreement, it should offer compensation or face a suitable response that has some bite — although this is not actually a punishment: it’s a “remedy”, the ultimate goal being for the country to comply with the ruling.

Reformative Approach:

• The permanent long-term solutions based on reformative approach include having a transitional rule for the outgoing members, allowing them to completely dispose the pending appeals even after the expiry of their terms and limiting the Appellate body’s interpretation to the meaning of consented national laws without stepping over the policy space, so as to preserve sovereignty of the nations.

Regular Meeting of the Members:

• The other long-term solutions include regular meetings of the WTO members with the Appellate body to ensure effective communication and immediate redressal mechanism.
• Thus, all the nations must come together to bring in a common ground to address the crisis so as to not be faced with the worst-case scenario.

To Read More information on this topic:

• The World Trade Organisation