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Subject: International Relations

  • Henley Passport Index 2020

    The Indian passport is closer to the bottom, ranked 84th in the world, according to the 2020 edition of the Henley Passport Index.

    Henley Passport Index

    • According to Henley & Partners publishes the ranking and the Index of the world’s passports “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa”.
    • The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers.
    • The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.
    • The data are updated in real time as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

    India’s performance

    • Since the index began in 2006, the Indian passport has ranked in a band of 71st to 88th. (The number of passports ranked has, however, varied from year to year.)
    • The Indian passport’s 2020 ranking of 84th translates into visa-free access to 58 destinations, including 33 which give Indians visas on arrival.
    • It ranked higher in both 2019 (82, with visa-free access to 59 destinations) and 2018 (81, with visa-free access to 60 destinations).
    • Twenty of the 58 visa-free access destinations in the 2020 list are in Africa, and 11 each in Asia and the Caribbean.
    • Serbia is the only European country to which Indian passport holders can travel visa-free. There is no major or developed country to which Indian passport holders have visa-free access.

    Global performance

    • The top 10 most powerful passports this year are ranked in this order: Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg and Denmark.
    • Japan has been topping the Index for three straight years; according to the 2020 index, its citizens are able to access 191 destinations without having to obtain a visa in advance.
    • Afghanistan at rank 107 is the weakest.
    • Singapore, in second place (same as in 2019), has a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 190.
    • Germany is No. 3 (same position as in 2019), with access to 189 destinations; it shares this position with South Korea, which dropped from the second place it held a year ago.
    • The US and the UK have been falling consistently over successive Indices.

  • [op-ed snap] The world from Raisina.

    Context:

    As the world is moving from an era of predictability to an era of unpredictability led by the US and China, a new Middle Power coalition is the need of an hour.

    The “Rising India” narrative and challenges

    • The narrative was scripted over the two post-Cold War decades, 1991 to 2011.
    • Narrative of plural secular democracy: It was based on the improving performance of the economy and India’s political ability to deal with many longstanding diplomatic challenges within a paradigm of realism.
    • Three successive prime ministers – scripted the narrative of India rising as a plural, secular democracy, as opposed to China’s rise within an authoritarian system.
    • Opening of new vistas: India’s improving economic performance had opened up new vistas for cooperation with major powers and neighbours.
    • New challenges to the narrative: Now the economy’s subdued performance and domestic political issues have created new challenges for Indian foreign policy.
      • The new approach to relations with India adopted by both President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping has created a more challenging external environment.

    Relations with the US

    • New demands from the US: Each time New Delhi has tried to meet a US demand, Washington DC has come up with new demands.
    • US-China dispute resolution and effects for India: Any resolution of US differences with China, can only reduce whatever little bargaining clout India has.
    • Complaint at WTO: The US has, in fact, actively lodged complaints against India at the World Trade Organisation.
    • Geopolitical effects for India:  On the geopolitical side, US intervention in West Asia has always imposed an additional economic burden on India.

    Relations with China

    • Consistent policy: There has been continuity and consistency in India-China policy over the past two decades, with some ups and downs.
    • Effects of power difference with China: As the bilateral power differential widens, China has little incentive or compulsion to be accommodative of Indian concerns, much less the interests. 
      • China never fails to remind India of the growing power differential between the two.
    • Building strength to deal with China: In dealing with China, India will have to, paraphrasing Deng Xiaoping, “build its strength and bide its time.

    Russia’s focus

    • It will remain focused on Eurasian geopolitics.
    • It will also be concerned with the geo-economics of energy.
    • Implications for India: Both these factors define Russia’s relations with China, and increasingly, with Pakistan, posing a challenge for India.

     

    Way forward in the relations with Pakistan

    • The government’s Pakistan policy has run its course.
      • It yielded some short-term results thanks to Pakistan’s efforts not to get “black-listed” by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
      • But the rest of the world is doing business with Pakistan, lending billions in aid.
    • The global community may increasingly accept future pleas from Pakistan that terror attacks in India are home-grown.
    • related to the situation in Kashmir or concerns about the welfare of Muslims, unless incontrovertible evidence to the contrary is offered.
    • The need for a new Pakistan policy: Backchannel talks should be resumed and visas should be given liberally to Pakistani intellectuals, media and entertainers to improve cross-border perceptions as a first step towards improving relations.

    The Middle Powers and opportunities for India

    • What are the middle powers?  It is a mix of developed and developing economies, some friends of the US and other friends of China.
      • It is an amorphous group but can emerge into a grouping of the like-minded in a world of uncertainty capable of taming both the US and China.
      • A new Middle Powers coalition may be the need of the year.
    • Which countries can be part of it?  Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and perhaps South Korea. One could include Russia, Nigeria and South Africa also in this group.
    • Stakes involved but no influence: Like India, these countries have a stake in what the US and China do, but little influence over either.
    • What India can do? These countries which constitute the part of the Middle Powers should engage the attention of India’s external affairs minister.

    Disruptive policies not an option

    • Adoption of disruptive approach: There is a view among some policy analysts that India too can adopt a “disruptive” approach as a clever tactic in foreign affairs.
      • Disruption is not an end in itself. It has to be a means to an end.
      • Powerful nations can afford disruption as tactics.
    • Unchanged strategic elements: The strategic elements defining Indian foreign policy in the post-Cold War era have not changed.
    • Not an option: India cannot risk such tactics without measuring the risk they pose to strategy.

    Conclusion

    With the changing geopolitical atmosphere particularly with respect to the US and Chiana, India needs to adopt a suitable approach to its foreign policy especially involving the Middle Powers.

     

     

  • [op-ed snap] Iran’s tightrope

    Context

    In the aftermath of recent events, Iran needs a new compact to deal with the domestic crisis and also a framework to deal with the US.

    The threat of “regime change” in Iran

    • The US policy-The temptation for a policy of “regime change” in Iran has never disappeared from the US policy towards Iran.
      • The policy is based on the hope that mounting external pressure and deepening internal dissent will combine to produce a “regime collapse” in Tehran.
      • US President has often insisted that he is not seeking to overthrow the clerical regime in Tehran led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
      • The Us demands were an end to the nuclear and missile programmes, stop supporting terror in the region and end the interference in the internal affairs of its Arab neighbours.
    • Iran’s success in fending off these threats: Iran has been successful so far in fending off these external and internal challenges.
      • Iran has put down repeated mass uprisings and neutered attempts from within the elite to reform the system.

    De-escalation of the tension after the war-like situation

    • Fear of escalation: The widespread assessment after the killing of Soleimani was that Iran would inevitably escalate the confrontation.
      • Tehran set up a token retaliation for domestic political consumption and quickly called for de-escalation.
    • The message of peace from the US: Trump also told the Iranian leaders that America “is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it”.

    The shooting of a passenger jet and the aftermath 

    • The shooting of the jet:
      • The Ukrainian passenger jet was shot-down near Tehran killing all 176 passengers and crew on-board.
      • It included 82 Iranian nationals and many Canadian citizens of Iranian origin
    • After initial denial, Tehran was forced to accept responsibility for shooting down the plane.
    • The aftermath of the shooting of the plane
      • Protests: Soon after the confession, protests broke out against the government.
      • Demand for accountability: Iranians are angry at the attempt of the government to cover up initially and are demanding full accountability.

    The general discontent of the people against the government

    • The latest round of protests must be seen as a continuation of those that have raged since the end of 2017.
    • Reasons for the discontent: Economic grievances, frustration with widespread corruption, demands for liberalising the restrictions on women and political opposition to the regime are the reasons.
    • Discontent against external adventures: There was also strong criticism of the government’s costly external adventures in the Middle East amidst the deteriorating economic conditions.
      • There is little love for the Revolutionary Guards, the principal face of state oppression.
    • External pressure: As the regime cracks down on the protests against the airliner shooting, the external pressures against Iran are only likely to mount.

    Available option and their dangers

    • As sanctions squeeze the Iranian economy, the costs of regional overreach become apparent, and internal protests become persistent, Khamenei has few good options.
    • The option of the new political compact: Offering a new political compact to the people of Iran or a new framework to deal with the Arab neighbours and the US would seem reasonable goals.
      • But they involve considerable risk for the regime.
    • The option of pragmatism: All revolutionary regimes come to a point when they need to replace ideological fervour with pragmatism.
      • But the change from ideological fervour to pragmatism is also the time of the greatest vulnerability for the regime.

    Conclusion

    India as a friend of Iran will surely begin to debate if privately, the implications of the deepening regime crisis in Iran.

  • Raisina Dialogue 2020

     

    India`s annual global conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, Raisina Dialogue 2020 has began with the participation of over 100 countries.

    Raisina Dialogue

    • The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
    • It is jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation.
    • Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters.
    • The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of state, cabinet ministers and local government officials, as well as major private sector executives, members of the media and academics.

    This years’ agenda

    • The fifth edition of the Dialogue 2020 has been India`s contribution to global efforts to discover solutions, identify opportunities and provide stability to a century that has witnessed an eventful two decades.
    • This year`s Dialogue titled `Navigating the Alpha Century` is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of states, cabinet ministers and local government officials as well as major private sector executives, members of the media and academics.

    Significance of the dialogue

    • The Raisina Dialogue has acquired an enviable global profile uniting the best strategic thinkers of the world.
    • The synergies and collaborations in the Raisina Dialogue represent India`s deliberative ethos, as well as its international credibility and convening power.
    • The Dialogue has grown along with India`s diplomatic profile and will set the tone for its intensive diplomatic engagement this year.

  • [op-ed snap] A multilateral alternative, by Asia

    Context

    After the gap of 200 years, Asian economies are once again larger than the rest of the world combined.

    The Asian Century

    • Providing an alternative order: With the rise of India and China, Asia is providing a multilateral alternative to the world base on values.
    • Asian Century corresponds to the re-emergence of the two countries, leveraging the size and technological competence
    • Civilizational values: Both countries have civilisational values that are different from the west.
    • Peaceful existence: In the case of India and China balance of power is a western construct and both lived in peace across the ages.
    • The rise of China on the global landscape: In 2013, after attaining 15% of global wealth, announced the multilateral Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In 2014, launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, challenging the global governance paradigm.
    • India in 2015, established the International Solar Alliance, laying out a distinct global sustainable development framework.
    • Current multilateralism and its problems: The U.S. has recognised the ‘Asian Century’ bypassing multilateralism and recognised Indo-Pacific construct.
    • The U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the inclusion of intellectual property rights into the trade regime point to the colonial origin of the present order.

     

    New Framework- Country-specific to global value chain

    • Changing competition: Competition is moving from country-specific to fragmented competition based on global value chains.
    • Imposing the U.S. determined national security standards has led to only a handful of countries agreeing to ban Huawei for 5G technology.
    • The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran that have affected India’s interests.
    • A different approach of China: It is based on “common interests” as different from the agreed goals of a negotiated treaty. BRI is an example of this.
    • It optimise not maximise the financial returns with countries remaining out of it.
    • The BRI offers the benefit of integration and connectivity with European markets to the member countries.

    Potential of BRI

    • It acts as a strategic framework: It provides a strategic framework for new global institution building.
    • Its scope is as wide as multilateral treaties.
    • Internationalizing the Renminbi: With state-owned enterprises in the infrastructure sector in the sector in BRI and backing from national banks is internationalising the Renminbi.
    • Developing blockchain bases infrastructure: As a leader in digital transactions, China is developing blockchain-based infrastructure in BRI countries. Thus reducing the dependence on the dollar.

    The shared interest of India and China

    • RCEP: China and the rest of the countries are eager that India joins the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the largest trading block.
    • Security and border dispute: With the U.S. pivot to Asia, China is eager to resolve the dispute with India to avoid constraints.
    • Huawei: India has rejected American opposition to Huawei taking part in 5G trials, India allowed all applicants to participate.

        The emergence of new values

    • The emergence of the new order should not be seen through a western prism.
    • The triumvirate: India, the U.S., and China are intertwined with each other. China was the largest supplier of the goods to the U.S. in 2018 and it has been India’s major trading partner.
    • They take part in limited sectoral cooperation on a regional basis.
    • Both the U.S. and China have a regular high-level discussions on strategic issues with India.

        Area of future differences

    • In Asia, differences will center on overlapping priorities.
    • Security-The U.S.’s effort to maintain hegemony.
    • Economy-China’s emphasis on connectivity, markets, and growth.
    • An equitable and sustainable development-India-led framework of digital infrastructure designed as a public good.

       Conclusion

    With the rise of India and China in Asia and the presence of the U.S. with them is going to make the new order centered around Asia a new reality in the near future.

  • [pib] Mutual Legal Assistance

    In furtherance to India’s policy of zero tolerance for crime and in an endeavor to fast track the dispensation of justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued Revised Guidelines for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.

    Mutual Legal Assistance guidelines

    • They aim to enhance and streamline the process of international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
    • By incorporating various legal and technological developments in the recent years, it aims to make the documentation in this regard more precise and focused as well as compliant with International requirements.
    • The guidelines have also taken into account the concerns raised by various courts for prompt and timely responses in service of documents on persons residing abroad.
    • As an initiative, the revised guidelines have provision for service of documents on authorities of foreign country preferably within 10 days of receipt of request in respect of offences committed against women and children.

    Why need Mutual Legal Assistance?

    • The transnational nature of crime and digital explosion has blurred geographical boundaries for criminal activities.
    • Availability of evidence and criminals outside the sovereign jurisdiction of countries has necessitated the transformation of scope and nature of conventional investigation.

    MLA treaties

    • India has entered into Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties/ Agreements with 42 countries and is signatory to various international conventions i.e. UNCAC, UNTOC etc.
    • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the designated ‘Central Authority’ for India. Generally, assistance is sought and received in the form of Mutual Legal Assistance Requests/Letters.

  • [op-ed snap] Amidst a tragedy, an opportunity

    Context

    The raging fire in Australia gives provides an opportunity for India and Australia to deepen their dialogue including on energy.

    Scope for the two countries

    • At this moment India and Australia have a rare opportunity to translate their converging interests into a partnership.
    • At Australia India Leadership Dialogue last month in Melbourne, the breadth and depth of the relationship was evident.
    • As a consequence of the bushfires, the debate on global warming, climate change and fossil fuels is going to intensify in the weeks ahead.
    • Environmental activism has gained ground throughout Australia.
    • Indian Ocean Dipole may have triggered the drought that is related to the fires.
    • The campaign against fossil fuels and the export of coal is sure to intensify.
    • India and Australia are two economies with a great stakeholding in fossil fuels.
    • It is critical for India and Australia to ensure that their dialogue on energy acquires momentum.
    • Both countries must simultaneously strengthen the International Solar Alliance and the search for other alternative green fuels.

    Common threat of China

    • Leadership Dialogue also recognised that we are living through a period of immense turbulence, disruption, and even subversion.
    • Presence of assertive China is the single biggest challenge to our two countries.
    • In India, there is a consensus that the Australia-India relationship is an idea whose time has well and truly come.

    Area of coordination

    • India and Australia can work on the area of water management to trauma research to skill and higher education.
    • Both the countries can also work in the area of maritime security, cybersecurity, counterterrorism,
    • In a survey, Indians ranked Australia in the top four nations towards which they feel most warmly.
    • Both have a strategic interest in ensuring a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
    • Indians are today the largest source of skilled migrants in Australia.
    • there is need for an early conclusion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement.

     Conclusion

    There is a large scope for both countries to coordinate on wide issues like energy, research, security and work together for the benefit of both countries.

     

     

  • UAE’s new 5-year visa scheme

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a five-year multiple-entry visa scheme for all nationalities, in a move that is geared towards promoting tourism in the country.

    What is UAE’s new visa scheme?

    • According to the Dubai-based Gulf News, prior to this, tourists could get single or multiple-entry visas for a duration of 30 or 90 days.
    • In the new five-year multiple-entry system, visa holders may be allowed to stay for six months at a stretch.
    • The details of the scheme are yet to be announced. The country’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship will be implementing the decision.
    • Travellers from Africa, some South American countries, Arab states outside the Gulf, and European states from outside the European Union and the former Soviet Union previously needed visas.
    • The UAE currently receives more 2.1 crore tourists annually, and has recently increased its pace of rolling out policies to boost its trade and tourism sectors.

    Other reforms

    • In July 2019, the UAE allowed women employed in the country to sponsor work permits for their husbands, fathers, and adult children, and reduced the fees for obtaining work permits by 50 per cent to 94 per cent for 145 services and transactions.
    • In the same month, the Emirate of Dubai said it would accept the Indian rupee (INR) for transactions at duty-free stores.

  • [op-ed snap]The U.S. is weakened by Soleimani’s killing

    Context

    Targeted killing of powerful Iranian Major-General could have done more bad than good for the U.S.

    Series of events after the assassination

    • The Iraqi parliament voted to expel the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and deny them access to its airspace, land or water.
    • Pro-Iranian groups could attack across the region where thousands of U.S. troops and official personnel are stationed.
    • Soleimani’s assassination has awakened the deep strain of Iranian patriotism.
    • And Iran is not alone.
    • In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called Soleimani the “glue that held the Resistance Axis together”.
    • The U.S threat of striking “52 Iranian sites” did not win the U.S. any support on the international stage.
    • Even the Europeans, otherwise steadfast with the U.S. in these sorts of adventures, hesitated.
    • Arab League’s Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed concern over the situation and asked for calm.
    • This is the same man who had, only a few weeks ago, accused Iran of sowing chaos in the region.
    • It is likely that China and Russia will table a resolution at the UN that calls for calm as well as criticises the U.S.
    • This will certainly be vetoed by the U.S.

    Desperate and irrational policy

    • Till now the U.S. has not been able to extricate itself from its illegal war against Iraq.
    • That war provided a massive advantage to Iran not only in Iraq but also across the region.
    • This is what terrified two of the U.S.’s allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of whom pressured Washington to increase its threats against Iran.
    • S. create the conditions for the rise of the worst kind of violence in Iraq, and later Syria
    • It also weakened the strategic position of its allies.
    • No attempt by the U.S. to regain its authority has worked.
    • The U.S. policy against Iran and Iraq appear desperate and irrational.

    Conclusion

    • The U.S recklessness has isolated it further and deepened anxieties amongst its increasingly isolated regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

  • What is Jus Cogens?

    The US has threatened to target few historical sites if Iran retaliates to attack US in revenge. This is a breach of JUS COGENS as targeting cultural sites amounts to a a war crime.

    Jus Cogens

    • The jus cogens rules have been sanctioned by the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and 1986. According to both Conventions, a treaty is void if it breaches jus cogens rules.
    • Jus Cogens or ius cogens, meaning “compelling law” in Latin, are rules in international law that are peremptory or authoritative, and from which states cannot deviate.
    • These norms cannot be offset by a separate treaty between parties intending to do so, since they hold fundamental values.
    • Today, most states and international organisations accept the principle of jus cogens, which dates back to Roman times.

    What does the convention say?

    • Article 53 of the 1969 Convention says: “A treaty is void if, at the time of its conclusion, it conflicts with a peremptory norm of general international law.
    • For the purposes of the present Convention, a peremptory norm of general international law is a norm accepted and recognized by the international community of States as a whole as a norm.
    • From this no derogation is permitted and which can be modified only by a subsequent norm of general international law having the same character.
    • Article 64 says- If a new peremptory norm of general international law emerges, any existing treaty which is in conflict with that norm becomes void and terminates.
    • Besides treaties, unilateral declarations also have to abide by these norms.

    What is included in jus cogens?

    • So far, an exhaustive list of jus cogens rules does not exist.
    • However, the prohibition of slavery, genocide, racial discrimination, torture, and the right to self-determination are recognised norms.
    • The prohibition against apartheid is also recognised as a jus cogens rule, from which no derogation is allowed, since apartheid is against the basic principles of the UN.

    What is the problem with targeting cultural heritage?

    • Following the unparalleled destruction of cultural heritage in World War II, the nations of the world adopted at The Hague in 1954, The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
    • It was the first international treaty focussed exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage during war and armed conflict.
    • The Convention defined cultural property as “movable or immovable property of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people, such as monuments of architecture, art or history, whether religious or secular; archaeological sites….”, etc.
    • There are currently 133 signatories to Convention, including countries that have acceded to and ratified the treaty.
    • Both the United States and Iran (as well as India) signed the Convention on May 14, 1954, and it entered into force on August 7, 1956.
    • The Rome Statute of 1998, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, describes as a “war crime” any intentional attack against a historical monument, or a building dedicated to religion, education, art, or science.