The Hindu : For regional stability

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 03, 2002

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

For regional stability

WHILE UNDERLINING THE irrefutable fact that peace, security and stability in South Asia are inextricably linked with sane order in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of an increasingly networked world, the Association of South East Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) has identified the most immediate source of disruption. To India's immense satisfaction, the ARF has zeroed in on Pakistan's shortcomings in living up to its commitment to combat terrorism as the factor that most strongly inhibits a return to regional stability. The ARF said that it earnestly looked to Pakistan to take further urgent steps to implement its commitment to counter terrorism and added that if Islamabad were to choose to do so it would be taking an important step towards the resumption of a dialogue with India. These sentiments have been expressed in a context where Islamabad believes that it has done enough on the anti-terrorism front so as to place the onus on New Delhi to revive the dialogue. As such, the ARF's views, on the sequencing of measures that have to be taken by either side, reflect India's concerns especially since the forum has noted that a comprehensive cessation of terrorist activities would mark an essential step to de-escalate the situation.

The ARF's views on the India-Pakistan standoff have been formulated at a time when ASEAN is itself separately engaged with the U.S. and its closer partners on the measures and mechanisms that have to be adopted to deal with the phenomenon of terrorism in South-East Asia. ASEAN has been trying to fine-tune some of the member-states' concerns about erosion of their sovereignty with the U.S. demands for more integrated global action against the phenomenon even if such interaction involves a measure of intrusion into the internal affairs of individual states. While reports suggest that accord on contentious issues is close at hand, it is nevertheless quite remarkable that the ARF scrutinised the South Asian standoff so closely at such a juncture. In fact, the ASEAN Ministerial group, which met the day before the full ARF held its session, had issued a statement that was more neutral or generalised in respect of the India-Pakistan standoff. The sharpened focus that the ARF brought to bear on the issue has been attributed to forceful interventions by the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and the European Union's foreign policy and security chief, Javier Solana. Mr. Powell's intervention in the ARF session and the several statements that he has issued since he flew out of India after his last visit appear to have finally put to rest misapprehensions that Washington and New Delhi had substantively different assessments in respect of cross-border infiltration of terrorists into India from the Pakistan side of the Line of Control.

India had less reason to be smug in respect of the ARF's position on nuclear non-proliferation. Besides emphasising the need to maintain the existing moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons, the ARF took note of recent calls, made at the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 NPT Review Conference, on non-signatories to accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other related documents. India had to perforce adhere to the format under which the Chairman of the ARF session issues a statement that reflects the "sense" of the deliberations (rather than a communique or declaration comprised of the agreed minutes). As such, India's objections to the discriminatory aspects of the NPT were not reflected in the Chairman's statement. However, reports that had appeared prior to the ARF session had suggested that the forum might bring the nuclearisation of the Subcontinent under closer scrutiny. Since the forum did not bring such a focus to bear, New Delhi has reason to be pleased with the overall outcome.

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