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India & World
By P. S. Suryanarayana
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu at the posh building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here on Friday, Prof. Jayakumar said that Singapore was taking a "cautious'' view about the feasibility of a mutual legal assistance pact with India. Allaying the fear that Singapore's diplomacy of entering into free trade agreements with some major economic powers might actually push India out of the city-state's calculus, he emphasised that his country would warmly welcome an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to "set up presence here". Answering questions, in the context of the prospective visit here by the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, on August 26, Prof. Jayakumar said he "would not go on record of saying that, yes, we (Singapore) will be a bridge (between India and China)''. However, if any of the "attributes" of the city state, as a business hub and a communications centre, could prove "helpful" to both "China and India (which, in fact) are dealing with each other", then "we (Singaporeans) will consider ourselves privileged." He was responding to a question about the "common denominator" that might enable Singapore to play a friendly intermediary role as regards India and China. The idea of Singapore's potential as a "bridge" has gained some currency in recent months — not, perhaps, as a strategic metaphor but in the sense of the city-state being a point at the "crossroads" of Sino-Indian trade and tourism. On August 14, a function was held to promote the international airport here as precisely such a point of facilitation. As for Singapore's detection of the existence of Jemaah Islamiyah, Al-Qaeda's suspected South East Asian affiliate with extra-territorial linkages, Prof. Jayakumar said: "I am not aware of (JI's) linkages with Pakistan itself. The only thing I recall is that some of the JI people, whom we arrested here, had gone to Afghanistan for training in various things. .. They had travelled through Pakistan''. His response to the question of links between the JI and any of the "Kashmiri" terrorist groups was: "Not that we are aware of''. Looking forward to having "a free-flowing discussion" with Mr. Sinha on a range of bilateral as also international issues, he said: "I don't see this (the "divergence of views" on the present Iraq question) as in any way causing problem in our bilateral (relationship with India)". On the security-related issues in the India-Singapore engagement at this stage, Prof. Jayakumar said there was "progress" on the constitution of a joint working group on counter-terrorism and other relevant issues. Noting that the "terms of reference are being finalised or have been finalised," he said "we hope to have the inauguration of (the) working group soon". Given that Singaporeans "have different ways of having engagement with different countries", he noted that "no set pattern" determined the course of the discussions with India on strategic issues. Without closing the door on the possibility of an India-Singapore extradition treaty, he drew attention to the relevance of their continued adherence to the Commonwealth Rendition of Offenders Scheme. "My reading of it is (that it) will also allow extradition of terrorists." The Minister said that the Commonwealth's scheme had been put to use, at least once, on the bilateral front, with India extraditing a person to Singapore. The case related to a person who was extradited in December last year and convicted in May this year for fraudulent activities. Singapore's note of caution as regards the ongoing evaluation of the need for a mutual legal assistance treaty with India was traceable to the fact that the city-state had amended its relevant legislation only two years ago. On economic diplomacy, Prof. Jayakumar did not share the view that India might be "crowded out" of the city-state, given its success in clinching free trade agreements with the U.S. and Japan. In the "broader context" of the ongoing moves towards a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) with India, the focus was on "how we (Singapore) can serve as a catalyst or as an anchor for its (India's) engagement in the region". He did not also see Singapore losing its lustre as a foreigner-friendly destination despite its current public debate on the space that could be allotted to foreign talent.
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