INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS It is to be noted that more than 100 international organizations are in existence and from a laymans point

of view each one them is to be studied as it forms an important section for general studies both in mains and preliminary.However we beg to differ from this perspective and we strongly believe that only of few of them are worth studying for a particular year. Community of Latin American and Caribbean States: Regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states thought out on February 23, 2010, at the Rio GroupCaribbean Community Unity Summit, and created on December, 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela. Absent from the bloc are Canada and the United States, as well as the territories of France, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom in the Americas.

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IOR-ARC): 12th Summit, Gurgaon

20 full time Members 1. Australia 2. Bangladesh 3. India 4. Indonesia 5. Iran 6. Kenya 7. Malaysia 8. Madagascar 9. Mauritius 10. Mozambique 11. Oman 12. Seychelles 13. Singapore 14. South Africa 15. Sri Lanka 16. Tanzania 17. Thailand 18. UAE 19. Yemen. 20. Comoros (latest added in 2012)

6 Dialogue partners

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

China Egypt France Japan UK USA (latest added 2012)

China is not a member, just dialogue partner. Although theyre interested in becoming full time member.

Some books mention Ocean Rim got only 19 members=outdated information. Because Comoros was recently added as 20th member. Objectives

1. Economy

We want cooperation( =coordinate the Stand in WTO, Kyoto etc.) Liberalize trade (=reduce customs duty) Increase flow of goods, services, investment, and technology. Take common positions in the international fora on issues of mutual interest (=Coordinate stand in UN, G20, Kyoto etc.) coordinate Science-Tech research (via specialized universities, institutes of member countries) cultural exchange programs and other boring stuff.

2. Global issues

3. Human resources

Why IOA-ARC is important?

Because it was established in 1997. Therefore, 2012 marks 15th anniversary year. Whenever something/somebodys birth/death anniversary is in multiple of five, it is important for UPSC! Secondly, their 12th summit was held in Gurgaon, India in Nov.2012.

WIPO Treaty for Visually Challenged, Patent vs Copyright difference explained

WIPO= World Intellectual Property Organization UN agency HQ: Geneva, Switzerland Function of WIPO?

I can protect my house, my property, savings from others without stealing, can even defend my borders through national defense, but this intellectual property like my creations- a book, a logo, a design for a car engine = difficult to protect, anyone can copy, example china well known for its reverse engineering capabilities. So what do I do? WIPO comes in here. Its member-states respect and protect each others intellectual properties in the forms of copyrights, trademarks, patents etc. and thereby preventing illegal copying.

What is this agreement?

The treaty to facilitate access to published works aims at producing accessible books for visually impaired, blind people and people with reading disabilities, removing hurdles of copyright provisions [explained below]. Agreement not yet signed but is slated for discussion and signing in early June 2013 at Morocco.

Why treaty for Visually Challanged?

According to WHO, global visually impaired population= ~285 million, of these ~19 million children. 1. Amongst the disabled, visually impaired people are the most affected, need special kind of books = Braille, large printing etc. 2. Without taking in to account of this section of population we can neither achieve universal education [ one of the Millennium Development Goals under UN] at international level nor grow at desired pace [8% GDP growth] at national level. 3. Now copyright laws universally impose certain restrictions on production of books. There is basically a difference between

patents and copyrights which necessitates such treaty to bypass restrictions:

Difference: Patents vs. Copyrights?

Patent Patent gives the designer complete rights over the idea in whichever form it is used. It requires compulsory registration. Patent rights are thus usually given for a brief period say 20 years.

Copyrights Copyrights on the other hand given for a work in particular form like a book, an audio and only that exact reproduction, example cut and paste of text falls under its ambit. Does not require a registration, once the work is created it is a property of the author. The rights are given for the entire lifetime of the author and extend for 50 years even after the death of the producer.

And so as we see, if we need to reproduce a book for these differently abled people we need permissions from the author. i.e. There are copyright restrictions on reproducing accessible books. [Accessible books= books which provides comfortable and easy reading to visually impaired persons]. Further import of accessible books=prohibited. Also Indigenous manufacture= expensive for developing countries, lack of funds. Further books manufactured in developed countries can be used still more efficiently. Thus to meet the above needs, the UN agency decided to sign a treaty whose features include:

Salient features of the Agreement:

Hereafter no need to get permission from the copyright holder to produce special books for visually impaired. Also these books can be moved across borders without any restrictions amongst signatory members.

National governments have to take care that the books are used exclusively by targeted beneficiaries [Visually impaired in our case] and respect the rights of copyright holder at all instants. So what if some XYZ corporate house uses this agreement to bypass copyright restrictions? The agreement requires each country to recognize authorized entities for the purpose and to create an international database with names of such organizations which is shared with other members.

Introduction

13th India Russia Annual Summit was held @New Delhi and attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Dec 2012) Important because this year marks the 65th anniversary of IndoRussia Diplomatic relations.

Problem areas in Indo-Russia

Why is Russia Unhappy? 1. Russia used to be key defense supplier to India, but recently India has diversified its suppliers (from Europe, Israel etc). 2. Lost bid of Frances Dassault Rafale. 3. 2G scam: Indian Supreme Court canceled license of Siestema company. Russian Government owns ~17% stakes in Siestema. Why is India unhappy? 1. Russia trying to improve relation with PAK. (already discussed how Russian Defense minister did not come to India but visited Pakistan. click me) 2. Delayed delivery of Admiral Gorshkov (Vikramaditya) Aircraft carrier + Russia demanding more cash for it. 3. Few years back, ONGC Videsh bought a Russian Company Imperial energy. We want Russian Government to decrease the export duty on this company. Putins Wishes in Delhi visit? 1. USA has gained heavy clout in Libya=> From now on, most of defense and nuke energy contracts of Libya will be awared to

American Companies. So Putin wants more deals with India to make up for the business-loss. 2. Indias support (or atleast non-pro-USA stand) on Syria. 3. Putin is blackmailing Mohan that if you want tax-holiday for OVL (ONGC Videsh) in Russia, then you must restore 2G licenses of Siestema.Mohan says Im helpless it is court-matter. (for more on 2G scam, click me)

Business n Trade
Bilateral trade between Worth billion USD Indo-China Indo-Russia More than 50 ~10

Putin-Mohan agreed to take steps to increase the bilateral trade to 20 billion US Dollars by 2015. Untapped sectors in Indo-Russia Business Progress during Putins Visit: 1. Weve asked intergovernmental and business level groups to recommend specific steps for increasing bilateral trade and investment flows in these untapped sectors. 2. SBI India + Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)= 2bn dollar joint investment. 3. TCS (India) signed deals with Russian firm Navigation Information Systems (NIS) for software Development etc. 4. Elder Pharma (India) signed deal with Russian co.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Pharmaceuticals Fertilizers Mining Steel Information technology Civil aviation Telecommunications (problem= siestema license canceled in 2g) 8. Infrastructure 9. Food processing 10. Innovation and services

Energy: Nuke
2010 Putin had signed Roadmap for cooperation in the nuclear energy sector with Mohan

2012 Agreements updated.

Russia will build 1 nuke plant in India, every year for next 18 years. Cost of Each plant=2.5 billion USD. Capacity of Each plant = 1000 MW. Thus, By 2030 approx 20% of Indias electricity output come from Russian plants.

Kudankulam Nuke plant

In Tiruneveli district of TN Developed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) + Russia Collaboration. Capacity 1000 MW x 2 plants For other plants of India, observe this map: click ME Kudankulam: Problems

Centre vs State

People vs Government

Jayalalitha says when power plants are constructed in Andhra, they get to use the entire electricity. Same rule should be applied for powerplants constructed in Tamilnadu. But from Kudankulam, about 250MW electricity will be given to Kerala, despite the fact that Tamilnadu itself needs 2000MW.

Public protest against Kudankulam plant in the wake of Fukushima disaster. Mohan says Jholachhap NGOs financed by American companies, are playing mischief. Otherwise Kudankulam is way better and safer than Fukushima.

Kudankulam: Progress Unit 1 Construction Complete.Power generation will start soon. Unit 2 Will be finished next year. 3 and In progress.Putin wants them to be out of Civil Nuke Liability 4 law or India should pay higher price. Kudankulam: Civil Nuke Liability Late 80s Agreement between India-Russia for construction of Kudankulam plant Unit #1 and #2.

2010

Indian Parliament passed Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. It allows the nuclear operator the right to demand compensation from a supplier in case faulty equipment causes an accident at a nuclear power plant.

Government has kept Kudankulam Unit #1 and #2 outside the purview of nuke liability act, saying they were being constructed before passing of that Act. Now we are planning to install two more units here (#3 and #4), but we want them under the nuke liability act. (so, if disaster happens due to faulty Russian equipment, we can demand money from them.) Putin This is wrong yaar! If #1 and #2 are outside Nuke liability then #3 and #4 should also be exempted.

Sorry cant help. If I make an exemption for you, then America and France will Mohan demand the same treatment. Ultimately no plant will come under Nuke liability act!

Putin

Alright then. If you want to build #3 and #4 with our help, AND you want them under Nuke liability then give us twice the money we had agreed earlier. (so I can use that money to buy insurance cover from third party to pay up for the disaster.)

Energy: Oil and Gas

Before Putins Visit 1. ONGC Videsh currently owns a 20 per cent interest in the Sakhalin-I project in Far East Russia. 2. GAIL India made contract to buy LNG from GAZPROM. 3. OVL and Russian co. made deal to exploreMagadan-2 and Magadan-3 blocks in the Okhotsk sea in eastern Russia During visit 1. Agreement for mutual investments and joint projects in third countries. 2. We want capacity expansion of Sakhalin-II project. 3. Also ONGC keen on Sakhalin-III and other new projects in Siberia, Arctic Shelf and Far East Russia.

Defense: Indo-Russia
Fifth generation aircraft Development, already discussed in old articles click ME. During the summit India gave orders to buy 1. Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets 2. Mil Mi-17 Military Helicopters

Science Tech: Indo-Russia

What is GLONASS?

Global Navigation Satellite System. Glonass is a Russian space-based system with many satellites. It provides location and time information anywhere in the planet, use= military, civil and commercial

Glonass is an alternative to the U.S.-controlled Global Positioning System (GPS). Why India wants GLONASS Access?

During Iraq Invasion, America had blocked GPS signals to Iraq and then inserted misleading GPS signals into Iraqi missiles and air force. Because of this, Iraq could not attack American defense forces with deadly accuracy. India should be prepared to meet aggression by any developed country, including the U.S.A. Hence over-reliance on GPS= bad. Need to put some eggs in GLONASS basket. GLONASS: Military use?

1. GLONASS navigation system will allow Indian missiles, to strike within half a metre of distant targets= very accurate. 2. GLONASS fitted on Nuclear submarine Chakra= killer combo.

Civilian use

iPhone 4S mobile supports both GPS and GLONASS. You can use it to know distance covered during jogging etc. Finding shortest possible route during travel Keep track of your school-buses, transport trucks etc.

Commercial use

Mohan-Putin signed agreement for use of GLONASS.

SnT #2: Joint research centres

1. Establishment of India-Russia Joint Science and Technology Centers in India and Russia, 2. To develop technology 3. To commercialize that technology.

Nano-technology, Biomedicine Supercomputing.

On Afghanistan
India and Russia want Afghanistan to be free from 1. External interference (of PAK+China) 2. Extremism+ Terrorism 3. Drug trafficking. Weve agreed to work together in Afghanistan to achieve ^these.

Cooperation
Already Cooperating 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Energy Defense Space Trade And Investment Science And Technology 6. Education 7. Culture 8. Tourism. Apart from that, 1. Russia has supported Indias entry as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Already Discussed click ME 2. Russia has reaffirmed that India as one of the most deserving and strongest candidate for the permanent member of the expanded UN Security Council. During Putins visit

Weve reviewed and updated the agreements.

WCIT Conference Dubai, ITU: Why failed, Internet Censorship, ICANN, DNS explained What is ITU?

ITU =International Telecommunication Union. United Nations specialized agency Deals with for information and communication technologies ICTs.

HQ = Geneva, Switzerland Membership: Both Nations and Private Players. However ITU allows only its member nations to vote. Private organizations can participate in its proceedings by paying a large annual fee but cannot propose amendments or vote.

What does ITU do?

1. Radio spectrum allocation 2. Satellite Orbit Allocation 3. Standards for Voice, video compression, TV signals etc. (Similar to that IUPAC chemical formulas). 4. Bridge the digital divide. (internet connectivity in schools/villages of poor nations etc).

Why Conference in Dubai?

The current Internet, satellite, telephone, television systems run according to International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) made in Melbourne Conference in the late 80s. But after that, so much progress in telecom and internet. So there was need to review and update those those Regulations. Besides the World leaders were feeling thirsty for desi liquor and wanted to agonize UPSC aspirants with one more current-affairs topic, so they decided to hold a conference in Dubai, in December 2012. Official name of this conference: World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). But this conference was a fiasco. Before going into that aspect, lets understand a side-topic

How does Internet work?

click to enlarge

Before mobile phones, we had to keep telephone diary at home. E.g. U letter->UPSC->011-23385271 (or memorize that number in your brain) But now thanks to mobile phones, era of telephone diaries is gone. We dont need to remember any number, just save them in your mobile for once, then just select UPSC and your mobiles software will automatically dial that number. Websites also work on a similar principle. Websites are hosted on servers. Each server has unique IP Address. Suppose there is some anti-China or pro-Tibet website, with its server in USA, IP address420.420.420.420. But there are crores of websites on internet, each with such special numbers (IP Addresses.) A human user cannot remember all those numbers. So here domain name system (DNS) helps us. Suppose Domain name of that Anti-China website is i-hatechina dot com. Now, there is one ICANN organization. It maintains rootdirectories, similar to those telephone directories, they translate DNS into IP address

for example i-hatechina dot com=>420.420.420.420, and send you to the correct website.

Why do Russia China hate ICANN?

Continuing the same example, Chinese Government doesnt want people to view this i-hatechina dot comwebsite. So theyll will order China based internet service providers (ISPs) to block content. Although some Chinese people can still try access that website via proxies. Besides, if youre not in China, you can view the website anyways- from France, US, Sweden etc. anywhere in the world. Because there exists a root-directory with ICANN, and it says 420.420.420.420=i-hatechina dot com But if Chinese Government could edit the root-directory, and remove the address 420.420.420.420=i-hatechina dot com, then no matter where you are and which proxy technique you use, you can never access that website.

But still that doesnt explain why Russia-China (and other countries) hate ICANN?

Well, ICANN is not a United Nations body. It is a non governmental Organization located in California, USA. It falls under the legal jurisdiction of USA (and not of United Nations). But if some XYZ UN agency was controlling DNS, IP Address, root-directory, and this organization has 10 nations in its governing council. Russia/China can bribe or bully 6 of them and get a vote or resolution passed in their favour to edit rootdirectories. On the other hand, USA wants to keep Status-quo, with ICANN. Because USA can still control ICANN under national laws. Theyre passing SOPA, PIPA laws that will empower USA Government agencies to edit root-directories to combat piracy and enforce intellectual property rights.

What is ICANN?

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) HQ=California,USA.

Functions of ICANN
Deals with 1. Internet Protocol (IP) address 2. Domain Name System (DNS) 3. Top level domains (.com, etc) Now coming back to the original topic. ITU held a conference in Dubai, to make a new global treaty on how to handle International voice, data and video traffic. Doesnot deal with 1. Internet content control 2. Unsolicited commercial email (spam) 3. Data protection, data-theft 4. Financial transactions (online banking, paypal etc).

Why did WCIT Conference fail?

Because the delegates of U.S., UK, Australia and Canada happily consumed desi liquor but when it came to signing the treaty, they simply refused and walked out of the conference. India also refused to sign treaty, but didnt walk out of the conference, perhaps because our delegates wanted to drink more free booze before the party was over.

Why USA opposed the ITU treaty?

United States says we cannot sign these international telecommunication regulations (ITRs) in their current form. Because of following reasons. #1: Internet Governance

During the conference, some members (Russia,China) made proposals seeking government control over Internet naming and addressing functions. (DNS, IP address. Already explained above.) They also want to inspect and censor incoming and outgoing Internet traffic on the premise of monitoring criminal behavior, filtering spam, or protecting national security. We (USA) believe these issues cannot be legitimately handled in this conference. ITU is a telecommunication related organization, and internet governance is outside the scope and functions of this organization. Official reasons given

1. A bureaucratic body like UN or ITU cannot efficiently control Critical Internet resources.

2. Governments lack the expertise to keep pace with rapid technological challenges. 3. USA wants to protect freedom of speech on Internet(!) Unofficial reasons 1. The Corporate giants have spent truckload of cash in lobbying to US senators and Government to ensure that status quo is maintained regarding Internet (California based ICANN should oversee the DNS, IP etc. And the matter should not be given to ITU or UN) 2. Otherwise USA itself is no place for free speech! They want to arrest wikileaks founder Julian Assange. And they have also prohibited American banks from processing any donations made to Wikileaks. So, This is like replay of Indias dual-standards on Airport development fee (from previous GMR-Male Controversy article). 3. Plus, USA is making Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) which are, in broad sense, anti-free-speech laws. Anyways, first reason = USA wants to protect freedom of speech. Moving to second reason #2: Network Security

During the Dubai conference, some members wanted the treaty to handle matters of network security, virus, hacking etc. USA says: ITU cannot address security issues. It cannot make any practical improvements on security. #3: Spam

Some members wanted that ITU should have control over Spam. But USA is against this. Because spam is a form of content. When ITU starts controlling spam, later it can start controlling other contents: political, religious and cultural newsletters and mails etc. So again We (USA) want to protect the freedom of Speech.

Google company is also against ITU treaty.

Google Companys Stand

At Dubai conference, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is bringing together regulators from around the world to re-negotiate a decades-old communications treaty. But we oppose it for following reasons: Free internet necessary

The Internet empowers everyoneanyone can speak, create, learn and share. Today, more than two billion people are onlineabout a third of the planet. But Not all governments around the world support a free and open Internet. Russia, Iran, Cuba, China etc. block and control access to the Internet for their citizens. Governments are trying to control Internet

Now, via ITU conference @Dubai, Some of these governments (Russia, China) are trying to use a closed-door meeting to regulate the Internet even more strictly. While delegates from those nations enjoy the voting powers but the IT Engineers, companies, and people that build and use the web have no vote during these ITU treaty negotiations! Some proposals could allow governments to censor legitimate speech, or even allow them to cut off Internet access. So ITR= Anti-free speech. Other proposals would require YouTube, Facebook, and Skype to pay new taxes to reach people across borders. Then internetservices could become expensive, and less people can access it. (Particularly Africa, Latin America, Asia).

To sum up, the Anti-Arguments are 1. ITUs treaty will lead to state censorship and regulation of the internet. 2. Internet policy should not be determined by Governments but by citizens, communities, private sector and civil society. (bottom up approach rather than top-down)

Indias Stand on ITU treaty

India has not signed the ITR in its current form, saying:

We donot want ITU to govern Internet. We donot want ITU to control traffic and content of Internet. We have only favoured the inclusion of Internet matters related to availability and security of telecom services. The new International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) should reflect the current global realities and the dynamics of the Internet therefore, We want to undertake necessary consultations at home before announcing our final decision.

By the way, some websites say India signed WCIT treaty but that information is not correct.

A website named medianama incorrectly published report India has signed treaty, then many other websites copied that article. So google throws up search result India signed treaty, however two days back Medianama issued apology about its incorrect report.

Summary
1. ITU held WCIT-2012 conference in Dubai. 2. Aim= To create a global treaty on how to handle international voice, video and data traffic. 3. Result= #EPICFAIL 4. Why? Because USA, Canada, India, Australia etc. refused to sign, (mainly) over disagreement on how to control internet.

East Asia Summit, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Nalanda Project, Issues, Challanges India-China-US Who are EAS Members?

All 10 ASEAN members

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. US, Russia (from 2011 onwards)

10

6 Regional partners 2 Superpowers

2 18

Total Members of East Asia Summit=

Both East Asia Summit EAS (7th) and ASEAN-India (10th) summit were held @ Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Nov-2012).

What are EAS priority areas?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Energy Economy Education Disaster Management Pandemics+Health (Malaria this year) Connectivity

What is Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)?

An Asia-wide free trade agreement . This agreement will bind the 10 nations of the ASEAN, + 6 regional partners into a massive framework for economic integration. 6 regional partners

10 ASEAN nations 1. Brunei 2. Cambodia 3. Indonesia 4. Laos 5. Malaysia 6. Myanmar 7. Philippines 8. Singapore 9. Thailand 10. Vietna m

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Australia China India South Korea Japan New Zealand

Why is RCEP important?

RCEP would be the largest regional trading arrangement in the world so far. Itll combined market population of more than 3 billion people and a combined GDP of about 20 trillion dollars. A successful RCEP would significantly boost global trade and investment for India as well.

Mohans Address to 7th East Asia Summit

1. Indias security + prosperity = vitally linked to the Asia Pacific region. 2. East Asia Summit can help create a large economic community. 3. We welcome the launch of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations. 4. We want to increase commerce, contact and cooperation (CCC) with the region

5. We must quickly implement the EAS Declaration on ASEAN Connectivity. 6. We support EAS Declaration on Malaria Control 7. cooperation in natural disaster Management. 8. Framework for Earthquake Risk Management in New Delhi. 9. We want your support in Nalanda University project.

What is EAS Declaration on ASEAN connectivity?

It seek cooperation between ASEAN and its EAS partners on physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity, For education, human resource development, innovation and entrepreneurship, cultural exchanges and tourism.

What is Nalanda University Project?

Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist centre of learning, in Ancient India. It taught students in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and politics. The Modern Day Nalanda Univ. project = brain child of Dr.Kalam. and was endorsed by East Asia Summit members. 2010: Indian parliament passed an Act to rebuild the university. Aim: to attract thousands of the finest teachers and students from around the globe, just as the university did centuries ago. 2012: Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen was appointed first Chancellor of this univ. first two schools on ecology and environment and historical studies will start in 2014.

What is EAS declaration on Malaria?

Malaria is a wholly preventable and treatable disease. Yet it kills thousands of people in the Asia-Pacific every year. East Asian leaders have agreed to form an alliance with Pacific nations to

1. fight against malaria and 2. Deal with the drug-resistant strains of Malaria.

Concerns/Issues

This is the first Issue @EAS

#1 Maritime Disputes Discussion

China insisted that Diaoyu /Senkaku island conflict (click me), along with its other maritime disputes in the region, should not be discussed at the East Asia summit but rather deal with these issues on a bilateral basis (two countries talking to each other). The Asian countries involved in these disputes have expressed an unwillingness to engage in heated debate over disputes during the EAS summit, Because of Chinas powerful geopolitical position + their dependence on trade with China.

#2: US-Pacific Free Trade (TPP)

During the EAS summit, Obama discussed a the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) a type of Free Trade Agreement between USA vs Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore etc. This is a US invasion on Chinas economic turf. If signed, the agreement could pose a great challenge to Chinese products.

#3: New Cold War Theater

China is expanding its military clout (through Strings of Pearl + 5th Generation stealth aircraft, as we saw in earlier article. click ME) On the other hand, to balance Chinese domination, America is strengthening its traditional military alliances in the region and building new partnerships. Thats why, Obama is also making trips to Myanmar and Thailand (in pretext of visiting EAS). USA is also planning to deploy 60 per cent of its armed forces in the Pacific theater. In the coming year, For ASEAN, it will be difficult to keep political unity due to Chinas rising power. The small Asian nations are looking towards the US to balance a rising China. So a new cold war theater is emerging. The fact that they invited the US itself was a recognition that if you are in a cage with an 800-pound gorilla, you should at least invite another one into it to provide a balance. (C Raja Mohan)

#4: India, the New NAM

During the Cold War, India was a leading figure in the NonAligned Movement of countries that tried to avoid joining the U.S. or the Soviet Union. IF China unwilling to make reasonable solutions to settling the border dispute, then you can visualize a scenario where India may be non-aligned, but it does more things with the U.S. We want to expand our influence in Asia through so-called Look East Policy. But that opportunity is not without risk. ASEAN countries want to evolve a Code of Conduct for use of resources of South China Sea in the light of Chinese claims. In EAS and ASEAN summit, India will have to address the many questions on where India stands in the rapidly deteriorating regional security environment. And that cannot be done without annoying China. Although, weve already annoyed China.

1. Weve gone nose-to-nose with China over an oil-drilling pact with Vietnam in the disputed South China Sea 2. Weve deployed three Brahmos cruise-missile regiments on border with China following a number of Chinese provocations. 3. Soon, we will recruit 100,000 new soldiers for posting along the same frontier.

Today We are one of the biggest economies and largest militaries in the region. So, we have the responsibility and opportunity to mitigate great power tensions (US-China) and defuse regional conflicts in Asia. After all, Indias independent foreign policy was always about shaping a sustainable order in Asia and beyond.

Delaram Zaranj Highway, Chabahar Port: India-IranAfghanistan trade relations

Afghanistan is a land-locked country. Most of its international trade is done through Pakistani sea-ports. Therefore, India wished to connect to Afghanistan via an alternative route (through Iran). So, In 2003 a trilateral agreement was signed among India, Iran and Afghanistan. Under this agreement o Iran was to build a highway from Chabahar (a Port City of Iran) upto Afghanistan border. o India was to build a road connecting Delaram (border city of Afghanistan) to Zaranj (Capital of Nimruz province of Afghanistan)

India wanted to develop port @Chabahar (Iran) to do trading with Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan.

Delaram-Zaranj Highway

DelaramZaranj Highway, also known as Route 606. Length about 200km It connects Delaram (border city of Afghanistan) to Zaranj (Capital of Nimruz province of Afghanistan). India totally financed this project. (about 600 crore rupees). Border Roads Organization (BRO) of India, has constructed this highway. Construction started in 2005, and in 2009 the road was opened for public use. During the construction of this highway,Taliban killed about 130 workers, including 4 Indians from BRO.

So far, all the roadway construction is finished. India wished to access both Afghanistan and other central Asian nations (like Turkmenistan), through this Chabahar port, But the Chabahar port is not yet fully developed to handle the huge cargo to and from India. All these years, India was requesting Iran to allow them to do some port Development on this port.

Why Iran allowed Indian Investment?

Port city of Chabahar (Iran)

In the early 2012, US put sanction against Iran Oil export, i.e. if any country imports crude oil from Iran, then that countrys bank (through which payments are made to Iran) will not be allowed to do transections in USA. Because of this sanction, most of the nations stopped importing oil from Iran, except some big ones like India and China, but India too felt the heat of US diplomatic pressure and agreed to cut down oil imports from Iran.

Majority of Irans nation income comes from Oil export, so, theyre also feeling the heat. They want money, so, Iranian Government has now allowed India do invest upto $100 million in the Chabahar Port Development project.

Whats Indias Problem?

Well, now Indian Government fears that doing any investment in Iran= USA will be annoyed. So, India wants two things

1. Afghanistan must make a commitment that it will do trading through this Iranian port. (otherwise the whole project will be economically unviable). Because there is a good chance, Afghanistan may not do any trading at all, with pressure from US and Pakistan. 2. Afghanistan should sign a triparitate MoU with Iran and India, make it look like Afghanistan badly wants this project for the Development of its own economy and we (Indians) are just helping in rebuilding the Afghanistan. But Afghanistan has changed the tone now, theyre not saying anything about the project (may be under secret US pressure.) Theyre not keen on signing any such agreement or MoU or statement. In short, Indias problem is how to calibrate the political signal it sends out at a time when the West is focused on making economic sanctions work effectively against Iran, especially when Afghanistan too has been reluctant given the issues involved.

Mohan talking with Karzai

16th NAM summit

16th NAM summit will be held in Iran, during August 30-31. Mohan is going to visit this summit and will try to negotiate something with the Presidents of Iran and Afghanistan to sign up some new MoU kinda document.

TAPI Gas pipeline : Meaning, Importance, Significance for India and its neighbours What is TAPI Pipeline?

A 1680 km pipeline from Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) Itll become operational by 2018. It will carry 90 million metric standard cubic meters a day for a 30 year period. India has to pay a transit fee to Pakistan and Afghanistan as the pipeline passes through these nations.

Route of this piepline

The pipeline starts from the Dauletabad Oil fields in Turkmenistan and will move into Afghanistan along a highway running from Herat to Kandahar and it will then enter Pakistan via Quetta, Multan and from there to Fazilka (located at the IndoPak border) in India.

What does Turkmenistan gain from this?

Turkmenistan holds 4 percent of the gas reserves of the world. It only exports gas to Russia, but with the TAPI pipeline, it will be able to diversify its exports to nations like India, Pakistan etc. Turkmenistan will earn a lot of revenue by exporting gas through the pipeline

What does Pakistan Gain?

Moreover the potential extension of the pipeline to the Gwadar Port in Pakistan will enable Pakistan to export gas to several countries.

What does Afghanistan Gain?

Afghanistan will earn transit fees as the pipeline passes through the country.

What is in for India?

India will benefit a lot as it will receive 38 million standard cubic meters of gas per day improving Indias energy security. New opportunities to the development of gas and engineering industries of the countries involved in the project. The project will also help to foster regional connectivity between the countries involved, thus resulting in regional integration.

Whatre the Obstacles to TAPI pipeline

1. Regional instability, especially in the AF-PAK region continues to haunt the pipeline. The planned route of the 1800 km pipeline will pass through 735 km of southern and western Afghanistan, regions which are hotbeds of terrorism. Moreover with the proposed withdrawal of NATO (especially US) forces from Afghanistan, the ability of Afghanistan to maintain its security comes into question. 2. The pipeline will also pass through Pakistans southwestern Balochistan Province, a region suffering from separatist and sectarian violence for the past 9 years. Moreover poorly guarded oil/gas pipelines in the region have been favourite targets of ethnic Baluch separatists fighting the Pakistan army. 3. Any unexpected rupture in Indo-Pakistan relationships can put the TAPI project into jeopardy. 4. A lot of money is needed to finance this project. The cost of the project is estimated to be 12 billion Dollars. Asian Development Bank has already provided a few million Dollars as technical assistance, however more money is required to finance this costly project, which is difficult to get as foreign investors (MNCs, oil companies) are wary of investing in the AF-PAK region.

What is the Response of the US to TAPI project?

The US supports this project because it will be a good alternative to a proposed Indo-Pakistan-Iranian pipeline (IPI),

which has been stalled for quiet some time due to pressure from the US against going through with the deal, moreover gas can be used as an alternative to petrol, so perhaps it will lessen Indias dependence on oil and in turn reduce its oil imports. Moreover it will help US in isolating Iran.