Big agendas of the biggest players
The rise of China as one of the biggest economies of the world has been worrying for the sole world power and its allies in the West. The visionary planning of ‘One Belt and One Road initiative’ by Chinese President Xi Jinping has triggered efforts by the West, led by the US, to reinforce their plans to counter China and Russia.
The plan, which actually came to the fore in 2005-6, had a trace in history as well. It was a replica of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere — the term coined by the Japanese empire after World War I to maintain its hold on the territories it had captured — including China, Korea, etc.
The Greater East Asia was basically an imperial propaganda concept created and promulgated for occupied Asian populations during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan.
Greater South Asia was initially a concept to form a bloc comprising major players in South and Central Asian regions with one currency, one confederation and one flag. The original design aimed at giving India the role of regional leader, which would take along all states on the path of development to form a confederation. Under the plan, the borders falling in the Greater South Asia region would be soft, allowing free trade and development.
Iazmuradov Atajan, who worked at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, in 2006 revealed the details of the US plan on paper for the first time. According to the paper, the United States formulated a new regional approach in 2005 for Central and South Asia, the principles of which had been repeatedly outlined by the US State Department and personally by the then secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.
Greater South Asia was initially a concept to form a bloc comprising major players in South and Central Asian regions with one currency, one confederation and one flag
In this context, Afghanistan was to be a bridge between Central and South Asia and a transit territory crossed by transportation and energy corridors expected to create a new single region — Greater South Asia.
Inside the country, the conception was prompted by the growing dissatisfaction with the results in Iraq and Afghanistan, the loss of life, and America’s heavy financial burden caused by its involvement there.
The US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan shifted the focus of the west from China and Russia, who during the time were able to cement their economic agendas quietly.
Hence, once China launched the One Belt One Road initiative, which includes Silk Road and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the US administration has redesigned its plan with minimal changes to the original blueprint.
So, efforts are being made to create a bigger bloc of countries in South Asia with the lead role given to India to help boost the economy and development of the South Asian countries to challenge and contain the rise of China and to curtail the influence of Russia.
However, the Modi government is making all its efforts to prove India not only a rogue state, but it is also making all its neighbours annoyed — a role not included in the original blueprint of the US.
After being elected, Modi took on Pakistan — not only the immediate neighbour of both China and India, but the only nuclear South Asian state other than India. Staring from triggering border disputes with Pakistan, the Indian government has cancelled all the planned state meetings to help resolve the decades-old conflicts from Kashmir to terrorism. It seems diplomacy has been pushed to the backburner and proxies have been activated to destabilise Pakistan by funding terrorist outfits.
But Pakistan is not the only victim of hegemonic designs of Modi. The Indian regime has been blamed by former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his ‘engineered defeat’ in the general elections. Under international law, no country can interfere into the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
In January 2015, Sri Lanka expelled the Colombo station chief of India’s spy agency, RAW, in the run-up to the country’s presidential election, accusing him of helping the opposition oust President Rajapaksa.
Bangladesh has also been suffering from India’s attitude of domination, torture and humiliation in all sectors, sometimes resulting in violent confrontation in politics between the pro-Indian and anti-Indian groups. It was not surprising that Bangladesh decided to take the case to the UN.
But the most naked aggression by India was seen last month when the Modi government, in September 2015, openly interfered in the internal affairs of Nepal, another neighbour of India, and asked it not to adopt its new constitution.
On 17 Sep 2015, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly endorsed the long awaited first ever constitution of the country by a two-thirds majority despite strong opposition and continuous protests by some minority groups in the South bordering India.
In an open violation of the internal affairs of a sovereign state, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar as his special envoy to Nepal to push the Nepalese government not to adopt the new constitution.
The US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan shifted the focus of the west from China and Russia, who during the time were able to cement their economic agendas quietly
Due to this very visit, the Nepalese president stalled the adoption of the constitution as Mr Jaishankar held meetings with President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and various political actors in Nepal during his two-day stay from 18 to 19 September 2015.
After the pressure from India the process was halted only for a day but it resumed and finally the president endorsed it on 20th Sep.
Meetings of Indian ambassadors with top political as well as military leaders and dictating to them the handling of issues as per Indian desires is not a new thing. India wants to accrue maximum benefits that are firstly, getting applauded by the international community for playing a positive role in solving the problems of neighbouring countries as big brother.
Secondly, India is trying to pressurise political parties to listen to the demands of Terrai people thereby getting the provincial demarcations as per their advantage.
However, with the promulgation of new constitution, the Indian regime decided to punish the Nepalese government, closed its borders with Nepal, cutting all supplies of food, ration and oil to the landlocked state.
Concern has been met with anger in Kathmandu, where there is resistance to what is perceived as Indian interference in Nepalese affairs.
“It is an economic blockade of Nepal,” Mahesh Basnet, Nepal’s industry minister, says. “India imposed it after some of its suggestions raised internally regarding the new constitution were not addressed.” He added that the move was aimed at igniting “anti-India sentiment” in the country.
Soon afterwards, anti-India demonstrations started across Nepal. The demonstrators in Kathmandu shouted anti-India slogans to protest the fuel shortage.
The impasse has underscored Nepal’s profound economic reliance on India, particularly after April’s devastating earthquake destroyed Nepal’s land trade routes with China.
The silence by the UN has again proved that the world body is nothing but a tool to implement the agenda of the superpower. Moreover, the blind following of the US agenda by western nations has reinforces the need for the formation of a new bloc, probably led by Russia and China, for a balance of power in dealing with global affairs.