Hindutva News Analysis - Indian Military Bases for the American Armed Forces
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Many eyebrows would be raised in India over the news that India's Defense and Foreign Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh has said that India is open to the idea of offering Indian Military Bases for being used by the American Armed Forces.
Ending his five-day visit to Australia this week, Indian External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh said that "military cooperation was possible" between India and Unites States of America.
By saying this he has probably hinted at allowing US military bases in India. Asked about the possible new directions that Indo-US relations could take and whether American access to Indian bases was possible Singh said, "Military-to-military cooperation is also one of the complements of Indo-US co-operation. Access to bases is moving far too fast, yet. Let these things evolve over time."
Appreciating what he called the "greater recognition of the regional status" of India by the United States and countries like Australia he said it was "a recognition of reality".
The successive Indian governments under the Congress party were reluctant to have an alliance with US till now. This was to do with the Nehruvian policy of Non Alignment since the Independence of India. Now that the cold war is history, and that US President Bush has underscored this fact by saying time and again that "Russia is not our enemy", it is time for India to really rethink on the Foreign Policies. Jaswant Singh's remark may come as a surprise, but if the rogue countries are to be defeated, then a combined effort of India, China, Russia, Israel, EU and US needs to be put in place.
Bush should not only think on giving a " nuclear shield" to Europe, but to India, Russia and China also. And America, as the most powerful nation of the civilized world should take the initiative in convincing Russia and China to be part of the NMD for the good of global peace and human civilization. We do not feel that enough has been done by the USA, with respect to China in the context of the NMD. But it is noteworthy that President Bush, inspite of the irritants in Sino-American relations; has not clubbed China with the rogue states. We feel that the US should ease its policy on Taiwan and reach out to China more proactively. The necessity of the day is for the USA to remain actively engaged with China (rather than with Arafat) and also with all other nations of the world that are not under the ideology of theology-inspired terrorism.
As far as India is concerned the people there are watching the global situation increasingly from a practical and realistic viewpoint. The common threat to the global peace is evident from the events happening all over the world. The events happening in Phillipines, Sudan, Indonesia, Chechnya in Russia, Kashmir in India, Xinjiang in China, Albanian Muslim terrorists in Macedonia, Gaza and West Bank in Israel, the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, recent riots in oldham and a long such list gives us a clear picture of the terror of the "Jihadi" tendency. The terrorist organizations like Taliban, Hizbollah, Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayyaf, Harkat-ul-Ansar, Jaish-e-Mohammedi, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizb-ul-Mujaheddin, Students Islamic Movement of India etc., are the new faces of an anti-American challenge. The world needs to understand it fast and act accordingly.
There is no official declaration of an Indo-US Alliance, but now since Singh has hinted on it, India should push forward this Alliance to its logical culmination of a logistical military co-ordination. India should take the initiative, since it was India that initiated the anti-American move in the form of the Non-aligned movement (NAM) in the 1950s and Singh's statement needs to welcomed by every Indian and we should give a BIG YES to the idea of an Indo-US Military Alliance.
A flashback into recent history
- Indira Gandhi refused to give the Soviets similar facilities and created a furore when the Americans came to Deigo Garcia
Some may recall that in the 1970 after the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship was signed, the then Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi had been approached by the then Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev with a request for giving Indian Port facilities to the Soviet navy. A request that was politely refused by the astute Indira Gandhi.
Indira also created a chorus of protest when the British offered port facilities to the Americans at Deigo Garcia in the Indian ocean. We now have the opportunity to undo the damage done to Indo-American relations by the past regimes in India who had an unrealistic assessment of global politics
The Colonial Hangover
Any request for port facilities also brings to mind an even older experience for most Indians - the coming of European colonialists via the sea! This is something that makes Western naval presence on Indian shore an anathema to most Indians. But today the situation is different. Global co-ordination is called for, if we are to contribute effectively in the fight against the common enemy of human civilization - theology inspired terrorism.
Build new state-of-the-art naval facilities
We shall speak here, mainly in the context of the seas and the Navy. If we are to make a meaningful contribution in the joint struggle against theology-inspired terrorism, we need to equip ourselves with the latest hardware (and software). In the context of port facilities, India can play an effective role if it improves its own house while venturing to help out its friends (and allies) in the common struggle. The existing port facilities are outdated and are a legacy of colonial rule. It is high time that Indian update their port facilities and military bases. The American offer has come at an opportune time and we should seize this opportunity and give Indian military bases a quantum jump with American participation to serve our common interests better.
A Blue water Indian Navy
Towards this end the first thing that is called for is the development of a blue water Indian Navy. It would logically serve American interest in helping India do this. Since India could act as a sentinel in South Asia in checkmating the spread of theology-inspired terrorism into the sea. Something that has so far not happened. But it would be plausible to expect a saracenic Blackbeard (no pun on the word beard) with a green (in place of the black) skull-and-bones flag that would terrorize transoceanic shipping routes as did the pirates of yore! It is high time that we (Americans, and the rest of the world) wake up to this potential threat and prepare ourselves to face it before it become a real menace.
Hence the argument that Indians not only join in this American initiative of leveraging on military co-ordination, but go beyond it. And to make this co-ordination meaningful in the context of the high seas, it is very necessary that the Indian Ministry of Defense increase some of its military budget for the development of a blue water navy.
Nuclear Subs for the Indian Navy
The emphasis of the Indian Navy, till off-late has been on the acquisition of outdated Aircraft carriers, Frigates, Crusiers, Destroyers. These Goliaths will be of little use in the future warfare of combating the hit-and-run kind of fleet-footed theology-inspired pirate-like terrorist on the high seas. We would need fast moving nuclear subs to torpedo the new blackbeards. It is high time we recognized the shape of the threat to come and prepare ourselves well in advance to defeat this threat.
The bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen is an ominous indication of the shape of things to come on the high seas!
We should ensure that we (Americans and the rest) do not become sitting ducks, literally, for the peddlers of terror who could use guerilla tactics with devastating success on the high seas. India owes it to itself to develop the following three things to make itself capable of leveraging on the American offer to use its ports in the common fight against theology-inspired terrorism:
- Develop state-of-the-art new port facilities and military bases to be jointly used by the Indian and American Navies. India should take initiate in developing these facilities with active American participation and handle the military and civil administration of these facilities. These facilities should have a start and end date to obviate its a commitment from becoming out of tune with the times in the future.
- Develop a true blue water Indian navy.
- Develop Nuclear capable supple submarines and other equipment that could effectively take on and neutralize the fleet-footed theology-inspired blackbeards that are fast becoming a dangerous reality for the near future.
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