The rules of engagement for the top-level delegation British Prime Minister David Cameron brought to India were clear: Be humble, keep looking forward and, whatever you do, do not mention Kashmir.
For a short visit, just two days, it had lofty ambitions of rejuvenating and redefining a historical relationship that had drifted towards indifference, and analysts yesterday suggested the effort had, for the most part, paid off.
The unprecedented size and profile of the delegation, which included a sizable chunk of Cameron’s senior cabinet and a small army of top business leaders, was a statement of intent that was not lost on its hosts.
The underlying tone of the visit, aimed at pitching for investment and increased trade to create jobs and boost Britain’s post-recession recovery, was set in a piece Cameron wrote for the Hindu newspaper in advance of his visit.
“I have come to your country in a spirit of humility,” wrote the Conservative leader. “I know that Britain cannot rely on sentiment and shared history for a place in India’s future.”
Such self-effacement appeared aimed at distancing Cameron from a series of past visits by top British politicians that had prompted Indian complaints of being “lectured to” by the former colonial ruler.
In 1997, then foreign minister Robin Cook infuriated his hosts by suggesting that Britain could mediate in India’s long-standing dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.
And last year, then foreign minister David Miliband ignited a diplomatic furore when he linked the 2008 Mumbai attacks to the lack of a solution in Kashmir.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the divided Muslim-majority region and New Delhi is staunchly opposed to any third-party interference.
“There is a strong feeling in India that in the past British leaders have talked down to us,” said Lalit Mansingh, a former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to Britain. “This time, I think Cameron got the tone absolutely right.”
Cameron’s unexpectedly blunt warning to India’s arch-rival Pakistan about promoting “the export of terror” also played well, while eliciting an angry response from Islamabad.
Whether there was any real substance to back up the charm offensive was more open to question.
A decade ago, Britain was India’s third largest trade partner. Now it doesn’t even make the top 10 and, in its new drive to court one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, faces stiff competition from wealthier rival suitors like the US and Japan.
“The fact is that Britain needs India much more than India needs Britain,” said political analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
An editorial in the Hindustan Times noted that for all his talk of British expertise in finance, education, research and military technology, Cameron was unable to bring a “big-ticket item” to the trade table with India.
The only major deal signed during the visit was for BAE Systems to sell 57 Hawk trainer jets to India at a cost of around US$780 million.
And Cameron also failed to allay concerns over his government’s proposed cap on non-EU immigration, which Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has warned will have an adverse effect on trade relations.
However, R.K. Jain, a professor of European Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, argued that it was unrealistic to expect too much from just one visit.
“Cameron wanted to make a strong pitch, and he did that. The primary thrust was economic and that is going to be the main definer of future relations,” Jain said.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia