13 Sep 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

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E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Great G20 power, great responsibility

Syllabus: GS2; Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Prelims: G20 – membership, structure and functioning

Mains: Significance of India’s G20 presidency; Challenges and recommendations.

Context:

• India would be assuming the presidency of the G20 at the upcoming G20 Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled to take place in Bali.
  • India will assume the presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.
  • As part of this presidency of the G20, India will be hosting ministerial-level meetings, working groups, events and the G20 Heads of State Summit in 2023.

Significance of India’s G20 Presidency:

• G20 remains one of the world’s most influential economic multilateral forums. Given that its members represent more than 80% of the world’s GDP and 75% of international trade, G20 holds critical significance in securing global economic growth and prosperity, especially amidst global economic challenges such as stagflation.
• The G20 presidency will give India the opportunity to assume centre stage in proposing and setting the global agenda and discourse. It will allow India to place its priorities and narratives on the global agenda while also championing the causes of other developing and least developed countries. This could include aspects such as technology transfer, assistance for the transition towards a green economy, greater access to trade for developing countries, addressing debt distress of countries by offering sustainable aid and loan programmes, tackling food and energy prices/security for vulnerable economies, etc. among others.
• The G20 Heads of State Summit in 2023, would arguably be the most high-profile event ever hosted by India. This will provide useful diplomatic foresight for India in organizing such big-ticket international events.
• G20 is a unique global institution, where developed and developing countries have representation. G20 presidency will allow India to assert its political, economic and intellectual leadership on the global stage and hence provide an opportunity for India to play a pivotal role in the international community. This is all the more critical given India’s aspirations to become a global superpower.

Challenges for India:

• There seems to be an emerging divide in the world order which will inevitably manifest itself even in the G20. The West including organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and G7 stand in opposition to the emerging nexus between China and Russia. India remains caught in the middle as it tries to engage with both sides.
• G20 remains deeply divided on various issues. The often opposing views represented at the forum have made it extremely difficult to arrive at a consensus-based decision on any aspect.

Recommendations for India:

• India will have to perform a delicate balancing act between the opposing member countries to find a common ground and forge a comprehensive agenda for the G20 under its presidency. This agenda should be able to address issues of global concern.
• Areas such as health, sustainable energy and digital transformation should remain top focus areas during India’s G20 presidency. Apart from these aspects such as economic recovery, robust trade and investment flows, ensuring supply chain resilience and ensuring employment opportunities should also find attention. This would ensure sustainable and inclusive growth for the global economy.
• India should use the opportunity provided by its G20 presidency to forge greater cooperation with G20 members such as the European Union, the U.K., and Canada to accelerate coordination on realising free trade agreements with them.
• India should use the opportunity provided by its G20 presidency to forge greater engagement with countries from Africa and South America. India should seek to ensure better and more balanced representation for these countries at the G20.

Nut Graf: India’s assumption of the presidency of the G20 provides a valuable opportunity for India to assume centre stage in proposing and setting the global agenda and discourse in line with its priorities and narratives as well as to assert its political, economic and intellectual leadership on the global stage.

2. India has lost its way in the use of international law

Syllabus: GS2; Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Prelims: Article 51 of the Indian Constitution; CCIT and ISA

Mains: Failure of India in its use of international law

Background:

India and international law:

• Despite international law being the ruler’s law and having a euro-centric character, India supported the international law framework at the time of its independence.
• In fact, India is one of the few countries which emphasizes adherence to international law in its Constitution too. Article 51 of the Indian Constitution calls on the state to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations.
• India has remained steadfastly committed to the UN Charter. India has also constantly engaged with international law norms in multiple fields such as human rights, trade, investment, environment, ocean, space, etc.
• India has in the recent past started playing an active role in shaping international law through its moves in proposing a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism among others.

Concerns:

Lack of use of international law vocabulary:

• Unlike the diplomats from Western countries, the diplomats and policy-makers from India rarely employ the international law vocabulary extensively.
• Unlike their western counterparts who justify the conduct of international relations by embedding it in the language of international law to gain legitimacy for their actions, India’s diplomats and policy-makers have failed to effectively use international law vocabulary to articulate India’s national interests internationally.
  • The failure to call out Chinese blatant transgressions of India’s sovereignty and the Pakistani state’s nefarious activities against India are the most visible examples of this failure.
• This has resulted in India’s failure to develop and contribute new international law doctrines, interpretations, and principles that suit its national interests.

Failure to hold countries accountable for breaches of international laws and treaties:

• India has often failed to highlight the breaches of international treaties and customary international law. An example is India’s failure to legally challenge Pakistan’s denial of the most favoured nation status to India at the World Trade Organization.
• Except in the case of suing Pakistan at the International Court of Justice in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case, India has not been able to use international courts to hold Pakistan accountable for its breach of international law.

Factors responsible for this scenario:

Institutional bottlenecks:

• India’s foreign service is heavily populated by generalist diplomats. They lack the skill to communicate their views in international law vocabulary.
• There remains only one section in the Ministry of External Affairs – Legal and Treaties (L&T) Division, that looks at international law. This division remains grossly understaffed. Also, there remain doubts over the quality of staff given the lack of sufficient incentive to join the department.
• There remains the issue of fragmentation of decision-making in international law with the involvement of several Ministries. Despite a specific recommendation from a parliamentary committee to create a department of international law under the Law Ministry, there has been no progress on this aspect.

Poor state capacity:

• The Government has not ensured sufficient funds for research in international law. This has resulted in poor state capacity in the domain of international law.

Academic neglect of international law:

• Academically, international law has largely remained a neglected discipline since the time of independence in India. Higher education universities have not invested much in the development of the discipline and India lacks a good number of related professors.
• As compared to countries like China, which has poured in massive resources to build the capacity of its universities in international law, India has failed to do so.
• The Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), established in 1959 and envisioned to become a centre of excellence for research in international law has largely failed in its objective. It has failed to produce any worthwhile research in international law.

Nut Graf: This failure to mainstream the lexicon of international law in the diplomatic toolkit by Indian diplomats and policymakers has resulted in India’s failure to develop and contribute new international law doctrines, interpretations, and principles that suit its national interests. This would undermine India’s ambition of punching above its weight in international affairs.

3. Three to tangle

Syllabus: GS2; Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Mains: India – U.S. bilateral relationship and the Pakistan factor

Context:

• Recently, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified a possible Foreign Military sales worth $450 million for engine, electronic warfare and other hardware and software upgrades and spares for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter fleet.
• Though this does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions, the move marks a thaw in the U.S.’s attitude towards Pakistan wherein the administrations in the recent past had stayed away from defence deals with Pakistan.

Concerns for India:

• India is upset with this move of the U.S. based on the following factors.
  • As against the U.S. objective to arm Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, U.S. aid is being used for Pakistan’s actions against India. The F-16 fighter fleet has been the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force since the early 1980s and was used to target Indian military bases close to the Line of Control during the skirmishes that followed the Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force.
  • India has criticized Pakistan repeatedly for its duplicity in its approach towards terrorist groups operating from its territory. Pakistan has used terrorism as a state policy against India for decades.
  • India views U.S. partnership as an irritant to the growing bilateral relationship between India and the U.S. This could undermine the India-U.S. diplomatic and military engagements.

U.S.’s take on the issue:

• The U.S. argues that its defence partnership with Pakistan, considered a major non-NATO ally, is critical for its global war on terror, especially for its interests in Afghanistan.

Recommendations:

• India and the U.S. must skilfully manage their differences on the Pakistan issue. The Pakistan factor should not undermine India’s close defence and security ties with the U.S. and instead, the two countries need to work to ensure that the spectacular gains made in bilateral ties are preserved and nourished.

Read more about India – US relations in the linked article.

Nut Graf: Pakistan remained an extremely crucial factor in Indo-US relations during the Cold War era. Despite some decrease in the effect of the Pak factor in the US-India relationship in the recent past, the U.S. decision to refurbish the Pakistani F-16 fighter fleet may not augur well for the U.S.’s growing relationship with India.

Q1. Which of the following national park/s has/have been identified for the Cheetah 
reintroduction project by the Indian Government? (Level – Medium)

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to UN World Food Programme (WFP): 
(Level – Medium)

Q3. In a Hydrogen Fuel Cell, which of the following is/are continuously replaced? 
(Level – Medium)

Q4. This breed of buffaloes is usually bred and preserved by a local community found 
in Kutch, called the ‘Maldharis’. These buffaloes are well-adapted to survive extreme 
weather conditions such as water scarcity, frequent droughts, low humidity and high 
temperatures. Which of the following breeds is being talked about? (Level – Difficult)

Q5. The Service Area Approach was implemented under the purview of (Level – Difficult) 
PYQ-2019

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. What role does the Monetary Policy Committee play in controlling inflation in the country? Assess the performance of the MPC in this regard. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS III – Economy)
2. The G20’s presidency presents an opportunity for India to further its agenda of bringing the developed and developing world together. Elaborate. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS II – International Relations)

Read the previous CNA here.