India's tsunami assistance rendered to its immediate neighbors can
also be viewed as going beyond the humanitarian dimension. "India's
willingness to help Sri Lanka and the Maldives clearly indicates that
New Delhi takes an active interest in the region," Betram
Bastiampillai, former professor of history and political science at
Colombo University, said in an interview. From the geopolitical
front, New Delhi's helping hand also virtually put a stop to possible
challenges from other contenders for power and influence in the
region, such as China and the United States, at a time of crisis.
27/01/2005
India shifts regional geopolitical cards
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Within a month of the tsunamis battering 12 countries
across South and Southeast Asia, together with East Africa, India has
gained a new political foothold in the Indian Ocean region.
Nothing captures this emerging climate better than the reception
extended to India, itself a victim of the December 26 tsunami, from
Sri Lanka. This week, an Indian naval medical team was given a
rousing farewell as it left the port town of Trincomalee, in
northeast Sri Lanka, after completing its mission of mercy.
Elsewhere across the South Asian island similar scenes of gratitude
are being enacted to thank the large contingent of Indian military
and naval personnel who began arriving in Sri Lanka hours after the
tsunami struck as part of New Delhi's "Operation Rainbow".
"Indian assistance has had a tremendous impact across Sri Lanka,"
Iqbal Athas, a senior defense analyst at the Sunday Times, a Sri
Lankan English-language weekly, told IPS. "People are thanking them
for coming to the country's rescue despite India also being
affected."
But India's tsunami assistance rendered to its immediate neighbors
can also be viewed as going beyond the humanitarian dimension.
"India's willingness to help Sri Lanka and the Maldives clearly
indicates that New Delhi takes an active interest in the region,"
Betram Bastiampillai, former professor of history and political
science at Colombo University, said in an interview.
>From the geopolitical front, New Delhi's helping hand also virtually
put a stop to possible challenges from other contenders for power and
influence in the region, such as China and the United States, at a
time of crisis. "India's actions were also pursued to prevent other
countries trying to step in ahead of her in an area that comes under
its sphere of influence," Bastiampillai added.
India's commitment to help Sri Lanka - which has the second highest
death toll from the natural disaster, with close to 38,000 deaths -
has not been limited to aid in the form of assistance from its
military and navy, supported by ships, aircraft and helicopters. New
Delhi has also pledged US$23 million to help rebuild the South Asian
island's coastal areas.
The collective impact of such goodwill has washed away the bitterness
that lingered as a result of the two previous Indian interventions in
Sri Lanka over the past two decades. The first was in June 1987, when
five Indian military transport planes dropped 25 tonnes of relief
over the north city of Jaffna. The aid was for the beleaguered Tamil
population under siege following an assault mounted by Sri Lankan
forces against the Tamil Tiger rebels, who had the northern city
under their command.
Soon after, relations between New Delhi and Colombo plummeted to an
all-time low, with leading voices of Sri Lanka's then political
establishment lashing out at India, accusing it of being the region's
bully. Then came the humiliating end to the Indian military's
two-and-a-half years stay in Sri Lanka as part of an accord signed
between New Delhi and Colombo in July 1987. The Indo-Sri Lanka pact
was meant to usher in peace on the islands northern and eastern
provinces - the areas where the Tamil Tiger rebels were waging a
separatist war to carve out a Tamil state.
But the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was soon set on by the
Tamil Tiger rebels, resulting in the death of over 1,500 Indian
soldiers and with nearly 3,000 injured. The Sri Lankan government at
the time added to India's misery by ordering the IPKF out of the
country's shores rather than thanking the Indians for their
assistance.
"The past tensions have been overcome by what has followed the
tsunami," said defense analyst Athas. "India and Sri Lanka have
forged new, close bonds. There is a new respect for India."
India's stature in the region has gained in magnitude due to another
tsunami-related policy - namely New Delhi's reluctance to accept
foreign aid to help its devastated south-eastern coast, where nearly
9,000 people died due to the killer waves. The Indian government has
taken on the burden of footing the entire disaster relief bill,
estimated at over $575 million.
Of the 12 tsunami affected countries, only Thailand, where over 5,300
people died, ranks with India in turning away direct foreign aid for
relief efforts. Bangkok's decision was rooted in the self-confidence
and pride of being able to manage its own affairs, as was reflected
by New Delhi.
The diplomatic edge India has gained by aiding Sri Lanka and the
Maldives has also come in the way of US forces being showered with
all the praise for their relief efforts in Sri Lanka and the region's
worst hit country, Indonesia, where over 200,000 people died due to
the tsunami.
In fact, an Indian news magazine reveals that New Delhi's prompt
response to be the first to send relief to Sri Lanka was largely to
preempt Washington stealing a march over India in its own backyard.
"The decision to deploy relief ships was hastened by reports of a
possible large-scale US deployment in the region," writes Saikat
Datta, in the latest issue of Outlook. "The Indian response was in
tune with its stated policy of looking after its strategic interests
in the Indian Ocean region," added Datta.
And in doing so, the South Asian nation has achieved a milestone.
According to analysts, India's foreign relief efforts were the
largest since the country gained independence in 1947.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA27Df04.html
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