India’s neighbors in South Asia have taken their stand on the war in Ukraine taking into account its history, economy, the great power rivalry going on in their countries and their relations with these powers. There was a clear division between the seven countries, between those who maintained a neutral position and those who were categorically opposed to Russia.
Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal supported the resolution against Russia in the UN General Assembly. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka did not participate. Nepal, which is a member of the UN Human Rights Council, also voted for an HRC resolution to establish an independent investigation into Russia’s alleged human rights violations in Ukraine.
Sri Lanka: Tourism and Tea
Colombo was hoping its economic slowdown would be arrested this year as tourism picked up again. But the Ukraine conflict has paid off. The shortage of foreign exchange has crippled Sri Lanka’s import-dependent economy. Rising oil prices due to sanctions on Russia have made India’s $500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka insufficient to purchase the fuel.
Even in the tourism sector, which is recovering from the double whammy of the 2019 Easter suicide bombings and the pandemic, Sri Lanka could be hit once again – Russia and Ukraine were a major market.
Russia is also a major buyer of Sri Lankan tea, and Colombo can continue selling only if it finds a way around the sanctions.
While these were possible reasons for Sri Lanka’s absence, some in Colombo have questioned this neutrality, drawing comparisons with the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the liberation of Bangladesh, when Sri Lanka sided with Pakistan and lost its air. Facility to refuel the army.
“India had no right to violate the territorial integrity of Pakistan. Strong self-interest lies behind the situation [taken by Sri Lanka in 1971], The threat to Sri Lanka’s existence was seen as coming from India. No precedent can be created that can support India’s support for Sri Lanka’s minorities and violation of Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity,” argued Rohan Samarjiva in the Colombo Telegraph.
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Russia’s embrace of Pakistan
Pakistan’s decision to abstain from the UNGA vote – its time to speak before the vote and create no EoV – was a reflection of the new geopolitical possibilities emerging in the region. Its relations with Russia were built over the past decade as a response to its tensions with the US during the two-decade-long Afghan war. US-Pakistan relations have cooled during the Biden presidency, especially after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. US President and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Didn’t speak even once. Pakistan hopes to form a new “pivot” with China and Russia that will command Afghanistan and Eurasia. But Imran Khan’s strangely-timed visit to Moscow – he became the first foreign leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine – stunned the world, with many Pakistani commentators calling it “bad advice”. Earlier this week, Imran Khan asked the EU ambassadors in Islamabad to support the Western coalition and stand for the UN Charter, asking them why they did not take India for an “annexation” of Kashmir.
Bangla: 1971, 2021 Memories
There were reasons for avoiding Bangladesh. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said Dhaka’s position stands for “peace and stability around the world”. “We have talked about the need for a peaceful solution through dialogue. We have said the same thing in the UN. We have said that we are very concerned. The UN Secretary-General should take the initiative for a peaceful solution,” Momen said in Dhaka after the UNGA vote.
The boycott of Bangladesh is seen in light of tensions between the US and the Sheikh Hasina government, and the Biden administration’s December 2021 decision to sanction the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite paramilitary force deployed against jihadist groups, for human rights violations. A decision to give can be made.
Dhaka, on the other hand, recalls with gratitude that Moscow helped India militarily during the 1971 war, while the US sided with Pakistan. Russia is now building Dhaka’s first nuclear power plant in Ruppur.
Nepal: Pitch against Russia
Sandwiched between China and India, both abstaining from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution against Russia, and a raging domestic debate in the country over accepting a $500 million development grant from the US, Nepal’s apparent stance against Russia It reflects. its geopolitical difficulties. In 2020, Kathmandu’s relations with New Delhi faltered on the new map of India, which Nepal claimed showed its territory as part of India.
Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amrit Rai told the UNGA that his country opposes any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any sovereign country.
Nepal has just emerged from a huge domestic political impasse, which has involved violent road protests, power transmission lines and a $500 million US development grant to build roads over the next five years. Some sections of Nepalese politics believed that accepting the money would tantamount to joining the US-led camp against China in the Indo-Pacific.
The US reportedly threatened to review its ties with Nepal if it did not take the money. Hours before the deadline for the grant, known as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Nepal’s parliament gave its approval with a two-thirds majority. China said the US used “coercive diplomacy to get its way”, and asked whether the MCC fund was “a gift or a Pandora’s box”.
Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan
Bhutan, commonly seen as an Indian satellite but which has, in fact, been claiming an independent foreign policy for some years, also voted against Russia.
Like Nepal, between the two regional giants, little Bhutan’s main concern has been to avoid getting caught up in their rivalry. China’s claim on Bhutan territory led both sides to sign a memorandum of understanding in October 2021 for a three-phase boundary agreement, which is seen as window-dressing on Chinese fit on land in India.
“If we follow some of the geopolitical logic of Russian insecurity, people may invade the homes of neighbors they don’t like or have conflicts with. Russia’s argument in invading Ukraine is that if You are a big power and have few insecurities, real or imagined, you can have a rough ride on the sovereignty of a small country,” tweeted The Bhutanese editor Tenzing Lamsang.
The Maldives, which signed a defense deal with the US last year, and which left the previous Yameen government’s China leaning in its foreign policy under the Solih government, also voted against Russia. Its Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid is the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
“The Russia-Ukraine conflict has the potential to become a very broad conflict with serious consequences,” Maldivian Defense Minister Maria Didi said earlier this week at the Colombo Security Conference in Male, which seeks to avoid conflict and protect both inside and outside our borders. Reminds the need for closer cooperation between regional partners to ensure security and stability in Asia.
Afghanistan, which continues to be represented at the United Nations by its deposed government, voted against Russia. The Taliban regime, which is not yet recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, issued a statement declaring neutrality in the Ukraine conflict. There is concern among the people of Afghanistan that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has diverted the world’s attention from the humanitarian devastation in its own country.