Thanks, but no thanks: NATO Plus not suitable for India, says EAM Jaishankar
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi starts his first State Visit to the United States, scheduled from June 21 to 24, India has politely turned down an ‘unofficial offer’ to New Delhi to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in its extension as NATO-Plus.
While addressing a press conference in New Delhi on the completion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s nine years, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday that the US-led and Euro-centric military alliance is “not suitable for India,” the media reported.
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states – 29 European and two North American. Its main purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
India’s remarks came after a powerful US Congressional Committee recently recommended strengthening NATO-Plus by including India, along with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and South Korea – to boost global defense cooperation. Bringing India on board would facilitate seamless intelligence sharing between these countries and India would access the latest military technology without much of a time lag.
However, Dr. Jaishankar said, “The NATO template doesn’t apply to India.”
According to the US, India should join the alliance to safeguard its boundaries from its neighboring China. Besides, by joining an America-led alliance, India would be able to strengthen global security and deter Chinese aggression.
“Winning the strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party and ensuring the security of Taiwan demands the United States strengthen ties to our allies and security partners, including India. Including India in NATO Plus security arrangements would build upon the US and India’s close partnership to strengthen global security and deter the aggression of the CCP across the Indo-Pacific region,” the Select Committee had recommended.
