INDIA’S NSG OVERTURE TO CHINA CAN BRING THE TWO ASIAN GIANTS CLOSER

Posted by AsiaViews | Apr 16, 2018 | 0 |

INDIA

The Hindustan Times-Apr 11

India is engaging China on dropping its objections to New Delhi’s membership of the elite club controlling access to nuclear technology.

India’s reported outreach to China on its bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group during the bilateral Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue in Beijing is a significant development, coming as it does in the wake of efforts to reboot relations between the two Asian giants. Officially, the focus of the fifth round of the dialogue on Tuesday was global security and disarmament in outer space, but reports suggest that India engaged China on dropping its objections to New Delhi’s membership of the elite club controlling access to nuclear technology. It is now becoming apparent that India is pursuing a new path in its ties with China under foreign secretary, Vijay Gokhale, an old China hand who played a crucial role in resolving last year’s military standoff at Doklam while serving as the envoy in Beijing. This is reflected in India’s new stance on issues such as Tibet that have the potential to irk China. Beijing too has displayed some amount of flexibility in its position on issues that are crucial to India. For instance, China did not oppose a US-backed move at the Financial Action Task Force in February to place Pakistan, its “iron brother ally”, on a terror financing watch list. There have also been suggestions that India and China, with their massive economies, could play a greater role in shaping debate on global issues as the US cedes its leadership position. Provided the two countries can build on such developments, there could be greater scope for cooperation between them.

It must be remembered that China is not the only country opposing India’s application to join the NSG. However, getting China to change its position could certainly help to swing the other naysayers such as Turkey and Ireland. India also believes its hands have been strengthened by its membership of three key multilateral export control regimes, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement for controls on dual use technologies and the Australia Group.

China has proposed a two-step approach for making countries that haven’t signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty members of the NSG. This involves forging a universal formula for such countries and then taking up their applications. Detractors say this was done with an eye to helping Pakistan gain membership of the NSG alongside India. However, with India becoming a member of the three other export control regimes and continuing questions about Pakistan’s non-proliferation record, such an approach could even work to New Delhi’s advantage provided Beijing is willing to play ball.

(first published in The Hindustan Times – https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/india-s-nsg-overture-to-china-can-bring-the-two-asian-giants-closer/story-Dd9NIQcKXcSAsG7juvwf3N.html)

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

INDIA’S NSG OVERTURE TO CHINA CAN BRING THE TWO ASIAN GIANTS CLOSER