India-Canada standoff: US looks to dial down tension, Jaishankar takes swipe at Trudeau

This comes even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is in New York, said it is still a world of “double standards” and countries occupying “positions of influence” are “resisting the pressure to change” and those with “institutional influence or historical influence” have “actually weaponised a lot of those capabilities”.

“In the name of the market, a lot of things are done, like in the name of freedom, a lot of things are done,” he said, hinting at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statements defending pro-Khalistan activities in his country by citing freedom of speech.

Ever since the standoff began with Delhi rejecting Trudeau’s allegations of “a potential link” of Indian agents to the killing of Nijjar, at least five senior US officials and diplomats – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, NSA Jake Sullivan, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen – have made public statements, all measured with a nuanced message for both sides. In short, asking Delhi to cooperate, but also asking Ottawa not to jump the gun.

Consider the following:

* On September 19, Kirby, in an interview to CBS News, said, “These allegations are serious and we know that the Canadians are investigating it. We certainly don’t want to get ahead of that investigation.”

“We urge India to cooperate in that investigation as well. This is the kind of an attack here that obviously we all want to know is handled in a transparent, thorough way. And that the Canadian people can get answers to this. So we are going to stay in touch with our partners, both countries, and again we want to see the investigation be able to proceed unhindered and let the facts take it where it may,” he said.

* On September 20, Garcetti described Trudeau’s allegations as “troubling” and underlined the importance of following principles of international law, sovereignty and non interference.

“Obviously, any allegations like this should be troubling to anyone. But with an active criminal investigation, I hope that we can make sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” he said.

“And that we all allow the space for that information and that investigation to occur before anybody leaps to judgment,” he said, while speaking at an interactive session at the Ananta Aspen Centre.

* On September 21, Sullivan said the US supports Canada’s efforts to investigate allegations of India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar, observing that no country can get any “special exemption” for such kinds of activities. This is a statement from the highest level in the US administration, the White House, on this issue.

“We support the efforts that they are undertaking in this investigation and we have also been in touch with the Indian government as well,” he said.

Declining to respond to questions on the evidence of Canadian allegations, Sullivan said, “I will let that process play out. We are in, as I said before, continuous communication and consultation with the Canadian government and we will remain so as we go forward,” he said.

* On September 22, Cohen said that it was “shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners” that helped “lead” Canada make the claim.

Five Eyes refers to an intelligence-sharing alliance of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It draws on both surveillance and signals intelligence.

In an interview to Canadian CTV news, Cohen said: “There was shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners that helped lead Canada to making the statements that the Prime Minister made.”

* On September 22, speaking at a press conference in New York, Blinken said, “We have been consulting throughout very closely with our Canadian colleagues – and not just consulting, coordinating with them – on this issue. And from our perspective, it is critical that the Canadian investigation proceed, and it would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability, and it’s important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result.”

While intelligence gathering on friends and foes is par for the course, and nobody in Delhi is surprised at reports of intelligence-sharing between the US and Canada, the Indian establishment wants to take a hard line on Trudeau’s support to pro-Khalistan groups.

But the Indian establishment also understands the impact on the people-to-people pillar of the ties (especially the students, business) as well as some impact on trade, especially agriculture (potash and pulses).

While Trudeau said that Canada has shared with India “credible allegations” regarding the killing of Nijjar and wants it to “commit constructively” to establish the facts on this serious matter, Delhi is waiting for this to play out.

India has rejected the allegations, calling these “absurd” and “motivated”. It has accused Ottawa of not acting against the Khalistan separatists in Canada, and not sharing any specific information on the killing of Nijjar.

At the same time, it has opened a window for cooperation, saying if any specific information is provided, New Delhi will be willing to look into it.

In New York, Jaishankar will meet officials and ministers from the US administration.

New Delhi and Washington are expected to have some frank conversation over the next week or so. NSA Ajit Doval is also said to be in touch with his US counterpart.

An indication of New Delhi’s approach can be gauged from Jaishankar’s statement in New York.

Speaking at a session titled ‘South Rising: Partnerships, Institutions and Ideas’ hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, United Nations India and the Reliance Foundation, Jaishankar said, “I think more than political will, there is political pressure for change. There is a growing sentiment in the world and the Global South in a way embodies it. But there’s also political resistance. Those who are occupying positions of influence, we see this in the UN Security Council most of all, are resisting the pressure to change. Those who are economically dominant today are leveraging their production capabilities and those who have institutional influence or historical influence have actually weaponised a lot of those capabilities as well.”

“They will all mouth the right things, but the reality is still today, it’s a world very much of double standards,” he said.