European arms tease

While French temptations are well known, the EU must still reckon with opposition from the US, which argues European arms to China will upset the Asian military balance.

If New Delhi has any views on European arms sales to China, it has kept them to itself. Until now India has indirectly benefited from the Western arms embargo. Under US pressure, Israel too had to downsize its military cooperation with Beijing.

Russia, which supplies arms to China, has given slightly more sophisticated weapons to India. But this happy situation is unlikely to last long. The attractions of the Chinese arms bazaar are too tempting.

When the floodgates open sooner than later, New Delhi will be scrambling to sustain the military equilibrium with Beijing.

Iran sanctions

The difference between the foreign policy of a ruling communist party and the non-ruling ones is pretty simple: the former is responsible for what it considers state interests. Communists in opposition have the luxury of taking rhetorical positions.

Defending Iran has become a new political cause for the Indian Left, as it applies pressure on the UPA government to follow an “anti-imperialist” foreign policy; but Communist China has had no problem supporting a new round of international sanctions against Tehran.

Despite its many political differences with Washington, Beijing does not want to pick a fight on Iran with the United States. For China sees itself as a responsible power and cannot encourage

Iran’s nuclear defiance.

After his vote last Saturday in the unanimous UNSC resolution 1747, which builds on the first set of sanctions imposed last December, the Chinese permanent representative to the UN outlined Beijing’s position.

“China respects and recognises Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy. However, we also feel disappointed that the Iranian side has failed to respond positively to the requests of the IAEA and the Security Council. Under such circumstances, we support the Security Council in taking further and appropriate actions to urge the Iranian side to suspend enrichment-related activities, in order to bring the process back to the negotiation track,” ambassador Wang Guangya declared.

Russia, which tried hard to finesse a deal with Tehran, has not only given up on the effort but has decided to suspend plans to supply enriched uranium fuel to the power reactor it is building at Bushehr in Iran.

That Iran is completely isolated is reflected by the fact that South Africa and Indonesia, two of our leading friends in the non-aligned movement and current members of the UN Security Council, voted with the sanctions resolution to make it unanimous.

Gwadar Plus

After the inauguration of the Chinese funded Gwadar port on Baluchistan’s coast at the mouth of the Persian Gulf last week, the focus is now on Beijing’s plans to build a mega petrochemical city there.

Pakistan has reportedly allotted nearly 5000 hectares of land near Gwadar for a consortium of Chinese petrochemical companies to build a variety of refining and logistical facilities in the coming years.

The Chinese consortium, called the Great United Petroleum Holding Company (GUPC), brings together nearly 50 enterprises. The GUPC plans to build an initial refining capacity of 11 million tonnes and expand it in phases to about 63 million tonnes in a decade and a half. As China dramatically transforms its economic relationship with Pakistan, New Delhi is playing hardball in a low stakes game of market access with Islamabad.