Manmohan Singh And An Era Of Tough Foreign Relations; Indo-US Nuclear Deal, China Border Issues And Pakistan
India’s two-time former prime minister and veteran Congress leader, Manmohan Singh, died on Thursday night, leaving behind a revolutionary legacy ranging from economic reforms when he was the finance minister to the outstanding governance during his prime ministerial tenure. The ten-year-long administration from 2004 to 2014 saw phenomenal transformation in various fields under Manmohan Singh.
During his two tenures, former PM Manmohan Singh sought to balance India’s foreign relations with countries with opposite ideological positioning and foresaw India’s place as an emerging leader in a multipolar world. On one hand, he successfully managed India’s bilateral relations with the US and Russia; however, he faced challenges dealing with China and Pakistan.
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Civil Nuclear Deal And Ties With Washington
The former prime minister’s iconic Civil Nuclear Deal with the US (2008) ended India’s nuclear isolation, opening avenues for clean energy while strengthening international partnership. The deal is regarded as one of the biggest achievements of the foreign policy of the former prime minister.
The Prime Minister was lauded for his staunch stand in pushing the deal despite the challenges he faced during a no-confidence motion in the parliament. The deal also paved the way for strengthening India’s relationship with the US, especially in the defence and technological sectors.
The talks had started in 2005 as both India and the US declared that they would cooperate in civil nuclear energy with then US president George W. Bush. The Indian Prime Minister has highlighted India’s commitment and record in nuclear non-proliferation while stressing the need for civil nuclear collaboration.
The historic address by Manmohan Singh noted that India was fully conscious of the immense responsibilities that come with the possession of advanced technologies while pointing out that the country has adhered to every rule and canon in the nuclear non-proliferation despite having unchecked nuclear proliferation in the neighbourhood affecting the national security interests.
After several negotiations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved the safeguards agreement with India on August 1, 2008, and the US held talks with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to grant a waiver to New Delhi to commence civilian nuclear trade.
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It was in September of the same year that the NSG granted the waiver to India on September 6, 2008, which allowed the country’s access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel. The agreement was signed by then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his US counterpart Condoleezza Rice on October 10.
Bilateral Relations With Russia
The ties with Russia remained success of Manmohan Singh tenure as attendance of the high level leaders in the Annual Summit meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the President of the Russian Federation institutionalized dialogue mechanism under the Strategic Partnership between India and the Russian Federation. Both countries successfully held the subsequent annual summits and bilateral visits. Also India’s dependency on Russia for its energy and defence purpose remained successfully fulfilled during Mr. Manmohan Singh’ tenure. He called Russia an ‘indispensable partner’ for India’s defence and energy needs and described the bilateral relations with Russia as ‘unmatched by any other relationship. Joint development of Brahmos Cruise Missile, leasing of nuclear submarines by Russia and its importance in nuclear energy development were succefully achieved under Dr. Singh tenures.
Ties With China Amid Disputed LAC
However, the relations with China remained not so much satisfactory as the constant border skirmishes along the 3,500 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) and trade deficit remained the points of discontent between both countries. The frequent tailing of soldiers at the border constantly caused friction in ties. The opposition parties kept targeting him for his lack of strong actions against China at the border. However, Dr. Singh took a cautious approach to not to repeat the 1962 war through internal pressure and demands. The military standoff in April 2013 was the most serious incident between nuclear-armed neighbours in a quarter of a century on the Himalayan border. However, a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was signed after the incursion of a Chinese platoon into Indian territory in April 2013, known as the Daulat Beg Oldi incident. Also, India’s greater reliance on China’s trade increased the trade deficit to a staggering amount of $39 billion in 2013, which was four times higher than the last 10 years deficit.
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Handling Tough India-Pakistan Relations
The 2008 Mumbai attacks were one of the major causes of the dip in India-Pakistan relations during Dr. Manmohan Singh’s tenure, despite improving the India–Pakistan bilateral relationship that has been high on his agenda during both his terms in office.
Many believe that one of Singh’s major successes has been his engagement with Islamabad. In 2011, Pakistan granted India the most favoured nation (MFN) status. In 2012, the visa liberalisation agreement was passed. However, Dr. Singh had to face domestic opposition from within the party and outside his party which he tried to balance by taking cautious measures.
