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| Thursday, 5 February 2004 |
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SAARC ties based on respect for security - Indian FM NEW DELHI, Wednesday (AFP) Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said that South Asian countries must be sensitive to each other's security concerns, hailing Bhutan as an example for its recent crackdown on Indian rebels. "The bottom line in our relations with neighbours must remain the need to be sensitive to each other's security concerns and to neither encourage nor undertake any activity that might be detrimental to the security and welfare of the neighbour," Sinha said in a lecture in New Delhi. "Mere denials will not suffice. Inspiration should be drawn from the courage and foresight with which Bhutan has moved against elements within its borders which were threatening its own sovereignty as well as the security of India," he said. Bhutan from December to January mounted its first military campaign in modern times to expel hundreds of Indian rebels who had set up bases in the kingdom. New Delhi has been demanding similar action from Pakistan against alleged bases for rebels fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. But India and Pakistan are set to resume stalled dialogue on February 16, a breakthrough that came about during a January summit in Islamabad of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). "The outcome of the Islamabad summit is (a) product of a slow but steady change in the mindset of our neighbours towards India," he said. Sinha denied India had a "big brother approach" to South Asia, which he said was a "common complaint" by neighbouring countries. "India's contributions to the 12th SAARC summit (in Islamabad) alone should be more than sufficient to dispel any doubts regarding its commitments to the SAARC process," Sinha said. |
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