NATO Plus ? Should India join?

NATO Plus – Should India join?

News: United States Permanent Representative to NATO, Julianne Smith quoted: The NATO alliance is open to more engagement, should India seek that. Several other discussions have been on-going seeking India’s closer participation.

What is NATO and NATO plus?
• NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance comprising 31-member states, mainly from Europe and North America. It aims to ensure the freedom and security of its members through political and military cooperation.
• NATO Plus includes five more member nations which are treaty allies of the US– Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Israel. The term ‘NATO Plus’ is not officially recognised within NATO itself but has been used in discussions regarding the potential expansion of the alliance.
• The focus of NATO Plus is on containing China. Therefore, considering its disputes with China, India remains a missing link in the framework.

What are advantages for India in joining NATO plus?
• In light of increasing regional security challenges, India joining the NATO Plus framework could provide it with a security umbrella. With protection and deterrence against potential threats.
• India could also gain access to advanced military technologies, intelligence-sharing platforms, and inter-operability with other member-states.
• China’s rise and its aggression has made a strong India-US partnership a necessity. If China continues with its assertive and aggressive foreign policy agenda against India, India may have pragmatic engagement with NATO.
• Long-term dependence on Russia for military, strategic needs may not do well for India considering economic issues Russia is likely to face in the near to long term.

Why India should do away from joining NATO plus?
• If India joins NATO Plus, it will directly impact India’s strong, ties with Russia. Russia has been useful to India in dealing with regional security challenges and, in moderating the stance of China. Even if Russia is increasingly inching towards China, it continues to remain a valuable partner for us.
• India has traditionally maintained a policy of strategic autonomy, allowing it to engage with various nations and blocs based on its own interests. Joining NATO could potentially risk India’s strategic autonomy.
• Being part of a military framework will limit India’s freedom of action and prevent it from pursuing an independent policy towards China.
• Considering our own bilateral issues with China and a strategy for the Indo-Pacific, being part of the Taiwan strategy of the U.S. under NATO Plus will complicate India’s security.
• India is a middle power with great-power aspirations. It has been the leading voice for the Global South at world forums. A junior-partner status in an alliance would mean giving up its great-power aspirations. It would make it difficult for India to rise as the third pole.

Way Forward
• India’s priorities lie in addressing its own regional dynamics that includes a unique set of security challenges such as border disputes, terrorism, and regional conflicts.
• NATO has certain competencies to deal with such issues, its larger geopolitical agenda starting from Eurasia to the Indo-Pacific may divert resources and attention away from these pressing issues and, therefore, will not be of much help to India.
Source – The Hindu