The Saudi-Pakistan Pact: A Reality Check for India's West Asia Policy
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: International Relations (Defence Pacts, West Asia conflict, Nuclear Proliferation); Indian Foreign Policy (Strategic Autonomy, Multipolarity).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (International Relations): India and its neighborhood- relations; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India; Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests. This article provides a critical evaluation of India's foreign policy doctrines.
Key Highlights from the News
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) signed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan poses a significant challenge to India's diplomatic calculations.
This agreement is a setback to India's efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally.
The author argues that the foundation of the Saudi-Pak relationship is Islam, ideology, and Sunnism, and it cannot be broken.
Saudi Arabia, like India, is striving for strategic autonomy and multipolarity. This may sometimes go against India's interests.
This incident exposes the shortcomings of India's foreign policy. India's risk-averse, often "fence-sitting" approach, which is hesitant to take risks and often does not take a firm stance, needs to change.
The article strongly warns that if India does not make more courageous and decisive decisions in the changing world order, it will lose opportunities.
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