A pragmatic engagement with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is an important part of India’s new European orientation, amidst the search for a new role in the Indo-Pacific. Analyse. (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
· An India-NATO dialogue would simply mean having regular contact with a military alliance, most of whose members are well-established partners of India.
· India’s real problem is not with NATO, but with Delhi’s difficulty in thinking strategically about Europe.
· Delhi has begun to develop an independent European framework, but has some distance to go in consolidating it. Talking to NATO ought to be one important part of India’s European strategy.
· The deepening maritime partnership with France since 2018 is an example. Joining the Franco-German Alliance for Multilateralism in 2019 is another.
· Modi’s first summit with Nordic nations in 2018 was a recognition that Europe is not a monolith but a continent of sub-regions. So was the engagement with Central Europe’s Visegrad Four.
· NATO is not offering membership to India; nor is Delhi interested. At issue is the question of exploring potential common ground.
· To play any role in the Indo-Pacific, Europe and NATO need partners like India, Australia and Japan. Delhi, in turn, knows that no single power can produce stability and security in the Indo-Pacific.
· A sustained dialogue between India and NATO could facilitate productive exchanges in a range of areas, including terrorism, changing geopolitics.
