IndoCarib
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The ongoing diplomatic spat between India and the US over the December 12 arrest and perceived humiliation of an Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York for violating US immigration and employment law in bringing over her domestic servant is all set to take a huge toll on Indian-US bilateral relations.
Going by what Indian diplomats privy to the case have told me, this is the worst bilateral crisis that has exploded in the face of the Indian-US ties in decades and the Indians are in no mood to relent.
Whether or not the Americans throw in the towel as the Italians did a few months ago over the extradition of Italian marines remains to be seen, but what seems certain is that the hurt Indian diplomatic establishment is rooting for an unconditional apology from the Americans. Such an apology has not come, hence the present logjam in Indian-US relations.
In the past few days the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been on an offensive like never before.
It produced claims that Khobragade was actually covered under full diplomatic immunity but the US did not take the necessary actions to accredit her.
The MEA has painstakingly punctured holes in the rationale behind arresting and charging Khobragade as an ordinary person.
It claimed that Khobragade was accredited as an "advisor to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations" by the UN with effect from August 26 2013 and that her status as an advisor was valid until December 31 2013.
The MEA also claimed that under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, Article 4 Section 11A specifies "immunities from personal arrest or detention and from the seizure of their personal baggage" of all representatives of members to the UN and that Section 16 of the same Article specifies that the expression "representative" shall be deemed to include all "delegates, deputy delegates, advisors, technical experts and secretaries" of delegations.
Therefore, the Indian case is that Khobragade's arrest was contrary to her status on that date.
This crisis comes at a time when the US has publicly stated time and again that Asia is a major point of interest for Washington and that India constitutes an all-important pivot in the US scheme of things in Asia. It opens up an important diplomatic window for China.
The current Indian-US diplomatic spat should bring the two Asian giant neighbors closer. It affords an opportunity to China to reach out to a hurt India with a soothing balm.
China should seize this opportunity and tell the Indians what it has always been saying without having being heard by the Indians in letter and spirit. The Chinese message to the Indians should be a positive and a proactive one.
Of course, China cannot jump the gun and take sides in favor of the US or India in the ongoing Indian-US diplomatic spat. What China can do is to reach out to the Indians and tell them that it is always better for the Asian powers to have a strategic synergy and emerge on the same page while dealing with the rest of the world.
India would appreciate such a gesture from China, but it would be naïve to assume that on the steam of this episode alone Indian-US relations will be dented and that Indian-China ties see an upswing.
China can take chance offered by Indian-US diplomatic quarrel - Asian Review - Globaltimes.cn
Going by what Indian diplomats privy to the case have told me, this is the worst bilateral crisis that has exploded in the face of the Indian-US ties in decades and the Indians are in no mood to relent.
Whether or not the Americans throw in the towel as the Italians did a few months ago over the extradition of Italian marines remains to be seen, but what seems certain is that the hurt Indian diplomatic establishment is rooting for an unconditional apology from the Americans. Such an apology has not come, hence the present logjam in Indian-US relations.
In the past few days the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been on an offensive like never before.
It produced claims that Khobragade was actually covered under full diplomatic immunity but the US did not take the necessary actions to accredit her.
The MEA has painstakingly punctured holes in the rationale behind arresting and charging Khobragade as an ordinary person.
It claimed that Khobragade was accredited as an "advisor to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations" by the UN with effect from August 26 2013 and that her status as an advisor was valid until December 31 2013.
The MEA also claimed that under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, Article 4 Section 11A specifies "immunities from personal arrest or detention and from the seizure of their personal baggage" of all representatives of members to the UN and that Section 16 of the same Article specifies that the expression "representative" shall be deemed to include all "delegates, deputy delegates, advisors, technical experts and secretaries" of delegations.
Therefore, the Indian case is that Khobragade's arrest was contrary to her status on that date.
This crisis comes at a time when the US has publicly stated time and again that Asia is a major point of interest for Washington and that India constitutes an all-important pivot in the US scheme of things in Asia. It opens up an important diplomatic window for China.
The current Indian-US diplomatic spat should bring the two Asian giant neighbors closer. It affords an opportunity to China to reach out to a hurt India with a soothing balm.
China should seize this opportunity and tell the Indians what it has always been saying without having being heard by the Indians in letter and spirit. The Chinese message to the Indians should be a positive and a proactive one.
Of course, China cannot jump the gun and take sides in favor of the US or India in the ongoing Indian-US diplomatic spat. What China can do is to reach out to the Indians and tell them that it is always better for the Asian powers to have a strategic synergy and emerge on the same page while dealing with the rest of the world.
India would appreciate such a gesture from China, but it would be naïve to assume that on the steam of this episode alone Indian-US relations will be dented and that Indian-China ties see an upswing.
China can take chance offered by Indian-US diplomatic quarrel - Asian Review - Globaltimes.cn
, yeah we saw what you did when your embassy was bombed. So no thanks - you mind your own business. Wake me up when anyone of substance calls for China for help.
