Relevance: GS-2: International Relations, International Organisation, Bilateral Relations.

Key Phrases: Brussels Treaty of collective defence, Vandenburg Resolution, North Atlantic Treaty, NATO, Taliban, China, Pakistan, USSR, UN, Security Council, Terrorism, Marshall Plan, Euro-Atlantic Security.

Background

• First political dialogue between India and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) took place in Brussels on December 12, 2019.
• It was attended by senior officials, including from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.
• The idea was to ensure the dialogue was primarily political in character and to avoid making any commitment on military or other bilateral cooperation.
• Accordingly, the Indian delegation attempted to assess cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
• It is learnt the two sides also discussed a possible second round in New Delhi in 2020, which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

About NATO

• North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, is a political and military alliance of thirty countries - 28 European countries and two countries in North America (the United States and Canada).
• It was set up in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several western European nations to ensure their collective security against the Soviet Union.
• It was the US’s first peacetime military alliance outside the western hemisphere.
• Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. The headquarters of the Allied Command Operations is near Mons, also in Belgium.

About NATO’s collective defence

• Members of NATO are committed to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
• Laid out in the Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the founding treaty of NATO, Collective defence lies at the very heart of NATO.
• It is a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.

Historical Perspective

• At the end of WWII, as economically weak European nations started to rebuild their economies, the US, which believed that an economically strong, re-armed, and integrated Europe was critical to prevent the westward expansion of the communist USSR, initiated a programme to supply economic aid to the continent on a massive scale.
• The European Recovery Programme, known as the Marshall Plan after President Harry S Truman’s Secretary of State George C Marshall, promoted the idea of shared interests and cooperation between the US and Europe.
• The USSR declined to participate in the Marshall Plan and discouraged eastern European states in its sphere of influence from receiving American economic assistance.
• In the 1946-49 Greek Civil War, the US and UK worked to thwart the Soviet-backed communist takeover of Greece.
• The western nations backed Turkey as it stood up to Soviet pressure over control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles Strait (which connect the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara, and the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, respectively) — and in 1947-48, the US committed itself to contain the communist uprisings in Turkey and Greece.
• In 1948, Stalin’s government sponsored a coup in (erstwhile) Czechoslovakia, which led to the installation of a communist regime in a country sharing borders with both Soviet-controlled East Germany and pro-West West Germany.
• In 1948-49, the Soviets blockaded West Berlin to force the US, UK, and France to give up their post-war jurisdictions in the country, leading to a major crisis and an 11-month airlift of supplies by Western countries to keep their part of the city going.
• All these events led the US to conclude that an American-European alliance against the USSR was necessary. The Europeans too were convinced of the need for a collective security solution.
• In March 1948, the UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the Brussels Treaty of collective defence, which meant that if any of the signatories faced an attack, they would be defended by all the others.
• A few months later, the US Congress passed the Vandenburg Resolution, that advised the President to seek the US and free world security through support of mutual defence arrangements that operated within the UN Charter but outside the Security Council, where the Soviet veto would thwart collective defence arrangements.
• The Vandenburg Resolution was the stepping stone to NATO. The US believed the treaty would be more effective if it included, apart from the signatories of the Brussels Treaty, countries of the North Atlantic — Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, and Portugal.
• From the American perspective, these countries were the links between the two shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and could help facilitate military action if it was needed.
• The treaty was signed in Washington DC on April 4, 1949. It had 12 signatories initially: the US, UK, Canada, France, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland, and Luxembourg.

Significance of India – NATO talks

• India’s talks with NATO hold significance given that the North Atlantic alliance has been engaging both China and Pakistan in bilateral dialogue.
• There was a view here that given the role of Beijing and Islamabad in New Delhi’s strategic imperatives, reaching out to NATO would add a key dimension to India’s growing engagement with US and Europe.
• The government was of the view that engaging NATO in a political dialogue would provide New Delhi with an opportunity to bring about a balance in NATO’s perceptions about the situation in regions and issues of concern to India.

Areas of convergence between India & NATO

• There is a convergence in the perspectives of both India and NATO on China, terrorism and Afghanistan, including Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.
• On the other hand, the first dialogue has revealed three critical issues on which both sides have only limited common ground:
  • From NATO’s perspective, it was not China, but Russia whose aggressive actions continued to be the main threat to Euro-Atlantic security, and NATO had faced difficulties to convene meetings of the NATO-Russia Council due to Russian refusal to place issues such as Ukraine and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on the agenda.
  • Given the divergence among NATO countries, its view on China was seen as mixed; while it did deliberate on China’s rise, the conclusion was that China presented both a challenge and an opportunity.
  • In Afghanistan, NATO saw the Taliban as a political entity, which was not in line with India’s stance. This was almost two years before the Taliban announced an interim government in Afghanistan in September 2021.
• The maritime security has emerged as a principal area of conversation, given a substantial common ground with NATO.

Issues of divergence

• In its first round of talks with NATO, New Delhi realised it did not share a common ground with the grouping on Russia and the Taliban.
• With NATO’s views on China also mixed, given the divergent views of its members, India’s Quad membership is aimed at countering Beijing.
• Otherwise, the alliance’s engagement with China and Pakistan separately would leave it with lopsided perspectives on regional and global security matters of concern to India.

Road Ahead:

• NATO has expressed keenness to continue engagement with India on a mutually agreed agenda.
• In NATO’s view, India, given its geo-strategic position and unique perspectives on various issues, was relevant to international security and could be an important partner in informing the alliance about India’s own region and beyond.
• As far as India is concerned, New Delhi may consider proposals emanating from NATO, if any, on bilateral cooperation in areas of interest to India, based on the progress achieved in the initial rounds.
• While many say it is logical to follow up and formalise the talks, some caution because of sensitivities attached to the perception of NATO — seen by some as expansionist in nature.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. What are the areas of common interest between India and NATO? Evaluate whether Euro-centric NATO can be an ally of India in its efforts to counter China.