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UNSC seat: Japan pours cold water on India’s quest
Rajeev Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 20
India’s quest for permanent membership of the United Nation’s to-be-expanded Security Council has hit a dead-end. Japan has conveyed to the other G4 members, Brazil, Germany and India, that it is not in favour of pursuing the matter for some time and it is better to wait for a year or two before the grouping makes another dash for the UNSC goal. None other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself was given this sense by his Japanese counterpart during his recent visit to Japan.

Japan’s Ambassador here Yasukuni Enoki went on record at a select press briefing here on January 18 that getting two-third majority in the UN plus approval from the Permanent 5 was “very difficult, if not a mission impossible”. He said Japan was still very much part of the Group of Four but it felt that after the G4’s unsuccessful bid last year, it should defer the next attempt by an year or two.

In view of the unfavourable ground realities, New Delhi is all set to scale down its goal and run for non-permanent membership.

Japan has also conveyed to India its non-approval of a currently popular diplomatic fad the world over, strategic partnerships, with which New Delhi, too, is not unaffected. Tokyo is not very impressed with the way countries are entering into strategic partnerships with one another these days and wants to stick to its traditional approach.

India has a strategic partnership with a host of countries and groups, including the US, the UK, Russia and the EU.