The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : STAND FIRM ON THE IRAN PIPELINE

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Thursday, Mar 17, 2005

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STAND FIRM ON THE IRAN PIPELINE

THE STATEMENTS OF "concern" made by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India represent the first time the United States has gone public with its opposition to the energy project. Dr. Rice gave vent to the Bush administration's "concerns" about Iran and the pipeline at a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday; she also announced Washington's views had already been communicated by the U.S. Ambassador in India and that she had herself raised the Iran question in her discussions with External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh. The language Dr. Rice employed was subdued — in keeping with her professorial, even diplomatic mien — and her disapproval was tempered by soothing words about the possibility of India entering into an "energy dialogue" with the U.S. Nevertheless, her message was clear and unambiguous — that Washington does not want the project to go ahead. How the Manmohan Singh Government reacts will represent the first real test of the United Progressive Alliance's promise of pursuing an independent foreign policy.

For India, the Iran pipeline is — to employ North American argot — a no-brainer. Specifically, it offers a number of advantages. First, the import of natural gas from Iran is a vital element in India's quest for energy security. Secondly, the pipeline project opens up a new and potentially exciting chapter in the bilateral relationship between Islamabad and New Delhi. Each side gets an economic stake in the other and this can only engender stability and predictability in the political equation. Thirdly, the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline grid can be extended into Turkmenistan to allow Central Asian and Caspian gas to flow in. Finally, the grid could also be extended eastward from India to northern Myanmar and China's Yunnan province, thereby tying India, China, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia into a common energy network that would lower costs of transportation all round. India would be most unwise to give up all this and more for the chimera of an "energy dialogue" with a country that continues to deny it technology, equipment, and fuel for its civilian nuclear industry.

Assuming that the Manmohan Singh Government will stand firm — as it must, given its national interest — the U.S. will no doubt pressure Pakistan to back out. Islamabad is vulnerable to Washington's threats and blandishments for a variety of reasons. If the Musharraf Government backs out under pressure, it will undermine not just the momentum of the India-Pakistan peace process but also the energy security of Pakistan. There is, of course, an even larger issue at stake, which neither India nor Pakistan can afford to ignore: the Bush administration's hostile policy towards Teheran and the implications this hostility has for the South Asian and Southwest Asian region. Iran may or may not have nuclear weapon ambitions and there is currently a negotiation process under way between the European Union Troika and the Iranian authorities over a plan to clear up misgivings about uranium enrichment. However, each time Washington issues threats or attempts to tighten its economic boycott of Iran, it reduces that country's incentive to cooperate. Although the U.S. seems hell-bent on effecting "regime change" in Teheran through sanctions or military means, India must counsel its "strategic partner" to follow a policy of restraint, rapprochement, and engagement. A secure and self-confident Iran that is involved in regional and international economic linkages would have no incentive to go down the nuclear path. India and Iran are close friends and do not need the benediction of the U.S. to do business with each other. The peace pipeline must proceed and New Delhi must let Washington know where it gets off.

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