For countries like India, cosying up to Israel that risks becoming an international pariah is costly strategic gamble: Middle East affairs scholar Trita Parsi

New Delhi [India], September 24 (ANI): Trita Parsi, author and scholar on Middle East Affairs, and Executive VP of Quincy Institute, has said that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia military defence pact will further cement India-Israel defence ties. Parsi, during a conversation with ANI, however, cautioned that being close to a country that is being cornered on the global stage is not “a very clever gamble for India.”

“From India’s point of view, will this (Saudi-Pak defence pact) mean that now possibly our ties with Israel will get closer and deeper, especially the defence aspect of it? That is certainly one direction that the Indian government may go and may feel inclined to go,” he said.

He further said that India is playing a gamble by being close to Israel, which is close to pariahhood.

“I do not know enough about India’s calculations and its foreign policy to be able to give you an informed answer. S

He further cautioned that India is of high importance in the Global South, and the closeness towards Israel might be “very, very costly for India.”

“India is still a country that is very important in the Global South context. It’s at this point, obviously a major power, but its Global South roots are not inconsequential. And I think a movement in this direction under these circumstances will be very, very costly for India and probably not worth whatever gains may be coming from Israel’s military assistance,” he said.

Parsi said that the Saudi-Pakistan deal is a result of the Qatari bombing by the Israelis. He said that this partnership doesn’t clear the air on who will come to defence in case of any aggression, or casts doubt on Pakistan’s ability to shelter Saudi.

“I think that is quite clear, that it (Saudi-Pakistan deal) is the result of this (Qatari bombing). The question that is not as clear to me is, is this really a security pact? I mean, are the Saudis going to come to the defence of Pakistan in a future India-Pakistan conflict? Hopefully, it won’t happen, but would they come to their defence? And how capable is Pakistan of actually providing a nuclear umbrella for the Saudis? That is, I think, the part that is more unclear,” he said.

“The Doha strike exposed a crisis of confidence in the US security umbrella across the Gulf,” Parsi stressed, adding the agreement is also a signal to the US that Saudi Arabia is now inching closer to “Chinese security defences.”

“The one element of it, though, that seems to at least have been the intent of the Saudis is to send a signal to the United States that they took one step closer, not to Pakistan, but to Chinese security defences, given the fact that the Pakistanis are using Chinese security defences,” he said.

Parsi added that Saudi Arabia, instead of going directly towards China, hinted at their “ability or intent or potential intent of going that direction” by going to Pakistan.

“So instead of going the full distance, which obviously would be quite provocative from Washington’s perspective, they (Saudi) hinted at their ability or intent or potential intent of going that direction by going to Pakistan, which essentially becomes a proxy for China in all of this. And given much of the concerns that exist in Washington about China, you can just imagine how that signal was read over here,” he said.

“By moving closer to Pakistan, the Saudis are really signalling to Washington that they can lean on Chinese security systems — with Pakistan serving as a proxy for Beijing in this equation,” he stressed.

The Saudi-Pakistan agreement was inked last week during a state visit by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Riyadh at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

According to a joint statement issued following the visit, “This agreement, which reflects the shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security and to achieving security and peace in the region and the world, aims to develop aspects of defence cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression. The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” (ANI)

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