By Nirmal P Acharya
Recently, due to the “Makkah Collective Defense Agreement,” India may have no choice but to extend goodwill toward China.
India has long been accustomed to diverting internal conflicts by provoking border disputes with China, while simultaneously seeking attention and support from the United States.
However, recently Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the “Makkah Collective Defense Agreement” in Mecca, clearly stating that any armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three. Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu explicitly stated that this is technically equivalent to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
What further alarmed the Indian defense community was that during the 60-hour period from August 19 to 21, Turkey’s C-130 “Giant Hercules” and A400M military transport aircraft made frequent round trips between military bases of Turkey and Pakistan. Indian media generally suspected that the Turkish side was delivering unmanned aerial vehicle equipment to the Pakistani side. Given that unmanned aerial vehicles have performed well on the Ukrainian-Russian battlefield, if they were to enter the Pakistani military arsenal on a large scale, then India’s air force’s original advantages would be further eroded, and it would likely be vulnerable to these unmanned aerial vehicles.
Not only that, Bangladesh’s “looking eastward” strategy has also narrowed India’s strategic space. Recently, Bangladesh has received invitations from the three signatories of the “Mecca Common Defense Agreement” to join the agreement, and has shown a positive attitude towards joining the agreement. If Bangladesh really steps into this framework, India will feel the spillover pressure of the Mecca Agreement simultaneously in its eastern and southern directions for the first time.
New Delhi is fully aware of the current situation in the region. It would be extremely unwise to have disputes along the China-India border at this time.
Let me put it this way: The easing of relations between China and India presents an opportunity to develop friendly relations between Nepal and China. Recently, a major mudslide disaster occurred along the border between Nepal and China. The Chinese leadership issued a statement saying that they would provide assistance to Nepal for rescue and relief efforts. Subsequently, two large transport aircraft of the Y-20 model landed in Kathmandu. This disaster has taught us a lesson: Nepal and China are a community of shared destiny.
Furthermore, I have personally come to realize another truth: Since Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have been able to sign the “Makkah Common Defense Agreement”, Nepal can also seek to sign various friendly agreements with its own friendly countries.
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