Modi in Malaysia yet again proves he's an astute diplomat

Sharp barbs at Pakistan over the issue of terrorism and gentle nudges to China on the South China Sea dispute - that is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to do in Malaysia on November 22. But he did much more than that. He unveiled his "hammer" and "chisel" policies for Pakistan and China respectively.

Both issues are of immense importance and Modi did extremely well in highlighting these during his speech at the tenth East Asia Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. Modi took care in using the hammer for Pakistan but the chisel for China. Let’s see how:

Pakistan

While throwing barbs at Pakistan, Modi didn't directly name Pakistan anywhere. Yet he left none in doubt the country he was referring to. Sample his quote:

“Terrorism is the biggest threat to the world today. It knows no boundary, uses religion but kills people of all faiths. We have to delink religion from terror. The only distinction is between those who believe in humanity and those who do not... When I say (the) world must come together, it also means no country should promote terrorism. We have to make sure internet does not become a recruiting ground.”

Modi referred to terrorist strikes in Paris, Ankara, Beirut, Mali and recently on a Russian aircraft and said the spreading arc of global terrorism indicated that terrorism was no longer a peripheral problem for any region. He made these remarks at the EAS, a platform normally for economic cooperation-related issues, not security and terrorism.

This is precisely what had happened at another non-security platform like the G-20 summit in Turkey last week. Modi went one step ahead and said another non-security platform like the COP-21, or the climate change summit in Paris next week should also put the issue of terrorism on the front burner. This is what he said: “We are also days away from the summit on climate change in Paris. There, we must not only come together to craft a balanced and concrete outcome on climate change, we must also stand together to send a clear message that we will not retreat in the face of terror.”

The moral of the story: Modi is sparing no opportunity, no international platform to put pressure on Pakistan on the issue of terrorism. Another implicit message is that the Modi government is going to give a massive push to the pending Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism (CCT) in the United Nations.

China

Modi also played a clever diplomatic card by telling the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China to resolve their maritime boundary dispute in the South China Sea the way India had done with Bangladesh.

This is how Modi cited his Bangladesh model: “India and Bangladesh recently settled their maritime boundary using the mechanism of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). India hopes that all parties to the disputes in the South China Sea will abide by the Declaration on the Conduct on South China Sea and the guidelines on the implementation. Parties must also redouble efforts for early adoption of a code of conduct on the basis of consensus.”

This is a not-so-subtle message to China which has been boycotting the proceedings of an international arbitration tribunal on Philippines’ dispute with China in the South China Sea.

Modi also gently reminded China of the South China Sea issue, the second time he has done in as many days in Malaysia. He said: “Oceans remain the pathway to our prosperity and security. India shares with ASEAN a commitment to freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded commerce, in accordance with accepted principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Territorial disputes must be settled through peaceful means.”

In this way, Modi’s Malaysia trip has unfolded his "hammer" and "chisel" policies towards Pakistan and China respectively.