Earlier this year, India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which brought a renewed energy to New Delhi’s push for a permanent seat at the Council. Aside from validating India’s claims to being a great power, a permanent seat in the UNSC would allow New Delhi to influence the narrative around the Kashmir issue that China has swayed in favour of Pakistan and also offer an opportunity for India to challenge China’s growing regional dominance in an international forum.
India has time and again called for the expansion of UNSC’s “narrow leadership” that fails to represent the changing world order. Since its inception in 1945, the elite international body has only comprised of five permanent member (P5) countries—the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), France, China, and Russia—leaving out several newly emergent powers like India, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, and Germany. Keeping this in mind, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has rightly argued that the UNSC’s lack of representation is “a challenge to its credibility and its effectiveness”. However, while India’s argument holds water, its goal faces significant roadblocks that threaten to delay or prevent India from gaining a permanent seat.
In opposition stand members like Italy, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Pakistan, and others, who have together formed the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) movement. Also known as the Coffee Club, the movement argues that bids for permanent seats by India, Japan, Germany, and Brazil (G4 countries) must not be considered without first reaching an international consensus regarding the form and size of the new Security Council. In the recent past, UfC countries have instead proposed the idea of creating longer-term non-permanent seats that would be assigned to regional groups of the UN and come with the possibility of immediate re-election. In addition, it also proposed increasing the number of other non-permanent seats. However, while longer terms may help in steering the course of discussions within the body, no clarity exists yet on the executive powers of these proposed positions.
Further, for India to gain a seat in the council, it must first win the confidence of the gatekeepers—the P5 members, including China. At various points in time, India’s seat on the mantle has been favoured by the US, Russia, France, and the UK. However, this support has not remained constant and cannot be taken for granted. For example, although the last three US administrations have expressed support for India’s seat on the council—including President Joe Biden, who affirmed his support for India in his campaign policy last year—Biden’s nominee for UN Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in January that India’s bid was a ‘matter of discussion’. Similarly, while the UK and Russia have expressed support for India in the past, they have not gone out of their way to change the status quo either.
Moreover, any opposition from China would instantly thwart India’s aspirations due to its veto power. China, which has historically blocked India’s aspirations to become a permanent member of the UNSC, reiterated its stance on the matter in February by saying that its entry into the group would have to be a “package deal” acceptable to all members. In addition, Beijing has found an “all-weather ally” in Islamabad, another neighbour who also strongly opposes India’s candidature to the UNSC.
To gain a seat at the table, India must demonstrate that it is capable of effecting change globally. The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportune time to do so, as India can leverage its pharmaceutical industry, which already caters to over 50% of the global demand for various vaccines, to help contain the coronavirus. India is the third-largest producer of drugs in terms of volume. It delivers substantial shipments of BCG, Pertussis, Diphtheria and Tetanus vaccines to the World Health Organization (WHO), which accounts for 40 to 70% of the total global demand. Moreover, India also supports 90% of the global demand for the measles vaccine and has the second-highest number of pharmaceutical and biotech workers in the world. Since the onset of vaccine production, India has delivered 60 million doses to 71 middle and low-income countries.
This vaccine diplomacy complements India’s measures to project and increase its soft power outside of its immediate neighbourhood as several countries continue to struggle with vaccine shortages, shipment delays, and missive rises in cases. Keeping this in mind, vaccine diplomacy allows India to expand its footprint, and showcase its medical prowess and benevolence to lobby for a permanent seat.
Aside from using its manufacturing might to further goals of vaccine diplomacy, India is also campaigning to reform the World Health Organization (WHO), demonstrating the active role it is taking in reshaping the international order. In December 2020, India submitted a nine-point plan to reform the WHO, which included suggestions on changes in mechanisms to monitor health emergencies that have the potential to cross international borders. It also included giving greater powers to the head of the UN body to declare an international public health emergency. According to India, a “significant amount of transparency with respect to data reporting and disbursement of funds” should be established.
Vaccine diplomacy and proposals for institutional reform must also be complemented by multilateral ventures in order to demonstrate India’s collaborative approach and match the efforts of other states who are competing for a permanent seat in the UNSC. For example, Germany is the fourth-largest contributor to the UN and enjoys considerable global soft power because of its large-scale humanitarian efforts. Similarly, Japan is the third-largest financial contributor to the UN and plays a significant role in maintaining the institution’s peacekeeping efforts. India, too, has sent contingents for UN peacekeeping missions on 49 occasions and has contributed close to 200,000 troops to UN peacekeeping missions, making it the largest troop contributor in the world. In 2007, India even had the unique distinction of deploying the world’s first all-women peacekeeping force to Liberia. While it is difficult for India to match the financial prowess of Western countries, its valuable contributions to peacekeeping efforts demonstrate India’s influence and participation in addressing global security concerns.
That being said, India must also make attempts to clean up its act on the human rights front—both at home and abroad. So far, India has practised a restrained form of diplomacy and has refrained from taking firm stances on matters of grave human rights importance, such as the violent military coup in neighbouring Myanmar. New Delhi must realise that walking the tightrope on such matters only serves to weaken its voice internationally. Not only does it make other countries distrustful or at the very least sceptical of India’s intentions, but it also damages its efforts to present itself as an active global leader in pursuing and maintaining peace.
India has managed to successfully exercise its soft power in terms of vaccine diplomacy during the ongoing pandemic and its generous contribution of manpower to the UN’s peacekeeping missions around the world have allowed New Delhi to make a strong case for a permanent seat. Crucially, being the biggest democracy in the world and the only Asian country that can effectively stand up against China in the region also helps India’s case. In spite of these gains and its growing regional influence, the road ahead is bumpy as it needs to convince not only China or the P5 of its candidature, but several other member countries who share the same aspirations and desperately await representation. Moreover, China appears to be unlikely to vote for India’s inclusion in the body unless there is a drastic shift in currently tense bilateral relations. Nevertheless, by projecting itself as a growing economic powerhouse with indispensable strategic importance, along with its unique strengths in the pharmaceutical industry and its massive contributions to peacekeeping missions, India can continue mounting a case for a permanent seat that can no longer be ignored.
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SOURCE: THE ECONOMIC TIMES