EDITORIALS

From 50 Years Ago

Vol XV, No 18, may 4, 1963

editorials

Western Arms Aid

Western arms aid was prompt and generous in the rst few days of the emergency. But after the unilateral withdrawal by China, not only did any further aid fail to materialise, the negotiations for aid seem to have got bogged down. They have been prolonged and

tortuous The problem of strengthening the defences of the country and preparing adequately for possible aggression from China remains as acute as before. A settlement with Pakistan of the Kashmir dispute was the rst snag that held up the arms aid talks. There followed a series of meetings between the representatives of India and Pakistan for a settlement of the disputes outstanding between the two countries but the talks, as expected, produced no results The next hurdle to be crossed was Pakistans vehement opposition to western arms aid to India even for the exclusive purpose of strengthening her defence against China. Pakistan based her oppositionon the

ground that she was a member of the SEATO, while India was not bound by any military pacts or defensive agreements with the US or Britain and claimed her special position as an ally as against India which was only a friend The decks may now be thought to have been cleared for the talks to proceedBut have political hurdles really all been overcome? Not quite, if one considers the so far accepted principle of American arms aid which is that of reciprocity, interpreted as a commitment to or participation in her global defensive policy, based on the principle of coexistence with Soviet Russia perhaps but not coexistence with Red China and Red Cuba

Economic & Political Weekly

EPW

may 4, 2013

vol xlviII no 18