In the statement issued in New Delhi on August 30, the Congress declared that the signing of the LEMOA is a “fundamental departure from India’s time-tested policy of “strategic military neutrality”. The surprising phrase, “strategic military neutrality”, however, sits uneasily with the proposition that it is “time-tested”. One wonders how “time-tested strategic military neutrality” squares with the idea of “time-tested allies”? Whatever the myth of “strategic military neutrality” might be, Delhi today cannot be neutral between China and Vietnam or between the Taliban and Kabul. That would demand greater military engagement with all the major powers, and not “military neutrality” between them.

Source: Indian Express September 05, 2016 18:33 UTC