Israel looking East

Op-ed: Israel aims to expand ties with China and India, but must not forget America

Nimrod Asulin, YNET

    When the new geopolitical order of the 21th Century will materialize some 10-20 years from now, Israel has to be fully on America’s side, as the alliance with the US is Israel’s most precious asset.

In 1992, Israel broadly expanded its international relations, taking advantage of the fall of the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain. Notwithstanding, improving ties with the eastern powerhouses of China and India was not a primary focus up until few years ago. Recently, Israeli leaders have made successive high profile visits to China, while engaging in considerable public diplomacy efforts vis-à-vis the Chinese people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even greeted the Chinese people in their native Mandarin during their New Year’s Festival.

The growing cooperation with China is based on bilateral agreements in the fields of technology, green energy, agriculture, and water conservation. Enhancing relations with China in these fields is exactly how Minister of Trade and Labor Shalom Simchon planned for Israel to become one of the world’s top-15 economies. Simchon underlined that a Free Trade Agreement with China is currently on the agenda and is expected to be agreed upon in the foreseeable future.

However, these warming relations are constantly in jeopardy. Israel’s primary ally, the United States, fearing China’s increasing threat to its hegemonic position, acts to limit the Chinese influence in the Middle East. Previous Israeli attempts to bolster relations with China went up in smoke in 2000, when the Americans terminated a $250 million deal involving the sale of sophisticated military equipment, including the Phalcon early warning aircraft.

Despite China’s tempting economic opportunities, the Israelis are unlikely to toe the line with their American sponsors in the near future. Ties with India, on the other hand, have proven to be a far safer bet. While the United States thwarted the Phalcon deal with China, they approved a similar deal between Israel and India some years later. Like China, India boasts a rapidly emerging market, a vast population, and most importantly, a growing need for Israel’s conservation methods and technology. To sweeten the deal, the Stockholm International Peace Institute ranked India as one of the world’s largest arms-importers in its 2012 reports.

Israel-India interface
Yet unlike China, India is a democratic nation with similar national security concerns as Israel, mainly vis-à-vis Pakistan. Israel may try to capitalize on this interfacing point, as both nations are endangered by radical Islamists and seek resembling tactical resolutions. As the political clay in Pakistan produces security instability in the Hindu subcontinent, Israeli officials are deeply concerned by the growing Islamist trend that storms the Middle East, described as an “Islamist Winter.”

Indian-Israeli cooperation over security issues was previously seen after the terror attack in Mumbai on 2008, when Israeli security forces trained the elite Indian counter-terror unit, Force 1. In addition, Israel has become India’s second biggest arms supplier, recently overtaking Russia.

Nevertheless, not everything is coming up roses between the two countries: In March 2012, India did not approve an official visit of Israel’s Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, due to the threat of public discontent among the nation’s large Muslim minority. This incident combined with India’s moderate policy towards Iran serves as a remainder of the near term differences still to be resolved if the sides aim for rapprochement to materialize.

When the new geopolitical order of the 21th Century will materialize some 10-20 years from now, Israel has to be fully on America’s side, as the alliance with the US is Israel’s most precious asset. Thus, Israel ought to deeply consider any diplomatic maneuver it conducts nowadays in order to avoid snags with the US.

India is likely to play a main role in the international arena in the upcoming decades. Although its dependence on Iranian crude oil has put many hinders on the current sanctions campaign against the Islamic Republic, in the long term India is likely to change its policies due to the need to feed a rapidly growing population and balance China. Eventually, the well-acknowledged, sophisticated Israeli agricultural know-how and America’s ability to offset China will likely prompt the Indians to team with the West.

Nimrod Asulin is an intelligence analyst at Max-Security Solutions, a Middle East geo-political risk consulting firm, specializing in Israel’s foreign affairs

July 20, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Leave a Reply

11 Comments / 11 Comments

  1. The oil producing Arab countries are in Americas pockets. The deals allow American oil companies and Industrial concerns to make big bucks and enjoy an American (Pax Americana) protective umbrella.

    Your ref to special relationship is quite meaningless. America has never fought for Israel or Israeli interests but she did fight for Kuwait and supported the Saudis even in in light of their part in 9/11 and international terror against the USA and her interests.

    Contrary to any remaining popular myths, no one fears America but they do fear the Russians and none dare cross them or cross some defined lines in the sand. Giving the Russians an economic and geopolitical motivation brings a potential stopper to the advancement American and EU/NATO apparent attempt to completely surround and isolate Israel in all that that would entail. There is nothing positive in that scenario for Israel which has been in Place since Reagan in one form or another.

    America will always be in the Arab camp because Corporate America is. Russia is a major competitor to OPEC and they don’t have much to offer the Arabs either except guns and defensive systems but they can’t as in the past give them away as freebies America till now has.

    I would love to see Turkey or Hezbollah attack Russian assets or interests?

  2. Sir, I am honored you said that. As postcript I should add that Paul Martin Jr., during his campaign to remain the PM, said that ” Canadian values are muslim values ” our some such nonsense. Justin Trudeau said several years ago that muslim honour killings must be tolerated”. The apple does not fall from the true.

    I am ashamed I have not yet donated to your site. I am supporting a soon to be publicly traded company on the OTC engaged in the precious metals sector. Not a field known for having Jewish CFOs!. Once public, within three months, I intend to donate $$$ to your site and others like it to ensure they keep going.@ Ted Belman:

  3. It will be dangerous and risky for Israel to “divorce” the U.S. in favor of China or Russia. I do not even count India; their large Moslem minority makes it impossible for India to back Israel in the light of day. Forget about them as a serious ally, no matter how many nice things individual Indians may say about Israel in private, or how much Israeli military hardware they buy.

    Russia is terribly anti-Semitic. Everybody knows this. I don’t see how Israel can really trust them at all, given their history. However bad America is that way, Russia is three times worse. What they do today for Israel, whatever bread crusts they are throwing Israel’s way, are mostly meant for their own material advantages in terms of access to technology and more energy assets, and to poke the U.S. in the eye by wooing an objectively powerful and important U.S. regional ally (kind of like a cad who steals an affair with someone’s girl just to spite the cuckolded boyfriend).

    China – or perhaps China by way of South Korea – is the best of some not very good options. At least they aren’t anti-Semites, and at least their leaders tend towards pragmatism – most of the time, though they get nutsoid over Taiwan. But they are unstable, their human rights recored is awful and won’t get much better any time soon (remember how beneficial Israel’s relationship with Apartheid South Africa was…can you say, “blowback”?), and if they were to ever turn against Israel, there would be no domestic constituency and related political mechanisms to counteract this. Were it not for these latter factors, Obama would have been far worse than he has been.

    And on that last point, if Obama is re-elected, it is a foregone conclusion that no longer facing re-election pressures, he’ll be much worse the second time around. In this instance, Israel will have little choice but to look elsewhere. I am certain that the U.S.-Israeli “special relationship”, such as it is, will not survive a second Obama term. I’m not sure that the author of the above article has come to grips with what I submit here as a concrete reality.

  5. Laura is right. Historically and traditionally, Canada has taken its moral compass from the Europeans. Anti Israel and tacitly and sometimes not so tacitly anti Israel.

    Trudeau, our Obama put into place 3x by Canadians and represented a district that was 75 – 85% Jewish at its height. Trudeau was against the reparation payments from Germany to Israel and the survivors of the Holocaust! In 1936, Trudeau would motorbike around Monteal with a nazi label on his shoulder. This was 1936, not 1932 when incidents of Jew hate and British hate and etc hate was coming out of Germany.

    In 1967, after the 6 days of fighting, only one politician came out against Israel. A war I blame on Canada because the UN never should have left its post after the demand by Nasser ( which means victory in Arabic ). They were first placed there because of another Canadian, Lester B. Pearson. Canada at the time, lead by Lester B., should have refused but Canada being the worlds most manipulative country at the time, euphemistically shoved its head so far deep its rear end our diplomatic chore could see China!

    This politician was Paul Martin Sr. His son was the Prime Minister for a short period. This wealthy creature does not need any lessons from Slick Willy!

    Trudeau never went to Israel. His son wants to go into politics. Canadians, being very stupid when it comes to politics, may be the PM of Canada, one day. His brother is anti Israel and made a documentary about the Palestinians and showed Israel in a negative light.

    The apple does not fall far from the tree.

    Current PM Harper is unashamedly pro Israel. And I should say that this will cost him votes from the arab community and their fans and from left wing French Canadians and who knows how many Jewish people will vote for him.

    Fortunately for Israel, Canada being traditionally anti Israel, especially our loathsome CBC and the Canadian Press which terms transgenders as ” sexual re-assignment ” with a straight face,

    is as useful militarily to the anti Israel forces as ” a glass of warm urine on a hot summer’s day “.

    Laura is not correct. I do not live in a glass house. I live in a glass cup.

    overs-hate@ Laura:

  6. The Israelis do need to build friendly relations with any nation they safely can. But signing over mineral rights to Russia does not seem like a smart move.

    And they should try not to anger our ruling elite too much unless it’s unavoidable. (And with Obama in the WH, it may not be avoidable.)

  8. James B. never has anything to say about his own country’s history of anti-Israel policies. And he wrongly accuses the American people of being anti-Israel while saying nothing about Canadians who actually are anti-Israel.

  9. Laura,

    James B is relatively accurate in the way he describes Israeli-American relations. American though I am, a Jew I remain. And as such, I have learned to see through diplomatic and political bullshit.

    US governments in general tend to treat Israel as though it were some sort of permanently-dependent lapdog.

    The time has come for Israel to become as friendly as possible with China, India and Russia. Two of the three of these countries have permanent seats — and permanent vetoes — over any dictate of the UNO Security Council — for whatever that is worth. But in addition, all three of them are careful to stay out of wars they cannot win, totally unlike the USA since 1945. Moreover, at least China and Russia do not endanger their own great power status by allowing “democracy” to run riot. I am sure you do not like hearing such comments, but I no longer trust democracies. At least not where the permanent interests of the Jewish nation and the Jewish state are concerned.

    Arnold Harris
    Mount Horeb WI

  10. A growing number of Americans are being conditioned to be anti Israel over the internet.

    Most Americans are supportive of Israel. I’m not sure if the same can be said of Canadians.

    Canada’s ruling class, with the exception of the current Harper government, has been very anti-Israel, along with its journalists and academics. Yet you constantly attack America while saying nothing about Canada. People in glass houses…

  11. ” the alliance with the US is Israel’s most precious asset”.

    Where does one begin?

    US does not view Israel as its most precious asset in the middle east jungle despite its eternal support at the UN and delivery of arms.

    The US sees Israel as how it can be best manipulated to its advantage. Israel, its people, its location or the single moms at the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena; objects to be used to its liking.

    Rabin frequently ordered that any US spies found in Israel were to be deported State side asap. Obama calls Bibi and Bibi will be in the Oral Office for a photo shoot tomorrow.

    America owns and operates a The US has a military base in Israel.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimona_Radar_Facility

    It is owned and operated by America, who will provide ” second hand” intelligence of Obama allows it.

    I am against any non Israeli owned military base in Israel. I have more faith in the US than the EU but not so much. Hillary should be investigated how she allowed someone with a blood link to the Muslim Brothers to be her assistant. McCain too should be investigated even if it means via waterboarding.

    America and the West are no longer in control of its destiny. Therefore how can one assume that this special relationship will last? Between 1/3 to 2/3 of the capital gains in the US stock market since 1988 are false, made possible doe to US Fed intervention. And your dollar, well I would prefer to store toilet paper in a cool warehouse. In 20 years from now, I know it has value. A growing number of Americans are being conditioned to be anti Israel over the internet.

    A lot more intelligent people on this site know much more than me and can give better commentaries.

    God bless America. Canada has been blessed to have such a neighbour.

    Its people are very fine and civil, but your ruling class, journalists and many of your academics should be publicly executed then given a trial and their assets ( if we can find them) be used to enable Americans to be all they can be.