Arctic Yearbook 2013
India‘s Arctic Engagement
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experience in polar research, its icebreaking capabilities, and its Himadri station are
compelling reasons for Arctic states to engage it in regional affairs. Once again, there are
strong incentives for Indian researchers to collaborate with scientists from other countries
(particularly Arctic states).
6.
Develop technological capability to exploit Arctic living and non-living resources.
In subsequent writings,
Sakhuja urges India to seek strategic investments in ―deep-sea-cold-climate oil‖ and mineral
extraction (9 April 2010) and to contemplate ―sophisticated resource diplomacy and
infrastructure capacity‖ to exploit energy and ―new fishing grounds‖ in Arctic waters (19
August 2010).
7.
India is a strong advocate of global nuclear disarmament and can play a vital role in promoting the idea of a
nuclear free Arctic.
This position flows from India‘s support for global nuclear disarmament
and for the use of Antarctica for ―peaceful purposes only,‖ where military personnel and
equipment are only permissible for scientific research and other peaceful activities. While the
idea of a nuclear-free Arctic deviates from the official positions of Arctic states (several of
which rely on strategic deterrent capabilities deployed in the region), Sakhuja‘s position does
resonate with some Western disarmament groups and commentators (eg. Wallace and
Staples, 2010; Axworthy and French, 2010). His recommendation that the Indian Navy
should develop Arctic ―sea legs‖ through training and ―ice condition operations‖ indicates
that he is not opposed to non-nuclear military operations in the region (15 October 2012).
Sakhuja‘s subsequent writings have expanded upon these themes, advancing general arguments for
India to develop ―an Arctic strategy that goes beyond scientific, atmospheric and oceanographic
research‖ (19 August 2010). He is particularly attentive to China‘s interests in Arctic resources,
shipping, and military developments (9 April 2010; 16 August 2010), casting China and India as
competitors for energy, fish, and bilateral relationships with Arctic states (19 August 2010;
September 2011). Given India‘s geostrategic situation, Sakhuja emphasizes opportunities associated
with the Russian Northern Sea Route and concomitant resource development (29 July 2010), clearly
advocating a pro-development posture. An Antarctic lens is clear in his most recent studies (29 April
2013; 18 May 2013), which highlight opportunities for India and other non-Arctic states to
―challenge exclusivity‖ and ―breach the monopoly‖ on Arctic governance – a message that resonates
with India‘s historical criticisms of the exclusivity of the ATS (Beck, 1986: 106).
“A Common Heritage of Mankind”: Shyam Saran
In June 2011, Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary of India and now Chairman of the National
Security Advisory Board and a Senior Fellow with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, laid
out a different case for why the Arctic Ocean is important to India. ―Developments in the Arctic
Ocean will redraw the geopolitical map of the world, and emerging countries like India and China
should place this region on the international agenda,‖ he asserts. Citing the common themes of
climate change, the emergence of new shipping routes, and newly exploitable energy and mineral
deposits, he anticipates that Arctic developments could ―redistribut[e] power and influence among
countries even while threatening the fragile life sustaining systems of our Planet Earth.‖