by Rahul Dev

Recent, Iranian attacks using its ‘Fateh-110’ missiles on a US base in Iraq has shown many ramifications in the international arena that will have adverse impact on the world Geopolitics. ‘Fateh-110’ is an Iranian road mobile single-stage solid fuelled surface-to-surface missile which was first flight tested in 2002 and began mass production by Iran. The attacks show increased cauldron in US-Iran relations after the killing of Iranian General Soleimani, which Iran has never forgotten. The killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh added another blow to Iran.

Iran the fourth largest country entirely in Asia and the second- largest in Western Asia. It has a population of 85 million. It reached its territorial height in sixth century B.C, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire, which became one of the largest empires in history and has been described as the world's first superpower. Over the next centuries from several dynastic powerful empires to Safavids a unified empire that has glorious past and Nadir Shah's conquests which Iran’s leaders never forget. One of the conquests was Delhi in 1739 A.D. Every new emerging leader has impacts of the glorious past on his mind despite the change of equations and emergence of new powers in the world. The global focus of the Biden Administration's is on the reaction to different aspects of the international arena and its hegemonistic power politics. Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the US for starting a new arms race saying Moscow had been forced to develop advanced weapons in response. Russo-Ukrainian war was going on due to the back of US-Europe to Ukraine and Ukraine responded against Russia. The seeds of dissensions sown by the US in Middle East & West Asia after the Second World War. It was in June, 2017 when hitherto dormant Arab quartet, comprising Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt dropped the bombshell they had decided to break diplomatic, trade and travel links with Qatar. The sanction policy was started by the US against its adversaries has affected much. These tools of sanctions against adversaries now can be used by other nations in the world against each other. Apart from freezing the assets of Russia’s central bank, the US, the EU and UK have reportedly banned people and businesses from dealings with this bank, Russia’s finance ministry and its wealth fund. Reports say certain Russian banks had been removed from Society for worldwide interbank financial Telecommunications and the ban will delay the payments Russia gets for its oil and gas exports. The practical reality is that the potency of these economic sanctions has to be examined in the context of past evidence and present practical Geopolitical realities.

In the present war, Ukrainian stubbornness incites small countries to rise up against Big- powers whether they are destroyed or not. This is dangerous for the world. There is a creation of new power blocs in the world. Now, some countries such as Belarus, Cuba, China, Pakistan, Venezuela, North Korea, Myanmar, Serbia, and Syria back Russia in the Ukraine war, while India, UAE are neutral. But how much time will we be neutral in these changing equations in the world? We cannot be the mute spectators as the crux of the problem & its fire coming to the Indian doorsteps.

The treaty of Peace and Friendship and cooperation between India and USSR was signed fifty years ago on Aug 9, 1971. After, the end of Soviet Union India signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation with Russia in 1993, but with the omission of an article like IX of the 1971 treaty, it was with a difference and gradually the nature of India-Russia has become radically different and both countries remains committed to each other’s territorial integrity as enshrined in their constitutions. The two countries recently decided to extend the treaty by five years.

Around the world, many territories are claimed by more than one country. Disputes over these territories can lead to growing tensions between countries, and sometimes even war. They mostly involve territories in Africa, Asia and the Pacific region, but also in Europe and the Americas. Some disputes are tense but relatively quiet, while others are at their boiling point such as China-Taiwan, North Korea-South Korea, India-Pak over Kashmir, Arab-Israeli conflicts, Russia-Japan over Kuril Islands, Russia with Baltic states and Spratly islands over which 9 countries have disputes over the sea. Russo-Ukrainian war is arousing the slept desires of some countries to fulfil their interests. Besides Crimea, Russia is involved in several other territorial disputes. The region many are worried about is Transdniestria, a tiny strip of land that lies between Moldova and Ukraine. Transdniestria is currently an unrecognized breakaway state. Transdniestria proclaimed independence from Moldova and allegiance to Moscow in the early 1990s. Since then, Russian troops have been stationed in the country. After Russia annexed Crimea, local leaders said they strongly hoped to be annexed next. So far, that has not happened. Can Russia give up its claims of Transdniestria and Sakhalin and Kuril Islands?

In the post colonial world, the UNSC has imposed sanctions within the scope of Article 41 of chapter VII of the UN charter. But, the UN and its subsidiary bodies have not succeeded to solve these disputes or wars. The International court of justice in Hague is also questionable. The World Peace Institute, International Peace Institute and World Watch Institute have done nothing for world‘s peace. Though the UN has done every effort to stop war but their resolutions against Russia have done nothing.

After all we do not know what reactions will come from the US and NATO after these attacks. So, we must keep our defence installations on continuous vigil and alert and fast the pace of our PSU’s and armament industry to phase out old weapons and make new ones up to the quantity which we can resist our opponents in case of any war but not at the cost of welfarism of the poor people in the country. North Korea tested ICBM during these complex situations. Can India think about this? It is the question of protection of our people and our glorious cultural traditions & history.

Rahul Dev is employed with Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar who tracks geopolitical issues