The tension between Turkey and- India has escalated lately. The reasoning for this rift is that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called for a settlement of the Kashmir conflict in the United Nations. The UN General Assembly session, which took place late in September is the latest occasion when he raised the issue, denouncing India's occupation of Kashmir. As a result, diplomatic tension between Ankara and New Delhi has escalated.
The Turkish Hostile Stance
It is noticeable that New Delhi and Ankara are exchanging accusations openly. Following is a discussion of the dimensions of the hostile Turkish attitude towards India:
1. Turkey’s condemnation of Indian policy towards Kashmir:
Over the past three years, Erdogan has repeatedly criticized India in the sessions of UN General Assembly, on account of the issue of Kashmir which, according to the Turkish president, is 'occupied' by New Delhi. It all started in August 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to abrogate article 370 of the Indian constitution, thus depriving Jammu and Kashmir of their previous status as autonomous regions. This fueled anger in Pakistan, which immediately condemned the Indian decision.
2. Turkey’s criticism of the treatment of Indian Muslims:
Erdogan primarily criticizes violence against the Muslim minority in India, claiming that Muslims are massacred and their rights are violated in India. As the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) launched the fifth legislative year of its 27th term, Erdogan delivered a speech in which he stressed that Turkey will continue to support the oppressed all over the world, be they in Palestine, Kashmir or China, not to mention those suffering poverty and lack of security in Africa.
3. Muslim Brotherhood’s simultaneous attack of India:
It is noticeable that Muslim Brothers started to attack India almost at the same time as Erdogan did. On October 2, the movement issued a statement criticizing the violent treatment which Muslims in Assam are receiving at the hands of Indian security forces, amid encouragement from Hindu officials, politicians and media figures. According to the statement, such violations were the main reason behind Pakistan's separation from India more than 70 years ago. The statement also referred to Kashmir as ' Muslim occupied territories'.
The Reasons behind the Turkish Approach
Why did Erdogan choose to adopt such an approach toward India though he knows well that P5, as well as most countries and international institutions, consider the Kashmir conflict an internal affair of India and avoid referring to it? The answer is that he is simply keen on winning favour with Pakistan, for the following reasons:
1. Enhancing military cooperation:
Erdogan is seeking to enhance Turkey's military cooperation with Pakistan at India's expense. It is noteworthy that cooperation between Ankara and Islamabad has increased since Imran Khan became Prime Minister. Turkey has lately signed several important deals with Pakistan that have to do with industrial defence. Turkey is now the second most important provider of weapons to Pakistan (China being the most important arms exporter as far as Pakistan is concerned). India is anxious over such developments.
2. Promoting economic cooperation:
During the Pakistan-Turkey Business Forum in Islamabad (in February 2020), Erdogan said that Ankara is looking forward to increasing trade exchange with Pakistan from 804 million dollars to one billion dollars, then to 5 billion dollars. In addition, in February 2021, Pakistani commerce minister said that the talks of the Pakistan-Turkey free trade agreement were a success. Besides, Ankara and Islamabad signed several memorandums of understanding with the aim of enhancing bilateral trade, communication, and economic and cultural relations.
3. Acting in accordance with the Islamabad Declaration:
Ankara has lately been active in southern and central Asia. This is manifest in its recent cooperation with Pakistan and Azerbaijan. The three countries already launched the 'Three Brothers 2021' military drill in Baku, following a tripartite meeting between their Foreign Ministers in Islamabad last January, in which the Islamabad Declaration was approved. According to the Declaration, Baku, Ankara and Islamabad must support one another as far as conflicts in Kashmir, Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh are concerned.
4. Bolstering cooperation over Afghanistan:
Turkey is seeking to play a security-related role in Afghanistan, and to use it as bargaining chip with the US in conflicting issues between the two states. We must not forget that the US objected to Turkey buying S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, whereas Turkey badly wants the USA to stop supporting Kurds in Syria, etc. Given Pakistan's strong relations with the Taliban, Turkey cannot have decided to play such a role without Pakistan's approval. However, Ankara's efforts have not borne fruit yet.
5. Balancing Gulf approaches:
Due to their strong relations with New Delhi and Islamabad, Saudi Arabia and UAE have sought to reduce Indian-Pakistani tensions over Kashmir. Early in 2021, UAE received representatives of the two countries in an attempt to effect reconciliation. By contrast, Turkey believes that Kashmir is occupied and needs to be freed by Pakistan from Indian control. Efforts of Gulf countries will not resolve the crisis, nor will Turkey's stance help Pakistan achieve its purposes in Indian Kashmir. However, it will, at least, win Turkey favour with the Pakistani people so that Turkish interference in the region should be welcome.
Indian Counter-Acts
In return, New Delhi began to adopt a more hostile discourse in reference to Turkey. This is manifest in the following:
1. India is criticizing Turkish actions:
India openly threatened Turkey, which, according to New Delhi, must respect other countries' sovereignty. It also condemned Turkish attacks on forces led by Kurds in Syria.
2. India is forming an alliance to counter the Islamabad Declaration:
While attending the UN sessions, the Indian Prime Minister met with the presidents of Cyprus as well as Prime Ministers of Armenia and Greece. It is known that the relationship between each of these countries on the one hand and Turkey on the other hand is tense. Besides, India's Foreign Minister and his Cypriot counterpart discussed the possibility of appealing to UN Security Council concerning the Turkey-occupied north of Cyprus. Reuniting Cyprus under a Cypriot leadership would mean that Turkish presence there would be illegitimate.
Earlier, India signed a 40- million-dollar deal with Armenia, whereby New Delhi provided Yerevan with four SWATHI weapon-locating radars. This can be regarded as a threat to Turkey which supported Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
3. Cultural relations have deteriorated:
Diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Ankara have resulted in a kind of cultural war. Indian film makers are no longer shooting films in the once-popular Turkey. In addition, some right-wing organizations (notably comprised of Indian nationalists) called for stopping cultural exchange with Turkey, and limiting cultural relations with it.
4. India is accusing Turkey of funding extremists:
The Hindustan Times said that extremist groups in India, especially in Kerala and Kashmir, receive support and funds from Turkish extremists supported by the ruling JDP. An Indian official said that Turkey is systematically attempting to turn Indian Muslims into extremists and is recruiting fundamentalists. A poll in New Delhi showed that Indian people consider both Turkey and Pakistan centers for anti-Indian activities. This strongly reflects the growing concern in India over the two countries' intentions and attitudes.
5. Military cooperation is bound to be suspended:
It seems that India will not proceed with the 2.3-billion-dollar shipyard deal with Turkey. Turkey was supposed to help an Indian company build five 45.000 – ton FSVs. In addition, India decided to stop exporting military equipment to Turkey, especially dual-use weapons.
In conclusion, it can be said that as both Turkey and India are led by right-wing regimes which believe in religious nationalism, the tension between them is more than likely to escalate, especially with India's concerns over Turkey's so-called support of Indian extremists.
