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Officials, Experts Hail India-Israel Ties as Prime Minister Modi Announces Historic Visit to Jewish State: Elizer Sherman, Algemeiner, June 1, 2015— Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi will make an historic visit to Israel later this year, the Times of India reported on Monday.
Coming Out of the Closet: India-Israel Ties Under Narendra Modi: Ronak D. Desai, Foreign Policy, May 7, 2015 — Relations between India and Israel are experiencing a diplomatic renaissance.
Israel Accelerates China Engagement: Ng Weng Hoong, Canadian Jewish News, May 27, 2015— As Iran’s nuclear talks with the UN and Israel’s campaign to stop it dominated the headlines, news of the two countries joining others to help China found a new multilateral bank largely escaped scrutiny.
Israel's Newest Ally in Asia – Taiwan: Ari Yashar, Arutz Sheva, Apr. 16, 2015 — Taiwan appears to be posed to be the latest in a growing coalition of Asian allies Israel is building, including Japan, China, India and South Korea.
India, Israel To Build Missile Defense System: Vivek Raghuvanshi, Defence News, Feb. 26, 2015
An India-Iran-Israel Alliance Could be Modi's Legacy: Viju Cherian, Hindustan Times, June 3, 2015
India's New Transatlantic Push: Dhruva Jaishankar, Real Clear World, Apr. 17, 2015
Big Risks, Big Rewards Await Israeli Firms in China, Says Expert: David Shamah, Times of Israel, June 3, 2015
How Isolated Is Israel?: Elliot Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations, June 1, 2015
OFFICIALS, EXPERTS HAIL INDIA-ISRAEL TIES AS PRIME MINISTER
MODI ANNOUNCES HISTORIC VISIT TO JEWISH STATE
Elizer Sherman
Algemeiner, June 1, 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi will make an historic visit to Israel later this year, the Times of India reported on Monday. An Israeli diplomatic source said Jerusalem was “excited and happy” at the announcement. “We’ve got fantastic relations with the Indians that have just been getting better and better over the years. We’ve got a significant commercial relationship, which has been growing dramatically,” said the source.
The Indian premier, who has warmed up relations with Israel since assuming office in May 2014, will likely travel to Israel this fall as part of a visit to the region, the newspaper reported. His visit would likely also include stops in the Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt, though the Indian Foreign Ministry did not fix a date for the trip.
While the official state visit will be the first of its kind for a sitting Indian leader, Modi already visited Israel in 2007 as part of a high-tech agricultural conference when he was leader of the Indian state of Gujarat from 2001-2014. Israel and India have maintained diplomatic relations since 1992, which is relatively late compared to other Asian countries in the region, such as Thailand, Nepal and the Philippines, all of which stretch back some 50 years.
But strategically India has become extremely significant for Israel in recent years, especially as it controls much of South Asia’s seas. Though China is a larger trade partner of Israel’s — investing heavily in Israeli high-tech industries and perhaps on the road to surpassing even the U.S. in this realm — Israel has a lucrative arms trade with India because U.S. restrictions on Israeli arms sales do not affect these defense ties, as they do with China. Just recently, India announced it was gearing up to conduct a naval test of the joint Israeli-Indian developed Barak 8 missile-defense system, culminating a $1.1 billion arms deal with Israel signed back in 2009.
In 2013, Israeli trade with India amounted to $4.39 billion. India’s prime minister shares a warm relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Modi congratulating Netanyahu on his fourth election victory in Hebrew. Earlier this year, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited India and met with the Indian premier. India’s relationship with Israel is underlined by the harder stand Modi has taken against homegrown and cross-border terrorism, said Dinesh J. Sharma, an associate research professor at the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at SUNY-Binghamton. “Modi is strong on anti-terrorism,” he said, and has “tried to set stronger ties with the U.S. on that as well,” highlighted by President Barack Obama’s trip to India earlier this year.
India wants stronger surveillance and intelligence technologies for its border with Pakistan and its monitoring of the Indian Ocean, which is crucial to Israel’s relationship with India, he said. He said the Indians “identify” a terrorist threat from the Middle East that has potential to “spread through Afghanistan and Pakistan into India.” Though there has not been a large scale terror attack in India in recent years, “on the border between India and Pakistan there have been ongoing events and skirmishes between groups infiltrating from Pakistan into India.”
In 2008, a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai targeted the Nariman House Jewish center, among other targets, and in 2012 a bomb exploded on an Israeli diplomatic car in the Indian capital of New Delhi. The Muslim minority populations in India and Israel are both around a fifth of the population. There is some “unease among Muslims about Modi,” said Sharma, and they probably feel “somewhat unsure” about Modi’s courting of Israel.
Additionally, India has been “walking a tightrope” between its relations with Israel and Iran, which used to be one of India’s largest providers of crude oil before U.N. and Western sanctions caused those purchases to diminish in the last few years. Modi’s visit to Israel is “likely not connected to the Iran deal,” said a source at the Israeli Foreign Ministry. India, like Iran, Israel and Pakistan, is not a member of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty.
INDIA-ISRAEL TIES UNDER NARENDRA MODI
Ronak D. Desai
Foreign Policy, May 7, 2015
Relations between India and Israel are experiencing a diplomatic renaissance. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in India’s elections last year has ushered in a new, conspicuously more visible phase of bilateral ties. Cooperation with Israel—conducted secretly throughout most of India’s history—has now become a public affair. Modi has openly and enthusiastically embraced the Jewish state. Although some wonder whether the change is merely one of style rather than substance, there is no question that India’s recent public displays of affection toward Israel are a stark departure from the past. If current trends continue, the Modi government could become the most pro-Israel government New Delhi has ever seen.
Throughout most of its post-independence history, India benefitted privately from Israel while refusing to publicly acknowledge it. New Delhi voted to recognize Israel in 1950, but Cold War alignments, fear of alienating its large Muslim population, and its need to maintain strong ties to the Arab world over the Kashmir issue resulted in New Delhi adopting an unsympathetic, if not outright hostile, posture toward Israel.
India reflexively supported the Palestinian position, viewing the conflict in zero-sum terms. But this did not stop New Delhi from covertly accepting critical intelligence and military assistance from the Jewish state during its wars with China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it the end of the ideological and geopolitical foundations of India’s longstanding Israel policy. New Delhi sought a more pragmatic and balanced approach to the region. With some help from Washington, India finally established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992, the last major non-Arab country to do so. Both countries quickly moved to make up for lost time, pursuing cooperation in a wide array of arenas ranging from security and defense to education and agriculture.
Although it was India’s left-leaning Congress Party that normalized relations with Israel, ties flourished under the country’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Leaders in both countries expressly emphasized the ideological affinity their two nations shared as democracies and longstanding victims of terrorism. The two states embarked on a strategic partnership, with Israel emerging as one of India’s most important military suppliers. Following the Congress Party’s return to power in 2004, however, New Delhi appeared to revert back to past tendencies, preferring cooperation with Israel behind closed doors. Ties were shoved firmly back in the closet.
Ten years later, the outlook appeared very different. Modi had forged a personal connection with Israel long before becoming prime minister. In 2006, he visited Tel Aviv as chief minister of his home state of Gujarat and spoke glowingly about what India could learn from Israel. Modi actively courted Israeli investment and expertise, harnessing them to help achieve Gujarat’s storied economic growth. Notably, Israel extended the invitation to Modi at a time when he was unwelcome in many countries, including the United States, for his purported role in failing to stem communal riots in Gujarat in 2002. Proponents of stronger Indian-Israeli ties hoped that a Modi-led BJP victory would lead to a more public relationship and even-handed approach to the region.
The optimism proved justified. Less than two months after Modi’s election, signs emerged that New Delhi was again recalibrating its posture toward Israel and the Palestinian conflict. Just days after Israel launched its controversial Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip last summer, India’s Foreign Ministry released a statement signaling its alarm over the civilian loss of life, but at the same time also expressed its concern over “cross-border provocations resulting from rocket attacks” targeting Israel. The balanced statement represented a change from past official declarations that had instinctively denounced Israeli actions.
Days later, the Indian government rejected a parliamentary resolution seeking to condemn Israel over the conflict in Gaza. Sponsored by India’s opposition Congress and Communist parties, the proposed resolution sought to denounce Israel over its use of “brute force” in Gaza. The government, led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, refused to adopt the measure.
The personal chemistry between Prime Ministers Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu has also given India-Israel ties a powerful boost. Netanyahu was amongst the first world leaders to congratulate Modi last year following his landslide victory at the polls. In September, the two premiers met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly where Netanyahu declared that the “sky is the limit” with India. Later that year, Modi sent Hanukah greetings over Twitter in Hebrew, delighting members of the Jewish community around the world. In March, Modi again tweeted in Hebrew to congratulate his “friend Bibi” on his re-election.
High-level exchanges between Indian and Israeli leaders quickly resumed. The outreach went beyond official meetings. Last September, Modi met with the American Jewish Committee just hours before his celebrated address to the Indian-American diaspora at Madison Square Garden. In less than a year, Modi had rekindled the romance between India and Israel.
But does India’s unprecedented public embrace of the Jewish state represent a shift in policy or just in optics? India-Israel ties have undoubtedly assumed a more public dimension since Modi’s election, but a question persists whether there has been a more significant change in India’s foreign policy toward Israel. Although conducted outside the public eye under the previous government, cooperation continued unabated. In 2008, for example, India launched an Israeli spy satellite, capable of surveilling Iran’s nuclear sites. Even after rejecting the proposed parliamentary resolution condemning Israel last June, Swaraj emphasized that the BJP’s Israel policy was unchanged.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether the new government has begun to fundamentally alter the trajectory of its Israel policy or whether the change is more cosmetic. At a minimum, it is clear that Modi is keen on expanding the political relationship…By bringing India-Israel ties out of the closet, Modi has brought focus, direction, and substance to the relationship. How long ties will remain in the public spotlight will largely depend on the results of the next Indian election still four years away. But regardless of the outcome, it is safe to conclude no government in New Delhi has ever been as enthusiastic about its affection for Israel as the one in power now.
ISRAEL ACCELERATES CHINA ENGAGEMENT
Ng Weng Hoong
Canadian Jewish News, May 27, 2015
As Iran’s nuclear talks with the UN and Israel’s campaign to stop it dominated the headlines, news of the two countries joining others to help China found a new multilateral bank largely escaped scrutiny. After the March 31 deadline, 57 countries had joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to fund proposed multi-billion-dollar projects in Asia and the Middle East.
The bank’s rise barely six months after its memorandum signing has presented Israel and Iran with an unexpected opportunity for collaboration. The AIIB forms part of China’s grand strategy to reshape the global economy that includes the revival of the ancient 6,500-kilometre Silk Route alongside a new maritime trade channel stretching from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf.
“Both countries have huge motivations to join the AIIB and support China’s Silk Route strategy,” said Shalom Salomon Wald, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute. While security remains their primary concern, Israel and Iran are also eyeing the area’s huge infrastructure demands and opportunities to work with other countries. Iran is so desperate to escape Western trade sanctions that it immediately accepted China’s offer to join the AIIB, said Wald in a telephone interview.
In contrast, Israel’s engagement with China has been in the works for at least two decades. Wald credits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for laying the groundwork for Israel’s China pivot following his first visit to Beijing in 1998. Well before taking office in 1996, Israel’s youngest prime minister at 46 years old had identified China’s importance to his country’s future, although the “Look East” shift was briefly interrupted when he lost re-election in 1999. By then, Israel was already convinced it needed to actively engage Asia’s rising powers.
According to Wald, who wrote an influential book, China and the Jewish People, in 2004, Netanyahu felt that Israel was too focused fighting intractable prejudices in Europe and the Middle East made worse by the rise of radical Islam. China, India, Japan and some of their neighbours with almost no history of anti-Semitism were in full economic bloom, and buying products and services that Israel could supply. Israel faced a simple choice: continue obsessing over the old world, or branch out to a welcoming Asia with its large fast-growing markets.
Netanyahu made his move in May 2013 with a trip to Beijing to meet the new leadership under President Xi Jinping who was envisioning a globally-involved China with a large footprint in the Middle East. That meeting culminated nearly two years of groundwork to re-position Israel for an increasingly multi-polar global order. “In 2010 and 2011, we undertook a detailed analysis of Israel’s economy and concluded that we had to expand ties with Asia. China topped our agenda,” said Netanel Oded, a senior National Economic Council (NEC) member in the Prime Minister’s Office. Headed by influential economist Eugene Kandel, the council also counts India and Japan in Israel’s long-term plan.
In his second coming to Beijing, Netanyahu played to China’s self-esteem by calling Israel “a small country” and “a perfect junior partner” in their joint quest for economic development. He clinched the relationship with an offer to his host to co-operate in Israel’s technology development. Why would anyone risk sharing technology development with a country so notorious for intellectual property (IP) violations?
“We discussed this issue at length,” said Oded in a phone interview as the NEC wrestled with the challenge of protecting Israeli technology in courting the Chinese market. “China craves foreign technology, and Israel is seen as a world leader in technology,” explained Dan Ben-Canaan, a China-based Israeli academic. Netanyahu’s offer was timely as China was seeking international expertise to help clean up its environment and reduce its economic dependence on smokestack industries. His trip helped launch the China-Israel Joint Task Force (JTF) to develop large projects that would “integrate Israeli advanced technologies into the Chinese market.”
China responded by boosting its economic commitments with Israel. Oded said Chinese firms have invested more than $2 billion (US) in Israel so far this year compared with $300 million in 2014. Chinese firms are vying for Israel’s infrastructure projects including a 300-kilometre freight rail linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The two countries will soon begin free trade agreement talks as China prepares to overtake the U.S. as Israel’s largest trading partner. As part of its strategy to safeguard Israeli IP, the JTF has invited top Chinese firms to invest in Israel and jointly develop solutions with local firms. “It’s important to build trust so that we can focus on jointly developing the technology to meet China’s demands. The Chinese need to know our work style and expectations, and we have to know theirs too,” said Oded.
To date, more than 30 large Chinese firms including Alibaba, Xiaomi, Baidu, Lenovo and Fosun have established subsidiaries in Israel with the goal of developing technology and boosting exports to China. In a March 30 update, Kandel predicts that growing bilateral relations between the two countries will have “far-reaching effects on the Israeli economy.” Not everyone shares Kandel’s optimism. Alon Levkowitz, an East Asia analyst at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, said “some Israeli companies are limiting co-operation with China,” for fear that their IP will be compromised. He reminds Israel that the U.S. remains its main ally while China enjoys close ties with Iran and Syria.
But some Israelis are now accusing the U.S. of “abandoning” Israel with its proposed nuclear deal with Iran. Exacting some revenge, Netanyahu defied the Obama administration by committing Israel to the AIIB and supporting China’s Silk Route strategy. China might yet help Israel and Iran find common ground. Or it might not, as the world awaits the next twist in this convoluted plot.
ISRAEL'S NEWEST ALLY IN ASIA – TAIWAN
Ari Yashar
Arutz Sheva, Apr. 16, 2015
Taiwan appears to be posed to be the latest in a growing coalition of Asian allies Israel is building, including Japan, China, India and South Korea. Following the footsteps of Japan, which last July chose Israel as its first partner to sign an Industrial R&D (Research and Development) Collaboration Agreement with, Taiwan next Monday is to sign its own first R&D Agreement – with Israel.
The signing will take place as part of an Asia visit by Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy Avi Hasson, and will be likewise attended by the Taiwanese Minister of Economic Affairs John Chen-Chung Deng. "As far as Taiwan is concerned, this agreement is groundbreaking – it is the first agreement of its kind Taiwan has signed," said Hasson. "The agreement was also aided by the fact that Taiwanese industry holds Israeli innovative technologies in high esteem and many Taiwanese companies have already expressed interest in beginning to work on joint projects with Israeli companies."
While there has been cooperation between Israel and Taiwan in academic research in the past, the new government support for R&D between Taiwanese companies and Israeli companies is expected to have a massive impact on bilateral ties and trade. Taiwan features several world-leading technology companies, including HTC, Asus, Acer, the world's largest chip producer TSMC, and electronic components manufacturer Foxconn. In fact, almost 90% of all laptops are produced in Taiwan, as are 20% of semiconductors and a quarter of LCD screens.
And yet bilateral trade between Israel and Taiwan is only at $1.3 billion. The new agreement is expected to greatly expand trade, as Israel's technological innovation and Taiwan's leading technological engineering and manufacturing make them ideal partners. "Taiwan is interested in Israel. In recent years, we have seen increasing interest from Taiwanese companies in what is happening in Israel," said Doron Hemo, head of the Economic and Trade Mission in Taiwan and the Philippines.
"Taiwan today understands what was perhaps not clear four or five years ago – that Israel has much to offer in innovation and hi-tech and in fact both economies can be mutually beneficial," Hemo added. "As evidence, we have seen in recent months repeated visits by flagship Taiwanese companies in Israel and we expect to see an increase in cooperation and visits from the Israeli industry to Taiwan." That assessment was shared by Simon Halperin, head of the Israeli Bureau for Economy and Culture in Taiwan. "Taiwan has in recent years discovered Israel as a powerhouse of innovation and entrepreneurship, complementary to Taiwan's economic prowess as a world power in engineering and manufacturing," said Halperin.
The head of the bureau added, "it is no secret that Taiwan is boarding the train several years after its neighbors – technology powers and competitors in eastern Asia like Korea and Japan – since the concept of government funding for R&D for Taiwanese and foreign companies is new to this country."…
[To Read the Full Article Click the Following Link—Ed.]
India, Israel To Build Missile Defense System: Vivek Raghuvanshi, Defence News, Feb. 26, 2015—India and Israel agreed to jointly develop a medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) system for the Indian Army to replace Russian-made air defense systems, said a source in the Indian Defence Ministry.
An India-Iran-Israel Alliance Could be Modi's Legacy: Viju Cherian, Hindustan Times, June 3, 2015 — At 9 Yitzhak Rabin Bvld in Jerusalem on a cool November evening last year a senior Israeli official, a diplomat who served in the Indian subcontinent, was interacting with a group of journalists from India.
India's New Transatlantic Push: Dhruva Jaishankar, Real Clear World, Apr. 17, 2015—Diplomatically speaking, it has been a busy first year in power for India's prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Big Risks, Big Rewards Await Israeli Firms in China, Says Expert: David Shamah, Times of Israel, June 3, 2015 — The next stage in the Israel-China business relationship, according to investment maven David Fuchs, is to bring more Chinese investors into the Israeli investment ecosystem.
How Isolated Is Israel?: Elliot Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations, June 1, 2015—It’s common to hear about Israel’s growing isolation in the world, and UN votes are sometimes held up as evidence of this. The BDS movement, especially in Europe, is also adduced to show Israel’s increasing isolation.
