India and peace-building in Korea
At the end of World War II, the Korean Peninsula became a flash point between two superpowers because of serious ideological differences. As a result, Korea was divided into two parts, each siding with one of the opposing blocs, namely the Soviet Union and the United States.
Sensing that hostilities might break out between the two blocs, India, under the leadership of its first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, became actively involved in maintaining peace in the Korean Peninsula by engaging all major stakeholders - the US, the USSR and China. As the Korean War broke out in June 1950, India redoubled its efforts to bring the war to an early end.
It also helped the warring parties to reduce the suffering caused by the war to the best possible extent. Its Para Field Ambulance unit cared for more than 220,000 soldiers and civilians and performed more than 2,300 field surgeries, and more than 5,200 personnel of Custodian Force India managed more than 25,000 prisoners of war and played an active role in settling repatriation disputes.
Apart from its efforts on the ground, India also played an active role in the UN-led peace process during and after the war. It supported all resolutions aimed at ending the war, such as United Nations Security Council Resolutions 82 and 83 of June 1950. Throughout peace negotiations, India firmly supported great pow
ers working together to end the killing of innocent people instead of securing points against each other. This neutral and peaceful role of India in the process is remembered to this day.
As the Cold War power play took over the Korean Peninsula, neutral and peaceful countries like India were pushed out of the power configurations for almost four decades. Only after the Cold War ended were India and Korea able to come closer together with mutual economic synergy to create new opportunities for both. Building soft power
Since the early 1990s, annual trade between India and South Korea grew from a few hundred million US dollars to $22 billion by the end of 2018. Now as special strategic partners they are aiming for $50 billion in annual trade by 2030. However, despite fastgrowing economic ties it is rare to find any mention of India's peace plans for the region in spite of the growing possibilities of conflict on the peninsula. The Indian foreign-policy establishment is yet to comprehend properly the role Korea will play in the fast-changing strategic paradigm in the region. Apart from empty political announcements at the end of political summits, very little is happening as far peace-building is concerned.
Korea is still a faraway land for the Indian foreign-policy establishment. That is why even with Korea edging closer to a nuclear catastrophe that could wipe out millions on the peninsula and kill thousands of others around the region through nuclear radiation after the war, the Indian foreign-policy establishment has felt no need to return to an active peace-building role. In spite of the clear power shift in Northeast Asia they believe what happens there does not have any direct bearing on Indian strategic and economic interests. So far they have failed to see any connection between conflict on the Korean Peninsula and Indian security. It is time the Indian government changed such perceptions and developed a comprehensive view of peace and security in Northeast Asia before it is too late.
It is often argued by critics that because of existing deterrence capabilities on both sides, the chances of a nuclear exchange on the Korean Peninsula is very low. However, given the level of distrust between the US and North Korea, the possibility of accidental nuclear war cannot be ruled out. Also with threats and provocations being exchanged by those two parities on a regular basis, the possibility of limited war under the cover of nuclear deterrence remains very high.
War in any form (nuclear or conventional) on the Korean Peninsula would have devastating economic and security effects in every dimension in the entire region. The Indian economy would not be able to stay aloof from the destruction, chaos and instability caused by war in Northeast Asia. All of New Delhi's plans for building a $5 trillion economy by 2025 would have to be pushed back for decades if not more. What is more, a devastated Northeast Asia would become more vulnerable to military pressure from the emerging regional power China leading to serious implications for Indian security.