'India does not want another flashpoint in neighbourhood'

BANGKOK: Strongly disfavouring any US military action against Iran, India today said it did not want "another flashpoint" in its neighbourhood and hoped "good sense" will prevail, preventing the "precipitation" of the Tehran nuclear issue.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the row over Iran's nuclear programme should be resolved through dialogue and the ongoing talks between Tehran and the UN atomic watchdog IAEA should be allowed to reach the logical conclusion.

"India is always against any armed intervention by any country in another country," he said responding to a question here about US threats to launch an attack against Iran.

"We do firmly believe that Iran has every right to pursue its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes," he said in the interaction after delivering a lecture on 'India's look east policy: Implications for Thailand and South East Asia'.

At the same time, Iran, as a signatory of NPT, has certain international obligations, he said.

"The talks that are going on between IAEA and Iran should be allowed to reach the logical conclusion," he said, emphasising that the issue ought to be resolved through dialogue.

Noting that the Middle East hosts about five million Indians and is an important  supplier of hydrocarbons to India, Mukherjee said development of "another flashpoint in our neighbourhood" would be a worrying factor.

"We can advise, we can suggest," he said, adding "I do hope that good sense will prevail and there will be no precipitation of the crisis," the minister said.

Mukherjee, who arrived here yesterday on a three-day bilateral visit, was interacting with diplomats and intellectuals at the Institute for Security and International Studies of the Chulalongkorn university.

To a question on Iraq, he said India has already voiced its opposition to armed intervention in the country and Parliament has passed a resolution seeking withdrawal of US-led forces from there.

At the interaction, Mukherjee faced several questions on India's military engagement with Myanmar. US Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce and a British diplomat wondered how India, a democracy, could engage militarily with Myanmar, where an army regime crushes human rights.

Mukherjee responded by making it clear that India does not supply any weapons to Myanmar or any other country as it is "not an exporter of arms".

The security cooperation with Myanmar is confined to exchange of information, he said.

He said a large number of insurgent groups operating in north east were using the Indo-Myanmar border which was posing a "problem".

"We, sometimes, seek cooperation from Myanmar but Myanmar has expressed its inability because of difficult terrain and lack of infrastructure," the minister said.

"We have to live with the situation," he said, adding on its part, India is doing whatever is possible.

When asked what India was doing to bring about "genuine democracy" in Myanmar, Mukherjee said the "basic core" of New Delhi's foreign policy was non-interference in internal matters of any other country.

"Neither we export our ideology, nor we believe exporting potential ideology will help the country. It is for the people of the country to decide what form of arrangement they want," Mukherjee said, adding the same principle applies to Myanmar.

Citing India's policy of "co-existence" with all countries irrespective of the form of government there, Mukherjee said "we have lived with military regimes in our neighbourhood for quite some time" in the 57-year history.

"We are advising -- please sort out your issues," he said.

He underlined that India wants peace, prosperity and stability in its immediate neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood.

To a question on human rights being crushed in Myanmar, he said "violation of human rights is not acceptable. India is always in favour of human rights and individual liberty."