His tenure was already extended for one year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently informed Foreign Secretary Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar that it could not be possible for his government to extend the tenure further. The PM also informed Dr Jaishankar that the latter would have to take up a new role. According to sources close to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi may appoint the seasoned diplomat as India’s ‘special envoy’ to the US and China after his term comes to an end on January 28, 2018.
The development is undoubtedly unprecedented. This is a rare instance in the history of Indian diplomacy when New Delhi has decided to appoint a special envoy to the US and China in order to maintain a diplomatic balance, as well as to keep the communication channels smooth. It seems that in consideration of the current global geopolitical landscape, the decision has been taken.

Dr S Jaishankar

Dr Jaishankar had not only served as Indian ambassador to the US, but also reportedly has quite a rapport with four members of the Donald Trump cabinet, including James Mattis and Rex Tillerson. Based on his inputs, Prime Minister Modi discussed the current political situation in neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan with them. Dr Jaishankar had also served as the Indian ambassador to China. Beijing is well aware of the fact that he is interested in maintaining close ties with the Asian giant.
It is believed that the appointment of Dr Jaishankar as special envoy to the US and China may aid the citadel at New Delhi in creating and expanding the dimension of tripartite diplomatic relationship between these countries. Although President Trump has taken a tough stand against China, it’s difficult for the US to ignore the Asian giant completely. So, India’s proposed move shall also help the US in a different way.

V K Gokhale

However, India is yet to make a final decision in this regard. Seasoned diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale – who will replace Dr Jaishankar as the foreign secretary – is known to as an expert on China. Gokhale – a 1981-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) – also maintains close personal relation with the top political leadership in Beijing. Gokhale, too, served as Indian ambassador to China in the past and played an important role in resolving the Sino-Indian border stand-off (or Doklam crisis) in 2017.

Ajit Doval

Meanwhile, some Indian foreign policy experts have advised Prime Minister Modi not to clip the wings of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. According to them, as Doval is in charge of border talks with China, the appointment of Dr Jaishankar as special envoy may create confusion. As the Modi government has already appointed former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (or RAW – the external intelligence agency of India) Rajinder Khanna as Doval’s assistant (or Deputy National Security Adviser), there is no need to create a special post for Dr Jaishankar, believe experts. Moreover, Khanna is widely considered an expert on Pakistan.

Rajinder Khanna

Interestingly, India has decided to make some changes in its foreign policy after the US gave another massive blow to Pakistan by putting the South Asian country on a special watch list for “severe violations” of religious freedom. After President Trump lashed out at Islamabad for providing safe havens to terrorists, China rushed to the rescue of Pakistan, saying that the world community should acknowledge its all-weather friend’s “outstanding contribution” to counter terrorism. Now, New Delhi is definitely set to act more cautiously……

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/+KoushikDasboundless

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das