Last week was a bit difficult for India. Following the statement made by the BJP national spokesperson, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran staged protests at Indian embassies in their respective countries and their statement became a major controversy. Following this, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs was compelled to take disciplinary action against the leaders and provide an immediate explanation. These countries are part of a series of diplomatic missions led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a personal interest in improving India’s relations with the Persian and Gulf states.
Although the Central Government has shown maturity in dealing with the shortcomings in the statements and tweets made by some members of the ruling party, this incident has become a textbook on the interference of other countries in India’s internal affairs in the name of religion. Unlike other religions, the activities and ideas of Islam are based on the principle of community (Ummah). That is why many countries have called Indian diplomats to protest. But here’s another twist. As the Gulf states take swift action against India, their hypocrisy on other occasions needs to be pointed out. One of them is their repeated consideration of China.
Protests erupted around the world against China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. There is a lot going on in China, including the demolition of domes and minarets in mosques, the removal of the halal certification system, and the banning of Assange. China’s human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims include detention, torture, sexual assault and forced sterilization. There is ample evidence of how China is treating the Uyghur Muslim community. But it is shocking that the Gulf states not only supported China’s actions in Xinjiang, but also joined China in such activities.
The UAE, a leading Arab country and a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), serves as the security hub for Chinese intelligence services. UAE officials have reportedly collected biometric data of Uyghur Muslims and provided it to China. Qatar, Kuwait and other GCC countries have detained 292 Uyghur Muslims or deported them to China since 2002.
But it is not just the GCC countries that have taken such a stand. It has been reported that Turkey, an Islamic state that has repeatedly criticized India over Kashmir, has also detained Uyghur Muslims and informed China about them.
Even the Hajj, a religious pilgrimage considered sacred by Muslims around the world, is being used by China as a means of imprisoning Uyghur Muslims in collaboration with the Saudi government.
Forget talking about the plight of Uyghur Muslims and condemning China for it. Islamic countries have been supporting China on the Uyghur issue. In response to a letter from 22 democracies against China at the UN Human Rights Council, the GCC countries described the Uyghur issue as China’s internal affair. The letter also praised China for its excellent human rights work. The reply was presented as a press release from the Chinese government rather than an independent letter from the GCC.
Qatar later withdrew from signing the letter as a result of pressure from various quarters, including Uighur Muslim human rights activists and the Western Human Rights Lobby. However, it is doubtful whether Qatar has any real concern about the plight of Uyghur Muslims. Qatar’s genuine attitude towards Muslims in China has been exposed by the threat to deport Ablikim Yusuf, an Uyghur Muslim who escaped persecution from the Chinese Communist Party. Qatar has not heeded many requests from around the world for Yusuf to be granted safe haven.
Despite the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, Qatar has not severed ties with China. It just got more powerful. About 18 Arab countries, including Qatar, have signed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation agreements with China. As of 2019, it has a total of $ 35.6 billion worth of contracts with Chinese companies. By the time of Kovid, China’s trade with Arab countries had reached $ 244 billion by 2020.
At the heart of the Arab-Chinese relationship is economic exchange. Qatar is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). China is one of the largest buyers of energy from them. Qatar’s ties with the West in the LNG sector have waned due to the U.S. shale gas revolution and Western concerns about non-renewable energy. Meanwhile, Japan has become the largest LNG importer. Relations between China and Qatar have been further strengthened.
Arab countries, including GCC members, are well aware of the declining US influence globally and its declining dominance in the Persian Gulf. They also know that any criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims will come at a high price. Qatar has become a leading country in terms of its ties with Iran, its hosting of terrorists wanted by the United States, its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and its defense against the US, surpassing all other Arab countries.
India-GCC trade is worth $ 87 billion. Millions of people work in these countries and send remittances home. The Gulf is also a major source of energy for India. About 50 per cent of India’s foreign exchange earnings come from the Gulf. All these are sufficient reasons for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to intervene and clarify the issue. But this dependence is not unique to India.
India has become a major market for the Gulf countries as the West does not depend on oil from the Arab world. The fact that Western countries are not dependent on oil and India’s sustainable economic growth rate are the reasons why the Gulf countries are dependent on India. India is in talks with GCC countries to sign a trade agreement to invest in India, which has a market capitalization of over $ 1.3 billion.
The interdependence between India and the Persian Gulf countries has two faces. India’s recognition of their involvement in India’s internal affairs has certainly created a false paradigm. India is a sovereign, secular and democratic republic with a history of 75 years of co-operation and independence. The Gulf states, which are lagging behind in freedom, human rights, women’s rights and LGBT issues, could have thought twice before turning against India. But their hypocrisy can be understood even in the basic principle of ‘community’. This hypocrisy shows their support for China in the case of Uyghur Muslims.
(The author is a PhD holder in International Relations from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the position of this publication)
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