“Canada pushing relationship to new low,” say foreign policy experts after India and Canada expel diplomats

After New Delhi expelled six Canadian Diplomats from India, Foreign policy expert and Senior fellow at the Observor Research foundation, Sushant Sareen called for an investigation into Canada’s interference in India’s internal affairs. He emphasised the need to probe Canadian NGOs and embassies that support Khalistani elements.

“The calling back of our officials, about whom Canadians have said that investigations can be done against them, if you say this about any official that they will be investigated, then it becomes completely dishonest for them to stay in the country. The official can’t function there,” Sareen said.

Sareen asserted that India has given a strong reaction but along with it, there should also be some action.

“The reaction is quite strong but along with the reaction, there should be some action also. Canada’s interference in India, be it their NGOs, their embassies, should also be investigated so that they can be exposed as to how they encourage Khalistanis.”

He added, “India can keep open embassies but can close their consulates if relations deteriorate further.”

Sareen also spoke about the deteriorating relations between the two nations and asserted that even if Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not there in power, the relations will not get better soon.

He said, “The relations have become so bad that even if Trudeau is not there in power, I don’t think the relations will get normalised any sooner. The poison that Trudeau has put into this relationship will take a lot of time to heal, and it won’t happen overnight.”

He added, “There is an angle of domestic politics in the foreign policy of every country but every country tries that beyond a point, the political angle doesn’t affect your diplomacy but Canada doesn’t care about it; maybe because they think that India can’t do anything, or even if we make India upset, we don’t need to worry. We can’t upset China because we take money from them but we can do that with India and then the United States is there to handle India and this is the costless option for us. Now we have to see what the Modi government will do.”

Meanwhile, Robinder Sachdev, foreign affairs expert, also spoke about the expulsion of Canadian diplomats by India and said, “Things were definitely headed this way after what the Canadian government’s position has been… A government like that of Canada should be mature enough to understand that a reaction like this will follow from India. Relations between the two nations are frozen right now. There is no point in keeping a diplomatic presence there. The security of life and safety of our diplomats in Canada can be under threat…”

Sachdev attributed Canada’s decision to expel Indian diplomats to “vote bank politics.”

He said, “There are two main reasons why Canada reacted the way it did. The first is the vote bank politics of the Trudeau government in Canada. He is surviving on a very slim majority and his support, to a good degree, comes from the Indian origin people, especially the supporters of Khalistan. Secondly, he is playing a game of Chinese checkers. He is under a scandal in Canada for interference by China. There are reports that about nine MPs of his party were elected by indirect, or some manner of support from China… China wanted Trudeau to win. So he is now trying to deflect that scandal by focusing on India… The government of Canada is taking unprecedented steps in international diplomacy. So they need to be prepared for reactions and counter-steps from India which will also be unprecedented in international diplomacy…”

He further said, “By withdrawing its diplomats from Canada, India has announced its no-confidence in the Government of Canada.”

Gautam Bambawale, former Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and China, attributed the decision to withdraw the High Commissioner and other diplomats from Canada to India’s growing concern that Canada can no longer guarantee the safety of Indian diplomats.

He said, “I think the next steps are very clear that there is always the principle of reciprocity, which is available in international law. So, if we are withdrawing some of our people from Canada, we can insist that the Canadians also withdraw some of their people and we can specify who should be withdrawn… So, in this case, the Government of India is not confident anymore that the Government of Canada can keep our diplomats safe. That is why, they are recalling them to India to ensure their safety and security.”

He also condemned Canada’s statement that the Indian High Commissioner is a person of interest in Hardeep Singh Nijjar issue, and called it a “very serious allegation.” He said, “The Canadian government has today (October 14) said that the Indian High Commissioner, who is the representative of the Government of India to Canada, is a person of interest in this Nijjar issue. I think that is a very serious allegation and it shows that the level of trust of the Canadian government and the Indian government has fallen very low. India’s government has decided to withdraw from Canada… The fact that we cannot trust their safety, and security in Canada to the Canadian government anymore and that is why we are withdrawing.”

He added, “I think that is the right decision because this matter has gone on too long and I am afraid that the current government of Canada is pushing the relationship to new lows to levels that we have never seen so low before.”

Notably, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has said that the decision to expel Indian diplomats was based on evidence gathered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case and urged the Indian government to support the ongoing probe for the benefit of two nations.

India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.

“The Government of India has decided to expel the following six Canadian Diplomats: Mr. Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner; Mr. Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner; Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary; lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary; Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary; Paula Orjuela, First Secretary,” a Ministry of External Affairs release said.”

They have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 19, 2024,” the release added.

In a statement on Monday, India “strongly” rejected a diplomatic communication from Canada suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were “persons of interest” in an investigation and termed it as “preposterous imputations” and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government.

In a hard-hitting statement, the MEA said Trudeau’s hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists “to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada”.

“We have received a diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country. The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government that is centered around vote bank politics,” the statement said.

“Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” it added.

The statement said that High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt, the statement said.