India, Israel vote against Pakistan-Belarus arms control draft at UN; Russia backs it

A vote in the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has stirred international diplomacy. Pakistan and Belarus jointly moved a draft titled "Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels". A total of 180 countries voted in favour. India and Israel strongly opposed it and voted against.

Russia's stand has drawn the most discussion. It is a long-standing strategic partner of India, but it voted for the draft along with the United States and China. This has raised fresh questions about India's security concerns and Russia's policy.

The draft was placed before the 193-member committee and received the support of 180 countries. No country abstained. Pakistan has described the outcome as a major diplomatic victory.

The draft demanded that the UN Disarmament Commission frame new principles and a legal framework for controlling conventional weapons at the regional level. Pakistan claims the main aim of the draft is to maintain the regional military balance and curb arms races among neighbouring countries.

India's position was put forward plainly and bluntly by Anmol Sher Bedi, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations. According to India, conventional arms control is a broad issue concerning the whole world, so it cannot be resolved by confining it to a regional or subregional scope.

India's first objection concerned the earlier work of the Disarmament Commission. The Commission has already adopted guidelines and recommendations on this subject by consensus three times. Guidelines on regional disarmament came in 1993, guidelines on conventional arms control and disarmament in 1999, and practical Confidence-Building Measures for conventional weapons were agreed in 2017. Bedi asked why an attempt was being made to build a new framework when comprehensive outcomes on the subject had been reached three times. India argued that going over a discussion that has already taken place would be a waste of time.

The second objection was about regional military equations. Bedi said: "The security challenges of any country are not limited only to its neighbouring border or a defined area. Military capability, global strategic interests and security threats extend across regional boundaries." India said plainly that, for this reason, the idea of maintaining a "military balance" within a particular regional framework does not seem practical or grounded in reality.

When Russia, regarded as a highly trusted friend of India, voted for the draft brought by Pakistan, many experts were taken aback. Even so, from a diplomatic viewpoint, Russia's stand is seen not as directly against India but as part of its own global policy.

The first reason given is that Russia has always supported the universal UN process of disarmament and arms control. Backing a global framework for conventional arms control is in line with its foreign policy. Second, it was not Russia alone: major powers such as the United States and China also voted for the draft. Most global powers support regional arms control agreements in principle.

The third point made is that Russia's vote will not have a direct adverse effect on India-Russia strategic ties, because Russia cast it in line with its multilateral policy and not to deal India a blow.