WesWorld

AWNR had an opportunity to speak with Foreign Minister Jal Kadharni about the situation in South-East Asia yesterday evening.

AWNR: Minister, where does India stand in this crisis?

JK: We believe the technical expertise of the Philippines and France will be sufficient to determine the cause of Palawan's loss. We're also confident that Saigon's medical facilities will be able to care for all of the casualties.

AWNR: Minister, by crisis, I mean the broader Franco/Russian-Filipino crisis.

JK: What crisis? Some of the right-wing newspapers are publishing jingoistic op-ed pieces. They are always running such articles; I read them at breakfast. No, there will only be a crisis when the French and Filipino governments decide there is a crisis - and last I saw, they were dealing with the accident in a calm, rational fashion.

AWNR: You're quick to downplay the significance of the media, considering what happened in 1898...

JK: ...Following an accidental explosion aboard a warship, I know. I expect that neither France nor the Philippines have a wish to emulate that particular experience. I'm certain that even the Americans now acknowledge that the Maine was lost accidently, and I would anticipate similar findings with Palawan. After all, as we know from our own unfortunate experience in 1909*, warships do explode from time to time.

AWNR: So you don't think this will lead to war?

JK: I think it will lead to a technical investigation and improvements to warship design techniques.

AWNR: What about the deployment of Russian battleships to Indochina? Does this upset the balance of power?

JK: The presence of two elderly Russian dreadnoughts and one elderly French dreadnought in Indochina does not constitute a threat to India or its allies.

AWNR: France recently announced its intention to steer its colonies to self-determination, a statement that was well received by the Raj. Could the current situation endanger that process?

JK: I don't see why it should. I'm not aware of any connection between the two matters save for the opinion of some French journalists.

AWNR: What is the next step for India?

JK: We'll continue to gather information and contribute our expertise in whatever way we can.

AWNR: Thank you, Minister Kadharni.

JK: You're welcome.


*The Indian pre-dreadnought Chandragupta was destroyed by an internal explosion in the summer of 1909. An investigation determined that new, locally-produced cordite was of unsafe quality and led to improvements in the production process. No similar incidents have happened since.

wow, a nice change from those right wing, sabre rattling, antagonistic, brow beating......well you get the point. Nice to see a calm rational news report after the preliminary reports!

India steers its own course, without regard to "Left" or "Right".

And Mr. Kadharni has been improving his media relations skills since some gaffes related to As Salif a while back.

It's acctually quite tough to gauge where india sits, right or left? That has its benefits.

The SAE likes India just were it is......

...that´s an unofficial statement of course. We just don´t want our ally be drawn into a conflict one of its other allies might fan. A somewhat "unstable" ally, to use a word related to what caused the Saigon Explosion most likely - Cordite.

I, and therefore India, find the traditional definitions of Left and Right to be pretty limiting. Better to mix 'n' match the views that best suit one's self...