An Examination of Environment's Role In
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Student’s Last Name 1 AN EXAMINATION OF ENVIRONMENT’S ROLE IN BUILDING STRONGER INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Mr. Somanand Saraswati Dr. Urmi Satyan Abstract Environment Protection is crucial and critical for humankind, but Environment Protection could also play an essential role in the larger idea of international politics. This paper argues that the relation based on environment cooperation will be more long-lasting and stable as its foundation is mutual-need. If a bilateral relationship is built on keeping future perspectives in mind, the environment could be inextricably connected with it. The paper will explore the role of environment in building a stronger bilateral relationship. To support the supposition, the paper uses India-Vietnam relations as an example to substantiate the argument and examines various factors of India-Vietnam relations. Key words - Vietnam, India-Vietnam Relations, Geopolitics, Environment Protection, Mutual- Need Introduction Two nation-states, economically, politically and socially different from each other still have developed a close relationship; this is what could be learnt from India and Vietnam. Both countries have great importance in the south Asia region. Vietnam, as one of the fastest-growing economies, is believed to reach the position of a developed nation soon; plays a vital role in the South Asia region. All the countries understand its geostrategic importance and want to have their influence on the country. However, the history of Vietnam shows that it is able to keep its own individuality, identity and nationality, no matter how powerful the outer influencers were, like France and the US. When there are so many ‘biggies’ like the United States, Russia, Japan and especially China who have an eagle eye on it, and try to have strategic relation, it becomes more critical to make the Indian-Vietnam relation sustainable and long-lasting. In such a geopolitical situation, the environment could play a key role. A country runs on the economy, and the economy is based on natural resource. Countries need natural resources, and this June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 1056 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education /Mr. Somanand Saraswati & Dr. Urmi Satyan/Page 1056-1072 becomes a dominant factor in building a relationship. It is the need of time to explore how environmental conservation could not only save the environment, but could help in building the international relationship. The year 1972, is very special for the world, as the world witnesses the emergence of environment concern through Stockholm Conference (UNCHE), is also a special year for India and Vietnam as both the countries established their official diplomatic relations. Two nation- states, economically, politically and socially different from each other, still have developed a close relationship, this is what could be learnt from India and Vietnam. Vietnam, which is the 47th largest and one of the fastest-growing economies of the world, plays an essential role in the South Asia region. Bilateral relations are typically based on political and financial aspects, so there is more possibility of conflicts because of power-games, but the relation based on environment cooperation will be more stable and long-lasting because its foundation is a mutual need for natural resources and the very existence of human being. Climate change is now widely accepted as a global phenomenon, and in future, the environmental situation is going to be more critical. Some even say that “the third world war will be about water” (CBS. 2012. 2). So it appears more suitable to have a bilateral relationship which keeps the future possibilities in mind. Every country, regardless of its size, geography or geopolitical position, requires natural resources, which is why it is an imperative element in its international relations. India and Vietnam both have commercial ties. Both countries are also rich in natural resources, and its trade and conservation could be one significant aspect for a strong and more sustained relationship. Initiatives have been going on, such as Indian firms which are working in the Vietnamese sea. Although it has been observed that on multilateral stage sometimes countries do sign the commitment but later they quit; as seen when Canada withdrew from Kyoto Protocol, or the United States’s Trump administration recently withdrew from the Paris Agreement. All this happens mainly in international conventions because there are many players, but bilateral relations are just between two, and it is about their mutual understanding. When it is based on the environment, it is more likely to stay longer as the mutual needs are likely to increase in future. It is the need of time to explore the internal and external political factors in India and Vietnam that lead towards a stronger partnership, and how the sustainable development and environment conservation could play an essential role in creating a long-lasting bilateral relationship between these two states. A Shared History India and Vietnam share a bond which is strengthened by their historical relations. Both of them have an advantage as they share a historical foundation for a relationship, which other countries June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 1057 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education /Mr. Somanand Saraswati & Dr. Urmi Satyan/Page 1056-1072 like the USA do not have. India is historically a friendly figure for Vietnam. Even in ancient times, Indian influence could be seen in South Asia, including Vietnam. It was spread in different ways, but was largely through merchants and then scholars. Gradual widespread of Buddhism in Vietnam in a way increased the familiarity with Indian culture. Interestingly as Burton Stein (2010) suggests in his book A History of India that “the Indian influence was seen through kingdoms of King Kaundinya and King Jayavarman that covered parts of present Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam” (Stein 122). Such examples show the historical relationship between both countries. Alike India, Vietnam is also old civilization. It can be read in the book titled A History of Vietnam From Hong Bang to Tu Duc which takes the reader to Stone age and Mesolithic age, and then to around 2879 BC when Hong Bang dynasty was in political power in Vietnam which lasted by 258 BC (Chapuis 2005). Such chronicle histories make a belief system and influence the culture, as the idea of nation is built on the glorious past, which helps to create a national identity and sense of belongingness. Even though there are immense scopes in historical approach, but the paper will confine itself to more recent events that has affected both the countries in a homogeneous way. It can be argued that India and Vietnam share a common understanding and approach as they had gone through similar circumstances. Both countries got colonized by powerful European countries. Colonization brings destruction and exploitation in many ways, and it does not just impact economically but also impacts human consciousness. Vietnam and India have been through a similar crisis of colonization. French rulers used Vietnam for their economic needs, as it was a country rich with natural resources. In around 19th century, they invaded and defeated the then emperors of Vietnam, but this invading was not sudden, but was a gradual process. In the beginning, French visited Vietnam for missionary purposes where the visit of Alexandre de Rhodes is considered as a milestone because he was the one who wrote the first ever trilingual Vietnamese, Portuguese and Latin dictionary. It was called Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum and got published in 1651. This approach seems much similar to the efforts of British in the field of languages in India, as the language plays an important role of a bridge, in colonizing. From the period around 1627 to 1775, Vietnam faced many internal conflicts between Kings and which led to a kind of breakdown in administration. It was the period when the French started influencing the internal politics of Vietnam. French gave military and financial support to Nguyen Anh and in return Anh employed French as his advisors in his court. Nguyen family emerged as a major political power, with the support of French. They signed a treaty of alliance with French King Louis XVI where French priest Pigneaux de Behaine played an important role for France in Vietnam. It is again similar to India where there were more than 500 princely states, many of which were always fighting with each other. In the beginning, British indirectly ruled India through East India Company and later came into well- structured direct-rule governed by the Crown of United Kingdom. Similarly, French well- structured direct-rule was established in 1887 under the regime of Napoleon III, which is known June, 2021. VOL.13. ISSUE NO. 2 https://hrdc.gujaratuniversity.ac.in/Publication Page | 1058 Towards Excellence: An Indexed, Refereed & Peer Reviewed Journal of Higher Education /Mr. Somanand Saraswati & Dr. Urmi Satyan/Page 1056-1072 as French Indochina. French used ‘closed door’ (for Catholicism) policy of King Minh Mạng and other successor Kings of Nguyen, as an excuse to invade Vietnam. French Indochina remains until the independence of Vietnam in 1954. Both countries have witnessed an uprising and uproar against the colonizers. The years of exploitation, in both the nations, lead the movement of resistance against their respective colonizing powers. Insensitivity and deliberate inaction of colonizers in both countries can be noticed through events like the Great Bengal Famine of India of 1943, when three to four million people died of hunger or in Australian biochemist Dr Gideon Polya's words "manmade holocaust" (Lazzaro 2013). A similar incident can be seen a year later in 1944 when two million innocent Vietnamese people are killed by intentional inaction of rulers during the famine.