THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - June 6, 2018 - Topic 2
Familiar
moorings: on foreign policy re-orientation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, three of India’s most important partners in
Southeast Asia, could not have come at a more important moment in Indian foreign policy positioning.
In the past few months, the government has shifted considerably in its
signalling, with Mr. Modi visiting China and Russia for informal summits with
Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, respectively.
The fact that these
visits have taken place at a time the U.S. administration has sharpened its aim
at China and Russia with sanctions and threats of a trade war suggests Mr. Modi
is also attempting to moderate India’s strategic posturing on the global stage,
and striving for a more balanced approach in what it increasingly sees as an
uncertain world. India has also maintained its commitment to relations with the
U.S. in order to build a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region, maintain the
“international rules-based order”, and work together to combat terrorism and
terror financing — as they have done more recently at the UN and the Financial
Action Task Force. Meanwhile, India’s membership of both the Quadrilateral(with the U.S., Japan and Australia) and the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (the Russia-China-led
grouping of Central Asian countries, whose summit Mr. Modi will attend this
week) is also an indicator of the new balance that New Delhi seeks.
It is significant that in Singapore Mr. Modi chose the
platform of the Shangri-La Dialogue of defence leaders of the Asia-Pacific
region to emphasise Indian “strategic autonomy”. In his speech on the concept
of the “Indo-Pacific” he referred to India’s relations with Russia, the U.S.
and China. Given his government’s particular distaste for the term in the past,
it is telling that Mr. Modi appeared to be channelling some of the “Bandung
spirit of 1955” that led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, when he
praised Singapore for teaching the world the importance of making “free and
fair choices” and “embracing diversity at home”. “When nations stand on the
side of principles, not behind one power or the other, they earn the respect of
the world,” Mr. Modi said as he unveiled a seven-point vision for the
Indo-Pacific region. While warning the world about the possible return of
“great power rivalries”, he emphasised the importance and centrality of the
ASEAN in the concept of the Indo-Pacific. The “principled” vision Mr. Modi
projects is a departure from the transactionalism and pragmatism espoused by
many in South Block over the last few years. However, it may also be a return
to familiar moorings of Indian foreign policy, necessitated by what the Prime
Minister identified as the “shifting plates of global politics and the fault
lines of history”.
Vocabulary
Considerable: notably
large in size, amount, or extent.
Example: A
position of considerable influence
Synonyms: sizable, substantial, appreciable, significant, goodly, fair, hefty
Sharpened: make
or become sharp.
Example: She
sharpened her pencil
Synonyms: hone, whet, strop, grind, file
Posture: behave
in a way that is intended to impress or mislead others.
Example: A
masking of fear with macho posturing
Synonyms: pose, strike
an attitude, strut
Uncertain: not
able to be relied on; not known or definite.
Example: An
uncertain future
Synonyms: unknown, debatable, open
to question, in doubt, undetermined
Striving: make
great efforts to achieve or obtain something.
Example: National
movements were striving for independence
Significant: sufficiently
great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy.
Example: A
significant increase in sales
Synonyms: notable, noteworthy, worthy
of attention, remarkable, important
Appear: become
visible or noticeable, typically without visible agent or apparent cause.
Example: Smoke
appeared on the horizon
Synonyms: become
visible, come into view, come into sight, materialize
Distaste: mild
dislike or aversion.
Example: Harry
nurtured a distaste for all things athletic
Synonyms: aversion
to/toward, disinclination to/toward, disapproval of
Pragmatism: a
pragmatic attitude or policy.
Example: Ideology
was tempered with pragmatism
Necessitate: make
something necessary as a result or consequence.
Example: The
severe arthritis eventually necessitated a total hip replacement
Synonyms: make
necessary, entail, involve, mean, require, demand, call
for
