NSA NARAYANAN ENCOURAGES GREATER ASIAN COOPERATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000485

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SUBJECT: NSA NARAYANAN ENCOURAGES GREATER ASIAN COOPERATION
AND LAMENTS THE SPREAD OF THE "AL QAEDA MINDSET" IN MUNICH
ADDRESS

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1. (SBU) Summary: National Security Advisor MK Narayanan
unsurprisingly highlighted India,s &benign and stabilizing
role8 in his remarks at the Munich Conference on Security
Policy on February 10. Although much of Narayanan,s address
to the primarily European audience pointed to India,s role
in strengthening relations within Asia, he also raised a
number of concerns that were obliquely directed at Pakistan.
The most direct references were his comment that India faces
threats from &nations in the region that are authoritarian,
anti-democratic and anti-secular, approximating to failed
states,8 and a reference to specialized schools for suicide
bombers on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He also lamented
the growing links between terrorist groups and the spread of
the &Al Qaeda mindset.8 Narayanan,s observation that,
&Threats to stability from nuclear weapons in the hands of
volatile states cannot be discounted,8 was carried widely by
the press. Narayanan also singled out Russia as a &major
influence as regards stability.8 Although obviously
designed to portray India in the best light, the National
Security Advisor,s address also offers a rare glimpse of his
world view. His assertion that maritime security and
combating links between terrorist groups are priorities could
offer scope for further U.S.-India cooperation. End Summary.

India is a Benign and Stabilizing Force, and Asia is
Ascendant:
--------------

2. (U) In his February 10 remarks at the Munich Conference
on Security Policy, India,s National Security Advisor MK
Narayanan stressed India,s &historical role as a benign and
stabilizing force in Asia . . . and beyond the region.8 He
claimed that India and China had, in the pre-industrialized
age, accounted for more than half of the world,s economic
output, and predicted that will be the case again in a few
decades. Narayanan particularly mentioned the simultaneous
rise of China and India, along with Japan and the ASEAN
states, as noteworthy. The National Security Advisor also
claimed India is involved in strengthening SAARC. Moving
further afield, Narayanan mentioned India,s ties to West
Asia, and pointed to Russia as &a major influence as regards
stability in Asia.8 &The friendship between India and
Russia is not merely time-tested but is one of the most
successful of its kind anywhere.8

But Pakistan Is the Elephant in the Room:
--------------

3. (SBU) Notably absent from Narayanan,s remarks was any
reference to the United States, Europe (other than Russia),
and Pakistan, at least by name. India,s northern neighbor
was strongly present between the lines, however: &first and
foremost are existential threats and vulnerabilities that
pluralistic, secular and democratic countries such as India .
. . face from nations in the region that are authoritarian,
anti-democratic and anti-secular, approximating to failed
states.8 In his remarks on proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, Naryanan claimed that &credible reports suggest
that the region has been both a source and a destination for
proliferation of WMD material and equipment. . . . Threats to
stability from nuclear weapons in the hands of volatile
states cannot be discounted.8 This statement garnered most
of the press attention on Narayanan,s remarks. (There is a
slight possibility that Narayanan could have had Iran in
mind, as well as Pakistan.)

And the &Al Qaeda Mindset8 is the Biggest Threat:
--------------

4. (U) Narayanan dedicated a significant portion of his
remarks to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, averring that their
&ideological narrative8 &spawns not merely a multi-cell
structure that is sublimating suicide terrorism into a

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legitimizing force, but is throwing up new leaderships across
many countries.8 He lamented the spread of the &Al Qaeda
mindset from the border regions of Pakistan-Afghanistan,
where specialized schools exist for training suicide
bombers8 and referred to &Al Qaeda,s elite terrorist
network such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the
Islamic Jehad Group (in Central Asia),the Lashkar ) e-
Toeba, the Jaish ) e-Mohd, the Lashkar ) e- Jhangvi and the
Hurkat-ul-Jehadi Islami and the Taliban (in South Asia),the
Jemiah Islamiah and the Abu Sayyaf Group in Southeast and
East Asia. . . . .They have forged common funding structures,
common training curricula and have a common resource for
obtaining explosives and weapons, etc.8 &Today, Al
Qaeda,s mindset, he continued, even more than the Al Qaeda
network, provides the most pervasive threat to Asian and
international stability.8

Need for a &Pan-Asian Security Architecture8
--------------

5. (U) Narayanan also regretted the &absence of a readily
available Pan-Asian security architecture, of the type that
has evolved in the Trans-Atlantic region.8 He pointed to
the increasing need for Asian nations to concentrate on
maritime security and develop structures that are not based
on &sterile concepts from an earlier era.8 Narayanan
closed his remarks by averring that, &India is a globally
responsible nation and as our capabilities expand, we are
willing, and prepared, to take on greater responsibilities to
ensure international peace and stability.8

Comment:
--------------

6. (U) In his 2007 address at the same venue, Narayanan
focused on the need for expanded financial counterterrorism
efforts, and also referred to the state support and
sponsorship of some terrorist groups by &certain official
agencies across the border.8 His 2008 presentation takes a
broader view of the challenges.


7. (SBU) In spite of the self-congratulatory tone of
Narayanan,s address, the National Security Advisor raised
points in his 2008 remarks that could provide an opening for
greater U.S.-India cooperation, for example in maritime
security. It will be useful to refer back to Narayanan,s
statement that half of the world,s container traffic
transits the Indian Ocean as we pursue discussions on the
Megaports proposal. Narayanan,s observations on common
funding structures for terrorist groups could also provide
impetus for acceptance of more training and increased action
on combating terrorist financing.
WHITE