<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Hong Kong Standard Opinion</TITLE></HEAD> <center> <TABLE WIDTH=580 ALIGN=CENTER BORDER=0> <TR> <TD> <IMG SRC="/logoicon/opibannr.gif" BORDER=1> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </CENTER> <HR> <H2> Primakov alliance plan needs careful analysis</H2>  <BODY>RUSSIAN Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has thrown up an idea that could have widespread strategic implications for the Asia-Pacific region and the world too. <P> During his visit to New Delhi Mr Primakov suggested a strategic alliance among India, Russia and China. Admittedly it was only a tentative proposal made during talks with Indian leaders and does not carry the weight of a formal initiative placed before them. <P> Even so it does seem to suggest the direction in which the Russian mind is moving at a time when Moscow is trying to reassert its position on the international stage. <P> It will raise the concerns of regional powers and, of course, the United States. <P> There are certain basic facts that need to be considered before addressing the primary reason for the proposal. Russia, China and India are all nuclear powers, the latest of them being New Delhi which joined the nuclear club only this year. <P> China and India are the world's most populous states and the biggest powers in the Asian continent. Though Russia is largely a European power it is also Asian. Two of them are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council while India aspires to be one in a reformed UN structure. <P> The common thread that ties the three countries together is that all of them oppose a world order dominated by the United States and opt for a multipolar one. <P> But we need to ask whether Mr Primakov's proposal is intended as a counter to the Washington-Tokyo axis cemented by a security alliance that has been revamped and strengthened only recently? <P> The Russian prime minister is not talking of an economic grouping. He is referring to a strategic alliance which must necessarily have military implications. <P> Will India really welcome such an alliance with China? And how will Pakistan react to such a military pact? Will it move closer then to military cooperation with neighbouring Islamic countries including former republics of the Soviet Union? Such a move can be endorsed only if it brings peace and stability and does not lay the groundwork for another cold war. <P> <TABLE BORDER=2 CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=1 ALIGN=CENTER> <TR> <TD> <A HREF="opinion.htm#2"><B>Opinion</B></A> </TD> </TR> </TABLE><P><TABLE WIDTH=580 BORDER=2 CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=1 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/hongkong/hongkong.htm">Local</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/asia/asia.htm">Asia/Pacific</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/china/china.htm">China</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/world/world.htm">International</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/features/features.htm">Features</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/opinion/opinion.htm">Opinion</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/sport/sport.htm">Sport</A></TD></TR><TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/entertan/entertan.htm">Entertainment</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/news/001/comics/comics.htm">Tiger's Eye</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/finance/001/hksfin.htm">Business</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/pcmarket/hkspc.htm">PCMarket</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/job/hksjob.htm">JobMarket</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/online/archive/hksarchv.htm">Archive</A></TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="/contact.htm">Contacts</A></TD></TR></TABLE><P> </BODY> </HTML>