The Canada-India skirmish over the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada in June (GM Sept. 29, p. 1; Sept. 22, p. 1) continued to simmer this week, with India saying on Oct. 5 that it wants parity with Canada on diplomatic presence, according to a Bloomberg report. India wants Canada to cut its number of diplomats in India by 66%, or by 41 from the existing 62, according to the Financial Times. The countries are reported to still be in discussions on the issue.
“We have sought parity in diplomatic presence,” Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in New Delhi. “Canadian diplomatic presence is very much higher. We would assume that there would be a reduction.”
The development follows comments on Oct. 3 from Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who underlined the need for a strong diplomatic footprint in India during times of conflict. Joly said Canada is in “constant cooperation and dialogue with India” to address the issue.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week reiterated that Canada hopes to maintain ties with India as the murder investigation develops. “We’re not looking to escalate,” he said. “We’re going to be doing the work that matters in continuing to have constructive relations with India during this extremely difficult time.”
Both countries expelled senior diplomats soon after Trudeau linked Indian agents with the assassination. India also suspended visa services for Canadians and issued an advisory warning its residents against traveling to Canada. Joly confirmed that Canada expelled an Indian diplomat who she identified as the Head of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s main spy agency, in the country.
The diplomatic spat has put the US in an awkward position. Washington spent years courting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of an Indo-Pacific strategy to halt China’s economic and military expansion. But the US also shares close ties with Canada, a Group of Seven country and a member of the Five Eyes (US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand) intelligence-sharing alliance.
The US is also part of the “Quad” intelligence-sharing arrangement that includes India, Japan, and Australia. The US has separate and overlapping agreements with other Asian countries, including South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The Biden administration has deepened intelligence cooperation in Asia as it looks to counter China’s spying apparatus and cyber-attacks. Late last year, India was able to repel a Chinese military incursion in the Himalayas thanks to strengthened intelligence-sharing with the US military, according to the US News & World Report.
“We take these allegations very seriously, and we continue to not just work closely with our Canadian partners, but have, as I said, publicly and privately urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada,” US State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters on Oct 3.