Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday the danger of failed states emerging in the region posed a grave security threat.
His comments came hours before he was to leave for Dhaka to attend a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) - a grouping of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
"The danger of a number of failed states emerging in our neighbourhood has far-reaching consequences for our region and our people," Singh said at a function organised by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a strategic thinktank.
"The impact includes crises which generate an inflow of refugees and by destabilisation of our border areas."
Singh, who also took charge of the foreign ministry after Natwar Singh resigned this week, did not mention which countries he thought could become failed states, but all the Saarc members have security issues.
"We see signs of the ills of disaffection, alienation and conflict not only in India but also across our neighbourhood.
"We have to be alert to these developments and deal with the dangers that lie ahead," the Indian Prime Minister added.
The Saarc summit, which aims to push economic integration for higher growth in one of the world's poorest regions, is being held in Bangladesh in the backdrop of a wave of bombings in the country by Islamist militants in recent months.
India has expressed concern over the bombings and the security situation in Bangladesh.
New Delhi has also raised the issue of the flow of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh into India. Dhaka denies Indian claims that thousands of Bangladeshis illegally cross into India annually.
On its border with Nepal, India has added more troops as political unrest and Maoist guerrilla violence has continued since King Gyanendra seized power in February.
Comments
Comments are closed.