‘Canada should not feel snubbed by India’s support for Portugal at UN’

TORONTO - Canada should not feel aggrieved by India’s support for Portugal in the United Nations General Assembly vote for temporary members of the Security Council, an editorial in a leading Canadian newspaper has said.

“Temporary membership of the Security Council is not a prize for virtuous behaviour, and Canadians should not take offence at being passed over, this time around,” the editorial in the Globe and Mail said.

“It was not a comment of any kind about Canadian foreign policy, but rather part of India’s pursuit of its national interest - more particularly, its quest for a permanent seat of its own on the Security Council, which Portugal supports,” it added.

The editorial also highlighted that India’s foreign-policy priority is to be a permanent member of the Security Council.

“That status is a mark of being a great power, a rank that was granted to China at the end of the Second World War. Now that both China and India are both emerging as major economic powers, India is naturally eager for equality with its rival in Asia,” the editorial said.

It further said that the Canadian government should not take sides in the long-term tension between India and Pakistan.

“Canada contains large diasporas from both India and Pakistan - perhaps one million and a quarter of a million Canadians, respectively. Both countries are Canada’s allies. In general, we should not show a preference for either, though some situations may call for our taking sides,” it said.

India has been criticized for not backing Canada in its bid for a seat in the UN Security Council.

India reportedly voted for Portugal because it supports its bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council whereas Canada is opposed to the inclusion of more permanent members. (ANI)