John McCarthy AO

Australia differs from most other countries whose governance is based on Western precepts because the nations that are most central to our external focus have historical, ethnic and religious backgrounds different to our own. Their level of economic development is in the main much lower than ours. Most have been subjected to colonialism. All  these factors colour their outlook and expectations.

The revelations in recent weeks of Indian government complicity in the assassination in Vancouver of a Sikh separatist – and in a conspiracy to murder another in New York – may turn out to be what those in the diplomatic business call “manageable”. The United States and India need a relationship in working order. But the revelations still raise questions about how we and others in the West should now regard our partnerships with India. State-sanctioned killings happen.

When asked about the greatest challenge for a statesman, the late British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan allegedly replied: “Events, dear boy, events.” As the Israel-Palestine tragedy unfolds, President Biden and other leaders will have had cause to reflect on how the world looks different. Since Hamas went into Israel, the global focus has been on the atrocities it perpetrated, the hostages, the disproportionate Israeli response, and the plight of civilians in Gaza.