Non-alignment -- Not a Bloc
India is also at the strategic centre of the Indian Ocean. Naturally, we are greatly interested in the transformation of Indian Ocean into a zone of peace. This is the wish of littoral and hinterland countries which has found an expression in the declarations of the United Nations as well as of the recently concluded summit conference of non-aligned nations at Colombo.
It is unfortunate that some countries tend to perceive the policy of non-alignment in a somewhat unfavourable light. Nonaligned nations are neither a bloc nor a "third" "fourth" or "fifth" world, but very much part of our one world. Though the policy of non-alignment was partly aimed at keeping out of "cold war" and the two power blocs, it was mainly directed at strengthening the political sovereignty and economic independence of countries which had just emerged from colonial domination. It is also the guiding framework for strengthening relations between various countries on the basis of peaceful co-existence, irrespective of their political systems. Today the non-alignment movement encompasses a majority of nations of the world. The Summit Conference of Non-aligned Nations has convincingly demonstrated the continuing validity and relevance of the policy of non-alignment which allows each country to tread its own path of national destiny, unhindered by external pressures or rivalries.
It is necessary to bear in mind here that the achievement of independence by Asian countries was not the end but the beginning of a journey in terms of expectations, aspirations and objectives. Asia has been in ferment since the watershed of the end of World War II due to domestic, economic and political pressures as well as due to external involvements. However, it is a formidable challenge to us to remedy historical injustices of the past and adjust ourselves quickly to a freely competitive world that the Asian countries faced and continue to face, while there is commonality in their problems in terms of poverty and the pressure of people on land. These have in turn generated some intense controversies and disagreement between Asian countries themselves.
In many cases these differences were an inheritance from the colonial past in terms of territorial claims and disputes. In others they arose from external military intervention or from political and economic pressures from outside. These continuing problems still affect Asia in the shape of military alliances, presence of foreign troops, existence of military bases and intensification of general arms race in the region.