Kishore Mehboobani can write only after listening to the melodious voice of Mohammad Rafi. The magic of Rafi's voice definitely worked on Mehboobani. Kishore Mahbubani is Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He has also written a personal memoir followed by several books on geopolitics. He has been the President of the United Nations Security Council twice. In an interview given to Neelam Raj, he told how India can put pressure on reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Why Asia needs a bigger voice on global forums and what the future of India-China relations looks like.
Kishore Mahbubani says that history teaches us that big changes come only when there are crises. India can raise the issue strongly by announcing that it will no longer abide by UNSC resolutions if it is not included or consulted. As the third most powerful country in the world, India has the unique ability to stand before the UNSC and force the issue of change.
Fortunately for India, this would not be the first time there has been defiance. In 1998, when the UNSC inappropriately passed a resolution to punish Libya, the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) refused to abide by these sanctions. In theory the UNSC should have punished the OAU for not adhering to mandatory resolutions. However, ultimately the UNSC had to give in. In such a situation, if India ignores the proposals, then UNSC will have to step back here too. Even some permanent members have not followed UNSC resolutions.
■ What will happen if this colonial era system in the United Nations is not changed?
Mahbubani believes that if the colonial-era list of permanent members in the UNSC is not changed, it will lose its credibility. He proposes 7-7-7 formula in UNSC. It should have 7 permanent, 7 semi-permanent and 7 elected members. I had already proposed the 7-7-7 formula (with 7 permanent, 7 semi-permanent and 7 elected members) which is still the best way to reform the UNSC.
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After America and France, now Britain also joins, so is India's permanent membership in UNSC confirmed?
■ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that America supports India in getting the seat. From your experience as two-time chair of the UNSC, would the US support such reform in practice?
Mahbubani believes that when superpowers make statements, we should not just pay attention to words. We should observe their actions. In principle, America is in favor of UNSC reform. In practice, this is not the case. A senior US official told me that former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright had told him clearly that 15 UNSC members were enough. It is not in America's interest to see more members. Still, it is good that Secretary Blinken has publicly supported India's permanent seat.
Since America is a close friend of Britain, it can help in convincing Britain to give its permanent seat to India. An important point is that India should present its case as strongly as possible to American and European policy makers. The world has changed dramatically with the resurgence of Asian economies. Global institutional structures must now be reformed to give Asians a greater voice. The West should see that it is in its interests to pursue such reform rather than oppose it.
■ What about the disappointment with the UNSC's failure to deal with the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts?
Mahbubani said that the United Nations is weak not by chance but deliberately. During the Cold War, when the US and the USSR disagreed on almost everything, they agreed on only one thing. The United Nations should never have had a strong Secretary General. Both countries wanted the United Nations Secretary General to work on their instructions. Both the US and the USSR were concerned that Dag Hammarskjöld would not follow their instructions. After his tragic assassination, the US and the USSR agreed that each Secretary General elected on their behalf should be flexible. This policy has not changed. Therefore, the elected members of the UNSC should fight against this policy of keeping the UN weak.
■ Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, who do you think would be better for US-China relations?
Regarding US-China relations, Mahbubani said that the geopolitical competition between the two countries is driven not by personalities but by structural forces. No superpower gives up its number one position gracefully. America will fight hard till the end.
■ How do you view India-China relations?
Mahbubani said that it will remain challenging for a long time. I don't understand why there is so little cultural sympathy between Indian and Chinese civilizations. Although there have been contacts between Indians and Chinese people for thousands of years. Yet there may still be practical and functional relationships between them. India can emerge as a manufacturing power. However, to do this it will have to import components and machine tools from China. Doing this is not a sign of weakness but of strength. Various economic studies have shown that joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will boost the Indian economy.
■ You've talked about the MPH secret of Singapore's success. Can you describe?
Mahbubani attributes Singapore's success to the MPH – Competence, Pragmatism and Integrity. No other society has improved the living standards of its people so rapidly and so comprehensively as Singapore has. When it became independent in 1965, its per capita income was equal to that of Ghana: $500. In 2024 it will be $88,447, which is more than America and UK. The secret is MPH – Competence, Practicality and Honesty. Meritocracy means selection of people on the basis of merit. Pragmatism means being practical and learning from others. Honesty means being free from corruption.
Meritocracy is easy to understand. Just as countries select the best players for their cricket teams, they should also select the best players for their economic teams. Practicality is easy to implement. Japan has in recent times become the first Asian power to copy the best practices of Western countries. Singapore achieved success by copying this Japanese model. It is strange that some countries still refuse to learn from other countries. Honesty is the most difficult policy to implement. It is almost impossible to eliminate corruption. Singapore succeeded because, as I explain in my memoir, 'Living the Asian Century', leaders of Singapore's founding generation did not send their underwear to the laundry when they traveled abroad. He/she always washes them by hand in his/her hotel. This deep habit of thrift explains why Singapore has such high per capita foreign exchange reserves.
