As Canada withdrew 41 of its diplomats from India amid tense bilateral ties, New Delhi on Friday rejected Ottawa’s attempt to portray the implementation of diplomatic parity as a violation of international norms.
”Our actions in implementing this parity are fully consistent with Article 11.1 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanei Joly accused New Delhi of violating the convention.
Relations between India and Canada have been tense ever since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of Indian agencies in ‘Khalistan’ supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing. India had rejected the charge, calling it “absurd”.
The MEA said the state of bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in India’s internal affairs warranted a parity in mutual diplomatic presence in New Delhi and Ottawa.
”We have been engaged with the Canadian side on this over the last month in order to work out the details and modalities of its implementation,” it added.
The MEA also quoted the Vienna Convention to say that ”in the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.”
Amid the ongoing tension, New Delhi asked Ottawa two weeks ago to reduce its diplomatic strength and bring it at par with that of India in Canada, failing which it threatened to remove their immunity.
“As of now, I can confirm that India has formally conveyed its plan to unethically remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by October 20. This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunity stripped on an arbitrary date. And this would put their personal safety at risk,” Canadian Foreign Minister Joly said Thursday night.
“We have facilitated their safe departure from India. This means that our diplomats and their families have now left diplomatic immunities. Keep diplomats safe, no matter where they’re from and where they’re sent to. Immunities allow diplomats to do their work without fear of reprisal or arrests from the country they’re in,” she said.
Ms Joly said Canada would not reciprocate what India has done, saying if ”we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe”.
The Canadian foreign minister also indicated that the withdrawal of diplomats from India meant her country would have to limit its services in the country due to a shortage of staff. Specifically, the move would put a pause on in-person operations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Chandigarh, she added.