– By Krishangi Kathotia
India’s security has been at great threat because of both internal and external disputes and terrorism. Terrorism usually includes intentional acts of violence that harm the existence of others, through death and destruction of property, mainly done to induce a feeling of terror in civilians and governments. The functioning of these terrorist organisations require a significant amount of funding which is carried out through minor processes as well as organised crime – for technical necessities as well as general upkeep. Other processes of obtaining money include demanding and receiving huge donations and abusing non-profit organisations.
Trafficking – of drugs, weapons and human beings can be identify as major elements of organised crime used to fund terrorist groups and activities. Cross-border terrorism and insurgent uproars in India can be directly linked to drug trafficking, or the smuggling of drugs across the loose borders around the country. One of the major areas of focus when it comes to smuggling in India is the Golden Triangle. It includes parts neighbouring to the North East India, or as we commonly call it, the Seven Sisters. As the name suggests, The Golden Triangle consists of three major regions, that is, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. This triangular connecting region has been extensively used to smuggle narcotics and other materials from Europe for decades now. This Golden Triangle area is not just limited to smuggling, but is also a major hub for production of a lot of opium supply for the entire world.
The border for Myanmar has been found to be extremely porous and a lot of kilometers on these borders are open and do not have a checkpoint or transit point through which the entries and exits can be well monitored. Thus, the smuggling of narcotics becomes feasible through this. The supply of these drugs generally moves across the area in a waterfall pattern wherein drugs worth crores are brought in through the porous borders of India and Myanmar. Post this, the consignments are broken into smaller units of about 2-5 crores each and agents in Dimapur and surrounding areas get these to carry and distribute ahead. This is further divided into even smaller units for local dealers for smoother distribution across the area. Unusual transport is used for the same and these dealers keep changing their names and numbers to safeguard themselves and their superiors from getting traced.
The main pushing of drugs into the North-East happens only through Myanmar and is undertaken by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN – IM), which is the biggest separatist or insurgency group in Nagaland, and has also previously worked in certain parts of Northern Myanmar.
In India, some specific quantities of plant-based opium or bhang has been permitted for consumption by the government due to their medicinal, recreational and religious connections. However, due to lesser psychedelic effects, lesser availability and growing prices, people have started moving towards synthetic, chemically procured drugs which are not only life threatening, but also have been linked to the new wave of Narco-terrorism, through which illicit terror activities and insurgency is solidly funded through the sale of these drugs, especially among the new-age youth in the areas of concern as well as pan-India.
Opiates, Heroin, Meth and Amphetamine have been certain substances of grave concern that have been also linked to life-threatening issues such as drug-dependency and being more prone to contracting HIV/AIDS.
The cash accumulated from narcotic drugs trafficking is laundered into licit money through investments in foreign banks, real estate, hotels, transport and entertainment business. More than banks, private financial institutions have helped drug barons to manage their finances. Switzerland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Thailand are among the important countries involved in money laundering activities in an organised fashion. Banking laws and lavish life style of the elite facilitates covert operations and monetary transactions of drug traffickers.
It is important to understand why the issues of narco-terrorism stays as a matter of grave concern even after constant efforts by the government to demote the consumption of drugs as well as increase security among the permeable areas and borders. As mentioned above, the primary drug trade in the region is undertaken by NCSN (IM), which has been a strong regional group in the area, even though it promotes secession and insurgency. People that have been living in the North East Indian Region have constantly faced and are still facing a feeling of detachment from the rest of the country, which makes them really confide in, and trust the organisations that promote and support their region. Due to this strong sense of regionalism and the loyalty of many tribal communities, this trade is unreported as well as difficult to track.
Security threats like this are growing everyday, since with the advent of globalisation, it is extremely difficult to control what goes across borders. This becomes an important threat because not only is it promoting money laundering, the sale and purchase of weapons and funding terror groups, it has a major impact on the socio-cultural environment where it is ruining the lives of youth who are now struggling with issues of addiction and have really lost the entirety of the lives they could have had ahead of them. Issues of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking have been present throughout history, but are finding wider importance now wherein it still fails to find an ideal solution.
A few widely promoted solutions for the reduction of illicit drug trade includes the legalisation of lesser harmful options, targeting the leaks in the supply and production chains and attacking the financial flows in the system especially through targeting the dark web because that’s where the new age smuggling practices are taking place. The most important step towards curbing the new-age narco-terrorism would be to spread awareness among the people and the youth so that they realise the harms of drug addiction as well as trafficking and reduce consumption.
References :
https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_jan01prk01.html
https://sci.bban.top/pdf/10.1177/0974928412472106.pdf#view=FitH
https://indianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/CLAWS/Golden%20Triangle.htm
onducted a total of five underground nuclear tests, breaking a 24-year self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing. Pakistan followed, claiming 5 tests on May 28, 1998, and an additional test on May 30. The unannounced tests created a global storm of criticism, as well as a serious setback for decades of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation efforts in South Asia. On May 13, 1998, President Clinton imposed economic and military sanctions on India, mandated by Section 102 of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), and applied the same sanctions to Pakistan on May 30. Some effects of the sanctions on India included: termination of $21 million in FY1998 economic development assistance; postponement of $1.7 billion in lending by the International Financial Institutions (IFI), as supported by the Group of Eight (G-8) leading industrial nations; prohibition on loans or credit from U.S. banks to the government of India; and termination of Foreign Military Sales under the Arms Export Control Act. Humanitarian assistance, food, or other agricultural commodities are excepted from sanctions under the law. 
The first ministerial level meeting of QUAD was held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Before this, the QUAD had
AusIndEx is an exercise between India and Australia which was first held in 2015.The Australian 
On recommendations of the Japanese government, the four countries met at Manila, Philippines for ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) originally, but also ended up having a meeting of what we call the first meeting of four nation states on issues of 
On his official visit to India, Japanese PM Mr. Shinzo Abe reinforced the ties of two nations, i.e., Japan and India with his famous speech about 
In 2007, Japanese President Shinzo Abe resigned from his post citing health reasons. This had a significant impact on QUAD as he was the architect & advocate of QUAD. His successor, Yasuo Fukuda, did not take up QUAD with such zeal leading to dormancy of the forum. (
Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011, also called Great Sendai Earthquake or Great Tōhoku Earthquake, was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which struck below the floor of the Western Pacific at 2:49 PM. The powerful earthquake affected the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island, and also initiated a series of large tsunami waves that devastated coastal areas of Japan, which also led to a major nuclear accident. Japan received aid from India, US, Australia as well as other countries. US Navy aircraft carrier was dispatched to the area and Australia sent search-and-rescue teams. 
India and Australia signed the 
The India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy was signed on 11 November, 2016 and came into force on 20 July, 2017 which was representative of strengthening ties between India and Japan. Diplomatic notes were exchanged between Dr. S. Jaishankar and H.E. Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India. (
The foreign ministry
The Officials of QUAD member countries met in Singapore on November 15, 2018 for consultation on regional & global issues of common interest. The main discussion revolved around connectivity, sustainable development, counter-terrorism, maritime and cyber security, with the view to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the 
The 23rd edition of trilateral Malabar maritime exercise between India, US and Japan took place on 26 September- 04 October, 2019 off the coast of Japan. 
After the first ministerial level meeting of QUAD in September, 2019, the senior officials of US, Japan, India and Australia again met for consultations in Bangkok on the margins of the East Asia Summit. Statements were issued separately by the four countries. Indian Ministry of External Affairs said “In statements issued separately by the four countries, MEA said, “proceeding from the strategic guidance of their Ministers, who met in New York City on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly recently, the officials exchanged views on ongoing and additional practical cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, and security matters, including counterterrorism, cyber and maritime security, with a view to promoting peace, security, stability, prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue was held on 18 December, 2019, in Washington DC. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper will host Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar and Minister of Defense Shri Rajnath Singh. The discussion focussed on deepening bilateral strategic and defense cooperation, exchanging perspectives on global developments, and our shared leadership in the Indo-Pacific region.The two democracies signed the Industrial Security Annex before the 2+2 Dialogue. Assessments of the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Indian Ocean region in general were shared between both countries. (
The foreign ministers of QUAD continued their discussions from the last ministerial level meeting in 2019, on 6 October, 2020. While there was no joint statement released, all countries issued individual readouts. As per the issue readout by India, the discussion called for a coordinated response to the challenges including financial problems emanating from the pandemic, best practices to combat Covid-19, increasing the resilience of supply chains, and enhancing access to affordable vaccines, medicines and medical equipment. There was also a focus on maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region amidst growing tensions. Australian media release mentions “We emphasised that, especially during a pandemic, it was vital that states work to ease tensions and avoid exacerbating long-standing disputes, work to counter disinformation, and refrain from malicious cyberspace activity. Ministers reiterated that states cannot assert maritime claims that are inconsistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”
On September 24, President Biden hosted Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan at the White House for the first-ever in-person Leaders’ Summit of the QUAD. The leaders released a Joint Statement which summarised their dialogue and future course of action. The regional security of the Indo-Pacific and strong confidence in the ASEAN remained on the focus along with response to the Pandemic. 
The QUAD Vaccine Partnership was announced at the first QUAD Summit on 12 March 2021 where QUAD countries agreed to deliver 1.2 billion vaccine doses globally. The aim was to expand and finance vaccine manufacturing and equipping the Indo-Pacific to build resilience against Covid-19. The launch of a senior-level QUAD Vaccine Experts Group, comprised of top scientists and officials from all QUAD member governments was also spearheaded. 
Although the Tsunami Core group had to be disbanded on fulfilment of its purpose, however the quadrilateral template that formed remained intact as a successful scaffolding of four countries, as stated by authors Patrick Gerard Buchan and Benjamin Rimland in their diplomatic brief about QUAD ( you can access the brief at 
Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that the Core Tsunami Group was to be disbanded and folded and clubbed with the broader United Nations led Relief Operations. In a Tsunami Relief Conference in Jakarta, Secretary Powell stated that 
Soon after the Earthquake and Tsunami crisis, humanitarian reliefs by countries, viz., US, India, Japan, and Australia started to help the 13 havoc-stricken countries. The US initially promised $ 35 Millions in aid. However, on 29
At 7:59AM local time, an earthquake of 9.1 magnitude (undersea) hit the coast of Sumatra, an Indonesian island. As a result of the same, massive waves of Tsunami triggered by the earthquake wreaked havoc for 7 hours across the Indian Ocean and to the coastal areas as far away as East Africa. The infamous Tsunami killed around 225,000 people, with people reporting the height of waves to be as high as 9 metres, i.e., 30 feet. Indonesia, Srilanka, India, Maldives, Thailand sustained horrendously massive damage, with the death toll exceeding 200,000 in Northern Sumatra’s Ache province alone. A great many people, i.e., around tens of thousands were found dead or missing in Srilanka and India, mostly from Andaman and Nicobar Islands of Indian territory. Maldives, being a low-lying country, also reported casualties in hundreds and more, with several non-Asian tourists reported dead or missing who were vacationing. Lack of food, water, medicines burgeoned the numbers of casualties, with the relief workers finding it difficult to reach the remotest areas where roads were destroyed or civil war raged. Long-term environmental damage ensued too, as both natural and man-made resources got demolished and diminished.
No responses yet