IOC 2021: EAM Jaishankar Talks About China’s Rise, Flags ‘Sharpening Of Tensions’ On Territorial Issues

Besides China, Jaishankar also talked about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the impact of COVID pandemic as factors that significantly heightened uncertainties in the Indian Ocean region

New Delhi: Addressing the fifth Indian Ocean Conference, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that the consequences of China’s rise and its growing capabilities are “particularly profound”.

He also flagged the “sharpening of tensions” on territorial issues across the breadth of Asia with Beijing’s actions raising uncertainty over the agreements of yesteryears, news agency PTI reported.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was speaking at the fifth Indian Ocean Conference - IOC 2021 in Abu Dhabi, when said that it is vital that freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded commerce be respected and facilitated in a globalised world.

While noting that a number of developments have taken place that have direct bearing on the well-being of the Indian Ocean region, the minister pointed to two key developments. Changing American strategic posture and the rise of China, he said, have influenced the evolution of the Indian Ocean in recent years.

“Since 2008, we’ve witnessed a greater caution in US power projection and an effort to correct its overextension. It may have taken different forms and been articulated in very different ways but there’s larger consistency over three administrations that they themselves may not readily recognise. It is expressed in footprint and posture, terms of engagement, extent of involvement, and nature of initiatives,” the External Affairs Minister stated, as quoted by PTI.

He added that overall, the US is moving towards greater realism both about itself and the world. It is adjusting to multipolarity and rebalancing and re-examining the balance between its domestic revival and commitments abroad.

Talking about China, S Jaishankar said: “The second major trend is the rise of China. Even otherwise, the emergence of a power at a global level is an extraordinary happening, that this is a different kind of polity enhances the sense of change. The USSR may have borne some similarities, but it never had the centrality to the global economy that China has today”.

“The consequences of China’s growing capabilities are particularly profound because of the extrapolation of its domestic seamlessness to the world outside. As a result, whether it is connectivity, technology, or trade, there is now an ongoing debate on the changing nature of power and influence,” he mentioned.

In reference to border tensions, the External Affairs Minister said that “separately, we have also seen a sharpening of tensions on territorial issues across the breadth of Asia. Agreements and understandings of yesteryears now seem to have some question marks. Time will provide answers”, reported PTI.

Jaishankar’s remarks come as India, US and several other world powers are observing the need to ensure a free, open, and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military maneuvering in the region.

China stakes claim over nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, while Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing’s maneuvering with building artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea have not gone unnoticed.

With respect to India, the Chinese military’s aggressive moves in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last year triggered a border standoff between the two sides.

Following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas, the standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted last year wherein both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile, besides China, Jaishankar also talked about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the impact of COVID pandemic as factors that have significantly heightened uncertainties in the Indian Ocean region that is particularly vulnerable to health and economic stresses.

The theme of the fifth Indian Ocean Conference - IOC 2021 - is “Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic”. The first edition of the conference was hosted in Singapore in 2016 followed by three successive editions in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and the Maldives respectively.

(With Agency Inputs)