China A Bigger Threat Than Ukraine Crisis: Jaishankar’s Message At Indo-Pacific Meet

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has once again sought to remind the European and Indo-Pacific countries that China is a bigger threat facing the entire global community today. Addressing the European Union Ministerial Forum on Indo-Pacific in Paris on Tuesday, Jaishankar cautioned the EU and other countries that it is important to “counter the hegemonic designs in the Indo-Pacific or else the forces of disequilibrium will spread even to Europe”. What is significant is that Jaishankar’s comments underlining the need to focus on growing Beijing’s aggression came amid the deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis, with the US and EU ready with tough action against Moscow.

Jaishankar also met his counterparts from Bangladesh, South Korea, the Czech Republic and European Union in Paris. “China, Pakistan and Afghanistan figured during the discussion between EAM and all these foreign ministers,” sources told The Daily Guardian. “The issues of mutual interest and ways to enhance bilateral engagements were also discussed,” sources added. Jaishankar also held a series of meetings with his counterparts from other Indo-Pacific countries participating in the EU Indo-Pacific Forum. He also met his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen on Monday. Jaishankar and Momen discussed the issues related to China’s aggressive activities in various areas.

Sources told The Daily Guardian that Jaishankar during his talks with foreign ministers underlined the need to focus more on China’s movements than any other issues. He also sought much deeper cooperation and coordination among all these countries to deal with the Chinese challenge. At the Forum, he called for the European Union’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific for a stable multipolar region and the world. “Today, we see challenges on that score with the clarity that proximity brings. And believe me, distance is no insulation. The issues we confront in the Indo-Pacific will extend beyond, even to Europe,” he said.

Jaishankar also reiterated India’s stand that the Ukraine crisis should be resolved diplomatically and through dialogue in a peaceful atmosphere. Even as the EU and the US prepare to impose the most stringent sanctions on Moscow amid growing tensions on the Ukraine border, Jaishankar told all his counterparts during bilateral underscored the need to deal with the situation calmly and patiently.

Later at the Forum, Jaishankar said in his opening remarks, “This initiative in the midst of a serious crisis in your own region reflects the importance that you attach to Europe’s engagement with the Indo Pacific region… The Indo-Pacific is at the heart of the multipolarity and rebalancing that characterises contemporary changes.”

Jaishankar further said, “It is essential that greater power and stronger capabilities lead to responsibility and restraint. This means, above all, respect for international law, territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

“It means economics free of coercion and politics free from the threat or the use of force. It means observing global norms and practices. And refraining from making claims on the global commons,” he added. Welcoming the EU’s decision to strengthen maritime security, Jaishankar said, “Our collective efforts can keep the oceans peaceful, open and secure, and, at the same time, contribute to conserve its resources and keep it clean.”