New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Tuesday sought to remind Europe that China is a bigger threat facing the world today, as opposed to the deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis, at the first-ever gathering of the European Union along with the Indo-Pacific countries.
The gathering — Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific — being held in Paris Tuesday, saw participation of the foreign ministers of EU member states and about 30 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including India, as the crisis between Russia and Ukraine grows bigger.
The EU and the US are preparing to impose the most stringent sanctions on Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the rebel-held regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as independent states, and subsequently moved ‘peacekeeping’ troops to those regions, further escalating tensions.
“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 said in his opening remarks at the forum, which is being chaired jointly by Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
France holds the EU presidency this year.
Without taking a clear stand on the emerging crisis in Ukraine, Jaishankar 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.
Without taking China’s name, but obviously referring to the Asian superpower, the external affairs minister said in Paris, “Today, we see challenges on that score with the clarity that proximity brings. And believe me, distance is no insulation,” adding that the “issues we confront in the Indo-Pacific will extend beyond, even to Europe”.
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.”
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France highlights ‘Chinese domination’
Urging greater integration of European countries with the Indo-Pacific region, French Foreign Minister Le Drian said, “the Indo-Pacific is today an area with huge challenges, particularly given the rise of Chinese domination”.
The European Union released its own Indo-Pacific strategy in September 2021, while the countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands came out with their individual policies prior to that in 2020.
According to Borrell, the Indo-Pacific will continue to remain a top priority for the EU, given that 70 per cent trade of the region takes place through the sea routes of the Indo-Pacific.
(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)
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