New Delhi: India does not expect Europe to have New Delhi’s view of China just as India does not have Europe’s view of Russia, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in an interview with a German daily on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, being held from 16 to 18 February.
On 17 February, the external affairs minister briefly met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the conference, nearly six months after they met at the ASEAN regional forum in Indonesia’s Jakarta. India-China relations remain strained since troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 2020.
Asked if India would have liked Europe’s support in its 2020 border conflict with China, Jaishankar said, “I do not expect Europe to have a view of China that is identical to mine. Europe should understand that I cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one.”
“Let us accept that there are natural differences in relationships,” he added.
During the interview, Jaishankar, in a perceived slight to China, said the current global economic model is “unstable and unfair”. He said there is an “over-concentration” in the world, with production shifted to a “limited number of countries”.
He defended India’s energy imports from Russia, saying it helped “stabilise” global oil markets.
“When the fighting started in Ukraine, Europe shifted a large part of its energy procurement to the Middle East, the main supplier for India and other countries until then. What should we have done? In many cases, our Middle East suppliers gave priority to Europe because Europe paid higher prices,” he said.
“Either we would have had no energy because everything would have gone to them (Europe). Or we would have ended up paying a lot more because you (Europe) were paying more… We stabilised the energy market that way (with energy imports from Russia),” he added.
India, the third-biggest oil guzzler in the world, imported 1.3 million barrels a day in January. After importing large volumes of Russian oil at a discount over the past two years, New Delhi has seen its crude imports from Russia fall this year as Western countries continue to tighten sanctions on Moscow.
“Russia has never hurt our interests,” Jaishankar told the German daily on India’s relations with the country. In contrast, he said, India’s relations with Europe, the US, China, and Japan have seen “ups and downs”.
“We, on the other hand, had a politically and militarily much more difficult relationship with China,” he added.
Also read: At Munich, Jaishankar interacts with Wang Yi & Mélanie Joly amid strained ties with Beijing & Ottawa
‘Countries blocking UNSC reform are in denial’
At a time when India is actively trying to secure a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Jaishankar hit out at countries blocking the expansion and reform of the council.
“The UN started with 50 members. Now, it has almost 200. But, the management of the UN has not changed,” he said.
“The countries blocking reform are in denial about the changes in recent decades. The real issue is how we refresh the international order, renovate and reform it and its institutions,” he added.
The UN Security Council now has five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the UK, and US.
Commenting on countries that have warmed up to military cooperation with India, Jaishankar said Germany had long been “cautious” vis-a-vis India on security and defence matters, but there has been a change.
“Many Western countries have long preferred to supply Pakistan and not India. But, that has changed in the past 10 or 15 years, with the US, for example,” he said.
“Germany has long been cautious when it comes to security and defence. In contrast, we have had robust cooperation with France for a long time, and to a more limited extent with Spain and Italy. But I have seen a development in Germany’s attitude in recent years,” he added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
One third of the world’s manufacturing takes place in China, a lot of it for export. These capacities have been created roughly after the time Suzuki of Japan cooperated with Maruti to create a modern automobile industry in India, beyond Ambassador and Fiat. More recently, Vietnam has become the star of globalisation. Always open to India to join the party, by joining RCEP and CPTPP to begin with. 2. After the general election, a sincere effort should be made for a harmonious reset with China. This new normal hurts both sides, the natural leaders of Asia.