New Delhi: India raised its ongoing diplomatic row with Canada during talks with Australia, which is part of the Five Eyes alliance, and stated clearly that Ottawa was giving space to “extremism and radicalism”.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, whose country had voiced support for Canada in the past, listened to him “very carefully”.
He confirmed that Canada’s allegations were discussed Tuesday during the India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue.
The allegations were first levelled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September in the House of Commons where he claimed that authorities in his country were investigating the role of “agents of the Government of India” in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2020.
“Did we discuss issues between India and Canada? Yes. I spoke about it to minister Wong. As you know Australia has a good strong close relationship with the both of us. So I felt that it was important that Australia get our perspective on the issue,” remarked the EAM during a joint press conference he addressed Tuesday alongside Wong.
“You know that from our point of view, the key issue is really the space which has been given to extremism and radicalism in Canada. So therefore the short answer is yes, we discussed it. Yes I spoke to her about our perspective and she did listen to me very carefully,” Jaishankar added.
On her part, Wong pointed to her previous comments on the matter.
In September this year, she had referred to allegations made by Canada as “deeply concerning” during an interview with CNN.
“The first point I would make is that these are serious allegations and they are deeply concerning for all of us. I would note, investigations are still underway. So obviously, the Australian government wishes to wait for those investigations to be finalised. But we’ve conveyed our concerns about the allegations and we will keep abreast of the developments in these investigations,” Wong had said at the time.
“Well, we [Australia] have a general proposition, which is, you know, Australia has a view about the rule of law and we will always express that view,” Wong told CNN, while confirming that Canberra had already shared its views on the subject with New Delhi.
Also Read: Trudeau claims India ‘arbitrarily’ kicked out diplomats, adds ‘this isn’t a fight we want right now’
‘No reason to dispute Canada’s allegation’
In October this year, speaking on the sideline of a gathering of intelligence chiefs of the Five Eyes, of which both Australia and Canada are members, Mike Burgess, the chief of Australia’s domestic intelligence arm – Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) – had said that he had “no reason to dispute” Canada’s allegations.
“There’s no doubt any allegation of any country being accused of carrying out an execution of a citizen in that country, it’s a serious allegation, and something that we don’t do and something that nations should not do,” Burgess had told ABC News.
On 18 September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had alleged that his government was investigating a potential link between ‘Indian agents’ and the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down by unknown assailants outside a gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June. New Delhi termed the allegations “absurd and motivated”.
What followed was a diplomatic standoff.
As ThePrint reported earlier, India expelled a Canadian diplomat and Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India on 19 October on a request from the MEA for “parity” in diplomatic rank and strength. Trudeau later claimed that India “arbitrarily” kicked out its diplomats, adding that this is not a fight Ottawa wanted right now.
Indo-Pacific, defence cooperation
Both Jaishankar and Wong pushed for a free and open Indo-Pacific during their meeting Tuesday.
“At the heart of it is really a shared commitment to a free, open, inclusive, prosperous and rules based Indo-Pacific region based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS),” Jaishankar remarked during the press conference.
My opening remarks at the 14th India-Australia Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue. pic.twitter.com/LKWz6EmB4v
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 21, 2023
Wong confirmed that Australia will be holding the Indian Ocean conference in February at Perth and a Raisina Down Under in Canberra following the Raisina dialogues in India, and that an invitation had been extended to Jaishankar for both.
Earlier in the day, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Wong met India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The two sides discussed a range of issues including global and regional developments as well as bilateral security and defence cooperation.
Challenges and opportunities in the domains of maritime and space, part of the global commons were also discussed. Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that the two sides emphasised the need to assist countries in the Indo-Pacific and Africa, as well as ASEAN member states to ensure sustainable development.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Justin Trudeau’s 15 seconds of fame—undoing two decades of India-Canada rebuilding ties