Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As part of the continued reassertion of New Delhi’s independent foreign policy, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday showed the mirror to the West for “preferring military dictatorships” in India’s neighborhood for decades.
Defending the use of Russian arms by Indian forces, Dr. Jaishankar hit out at Western countries for choosing military dictatorships as preferred partners and not supplying India with weapons for decades.
His remarks came during a press conference along with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong after they held the 13th Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue (FMFD), the media reported.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Russia, and this relationship has served our interests well. We have a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons,” Dr. Jaishankar said adding, “this inventory grew for various reasons including the West not supplying weapons to India for decades and in fact seeing the military dictatorship next to us as a preferred partner.”
“In international politics, we make judgments that reflect our future interests and current situation,” he added.
About the discussions with his Australian counterpart, he said “We discussed Ukraine and its repercussions in the Indo-Pacific region, the progress in Quad, G-20 issues, our trilateral, some things related to IAEA and climate finance sustainable development goals.”
“We have been clearly against the conflict in Ukraine. We believe it does not serve the interest of anybody, the participants, or the international community. As the country of the global south, we have been seeing first-hand how much it has impacted low-income countries.
Dr. Jaishankar also cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remark to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samarkand, that “this is not an era of war.”
“As liberal democracies, India and Australia believe in the rules-based international order, in freedom of navigation in the international waters, in promoting growth connectivity and security of all and ensuring that countries make sovereign choices in matters that are important today.”
Dr. Jaishankar thanked Canberra for joining New Delhi in celebrating the 75th anniversary of India’s independence by decorating Australia’s iconic sites.
Among bilateral issues, he said, “We spoke about a lot of issues — trade, economy, education, defense and security, clean energy, and among the many agreements and understandings we reached. It is in our mutual interest to expand the diplomatic footprint in each other’s country.”
Responding to a question on the Khalistan issue, he said, “From time to time we’ve engaged the Canadian government on this issue, and we have flagged the need to ensure that freedoms in a democratic society are not misused by forces which actually advocate violence and bigotry.”
Wong highlighted that India and Australia are comprehensive strategic partners who recognize that the Indo-Pacific region is being reshaped both economically and strategically, and it is in the interest of both nations to navigate through this together.
Neither India nor Australia “want to see any country dominating and any country being dominated.”
“For Australia, this partnership (India), is a critical part of shaping the region we want,” she said, adding, the two countries will continue to deepen the relationship, including the diplomatic footprint in each other’s country. “We are looking to open a consulate general in Bengaluru, in the heart of India’s technology industry sometime next year,” she added.
On Monday, Dr. Jaishankar tweeted: “Arrived in Canberra to a Tiranga welcome. So happy to see the old Parliament House of Australia in our national colors.”
It is the EAM’s second visit to Australia this year, the first being in February 2022 to attend the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Melbourne.