Jaishankar takes veiled dig at China’s BRI day after Modi-Xi meet, stresses on ‘territorial integrity’

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Thursday emphasised that international connectivity projects should respect “territorial integrity and sovereignty” of countries, in a veiled reference to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part, a day after the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit in Russia.

Speaking at the BRICS outreach summit in Kazan, Jaishankar said, “The world urgently needs more connectivity options that enhance logistics and mitigate risks. This must be a collective endeavour for common good, with utmost respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

The external affairs minister is heading the Indian delegation for day two of the BRICS summit, as Modi returned to India Wednesday evening.

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New Delhi has consistently maintained a strong opposition to the BRI–considered Xi’s vision to redefine global transportation routes, through construction of ports, trains and roads across the world and linking them to China.

For India, the project has been a major sticking point, given that parts of the infrastructure built in Pakistan under CPEC traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India has joined with Western countries, especially the G7 to offer its own connectivity vision via the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Apart from dropping the hint at BRI, Jaishankar also pushed for the creation of resilient supply chains, which were not dependent on a single country–a talking point found commonly among G7 and Quad countries in an effort to de-risk their production lines from China. “The Covid experience is a sharp reminder of the need for more resilient, redundant and shorter supply chains. For essential needs, every region legitimately aspires to create their own production capabilities,” the foreign minister said.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a number of bottlenecks created in production lines, especially as countries had to face multiple lockdowns and were highly reliant on China’s manufacturing strength for the delivery of essential goods.

The US and its allies in the G7, as well as their partners in Quad, which includes India, Japan and Australia, have been some of the largest supporters of creating more production lines to reduce any dependence on a single country for essential and critical commodities.

Jaishankar also promoted BRICS as a grouping which can act as a positive force in the Global South and solve “many inequities” from the past, especially colonialism. “Let us also recognise that the benefits of globalisation have been very uneven. Adding to all that, the Covid pandemic and multiple conflicts have aggravated the burdens borne by the Global South,” he said, highlighting the strategic context within which India views the role of BRICS.

On ongoing international conflicts, Jaishankar once again reiterated New Delhi’s stance of pushing for “dialogue and diplomacy” to end the two wars–Russia-Ukraine and the conflict in West Asia.

Prime Minister Modi had pushed for an end to the war in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday.

“The situation in the Middle East, West Asia for us, is an understandable concern. There is a widespread anxiety that the conflict would spread further in the region. Maritime trade has also been deeply affected. The human and material consequences of further escalation are truly serious. Any approach has to be fair and durable, leading to a two state solution,” said Jaishankar on the situation in West Asia.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)

Also read: Modi made ‘suggestions’ to improve ties, accepted ‘in principle’ by Xi, says Chinese readout of meeting

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