Speaking at an international conference, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that it is important to ensure, respect, and facilitate freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce.
Jaishankar was at the fifth Indian Ocean conference being held in Abu Dhabi on 4 and 5 December. He also met his counterparts from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman; bilateral talks on cooperation were at the centre of these discussions.
"We have also seen a sharpening of tensions on territorial issues across the breadth of Asia. Agreements and understandings of yesteryears now seem to have some question marks. Time will provide answers."Dr S Jaishankar, Minister External Affairs
Jaishankar said that two developments in the recent years have had the most impact on the evolution of the Indian Ocean:
Changing American strategic posture
The rise of China
"Since 2008, we've witnessed a greater caution in US power projection and an effort to correct its overextension. It may have taken different forms and been articulated in very different ways but there's larger consistency over three administrations that they themselves may not readily recognise. It is expressed in footprint and posture, terms of engagement, extent of involvement and nature of initiatives."Dr S Jaishankar, Minister External Affairs
Talking about the rise of china and its consequences on the global economy, he said:
"The emergence of a power at a global level is an extraordinary happening, that this is a different kind of polity enhances the sense of change. The USSR may have borne some similarities, but it never had the centrality to the global economy that China has today. The consequences of China's growing capabilities are particularly profound because of the extrapolation of its domestic seamlessness to the world outside. As a result, whether it is connectivity, technology, or trade, there is now an ongoing debate on the changing nature of power and influence."
He also said that COVID-19 pandemic and the United States moving away from Afghanistan have also contributed to increased uncertainties in the Indian Ocean region that is particularly vulnerable to health and economic stresses.
The theme of the fifth Indian Ocean Conference – IOC 2021 – is "Indian Ocean: Ecology, Economy, Epidemic." Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maldivian vice-president and the Fijian prime minister were also present at the conference on Saturday.
(with Inputs from PTI.)
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