New Delhi: The Indo-Pacific should have a rules-based order to ensure that global commons such as freedom of navigation of the seas and overflight freedoms are followed by all concerned, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Wednesday. During a session titled 'Weaponisation of Everything' at the Raisina Dialogue, Shringla said India is working with its Quad partners on efforts such as critical technologies and strategic minerals, ensuring that there are alternative suppliers for items which are strategic to our own requirements.
"So you try to make sure you have what it takes to insulate yourself in the event of other emergencies, in the event of a surge in demand, you create capacities that are important for yourself," Shringla said. He asserted that the international community has to come together to see how a rules-based order can be imposed. "Which is what we have been talking about throughout, how we can try and have global governance norms that all countries should follow, especially when it comes to new technologies," he said.
Shringla also called for coming up with frameworks that countries are obliged to follow with consequences if they don't. "We talk about the Indo-Pacific from point of view of a free, open, transparent region. That is the sort of region that we want to see ourselves in, we want to live in," he asserted. This is a region that should be governed by a rules-based international order and that is the sort of order "we need to impose to ensure that global commons, whether it is freedom of navigation of the seas or overflight freedoms", are followed by all concerned, Shringla said. His remarks come amid China's increasing military assertiveness in the region.
Shringla also said weaponisation is something that should be minimised. "Weaponisation can take place when there is an imbalance between demand and supply. They could be raw materials, strategic minerals, or financial instruments. It is anything that can be controlled to the detriment of others," he said. Shringla also said the quest for self-sufficiency or Atmanirbhar Bharat for India doesn't mean isolation but it means creating capacities that can "help you and help others".
PTI
