Where were the principles when we were attacked after independence ? : Dr S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister

Tokyo (Japan) – India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is on a visit to Japan. He was asked during the interaction whether India’s decision to not criticise Russia and its territorial violation of Ukraine should be taken to be double standards. Dr Jaishankar replied, ‘Immediately after our independence, we experienced aggression, we experienced an effort to change our boundaries. Even today, parts of India are occupied by other countries. But we did not see the world response saying, oh, there’s a great principle involved, and therefore, let us all go with India’.

EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar’s reply to a question about India’s stance on the #RussiaUkraineWar

Where were the world’s principles when we were attacked after Independence ?

A Japanese journalist questioned him, ‘You talk about honouring sovereignty, but India has never criticized… pic.twitter.com/3OtyyKQqdF

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) March 10, 2024

Jaishankar further said,

1. My position would be that the world is a complicated place, and there are many important principles and beliefs in the world. What happens sometimes in world politics is countries pick one issue, one situation, one principle, and they highlight it because it suits them, and they press other countries to follow their principles.

2. Today we are being told that there are principles involved. I wish I’d seen that principle in play for the last 80 years.

The United Nations needs to be reformed !

1. About reforming the United Nations Security Council, Jaishankar said that today there’s a sentiment among countries for change in the United Nations Security Council. When the UN had 50 countries when it was formed and now, with 4 times more members, it’s a common-sense proposition that the global body cannot continue to function in the same way.

Without naming China, he said the main opposition to UNSC reforms is not a Western country and that countries which do not want change in the UNSC are trying to carry forward the same system.

2. India and Japan need to get permanent seats in the conference. Keeping the world’s most populous country and some major supplier countries out of the United Nations is not good for the organisation. Therefore, we want both these countries to be given a permanent seat in the conference as soon as possible.

3. Not a single African country is in UNSC as a member. No country from the South American continent is a member. The African continent has more than 50 countries, yet there is no member.

4. There are many important issues in the world today, but the United Nations does not play a role in that.

5. We know that there will be changes in the Security Council. When will it come, how long will it take, and what kind of changes will they be, are the real questions.