At Munich, Jaishankar interacts with Wang Yi & Mélanie Joly amid strained ties with Beijing & Ottawa

At Munich, Jaishankar interacts with Wang Yi & Mélanie Joly amid strained ties with Beijing & Ottawa

New Delhi: External affairs minister S. Jaishankar briefly met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference Saturday. Wang was coming down from the stage after his session on “China in the World” as Jaishankar was going up to the podium for a discussion with the German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The brief interaction between the two leaders came after months of minimal contact between the two governments. The ties between India and China have remained strained since the Galwan clashes in 2020.

The two ministers engaged in an animated conversation, where Jaishankar reportedly emphasised the need for an early resolution of the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), according to the Economic Times.

VIDEO | External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) had a brief interaction with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi earlier today on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.#MunichSecurityConference pic.twitter.com/GLMdBnEDp4

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 17, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping briefly interacted during the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia in November 2022, while Jaishankar last met Wang at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia in July 2023.

On Saturday, Jaishankar also met his Canadian counterpart, Mélanie Joly, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The two discussed the “present state” of bilateral ties, according to a post by Jaishankar on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).

Met my Canadian counterpart FM @melaniejoly on sidelines of #MSC2024.

Our conversation understandably focused on the present state of our bilateral ties. Was also useful to exchange views on the global situation. pic.twitter.com/g1G1VhS3vn

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 16, 2024

The ties between the two countries have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government was investigating the potential link between agents of India and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar — a designated terrorist in India, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on 18 June last year in Surrey, British Columbia.

Canada removed 41 diplomats and their dependents from India as the row escalated.

‘India non-West not anti-West’ 

During the discussion with his German and American counterparts, Jaishankar said that India is “non-West” rather than “anti-West”, and has strong ties with Western countries.

“So I think it’s important today to make a distinction between being non-West and anti-West. I would certainly characterise India as a country which is non-West, but which has an extremely strong relationship with Western countries getting better by the day,” said Jaishankar during the panel discussion.

He also said that India is not a “transactional” actor in foreign policy, but a firm believer in a multipolar approach to global affairs, working with different partners as it suits the needs of the country.

“Do we have multiple options? The answer is yes. Is that a problem? Why should it be a problem? If I’m smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me, you shouldn’t be criticising me,” said Jaishankar.

He added: “So I don’t want you to even inadvertently give the impression that we are purely and unsentimentally transactional. We are not. We get along with people. We believe in things, we share things, we agree on some things. But there are times when you’re located in different places, have different levels of development, different experiences — all of that gets into it.”

The EAM explained that good partners offer “choices” and that “smart partners” take some of those choices, and “pass up” on others.

BRICS’ role in the world

In response to a question on the rise of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and UAE), Jaishankar explained that it was a platform that provided a forum for “useful” discussions between the original members for over a decade and a half.

“The BRICS started in an era where Western dominance was very strong. The premier gathering of the world was the G7, and you had a number of significant powers in the world who felt that, well, they were not part of the G7 but maybe they also brought value to the table by sitting and discussing with others,” explained Jaishankar.

He added: “Now, like any product, you test it in the market at some point. We tested it last year and asked people, so how many of you want to join BRICS? And we got almost 30 countries who were willing to join BRICS. So clearly, if 30 countries saw value in it, there must be something good we have done.”

Jaishankar, however, conceded that not all members within BRICS would be similar to India in being non-West with strong ties with Western countries. “Not everybody else necessarily in that grouping might qualify for that description,” he asserted.

‘Permanent fix’ to situation in West Asia

Jaishankar reiterated India’s support for a two-state solution to the situation in West Asia between Israel and Palestine. He called for a “permanent fix” to ensure no future acts of violence, such as the one carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, are seen again.

“And eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term fix, otherwise we’re going to see a recurrence. And I think today, suddenly – India has long believed in a two-state solution; we have maintained that position for many decades,” he said.

“And I think today, many more countries in the world feel not just that a two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before,” he added.

The EAM reiterated that the actions by Hamas on 7 October, which led to the reported death of 1,200 Israelis, is a terrorist act and that there can be no justification for the same. Meanwhile, over 25,000 Palestinians have been reportedly killed as a result of Israel’s aerial and ground offensives in the Gaza Strip.

However, Jaishankar also said that Israel “should have been very mindful” of civilian casualties in its response to Hamas’ attacks.

(Edited by Richa Mishra)