New Delhi, April 26: The international order is facing shocks and India is willing to shoulder greater responsibilities in righting the wrongs, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Addressing a Townhall event at Raisina Dialogue being held in Delhi, he also said that contrary to what some may think in the West, India has a clear stand on Ukraine and it wants the conflict to stop first. Referring to the “shocks the international order have been experiencing”, he said: “If you look at the last three decades, globalisation, spread of technology, these were rebalancing the prosperity, the high growth rate… “In Asia particularly, these were the dominant trend,” he said. “Particularly in last three years we’ve had some big shocks. Covid was a shock, Afghanistan was a shock, Ukraine was a shock. The sharper friction between the big powers — the West and Russia and US and China.” Jaishankar said that an “operational matrix” needed to be developed to respond to the world that is changing. “Since 2014-15, we’ve had much more clarity about how we will engage with the world,” he said, referring to the year when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister. The Minister said a self-reliant India was not just capable but also had the right mindset and was willing to shoulder greater responsibilities. “India has a clear position on the Ukraine conflict. It urges cessation of hostilities, return to dialogue, and stresses national sovereignty. “When the rules-based order was under threat in Asia, the advice from the West was to ‘do more trade’. At least, we are not offering that as advice to you. We have to find a way to return to diplomacy and to do that, the fighting must stop.” He added: “I recognise that the Ukraine conflict is the dominant issue, not just in terms of principles and values but also regarding practical consequences. “Ukraine is not a precedent for China. Such events have been underway in Asia for the past decade without Europe’s attention. So, this is a wake-up call for Europe to start looking at Asia.” On India’s role in the Indo-Pacific, he said: “We need to reclaim our history. Our ties and trade were disrupted in colonial times. But in a more globalised world, we should focus on how we aim to rebuild and interact with each other, rather than through intermediaries. “We should aim to recreate the Indian Ocean community, look for solutions amongst and partner with each other instead of looking to countries far away.” UNI
