We shouldn't expect smooth sailing all time: Jaishankar on neighbourhood ties, volatility

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India "should not expect smooth sailing" all the time when it comes to its ties with the neighbouring countries, but asserted that New Delhi has tried to create a "collective interest" to build an inherent stability in relationships, irrespective of the regime.

At the end of the day, "the logic every one of our neighbours must realise" is that working with India will "give you benefits", and not working with India "has a cost", he said, without elaborating.

"Some take longer to realise, some understand it better. One exception of course is Pakistan, because it has defined its identity under the army, in a way it has an in-built hostility in it. So if you put Pakistan aside, the logic will apply everywhere else," the EAM said during an interactive session hosted on DD India.

Jaishankar shared a link to the nearly hour-long interaction on his X handle on Saturday night.

In conversation with a strategic expert, he was also asked about the changes in stance of the US and China in the last 11 years, and how New Delhi looked at this change.

"Where the US is concerned, yes, there is unpredictability, therefore at a systemic level, you stabilise it with as many linkages and relationships as possible," Jaishankar said.

"With China, if you have to stand up to that country and we have had some very difficult period, so it's important to prepare the capabilities," he said.

The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

The minister said one of the "really perplexing" aspects of India's China policy was the "complete neglect of our border infrastructure in the previous decades".

"To have a China policy and neglect your border infrastructure was absurd," he argued.

"And, that is one of the things which has changed. We have today that standing up, in defence of our national interests, along the LAC. It is because we have built the border infrastructure to make that possible," Jaishankar said.

During the conversation, he spoke at length about deepening of ties with countries in India's neighbourhood, and increase in reach out to the Gulf nations, in the last 11 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as also deepening of ties with the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific regions.

He (Modi) has "given us a goal" but also in many ways charted a path to get there, the EAM said.

Jaishankar also mentioned the ongoing Operation Sindhu launched by India to evacuate its nationals from conflict-hit areas as military confrontation between Israel and Iran intensified.

Recalling Operation Ganga, he said it was the "most complex one" because evacuation was taking place during war-time in Ukraine.

On volatility in India's neighbourhood and regime changes that have been ostensibly not favourable to India's interests, he said, "there will be changes".

"We have tried to create a culture, a system and a collective interest, so that even if there is instability, the collective interest is stronger than those who are advocating distancing," Jaishankar said.

He cited instances of Sri Lanka and how despite a change in regime, bilateral ties are good.

Jaishankar also said that even after the initial period of difficulties, ties with Maldives are better.

"Nepal... We are often in their internal politics, very often we get dragged in. We should not expect smooth sailing all the time, that never happens for any country with its neighbours," he said.

"But, you should also not throw up your hands when things get difficult. That's poor planning," he said.

Jaishankar also emphasised that New Delhi is doing the "sensible thing", which is to create systems, "create common interests, and create an inherent stability in that relationship, whichever is the regime".

On counter-terrorism, and India's outlook towards Pakistan, he said the Mumbai attack was in many ways a "turning point", and the sentiment in this country was, now "enough is enough, things have to change".

The 26/11 Mumbai attack, probably one of the worst terrorist assaults on any city, was let "unpunished", the EAM said, adding that "we had decades of a policy and outlook towards Pakistan".

But, the Modi government changed that approach, the EAM said, and cited the 2016 Uri surgical strike, 2019 Balakot air strike and the recent Operation Sindoor.

"What we have done is to really create a new normal, that the initiative will not always be with you, and that you can do horrible things and think there is impunity because you are on that side," he said.

Jaishankar also said that counter-terrorism actions and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir should not be seen as single ideas, but part of a "holistic thinking".

During the conversation, the Union minister described Modi as a "leader of his times".

There has been an evolution of public sentiments, the country has changed, and the "PM reflects that change in mood, self-confidence", he said.

On changing stances of the US and China over the past decade, he said that "what you are talking about are trendlines, which didn't happen one fine day, they developed over many years".

He said what India has systematically tried to do is to "deepen our posture, our strategic posture, to have good relations with all major countries, but also other regions, so that we get into the optimal position".

"We have been planning for a multi-polar world, one of course we desire, because that gives us higher profile and more influence," Jaishankar said.

In the last 11 years of foreign policy, the consistent theme underpinning it is "multipolarity", he asserted.

"You need to have that clarity, you need to envision the world today... Multiple poles are competing but cooperating with each other. But, here, we tried to have in a way the least problems and most benefits," he added.