Lack of commitment to international laws: India tacitly hits out at China

India on Monday tacitly hit out at China alleging that its lack of commitment to international laws had led to increased militarisation of the Indo-Pacific region.

“A lack of commitment to settled international law has led to an increased militarization of the region. Militarisation always adds to complexities,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla said.

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“The Indian Ocean Region, it is quite obvious, will face an increasingly complicated, rapidly evolving, and more demanding security situation, with an ever increasing battery of threats and uncertainties.”

The Foreign Secretary was speaking at the Goa Maritime Conclave being hosted by the Indian Navy.

He made the comment amid China's growing belligerence, not only along its Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India in eastern Ladakh, but also elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, like in South China Sea, East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. China also drew flak from the international community for refusing to adhere to the unanimous decision of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS), rejecting the country's expansive claims on South China Sea.

China has also been criticized by its maritime neighbours for militarizing the South China Sea, East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

Shringla recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) which laid emphasis on ensuring a free, open and inclusive order in the Indo-Pacific, based upon respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and adherence to international rules and laws.

The Foreign Secretary said that India’s concept of the Indo-Pacific was inclusive in nature and supported an approach that respected the right to freedom of navigation and overflight for all in the international seas.

The Goa Maritime Conclave this year had “Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats: A Case for Proactive Role for IOR (India Ocean region) Navies” as its theme. The Chief of Indian Navy, Admiral Karambir Singh, hosted his counterparts from 12 Indian Ocean littoral nations – Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand – at the conclave.

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