EAM cites Quad, US President’s Indo-Pacific initiatives and India’s IPOI at Stockholm address
New Delhi/Stockholm, May 13 (FN Bureau) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that any evaluation of the Indo-Pacific has to factor in the Quad as a platform for global good and suggested that the EU could partner in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), proposed by India in 2019 for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Addressing the EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial meeting in Stockholm, EAM also said that India is among the like-minded partners that the EU would naturally seek in its engagement with the Indo Pacific. EAM said that “Artificial lines that separated theatres due to the politics of the day are now coming to terms with a more integrated existence. They also reflect different capabilities, broader activities and shared endeavours among the nations of the Indo-Pacific.” He proposed six points: Firstly, he said that Globalisation is the overwhelming reality of the time, and that nations despite being far apart “cannot be impervious to significant events elsewhere” – in reference to the Ukraine conflict which has impacted the world, with regard to food, energy and fertiliser prices. “Nor can we cherry pick them to our convenience.
The EU has major stakes in Indo-Pacific development, especially as they pertain to technology, connectivity, trade and finance. It has to, in respect for and observance of UNCLOS. Agnosticism in such matters is therefore no longer an option”, in an oblique reference to China’s hegemonistic attitude in the South China Sea and beyond. Secondly, he said “Established thinking whether on politics, economics or governance is being tested by the outcomes of the last two decades. How to respond to non-market economics is proving to be a more formidable challenge than most of us expected. The compulsions of the immediate are often in contradictions with the concerns of the medium term. Therefore, conventional templates must give way to new thinking better suited to emerging realities.” Thirdly, he said the Indo Pacific is itself increasingly central to the direction of global politics. “Among the issues that it throws up are the problems inherent in the established model of globalisation. Recent events have highlighted the problems with economic concentration as also the need for diversification. De-risking the global economy now involves both reliable and resilient supply chains as well as promoting trust and transparency in the digital domain.
EU and indeed the world is better off with additional drivers of production and growth,” he said, in reference to how global supply chains were affected during the Covid pandemic, with China holding back shipments of critical material. Fourthly, “Leveraging of market shares, production capacities and resources is an issue that can no longer be overlooked. Nor can connectivity and project financing any longer be taken at face value. A strategically more aware Europe should not limit its consciousness geographically.” “The more the Indo Pacific and EU deal with each other the stronger will be the respective appreciation of multipolarity. And remember, a multipolar world which the EU prefers is feasible only by a multipolar Asia,” he said. Fifth, “In such an engagement with the Indo Pacific, the EU will naturally seek likeminded partners. India is certainly among them. There may be historical and cultural divergences, but at the end of the day we are political democracies, market economies and pluralistic societies,” he said, citing ‘Transformations underway in India, like digital public delivery, or green growth initiative”. “India is also rapidly expanding its global footprint and will intersect with that of the EU more in the coming years.” Sixth, “Any evaluation of the Indo Pacific will naturally factor in the Quad as a platform for global good. The agenda and the impact of the Quad have steadily expanded.”
He pointed out the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative as having potential significance. The two initiatives were introduced by US President Joe Biden in May last year during the Quad summit in Tokyo. “From an Indian perspective let me also flag the Indo Pacific oceans initiative that we proposed in 2019. The EU will be comfortable with its objectives and may consider partnering in one of its pillars,” he said. PM Modi had proposed the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), at the East Asia Summit at Bangkok on November 4, 2019, for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The IPOI has seven pillars: Maritime Security; Maritime Ecology; Maritime Resources; Capacity Building and Resource Sharing; Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation and Trade Connectivity and Maritime Transport. He said: ”Keeping all this in mind, Indo Pacific and India specifically, and the EU, need a regular, comprehensive and candid dialogue, not just limited to the crises of the day.” EAM said the Modi government has invested a lot of energy and effort in engaging with the EU, more than previous governments have.