ASEAN cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy: EAM Jaishankar
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the cornerstone of India's Act East Policy and its Indo-Pacific vision, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said on Friday.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that there would be consequences if it continues to indulge in cross-border terrorism and underlined that the people of India will treat Pakistan as a ‘normal neighbour’ if it closes down the terrorist industry functioning in that country.
“We have struggled continuously with the fact that they (Pakistan) have unrelentingly practised terrorism. The attitude in our country used to be to put up with terrorism as an eccentricity of a neighbour…that’s the way they are and we have to live with it (has changed). Now, the tolerance for any type of cross-border terrorism in our country is very low,” he said at the CII annual summit.
Dr Jaishankar said the people of India made it very clear in 2014 that they are not going to accept cross-border terrorism. Tolerance for cross-border terrorism is very low and that is why India’s surgical strikes in 2016 and aerial strikes in 2019 on terror camps in Pakistan cross-border strikes were a clear message to Pakistan, he added.
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”It’s clear that there will be consequences both across LoC and IB if something like this happens. Now, the ball is in their (Pakistan) court. If they wind down this industry they have created, then people will treat them as a normal neighbour. If they make this their core competence, that will define their image. We have been straight with them,” he said.
On China, Dr Jaishankar said there are at least three aspects to the issues with Beijing. The fundamental aspect is, if peace and tranquility in border areas are disturbed, “there can’t be normal business with someone who has just barged into your drawing room and is trying to make a mess of your house fencing”.
He said another issue between the two countries over the last 20 years is the trade imbalance. “In the long run, we will have to see how we encourage domestic sourcing and manufacturing,” he said.
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