In a veiled dig at China, India on Monday underlined that the principles behind “common security” lie in upholding rules-based international order and when countries respect each other’s sovereignty. During a meeting on international peace and security at the UN Security Council, India’s envoy to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj stressed that “coercive” action to change the status quo by force is an “affront to common security”.
“Any coercive or unilateral action that seeks to change the status quo by force is an affront to common security. Further, common security is only possible when countries respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as they would expect their own sovereignty to be respected,” she said.
Underscoring the importance of upholding rules-based international order, Kamboj said that it must be “underpinned by international law, premised upon respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all Member States, resolution of international disputes through peaceful negotiations.”
India also called for reforms at the UN with Kamboj saying that the “fundamentally flawed premise of ‘to the victors belong the spoils’ will continue to be confronted with a crisis of confidence and credibility”.
“Challenges the world is confronted with cannot be dealt with through outdated systems and governing structures,” the Indian envoy said at the meeting organised at the behest of China, which was the president of the UNSC for August.
Though Kamboj didn’t take China’s name, her statements carry weight as India and China have accused each other of breaching border protocols several times in the past since 2020. The bitter standoff over the Line of Actual Control has plunged the bilateral ties between the two neighbours to their worst.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said that China has disregarded the border pacts with India, casting a shadow on the bilateral ties as he asserted that a lasting relationship couldn’t be a one-way street and there has to be mutual respect.
Jaishankar said India and China have agreements going back to the 1990s which prohibit bringing troops to the border area. “They (Chinese) have disregarded that. You know what happened in the Galwan Valley a few years ago. That problem has not been resolved and that is clearly casting a shadow,” he said.
Since the Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh in 2020, which led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, India and China have had several rounds of Corps Commander Level talks to resolve the standoff, with the latest being held in July. The meetings have led to disengagement in some areas on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, but friction points still remain.
(With PTI inputs)
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