Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that the Texas hostage incident showed that the international network of terror, with its epicenter in India’s neighbourhood, is very much active.
The recent incident in Texas once again demonstrates that the international terror network, with its epicentre in India’s neighbourhood, is very much active, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday, asserting that this is a global threat that requires an unambiguous and collective response.
Addressing a symposium on “Potential for Indo-European/German cooperation in the Indo-Pacific”, Shringla also said India sees the Indo-Pacific as a free, open, inclusive region, which embraces all in a common pursuit of progress and prosperity.
“Our Prime Minister has encapsulated this vision in one term- SAGAR, which stands for Security and Growth for All in the Region. The term SAGAR itself means ‘Ocean’ in several Indian languages,” he said.
India believes that our common prosperity and security require us to evolve, through dialogue, a common rules-based order for the region. Such an order must respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as equality of all nations,” Shringla asserted
Such an order should enable all countries to use common spaces on sea and in the air, engage in unimpeded commerce, and peacefully settle disputes in accordance with international law, he said.
India’s record of respecting and accepting the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) verdict on the delimitation of our maritime boundaries with two of our neighbours Bangladesh and Myanmar, speaks for itself, Shringla said.
Noting that counterterrorism is another key area of cooperation between strategic partners, Shringla said failure to cooperate can only embolden terrorists towards more audacity.
“You would recall the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in which Indian, German and other nationals had lost their lives. The recent incident in Texas, United States, once again demonstrates that the international network of terror, with its epicenter in India’s neighbourhood, is very much active and has long lasting implications,” he said during the ORF-NMF-KAS Symposium.
This is a global threat that requires an unambiguous, undivided, effective and collective response, the foreign secretary asserted.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had stated at the UN Security Council that “there cannot be any exception or any justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivations behind such acts”, Shringla said.
