India can meet security challenges posed by Pakistan, China: Jaishankar

Forces who indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for decades now know this is a "different India" which will give them a reply, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, emphasising that today the country can meet its national security challenges posed by Pakistan and China.

Addressing the Indian community in Uganda on Wednesday, Jaishankar spoke about the transformation of the country into a new India.

Speaking about the challenges India faces on its borders, Jaishankar said: "Today, people see a different India that is willing to stand up and India which will meet its national security challenges whether it is Uri or whether it is Balakot."

He was referring to the 2016 Uri attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed insurgents from Pakistan against an Indian Army brigade headquarters and the 2019 Balakot airstrike conducted by Indian warplanes in Balakot, Pakistan against a terrorist training camp.

"Today, the forces which indulged in cross-border terrorism against India for decades and which India tolerated, they now know this is a different India and this India will give them a reply," he said.

He also spoke about the challenges on the border with China.

"For the last three years, in violation of the agreements, the Chinese have brought large forces," he said.

Today the Indian military is deployed at great heights and in very tough conditions, he said.

This situation is different from the past as Indian soldiers have now the "full backing, they have the right equipment and the infrastructure," he said.

He acknowledged that more work has to be done to develop the infrastructure on the border with China as it has been neglected in the past.

"This is a different India which will stand up for its interests and the world will recognise that," he said.

Today, he said India's policies are not impacted by any outside pressure. "It is a more independent India," he said.

Today, India cannot be put under pressure by countries that will "tell us where we should buy our oil and where we should not buy our oil."

"This is an India which will do what is in the interest of its citizens, its consumers," he said.

India has been snapping Russian oil available at a discount after the West sanctioned Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. India continues to buy Russian oil in large quantities.

Russia continued to be the single largest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into petrol and diesel at refineries, for a sixth straight month by supplying more than one-third of all oil India imported, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

He said some people felt "bad" when India joined the Quad.

In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

China has been criticising the formation of the Quad grouping, saying it was aimed at containing Beijing's rise.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also made substantial progress in militarising its man-made islands in the past few years.

Beijing claims sovereignty over all of the South China Sea. But Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims. In the East China Sea, China has territorial disputes with Japan.

The South China Sea and the East China Sea are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade. Although the US lays no claims to the disputed waters, it has challenged China's growing territorial claims in the South China Sea by deploying warships and fighter jets to assert freedom of navigation and overflight patrols in the strategically vital region.

In 2007, Jaishankar said Quad had come up but they bent to pressure and gave up. "But this time we are very clear that if the Quad is in global interest and is good for the world it is good for us," he said, adding India will do whatever is necessary for the global interest.

Jaishankar said today's India is an Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) country.

"Atmanirbhar Bharat at the end of the day is actually a confidence that we are capable of many things. We need a leader who gives us the confidence that we can realise that capability and who can give us the policies that will enable us to go in that direction and it is happening," he said.

This is today a different India which will take positions which will be determined by India's national interest and "that is very much that you can actually see in the personality of Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi", he said.

"This is also a caring India particularly for Indians abroad, for Indians in a country like Uganda," he added.

"This is India which is producing vaccines for itself but which is also ready to share it with others," he said.

He also how India helped during the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

"Within 1 day on the Prime Minister's instruction, we were able to send out a disaster relief team; our military professionals were able to open a hospital in Syria...We sent medicines in large quantities.

"So, this is an India which cares for the world and is prepared to put its capabilities...So, this is an India which is there for the world and this is also what the world needs," Jaishankar stressed.

He said that if people talk about the rise of India, a large part of it is actually the hard work done by the Indian community abroad.

"I would also like to share what the President (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni) has said about the Indian community here, and I feel so proud that he was so warm and appreciative of you all, what the Indian community has done to build Uganda and their contribution," Jaishankar said.

"When I reach Delhi, I will certainly tell the Prime Minister.....a very strong appreciation that President Museveni shared about the community, I will certainly convey it to the Prime Minister and I tell you he will feel as proud as I felt," he added. Apart from this, Museveni also had a message that Uganda is a resource-rich country, there is a young demographic, and there is good leadership and vision and he expects that business relations between India and Uganda should focus on "creating the value addition".

"You all know about Make in India. Similarly, there is a natural desire in Uganda to make in Uganda and if India is a partner in Making in Uganda, this is something that will certainly I think will solidify our relationship," he said.

He said talks are going on the possibility of a direct flight between India and Uganda.

"One is the possibility of a direct flight," he said. "When I go back I will definitely take it up with our civil aviation authorities and my civil aviation minister counterpart and I hope next time I come and I will come very soon and I will tell you why I come very soon...so the next time I come I hope I will come on the direct flight," Jaishankar said.

Another thing the Ugandan side has shown interest in is having an Indian hospital here, he said.

"I am sharing it with you not as a promise but as an expectation that one of you will actualise this dream...I feel when people talk about soft power, I feel our medical capabilities are also India's soft power and we want it to reach Uganda as well," he said.

Jaishankar said he discussed in detail with President Museveni India's digital transformation and how India can share this experience with other countries.

"..When we look towards the one we can share it with, Uganda is one country among them," he said.

Jaishankar said today countries in the world feel today that India is there for them and that India will take up their interests on their behalf and "that is one thing that is felt very strongly in this region."

"During the pandemic, you all know that there were lots of vaccines kept across, precisely there were several nations which had stocked up vaccines more than their population yet they did not share it. Today many countries have recognised that the first vaccine they got was from India and even in the case of Uganda the vaccines that we sent to them even before that we sent them medicines as well. They even procured vaccines from the COVAX initiative," he said.

The 'Vaccine Maitri' has changed India's image abroad, he said.

"It has created today a very strong sense of solidarity among developing economies. And now there is a new crisis that we all know about the ongoing situation in Ukraine where a war has been going on since last year due to which the prices of oil, fertilisers and grains have shot up," he said.

Today every developing economy in the world is feeling that they are under disruption. Many countries feel that their global demand has come down, trade has been disrupted, and shipping rate has gone up, he said.

"But if you ask, who takes up these matters in the global council then the answer is that till India brought the matter up there was no other country taking up the matter. So today, India has a great responsibility. It is the responsibility of the presidency of the G20. Now this presidency of the G20 by India is being done in a way that was never done before," he added.

During his stay here, Jaishankar also visited the Shree Swaminarayan temple in Kampala and prayed for peace, health and harmony.

He also met his Ethiopian counterpart Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, who is also the country's deputy prime minister, during a brief stopover in Addis Ababa on his way back to India.

"Welcomed his perspective on developments in the region. Also shared views on our strong multilateral cooperation, including in the AU and United Nations," he tweeted after the meeting.