NEW DELHI: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who is on a week-long trip to Europe, met interlocutors in Germany on Tuesday. Sources said the foreign secretary said “we are all stunned by the recent tragic terror attacks in France”.
“India has strongly condemned these acts of terror and expressed solidarity with President Macron and the people of France. The terror attacks in France vindicate our long term assertion that terror knows no boundaries,” sources said.
Saying that terrorists today are united in purpose and action while victims are yet to be so, sources said that some countries who are the fountainhead of terror are practicing dissimulation and claiming to be victims of terror to gain international sympathy. “We should be aware of these moves and learn to call a spade a spade,” sources said.
India also called for likeminded countries to work together to disrupt the sophisticated networks that terrorists use both underground and on the internet. “There can be no justification for terror under any circumstances. But we note with some satisfaction that the world is increasingly realising it and working with us on this,” they said.
On the Indo-Pacific region, they said that the region has begun to occupy an important place in Germany’s strategic outlook and India is an important actor here. “In the recent German foreign policy turn towards the Indo-Pacific, India is perhaps the most reliable partner to implement our shared vision for the region,” they said.
Tough task
More than 40,000 troops on each side have amassed since the first week of May. One of challenges earlier was related to the mechanised forces. “With heavy machinery being moved to such a difficult location, we sorted the issues related to spares and maintenance,” said an Army officer. “There is no confirmation from the China about the 8th round of Corps Commanders talks,” the officer added.