NEW DELHI: India faces a unique challenge with China which goes beyond the general concerns the world has with the country, said External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, on Saturday.
“We are not the only country in the world which is having a debate about China. Go to Europe, and the US they all have issues with China. India has a special China problem. We have had a difficult situation at the border for the last four years. Sensible situation to take precautions,” said Dr Jaishankar.
“On investments, it's common sense that investments from China should be scrutinised,” he added.
Jaishankar spoke about the complexities of India’s relationship with China, in the backdrop of the ongoing border tensions. He was speaking during a session titled "New India's Risks, Reforms and Responsibilities”, at an ET Media Conclave.
“In my view at a certain level with certain countries, the line between economy and security is very thin. There could be a risk with pharmaceutical, telecom investments technology from China,” he added.
Jaishankar said that the US and China have competition for global primacy. India’s situation is different.
“The global picture – a one-word summary is risks. What we have seen for the past 15 years is a steady increase in terms of risks to the global order, international economies, and individual countries. There are different kinds of risks from climate change, the pandemic,” he said adding that there is a major war in Europe, and West Asia, revival of territorial claims and border frictions. Every government consciously or otherwise is assessing risks.
Regarding India’s relationship with neighbours, Dr Jaishankar said that it's complicated.
“We have to build into our policy making that there would be changes in our neighbourhood. If two countries are linked by a power grid you have secured the producer and customer. Past 10 years we have been talking about neighbourhood first as there are many projects which are of importance to both,” he added.
On Bangladesh, he said he would wait for some time for things to fructify.
“Our relationship with Maldives was different last year and then things settled down. Our neighbourhood knows how we helped them during COVID-19. We stepped in for Sri Lanka much before the IMF. If we invest in the neighbourhood and they invest in us it would be a resilient area,” he added.
