West facing ‘reality check’ over security – Indian foreign minister
Europe is undergoing a "reality check" after previously not having to make a choice between security and prosperity, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has said.
In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS on Thursday, the foreign minister asserted that India’s historical experience has been shaped since independence by its difficult neighbors, particularly Pakistan and China, which has forced the country to prioritize security.
“Your historical experience has been that after the Second World War and certainly after 1991-92, you had the good fortune of enjoying a very favorable geopolitical circumstance,” Jaishankar told the broadcaster. “And that has conditioned you to think that is a normal.”
“I have difficult neighbors: Pakistan and China especially,” he said. “I’ve had a continuing problem of terrorism from Pakistan. So I’ve always had to deal with a degree of realism, with a very harsh world, a very nasty world, which I think Europeans were insulated from.”
When questioned about the potential trade-off between security and progress, he said both sides were part of the “same coin.”
“Defending your country and your territory is the first duty of any government, any people. So I think that will obviously get priority,” Jaishankar added. He was referring to this month’s military standoff in South Asia, when India launched strikes on suspected terrorist facilities in Pakistan-controlled territory, in response to a terror attack in Indian-Administered Kashmir in April.
The Indian foreign minister has been vocal about his criticism of European leaders for their attitude towards the South Asian nation, which many in India argue is hypocritical. Recently, he commented on EU’s difficulty in achieving “strategic autonomy,” highlighting the bloc’s reliance on the US for security, Russia for energy, and China for trade, all of which he implied is being challenged by current global realities.
