New Delhi: This century is going to be shaped by what happens in the Indo-Pacific, said India’s Minister of State (External Affairs) Meenakashi Lekhi pointing out that India will have its own element of existence and challenges.
Speaking during Raisina Dialogue, the minister stated that the comradery with the great powers is going to be the “focal point of our engagement with the world”, especially in Indo-Pacific.
“Our oceans are our common heritage. That’s what we believe in. And this century is going to be shaped by what happens in Indo-Pacific. And as the name suggests, it’s Indo Pacific. So India will have its own element of existence and challenges,” she said.
The minister further pointed out that what is most important is that this particular region as a geographical entity has about 65 percent of the world population, 63 percent of the world GDP, 46 percent of the world trade, and 50 percent of the current maritime trade.
The 21st-century threats, as the minister sees, are not the traditional threats as used to till the 20th century, the nature of threats has changed. “So the threats do exist, but far larger in number and far greater in-depth. As we have seen during the pandemic the threat to global order exists, not just in open, but in the shadows,” she said.
