India has chided China and Pakistan for adopting “double standards” in fighting terrorism and emphasised that any "coercive or unilateral" action that seeks to change the status quo by force is an affront to the principle of common security.
Making this point, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ruchira Kamboj also said all countries should respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and respect international agreements. These remarks came in the backdrop of continuing stand-offs at the border in eastern Ladakh for the last two years between the armies of China and India. Also, China recently blocked a move initiated by India and US to impose UN sanctions on Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar. Beijing has said it needs more time to assess the application to list Azhar as a global terrorist.
The Indian representative enunciated the country’s position while while addressing a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the topic ‘Promote Common Security Through Dialogue and Cooperation' on Monday. However, she refrained from naming China and Pakistan.
The UNSC meeting was convened at the behest of China, the presidentof the Security Council for August and a veto-wielding member of the 15-member Council.
In her remarks, Kamboj noted that one of the guiding questions posed by the Presidency for the meeting is what constitutes "common security?" "Common security is also only feasible when all countries stand together against common threats such as terrorism and do not engage in double standards while preaching otherwise," Kamboj said in an apparent jibe towards China and its close ally, Pakistan. China has repeatedly blocked the attempts of India and the US at the UN to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists.
Kamboj also took a veiled swipe at Beijing over its aggressive behaviour in the region. “Any coercive or unilateral action that seeks to change the status quo by force is an affront to common security.
Further, common security is only possible when countries respect each others' sovereignty and territorial integrity, as they would expect their own sovereignty to be respected,” she said.
“Common security is also possible only if countries respect agreements signed with others, bilateral or multilateral, and do not take unilateral measures to nullify those very arrangements to those they were party to,” she said as India has insisted that China has violated border pacts by amassing its military in eastern Ladakh in 2020. China has territorial disputes with many other countries in region.
China has also threatened to forcibly reunify Taiwan with the mainland in case the self-ruled island takes steps towards seeking independence.