• Source:JND
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LAs India steers through a troubled neighbourhood marred with political and economic instability, foreign policy issues echoed in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with members asking questions and expressing concerns in a bid to evoke the response of the central government. From Sino-Bhutan border negotiations, the Sri Lankan debt trap to attacks on minorities in Bangladesh - these were some of the topics touched upon during the debate in question hour earlier today.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who was present in the house, responded to the questions asked by the members presenting an outline of how India is responding to the challenges arising in its neighbourhood.

The discussion was initiated by Congress MP Manish Tewari, who asked a supplementary question over the issue of Maldives's cold shoulder to India, highlighting how President Muizzu visited China after taking oath of office and India was the 8th country in his list of visits. He also touched upon how the Nepali Prime Minister visited and signed on the Belt and Road Initiative after his victory.

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"Sri Lanka, 12.9 per cent of Sri Lanka's external debt is held by China. Bhutan, the Sino-Bhutan border negotitions are in a very advanced stage Doklam is in prey and Bangladesh continues to be in turmoil My question therefore is while India may have a neighbourhood-first policy, is there any neighbour of India that has an India-first policy?" Tewari asked.

Responding to the query raised by Tewari, EAM S Jaishankar highlighted that this was not the case, as the neighbourhood gives us priority. He also highlighted several projects showcasing the same.

"Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Nepal, for 17 years, there was no visit from India to Nepal. So does that mean nobody in India cared for Nepal? For Sri Lanka, for 30 years there were no bilateral visits before Prime Minister Modi went there. So visits are important, I accept it. Visits are also subject to timing, convenience, and agenda".

"With this government in Maldives, we have inaugurated the Adu Link road and reclamation project and I went for it. 28 islands there were provided water and sewage facilities and by the way, the President of Maldives was present at the oath-taking ceremony of the new government," the EAM said.

"...The same Sri Lanka was the place where the Hambantota Port was built by the Chinese in 2008. The same Bangladesh was giving support to terrorism till 2014," Jaishankar responded.

"Our Neighbours Have Their Politics"

The Foreign Minister further underlined how neighbours' internal politics play out for India.

"Our neighbours also have their politics, they have ups and downs in their countries It will have some implications for us but it is important that we are mature and don't get into point scoring", he said.

"Ball Is Very Much In Pakistan's Court"

On being asked how India is looking at its relationship with Pakistan, EAM Jaishankar said that even though New Delhi wants good ties with Islamabad, they must be free of terror risk.

"In terms of improving ties with Pakistan, like any other neighbour, we would like to have good ties. But like with any other neighbour, we would also like to have ties free of terror risk. So this has been the position of the government. We have made it very clear that it is for the Pakistani side to show that they are changing their behaviour of the past and that if they don't, of course, there are implications for the relationship and them. So I think the ball is very much in Pakistan's court in this regard. Regarding trade, I think some of the disruptions which happened happened because of decisions by the Government of Pakistan in 2019."

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"In Bangladesh's Interest"

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi asked a question about the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh. He also questioned the situation in Myanmar and how India's closed border policy will impact relationships.

"...The treatment of minorities in Bangladesh has been a source of concern. There have been multiple incidents of attacks on them. We have drawn our concern to their attention. Recently Foreign Secretary visited Dhaka. This subject came up during his meeting and we expect that in its interest Bangladesh would take measures so that its minorities are safe," EAM Jaishankar said.

On Myanmar, EAM said, "With regard to Myanmar, because of the very disturbed conditions in Myanmar, we have had to review the open regime policy which has historically been there. But we are sensitive to the requirements of the border communities. So it is something which we are working on."