Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday called for the strongest action against states that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy while outlining India’s principled stand on the South China Sea issue.
“We need to target not only the terrorists, but also their entire supporting ecosystem,” Modi said while addressing the 11th East Asia Summit here, the premier forum of the Asia-Pacific region.
“And, our strongest action should be reserved for those state actors who employ terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” he said without naming Pakistan.
Modi said most countries in the South Asian region were pursuing a peaceful path to economic prosperity.
“But, there is one country in India’s neighbourhood whose competitive advantage rests solely in producing and exporting terrorism.”
India-Pakistan relations have soured in recent times following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in Kashmir in July. Pakistan described Wani as a “martyr.”
Over 70 people have died in large-scale violence in the state since then.
Terrorism was the most serious challenge to open and pluralistic societies, Modi said, and called for collective efforts to combat the scourge.
The prime minister said India remained committed, including through membership of export control regimes, to pursuing total and verifiable elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
Since its inception in 2005 – India is a founding member – the East Asia Summit has played a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of the region.
Elaborating on India’s principled stand on the South China Sea issue, Modi said the lanes of communication passing through the sea were the “main arteries of global merchandise trade.”
“India supports freedom of navigation, over flight, and unimpeded commerce, based on the principles of international law, as noted in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos),” the prime minister said.
China is involved in disputes with littoral countries of the region over the South China Sea particularly over the Spratly and Paracel groups of islands.
In July, an international arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines in its dispute with China over the South China Sea.
While the Philippines welcomed it, China reacted angrily calling the verdict null and void with no binding force and that “China neither accepts it nor recognises it.”
Modi said India believed “that the threat or use of force to resolve disputes would complicate matters affecting peace and stability.”
“As a state party to the Unclos, India urges all parties to show utmost respect for the Unclos,” he said.
Before leaving for New Delhi yesterday afternoon, Modi held a meeting with US President Barack Obama in what could be the last bilateral between the two before the Obama leaves office in January next year.
Obama expressed confidence that the Goods and Services Tax (GST), passed by the Indian parliament last month, would unleash significant economic activity.
Apart from Obama, Modi held bilateral meetings with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith during the course of the day.