Rajnath wants India’s rights protected in South China Sea

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 18

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today “waded into” the ongoing dispute over defining territorial limits in South China Sea, saying interest of countries like India, which are not part of the negotiations, should be protected.

India’s east going trade — worth billions of dollars — to countries like Japan, China, South Korea and also parts of the 10-nation ASEAN, are routed through South China Sea. Also the energy supplies from Russia’s far-east are through the same route.

China, which has lost its argument at the UN on defining territorial waters under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), has refused to accept the verdict. It has opened own negotiations with five other countries — Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — to establish a “code of conduct” in the hydro-carbon rich sea. Rajnath Singh was addressing the Sixth ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) in Bangkok on Monday.

He hoped that the outcome of these talks will keep up with all relevant international laws, including UNCLOS, and promotes freedom of navigation, overflight and lawful commerce.” Emphasising the need to protect the rights of countries that are not party to these negotiations, the minister expressed hope that the situation would remain stable, without the use or threat of use of force or militarisation of the region.