The Indian and Australian High Commissions in the U.K. co-hosted the inaugural Indo-Pacific Conference in London on November 30. The day-long event brought together diplomats and stakeholders from think-tanks, civil-society and the business world to look at how the two countries, along with the U.K., could work together to address security issues in the region, build resilience and enhance stability.
“The abiding commitment of India and Australia to promoting a vision of a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific is reflected in the strength of our bilateral partnership. Our views are increasingly reflected by other key partners, with whom we work bilaterally and in plurilateral format, such as the US, Japan, ASEAN, and Korea, “ India’s High Commissioner to the U.K., Vikram Doraiswami said.
“We welcome in this regard increased interest in the UK, as part of its Global Britain policy, to work with countries such as India and Australia, in support of this objective,” he added.
“As three close partners, we all have a role to play in the Indo-Pacific and to work more closely together to support a secure, resilient, and prosperous region,” Australian High Commissioner Stephen Smith said.
The conference organisers also included Kings College, London, and the Council of Geostrategy, a think-tank.
High Commissioners Defend Reliability of Strategic Partnership with India
Prompted by a question, Mr. Doraiswami defended India’s reliability as a security partner in light of the allegations that the government was killing separatists in allied countries. The High Commissioner rejected the allegation.
“I dispute that point, first of all, that...the government that has anything to do with it,” he said, pointing to the on-going investigation.
On the reliability of India as a security partner, Mr. Doraiswami said that every country had to assess its own history.
“ I think partnerships are based on interests and on values, and I think we share them with all our partners here,” he added.
Responding to the fact that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had repeatedly alleged that the government of India was behind the killing of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia in June this year, Mr Doraiswami said,
“ It’s an accusation. It’s not anything more than that.”
U.S. prosecutors, on Wednesday, unveiled charges against an Indian national in an attempted murder-for-hire case to kill a Khalistani separatist and U.S. citizen in New York earlier this year. The charges allege that an Indian government official plotted the killing. The indictment also refers to the slaying of Nijjar.
“We both respect the rule of law. We both respect laws of contract, and we work carefully and closely with each other,” Mr Smith said .
“ We should allow the results of the investigation to be brought forward, “ he added.
