Full text of Jaishankar telling China not to fear India's rise

Breaking news - A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for Chinese restraint in the Asia Pacific region and asked Bejing to show sensitivity and respect for New Delhi’s core concerns and interests, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the growth in China’s power and its implications for Asia was a challenge and something that is difficult to predict. He criticised India's largest neighbour for not honouring concerns over territorial integrity while building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The CPEC passes through the Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan region, on which India has territorial claims. Here is the full text of S Jaishankar speech by foreign secretary at second Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.

I am delighted to welcome you all to the 2nd edition of the Raisina Dialogue. As they will probably be saying at every international gathering this year, the landscape looks dramatically different than it did a year ago. However, the organisers of this conference may have been a bit more perceptive than most. By accident or design, they have selected a theme – the new normal of multilateralism with multipolarity – that certainly fits the bill for the days ahead.

The world we enter in 2017 is marked by unevenness, possibilities, uncertainties, known and unknown unknowns. The United States seems ready to change the terms of its engagement with the world. Relations between US and Russia could undergo a transformation that we may not have seen since 1945. Its dimensions, leave alone implications, are hard to predict. Europe, engrossed in multiple domestic challenges and reconfiguring itself, signals less appetite for more distant politics, even as it watches these developments.

The picture in Asia, however, looks somewhat different. The economic outlook is more positive, although sentiment is clearly affected by developments in the West. Social and political stability are not in doubt and levels of confidence are somewhat higher. Asia, of course, is not without its challenges, among them maritime disputes that acquired a salience in the last few years. Broadly speaking, the growth in China’s power and its expression abroad remain a dynamic factor in Asia. Japan is another major variable, as it seems to be preparing for more responsibilities. (Read More)