'Direct impact on India's energy and economic interests': Jaishankar on the Red Sea crisis
Jaishankar also said that both India and Iran are concerned about the recent events in West Asia and stressed the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and hostilities in the region.
Tehran: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday conveyed India's concerns over increasing pirate and militia attacks on Indian Ocean cargo ships while addressing a joint statement along with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran. He said such threats have a direct impact on India's energy and economic interests, while underlining that this “charged situation” does not benefit any party. “There has also recently been a noticeable increase in threats to the security of maritime commercial traffic in this important part of the Indian Ocean,” he said in a joint press statement after wide-ranging talks with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.
He stressed that it is important that this issue is “addressed quickly”, in an apparent reference to the targeting of merchant ships in the Red Sea – one of the busiest trade routes – by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We have even seen some attacks around India. This is a matter of great concern to the international community. Clearly, this also directly affects India's energy and economic interests. This tense situation is not to the advantage of any party and this must be clearly recognized,” he said.
His comments came on a day when a missile fired by Houthis struck a US ship just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. According to reports, Houthi fired an anti-ship cruise missile at a US destroyer in the Red Sea a day earlier.
The US and Britain launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in Yemen last week.
India is closely monitoring the evolving situation in the Red Sea. The Indian Navy has already enhanced the deployment of its frontline ships and surveillance aircraft for maritime security operations in view of the maritime environment in the critical sea lanes including the North and Central Arabian Seas.
Jaishankar, who is here as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two sides, also said that both India and Iran are concerned about the recent events in West Asia and stressed the importance of preventing further escalation of violence and hostilities in the region.
He said the “very worrying” situation in Gaza was obviously a topic of discussion. “Loss of civilian lives, especially women and children, was our primary focus. There is a visible humanitarian crisis that needs to be addressed and creating sustainable humanitarian corridors is the need of the hour,” he said, welcoming the efforts of the international community in this direction.
“India itself has delivered consignments of relief materials to Gaza and contributed to UNRWA,” he added.
On Palestine, Jaishankar reiterated India's long-standing support for a two-state solution, where the Palestinian people can live freely in an independent country within secure borders.
“I emphasized the need for all parties to avoid provocative and escalatory actions, and to facilitate the move towards dialogue and diplomacy,” he added.