Jaishankar: India's Rise Self-Determined, Backed by Strength and Regional Investment

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue the EAM said, "If we have to build a kind of an Indian Ocean sentiment or identity, it has to be backed up with resources, work, commitments, practical projects. There are different dimensions of how you build the Indian Ocean. On why the Indian Ocean is the only ocean named after a country - we are right in the middle of it. With our growth, other countries of the Indian Ocean stand to benefit. Those who work with us will get more benefits. The rise of India will be determined by India. It will be determined by our strength, not by the mistakes of others," he added.

Jaishankar further highlighted that India has invested in the development of the region and with India's growth, countries in the region stand to benefit.

"Indian Ocean Region is an ecosystem. Indian Ocean, much more than other parts of the world, is in the process of recovery and rebuilding. Individual states are doing that, but the whole region as a whole, restoration of trade patterns, connectivity. This whole rebuilding process of the Indian Ocean needs to be recognised. A lot of this requires hard work. In the last decade, Indian diplomacy has invested a lot in this process," he said.

Underlining India's position on recent volatile events in the Indian Ocean, Jaishankar addressed the sinking of an Iranian vessel, IRIS Dena, which was returning from India after participating in the Fleet Review. The vessel was sunk by the US while in international waters. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue on Saturday, the Minister highlighted India's contrasting position, noting that India had offered another Iranian vessel docking at Kochi.

The IRIS Lavan, which also took part in the International Fleet Review, had earlier docked in Kochi after developing technical issues. India had been approached by Iran days before the IRIS Dena incident south of Sri Lanka. The ship was in the region as part of the Iranian naval presence for the International Fleet Review and MILAN 2026, which took place from February 15 to February 25. India approved docking on March 1 and the ship's 183 crew members are currently staying at naval facilities in Kochi.

The Minister described the sinking of IRIS Dena as unfortunate and said India took the humane approach when the Iranians sent out a request for IRIS Lavan.

"You had these ships, and we got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to us--to our waters at that point of time, wanted to come into our port. They were reporting that they were having problems. And so, my recollection is this was on the 28th, and on the 1st we said, 'Okay, you can come in.' And it took them a few days to sail in, and then they docked in Kochi. And the ship is there. And obviously, the people on the ship, a lot of them were young cadets--that is my understanding. They have disembarked; they are, you know, in a nearby facility. When they set out and came here, the situation was totally different. They were coming in for a fleet review, and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of events. So for us, when this ship wanted to come in, and that too in difficulties, I think it was the humane thing to do. And I think we were guided by that principle. And in a sense, of the other ships, one obviously had a similar situation in Sri Lanka, and they took the decision which they did, and one unfortunately didn't make it. So I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, other than whatever the legal issues were. And I think we did the right thing," the Minister said.

In the specific case of IRIS Dena, after a distress call was received at the MRCC Colombo, the Indian Navy had promptly launched its SAR efforts, commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka.

Elaborating on the broader situation in the Indian Ocean, the Minister said that it was important to understand the realities of the region beyond contemporary debates.

"There are a lot of social media debates going on over this. Please understand the reality of the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia has been in the Indian Ocean for the last five decades. The fact that there are foreign forces based in Djibouti happened in the early first decade of this century. Hambantota came up during this period," the Minister said.

The Minister also called for attention to the safety of merchant ships currently operating in waters that may be the scenario of a conflict.

"Indians are a large segment of people who man merchant ships. Every time there is an attack on a vessel carrying goods, it is very likely that a part of the vessel is manned by Indians. We should give a lot of weight to this because we have had fatalities in the last few days. There has got to be adequate recognition in the country about the interest of our people, the merchant mariners and what we could be doing to safeguard them. Our approach to the crisis is driven by the fact that we have 9-10 million people living in the Gulf. Their well-being is a factor just as much as that of merchant shipping has to be. Countries have their own interests, their economic or energy concerns, and, naturally, our policies will take all of that into account. I felt the merchant marine part has not got the prominence," he said.

- ANI