WITHOUT MENTIONING China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised Beijing for the debt-trap diplomacy it indulges in and cautioned countries in the neighbourhood to not fall into the trap, advising them to make “informed decisions”.
Jaishankar, who was speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday night, was responding to a question from Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen, who was seated in the audience. The Indian External Affairs Minister was at a panel discussion along with counterparts from Australia, Japan and France among others.
Momen, in his question, asked the panelists directly by naming China. Appreciating Japan and India for their help, he said, “China comes forward with a basket of money and aggressive proposals, affordable proposals, and then you have a problem. What to do?”
Minister's sharp critique
This is a very sharp critique by Jaishankar on Beijing's debt-trap diplomacy. But it is in line with his sharp remarks in Australia on February 12 — he is usually diplomatic in his choice of words, especially on China, more so while speaking from foreign soil — on Beijing's behaviour ever since the start of the military standoff along the Ladakh frontier in May 2020. With Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne by his side, Jaishankar had then slammed China for “disregarding” the “written agreements” with India on not amassing troops at the border and said it is “an issue of legitimate…
