Adhering to law, observing norms and respecting rules are prerequisites to building a stable international order, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Speaking at the 6th Indian Ocean Conference in Dhaka, he didn’t mention China but it was clear who he meant. “When nations disregard their legal obligations or violate long-standing agreements, as we have seen, the damage to trust and confidence is immense,” he told the conference jointly organized by the Bangladeshi foreign ministry and India Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank. He advised caution against falling into China’s debt trap, again without naming the country. “If we encourage opaque lending practices, exorbitant ventures and price points that are unrelated to the market, these are bound to bite us back, sooner rather than later. Especially so when sovereign guarantees have been proffered, not always with due diligence. Many of us in the region are today confronting the consequences of our past choices. This is time to reflect and reform, not one to repeat and reiterate.
