NEW DELHI: The current global situation has opened up spaces for middle powers and plurilateral arrangements to flourish, said foreign minister S Jaishankar. Addressing an Indian Ocean conference in Abu Dhabi, Jaishankar said, “A world of more decentralised globalisation obviously offers greater opportunities to many more nations. These would be accentuated by a stronger desire to foster localisation and promote regionalism.”
He added, “Whether it is the Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan or the Gulf, we are seeing more players, greater localisation and arrangements of pragmatism. We are now entering a world of greater plurilateralism, one that recognises the shortcomings of multilateralism, the limits of bilateralism and the untenability of unilateralism...”
The Quad, AUKUS, the new West Asia Quad, Indian Oceans Initiative and even the Abraham Accords, he said, have opened the door to greater international cooperation within smaller groupings and within regions.
Making a case for multipolarity, he said the US’ “changed strategic posture” has made it a more realistic power, more amenable to partnerships. But “American withdrawal from Afghanistan … leaves both the immediate and extended region grappling with serious concerns about terrorism, radicalism, instability, narco-trafficking and governance practices.” On the other hand, China’s extraordinary growth has given the world a superpower challenger in more ways than one — one that is deeply embedded in the global economy but showcasing an internal system that is very different.
