Photo: REUTERS

Indian External Affairs Minister will attend the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Stockholm, Sweden today.

Nearly 60 foreign delegates will participate in three parallel roundtable discussions on security, sustainability, and environmental cooperation. China has not been invited as it criticizes the international norms of the Indo-Pacific; however, China is also not an explicit topic of discussion. Taiwan was also not invited to participate in the forum.

Indian EAM Jaishankar’s attendance comes after Chinese militia vessels interrupted the AIME 2023 India-ASEAN military drills in the South China Sea, within Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The incident stresses the increasingly disruptive nature of China’s grey zone warfare operations in the SCS, and the pressing need for the global community to address it before risk spirals out of control.

Expect discussions to focus on facilitating more multilateral military exercises, intelligence communication, and economic cooperation toward establishing a unified front representing a free Indo-Pacific. The EU hopes that establishing a firm cooperation coalition will greatly reinforce international norms around the Indo-Pacific and thus prevent future conflict with China.

India—facing China on multiple fronts—will be hawkish on the need for action. Therefore, EAM Jaishankar may suggest imposing sanctions for China’s destabilizing actions.