India, on Sunday, assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August. During the period, India will be working towards three major areas of maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism and will soon be organizing the key events for the same.
Signing in its tenure, India thanked France, who is the immediate predecessor in the position, for leading the Council in July.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti, said “During our Presidency in August, India is organizing three high-level signature meetings, focusing on our priority areas: maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism,” in a video message straight from the Security Council.
India will not only organize meeting on maritime security, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism, it will also organize a solemn event in memory of peacekeepers.
Former permanent representative of India to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM to preside over a meeting of the UNSC.
However, India taking over UNSC presidency will be a big blow for Pakistan and China as well. Both the countries have been involved in multiple activities causing loss to various countries including India. On one hand, there is Pakistan who has been involved in terror activities and on the other hand, there is China which keeps creating nuisance in the seas and is logged in maritime disputes with several ASEAN countries.
Pakistan has been involved in terrorism and has been accused of backing various terrorist organizations. Also, Afghanistan–Pakistan border have been entitled with the effective safe haven for terrorists by Western media and the United States Secretary of Defense. India has been victim of Pakistan’s terror activities and claimed that the Pakistan is perpetuating the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by providing financial support and armaments to militant groups.
In 2018, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif stated that the Pakistani government played a role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that were carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist group. In July 2019, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan also acknowledged the presence of some 30,000–40,000 armed terrorists operating on Pakistani soil.
Additionally, Pakistan was put on the grey list by the Paris-based FATF (Financial Action Task Force) in June 2018. The country has been trying to get rid of this problem. But, earlier this year, the FATF refused to take Pakistan out of the ‘Grey List’ yet again. It said that Pakistan had failed to take appropriate action against UN-designated terrorists such as 26/11 accused Hafiz Saeed and JeM chief Masood Azhar, as per the reports of The Indian Express.
The FATF has been issuing the grey list since 2000, and lists countries which are assumed to be non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, calling them “Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories” (NCCTs).
China, on the other hand, has been evoking issues regarding the seas, especially the South China Sea. It has been building military bases on artificial islands in the area for years. Beijing claims an area known as the “nine-dash line” and has backed its claim with island-building and patrols, expanding its military presence in the region. Refuting the claims, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have contested Chinese claims.
In its annual defence review, Japan said China’s naval activities were a matter of grave concern, accusing Beijing of trying to alter the status quo in the East and South China Seas, reported by BBC.
Over the last few years, the South China sea has become a matter of tension between China and other states in the region claiming sovereignty over two largely uninhabited, but geopolitically important island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys. China claims that its rights go back centuries for the largest portion of territory. India also has territorial disputes with China.
The US’ “freedom of navigation” missions anger China. Besides, the US has long been critical of China’s militarization of the region. China has also landed bombers in the disputed territory to take part in drills on islands and reefs. It has become a threat to freedom of navigation.
Thus, with India presiding over the UNSC, these issues will be raised. China and Pakistan, both the countries will have to bear the cost of loss they have done in the previous few years. India is all set to counter the issues and soon, the results will be quite visible.
