India and France have intensified efforts to put in place a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the pending joint proposal to designate Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists Mohiuddin Alamgir and Ali Kashif Jan as global terrorists by the 1267 committee at the United Nations is passed. The major concern of New Delhi and Paris is to see that China does not succeed in blocking the bid during the next sitting for the consideration of the proposal. “With clear indication of China preparing to block this proposal once again, India and France are focussing on how to deal with Beijing’s move,” top diplomatic sources told The Daily Guardian. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his French counterpart Catherine Colonna discussed this issue after India, France and the UAE trilateral ministerial meeting in New York,” sources said, adding, “The EAM has also held interactions with some UN officials and diplomats regarding the same.”
During her Delhi visit, Colonna and Jaishankar had discussed the China obstacle, but in New York the two ministers have delved into deeper details of the joint strategy to deal with this challenge, sources said.
Jaishankar is visiting New York to participate in the high-level 177th session of the United Nations General Assembly. India, UAE and France used this opportunity to hold their first trilateral ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing UNGA session. The three countries discussed cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, where India sees France as an important partner, with focus on maritime security among other issues, amid China’s aggression in the region.
India is aware that China is again ready to block New Delhi-Paris joint proposal seeking blacklisting of the JeM terrorists. With this in view, Catherine and Jaishankar want the other powerful countries such as the US and the UK to step up diplomatic pressure on China not to block the joint proposal. Sources said that Jaishankar and Catherine Colonna have decided that they would be talking with their counterparts of these countries separately on this issue. “China needs to be told that its action is being viewed by the international community as a move that is weakening the global war against terrorism,” sources said. “India and France will be reaching out to other countries with this message on China,” sources told this newspaper.
China will be withdrawing its objection to the proposal only when a huge pressure will be mounted on it, say officials, adding that Beijing had allowed blacklisting of Masood Azhar at the UN only after the international community piled up pressure on it.
China has already blocked the US-India joint proposal before the UNSC 1267 committee to designate 26/11 plotter Sajid Mir as a global terrorist. The Chinese representative in the UN put the Mir proposal on hold at the instructions of the government in Beijing with the only objective of pleasing and appeasing Pakistan for its vested interests. Moreover, earlier Beijing has also blocked another proposal to get two more Pakistani terrorists—Lashkar-e-Toiba’s financier Abdul Rehman Makki and Jaish-e-Mohammed operational commander Mufti Rauf Azhar— designated as global terrorists at the UNSC. “The Indian government is keen that the world community should call out China’s double standard publicly on its so-called counter-terrorism commitments, which is what will help build pressure on the Xi Jinping regime,” sources said.