On Saturday, ahead of the 14th India-Japan summit, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida commented on the ongoing war in Ukraine and criticized Russia for violating international law. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, and it is totally unacceptable”, Kishida said.
In his article that was published in the Indian Express, Japanese PM Fumio further stated that Japan would unite with the international community and take resolute actions. “Upholding the core principles of the international order is indispensable from the perspective of diplomacy and security in the Indo-Pacific, where the situation has been rapidly worsened. Japan will unite with the international community and take resolute actions”, the report quoted.
Ahead of arrival in India, Japanese PM Fumio writes in @IndianExpress; says, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of international law as well as an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force, and it is totally unacceptable”https://t.co/rhf6RzRFGs
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 19, 2022
This is a day after US President Biden virtually met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and sought to prevent China from boosting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. Biden also questioned Jinping about Beijing’s rhetorical support to Putin and an absence of denunciation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jinping meanwhile told his American counterpart that conflicts between states are in no one’s interest and that Washington must shoulder due responsibilities for world peace.
According to the reports, the Russian representative at the UNSC meeting yesterday claimed that the components of biological weapons were being created and unlawful activities were being carried out on the Ukrainian territory. The US then affirmed that Ukraine did not have a biological weapons program and that the country had no such labs. It further accused Russia to have long maintained biological weapons program in violation of international law. Responding sharply, the Russian representative said, “We never said that Ukraine itself has a military biological program, we said that this program is something that the US itself has and Ukraine is being kept in the dark”.
Meanwhile, India at UNSC attached high importance to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) as a key global and non-discriminatory disarmament Convention and called for the prohibition of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. “It’s important to ensure full and effective implementation of the BTWC in letter and spirit. India remains concerned about the progressively deteriorating situation in Ukraine. We need to undertake this engagement keeping in mind the need to respect the principles of the UN Charter, international law and sovereignty and territorial integrity of States”, India was quoted.
We need to undertake this engagement keeping in mind the need to respect the principles of the UN charter, international law and sovereignty and territorial integrity of states: India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador R. Ravindra at UNSC Ukraine meet https://t.co/JM4SyaD5hl
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 18, 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will arrive on Saturday for his first visit to India as Prime Minister. Kishida, who has come to India as Japan’s Foreign Minister earlier, has met PM Narendra Modi four times in the past few years. But, his today’s meeting with PM Modi will be marked as his first bilateral visit overseas. The visit is important as this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
According to the reports, Kishida had sworn in as the Japan PM on October 4 last year. PM Modi had then spoken to Kishida on phone soon after the latter had assumed office and had expressed desire to further strengthen the special strategic and global partnership. Given the evolving geo-political and economic situation, both sides are looking to deepening partnership.
As reported by the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday, the 14th India Japan summit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review and strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse areas as well as exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest to advance their partnership for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
India and Japan have multifaceted cooperation within the ambit of their ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’. The summit could not be held in 2020 as well as in 2021 primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan is set to hold an in-person summit of Quad leaders this year and Modi is expected to attend it.
