The foreign minister further noted that the world was undergoing a profound change. Indeed, this was another pivotal, defining moment in history. The international security environment had become ever more fraught.
“We are in the midst of profound uncertainty. Strategic stability, both at the global and regional levels, is under great stress,” he said, adding new centers of power were emerging.
He said that they were witnessing a renewed great power rivalry, accentuated competition, and even a drift towards confrontation. Confrontation was increasingly eclipsing cooperation. Focus had been on reinforcing old alliances and forging new security partnerships. Military dominance through power projection was taking shape. Perhaps the seeds of a ‘New Cold War’ were being sown.
Unilateralism and populism had severely undermined multilateralism, he said, adding peace and security in various parts of the world was threatened by a mix of protracted conflicts and unresolved disputes as well as new emerging disputes.
“This is happening against a backdrop of a renewal of East-West tensions and emergence of more intense competition in Asia, and indeed elsewhere. Individual military capabilities are being prioritized over collective security. The cardinal principle of ‘equal and undiminished security for all states’ is being undermined. Warfare is being fundamentally transformed by disruptive technologies. Cyberspace and artificial intelligence have been weaponized,” he said.
In the region, the foreign minister said, one country had been amplifying threats to justify its relentless arms build-up and hegemonic designs. Regrettably, it was being helped under the dubious notion of ‘net security provider.’
The introduction of destabilizing weapons systems coupled with offensive doctrines and a growing propensity for military mis-adventurism and ‘false flag’ operations, was accentuating challenges to strategic stability in South Asia.
National security in the era of globalisation no longer depended on internal peace, stability and developmental orientation of a country alone. Global and regional environment played a profound role in shaping the overall security environment. Globalisation had tied the economies of the world. It had also connected the societies and peoples more directly.
“Zero-sum perspectives must be shed. We need to focus on cooperation, rather than confrontation,” the foreign minister further emphasised.