Ajit Doval Decries Terrorism ‘Double Standards' at BRICS Meet, With China at Table

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, while making a veiled reference to China, said BRICS could be working together on anti- terrorism issues under the UN counter-terrorism sanctions regime but stressed that the process has to be free from "politics and double standards."

BRICS is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with the last coming aboard in 2010 to form the newer version of BRIC.

NSA Ajit Doval made the above remark during a meet of the National Security Advisers of BRICS nations on Tuesday. China was represented by newly reappointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after the sacking of his predecessor Qin Gang.

Wang was Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2022 and now serves in the post of the ruling Communist Party of China’s director of the foreign affairs department, making him China's top diplomat.

China, as the all-weather ally of Pakistan, has been repeatedly blocking moves to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba and other Pakistan-based operatives as international terrorists at the United Nations Security Council.

Ajit Doval forwarded the view that BRICS can work together in listing terrorists and their proxies under the UN counter-terrorism sanctions regime.

"It is important that the decision-making of the UNSC sanctions committee is free from politicisation and double standards," he said without naming any country.

At the 13th BRICS NSAs meeting he is attending, Doval named terrorism as one of the key threats to national peace and security.

Doval mentioned that terror organisations in the Afghanistan- Pakistan (Af-Pak) region continued to operate with impunity.

Ajit Doval said great churning is happening in the international security environment at the time when the BRICS NSAs meeting is going on.

The global security situation is wracked by uncertainty and rising tensions even as the global economy is rejuvenating from the aftereffects of the Covid pandemic, he said.

NSA Doval said there is contest in the global commons of cyber, maritime and space.

Doval expressed appreciation of South Africa’s cooperation extended for the ongoing G20 Presidency of India and assured India's support for BRICS chairmanship of South Africa this year.

Doval also was vocal for the utilising of regional mechanisms to meet common goals and address emerging challenges.

He named water security as a major global issue and pitched for its prudent usage and conservation to be a shared responsibility.

Ajit Doval gave examples of weaponisation of water and stressed on the need for total transparency and unfettered information sharing on shared cross-border water resources, saying that the politicisation of water needs to be countered.

India and Pakistan have disputes regarding the sharing of river waters of the Indus River. India’s concern over China's dam-building activities on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet was also conveyed.

He stressed that the opportunities of the digital age will also be challenging and there is need to be united to fortify cyber defences, foster international cooperation and build a resilient national cyber infrastructure.

Secure and affordable supply of critical materials should be enabled for access to develop clean energy technologies, he said.

Doval maintained that India attached great importance to the BRICS process and expressed the country’s willingness to enhance cooperation in all joint efforts.

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