Overview
- Speaking at IIT Madras, the external affairs minister said India has every right to defend its people against neighbours that persistently back terrorism and will not accept external prescriptions.
- He argued that sustained cross‑border terror erodes the basis for cooperation, citing India’s move to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance after the April 2025 Pahalgam attack.
- Contrasting approaches, he said India invests in ‘good neighbours’, highlighting vaccine supplies, fuel and food support during crises, and about $4 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka.
- He noted recent outreach in Dhaka, where he represented India at former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia’s funeral and delivered a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tarique Rahman.
- He said India lodged a formal protest over the reported detention of an Arunachal Pradesh woman at Shanghai airport and reaffirmed that Arunachal Pradesh is part of India.