Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday raised concerns about the recent US capture of the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and said that the "law of the jungle of might is right" appears to be taking over from the old principles of liberal international order.
Tharoor said that in his purely private individual capacity, he was deeply concerned with the violations of international law that have taken place in connection with the issue.
He said that the UN Charter specifically refers to sovereignty of member states, the inviolability of borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force to settle international disputes.
"All of which have been violated in this particular episode," the Congress leader, who also chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, told reporters on the sidelines of the 4th edition of the Kerala Legislative Assembly International Book Festival (KILBF) being held here.
Tharoor said that while the situation did not "prolong itself militarily", as the Vice President of Venezuela became the interim President and "normalcy was being pursued" in that country, it is still a tense situation there as there are reports of repression on the streets and people being arrested.
"We can't sort of talk about an invasion anymore because those who have come have gone. Now, the other thing to be said is that there are certain motivations being ascribed and certain things being claimed, which are somewhat distasteful.
"Now, I don't think it is appropriate for us to sit here this far away and pass judgment on matters that happened a long time ago. But I think Indians should understand that the country's natural resources belong to the country. Any country's resources belong to itself, that how those resources are used should be the prerogative of the representatives of that country," the Congress MP said.
When reporters asked him about US President Donald Trump's alleged announcement of similar actions against Cuba and Greenland, he said that "it looks as if something like the law of the jungle of might is right is taking over from the old principles of the so-called liberal international order".
"The old world order has given way to a new world disorder," he said.
When reporters pointed out that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to meet Trump, Tharoor said that every country has its national interest foremost in mind.
"For me, those national interests mean we don't want to create major enemies or major problems for ourselves anywhere, and we want to preserve channels of communication with everyone as far as possible," Tharoor stated.
"In my writings, I've advocated in support of this multi-aligned approach where we have good relations with Russia, decent relations with China, good relations with America, opening up to Europe, trying to develop new avenues in Africa, trying to improve the situation with Australia, New Zealand, etc," he said.
The Congress MP said that all these things were part of a policy of maximising our options.
"In life, in politics, in diplomacy, very often, the more options you have, the more you are protected from the vagaries and vicissitudes of any one country doing anything to you," he explained.
He said that India has consistently upheld the UN Charter and therefore, what happened in Venezuela "troubles many Indians across political party lines".
"My party issued a strong statement already. I won't repeat it, it's there. And it's a very strong and clearly worded statement. As far as the Government of India is concerned, they have their own compulsions, and very often what the Ministry of External Affairs chooses not to say is often as important as what they do say," Tharoor said.
"... in diplomacy, there are challenges in negotiating certain relationships," he added.
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