Jaishankar at G20 Atlanta: military solutions will not work; India, Liberia launch seafarer safety initiative

Jaishankar expressed grave concern about repeated attacks on civilian shipping and seafarers. He said that the Global South is disproportionately bearing the consequences of such attacks, which threaten the availability and cost of fuel, food and fertilisers. He called for freedom of navigation to be preserved and for the attacks to end, in line with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The remarks came a day after two tankers with Indian crew were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. The Panama-flagged tanker MT Louise 1, with 27 Indian seafarers, was damaged by limpet mines on 30 October, and the Liberia-flagged MT Arzanah, with two Indian nationals, was hit on 29 October. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that all 29 Indian seafarers were unharmed.

India and Liberia

Jaishankar announced a joint India–Liberia initiative to safeguard seafarers. The reports found do not give details of what it will involve, who will take part, or when it will start. One of the two ships attacked this week, MT Arzanah, was Liberia-flagged.

The Atlanta gathering is a two-day meeting of G20 foreign ministers hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Jaishankar arrived on Friday, 30 October. The agenda covers energy, supply chains and keeping sea lanes open, which matter directly to India because it relies heavily on imports of oil, liquefied natural gas and fertiliser. Rubio called the moment a moment of choosing for the United States and the world, and cited disruptions to energy and food supplies, trade tensions and threats to freedom of navigation.

The traditional group photograph was scrapped. Two US officials said Rubio judged the dispute over Russia's attendance a distraction, after European ministers threatened to boycott the photo rather than stand next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said European ministers would not pose with Lavrov, and Poland's Radosław Sikorski called the cancellation the right decision.

Jaishankar was due to attend a Quad foreign ministers' meeting with Rubio, Japan's Toshimitsu Motegi and Australia's Penny Wong, on maritime security, supply chains and technology. A source-based report lists planned one-on-one talks with ministers from Germany, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Poland and South Korea, on subjects ranging from trade and defence to critical minerals and shipbuilding. No formal meeting with the United States was scheduled, because Rubio recently visited India, and a brief pull-aside was considered most likely. The reports found do not confirm that these meetings took place or give outcomes. After Atlanta, Jaishankar is to travel to Antigua and Barbuda for Commonwealth talks.

Jaishankar also made a point about the economic side of the global order. He said that developing economies are losing their right to industrialise because of market flooding, weaponised supply chains, restricted market access and other market distortions. He did not, in the reports found, name any country in this part of his remarks.

He warned that tactical calculations should not lead the world to overlook the dangers of terrorism, which he called a high-risk activity.

The reports found do not name the session at which he spoke. The US will host the G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December, according to one report. They also differ slightly on the day of his remarks. One agency report gives Friday, which is 30 October in Atlanta, and another carries a dateline of 31 October. The reports do not describe any response from other ministers to his proposals, and one outlet's claim that 22 Indian seafarers had died in attacks on shipping is not supported by the other reports found and has not been confirmed.