00:00So, you know, this is also coming in the backdrop of Operation Sindhul, which was seen as a massive success, you know, carried out by Indian armed forces.
00:08Do you see this pact perhaps alter defense postures or deterrence calculations?
00:15Look, I think that if you're India and you have an ongoing, very severe border security issue with Pakistan, that military conflict has escalated significantly in the past months.
00:32You've got big challenges to the longstanding water agreement that India is essentially suspending their participation in.
00:43You know, these are all things that make everyone recognize that in the future there's a good chance we're going to see more another military altercation.
00:54Now, if that happens and Saudi Arabia is committed to come to Pakistan's defense, if I'm India, that has to factor into my calculations of what are the consequences.
01:08If I decide that I'm going to engage in bombing drone strikes directly against Pakistan territory.
01:18I mean, clearly that even though we don't know exactly what the terms of the agreement are in any collective security agreement, there's a military attack against one.
01:30The other is obliged to come to their aid.
01:33And so, yeah, that's going to change life for India.
01:37No question.
01:38And, Mr. Bremer, just a few hours ago on your ex-handle, and I must say that I follow your tweets very, very closely.
01:46You have quoted Oscar Benavides.
01:49Can I correct my pronunciation here?
01:52For my friends, everything for my enemies, the law.
01:56It's revelatory and philosophical at the same time.
01:59In an uncertain geopolitical atmosphere, Mr. Bremer, where the axis of friendship is changing and there are no permanent enemies, certainly, how should this tweet of yours be read?
02:13Rule of law is only legitimate when it applies equally to all citizens in a country.
02:22Rules of the road globally are only legitimate if they are upheld equally for countries and other actors around the world.
02:35We've seen just in the last hours China's defense minister categorically reject the idea of a return to the so-called law of the jungle.
02:49But in an environment where we don't have global leadership, where there is a great deal of disagreement among the G7 countries in what they believe in and what their values are and what they will support, what they will oppose.
03:07That's right.
03:08And that's even more true among the BRICS than what you see increasingly is a world order where the rules apply selectively, where the weak are meant to suffer as they must and the strong and powerful do as they will.
03:30And increasingly, that's true in many countries around the world as well.
03:37It's a world with much greater impunity and, of course, with much greater chaos, with much less collective security.
03:46That's really what's meant by that pretty evocative quote.
03:51So it is essentially a jungle law which is being applied by multiple global leaders right now?
03:57Certainly, if you're Russia, you feel like you can do whatever you want because you're the most powerful in your neighborhood and you're not going to be stopped by the Ukrainians who are a lesser force, by the Europeans who can act in only a limited collective way,
04:19and by the Americans who have shown that repeatedly that they don't really want to be involved in leading the resistance to support Ukraine.
04:29If you're Israel, you are the strongest military power, not to mention nuclear power, only nuclear power in the Middle East.
04:39And I mean, Israel launched attacks on six countries in one day last week.
04:43And they can ensure that not just they can deter their adversaries, but they can increasingly eradicate their adversaries.
04:54And there's very little that anyone can do to stop them.
04:57And, of course, most importantly, the United States can choose to rip up trade agreements, tariff agreements, security agreements.
05:09And you're going to have to, if you want to continue to have to enjoy a privileged relationship with the United States, unless you're very powerful and can say no to the U.S., as the Chinese have, for example,
05:26then you're going to have to hold your nose and ignore what you thought was a commitment by the Americans and recognize that they're much more powerful than you.
05:39And so for now, you're going to have to do what they want.
05:41And there are many countries around the world, including India, that are having a very hard time navigating that.
05:48Yes, since you.
Comments